Cruising to the Ends of the Earth: 'We're two Yorkshire lads who get to drive cruise ships to beautiful places around the world'

It’s a squeeze – and a mast at the rear must be lowered to make it through. But the trio expertly guide the liner towards open sea with two metre clearance, beginning then a 19-day voyage taking in three of Japan’s largest islands and the city of Busan in South Korea.

The trip is captured on Channel 4 show Cruising to the Ends of the Earth, an eight-part series featuring Princess Cruises that explores some of the world’s most remote and dramatic destinations reached by sea.

Narrated by actor Greg Wise (The Crown, The Buccaneers), the programme showcases the likes of Alaska’s icy wilderness and the Mediterranean’s ancient and colourful landscapes. But it also goes beyond the destinations to spotlight the people behind the “trip of a lifetime” journeys – from captains and first officers to dancers in the ships’ entertainment teams, all of whom have chosen to make the high seas their home.

"To go to these beautiful places takes a lot of people,” York-born Charlie tells The Yorkshire Post. “In the show, you get to see where the guests get to go but also behind the scenes of what goes into (a cruise).”

The 27-year-old, who grew up in Teesside, is currently working as a Third Officer with Princess Cruises, helping to navigate ships across the globe. Since beginning his cadetship at nautical college in Fleetwood at the age of 18, Charlie has been driven by a desire to see the world and has now visited 73 countries and all seven continents.

Antarctica, he says, was a highlight. “You have to cross the Drake Passage which is quite renowned for bad weather so my job was monitoring that,” he says. "When you get there, you see the whales, you see the penguins on the icebergs, so many different things and it’s really untouched. You feel privileged and proud to see a place of the world that only a small percentage of people have seen.”

On a contract in Asia, Charlie met fellow Yorkshireman James for the first time and the two became crew-mates. Like Charlie, 26-year-old James, from Wakefield, trained at Fleetwood – a change in direction from his original plan to study music.

Clarinet and saxophone player James came across cruise ship work when he was exploring potential career options for a musician. That then opened his eyes to other opportunities on board. “I saw something about driving (the ships) and thought oh that looks cool. Let’s pursue tha t. So I went down for interview and got my cadetship offer,” he says.

He’s since trained and progressed to become a second officer and has his sights set on gaining enough sea time to get a captain’s licence. “I love the job, the navigation, driving the ship, collision avoidance between other vessels, docking the ship, bringing it into port, that’s all the best part of it,” he says.

"Each day is challenging, you’re working and you’re away from your family but the rewards are there. You spend all those years studying to get to this position and you need to take a minute sometimes to appreciate it.

"The filming for the show actually helped to do that, take stock and appreciate where we were and what we have as two Yorkshire lads out in Asia driving a cruise ship.”

Over the course of his career, James has visited more than 30 countries across five continents, but has spent much of his time sailing in the region of Southeast Asia and Japan. "I think one of the highlights was seeing Pearl Harbour in America and then being able to see Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan, seeing how the atomic bomb affected both countries,” he reflects. “That was an amazing experience not many people get to do.”

According to new research from Princess Cruises, Brits are increasingly turning to television for travel inspiration, with nearly half of 2,000 people surveyed (44 per cent) saying they have booked a holiday after seeing a destination on screen.

However, as Channel 4 commissioning editor, Deborah Dunnett put it when the cruising programme was announced earlier this year, “some of us can only dream of these far-flung explorations, wildlife, weather and culture”. And so the show, produced by Crackit TV, aims to bring remarkable landscapes into viewers’ homes as well.

Charlie and James, meanwhile, take some of the comforts of their homes on board the cruise ships with them for their contracts. For Charlie, that means stocking up on Dairy Milk chocolate whilst James’ choice is good old Yorkshire Tea.

"You do get used to being away over time,” he says. “There’s always video calls to keep in touch with family these days and you make new friends on board and meet people from all over the world.”

“There’s many different nationalities and many different roles,” Charlie adds. “Every crew member has a different responsibility. We form a team and you need everyone to play their part, whether it’s hotel staff dealing with passengers, the deck side driving the ship or the technical team too keeping the ship moving.

"It’s tiring but it’s also rewarding, that level of responsibility. And when you get to the ports to see the places all over the world, it makes the hard work worth it.”

- Cruising to the Ends of the Earth is available to stream online now through Channel 4 and will next air on Sunday evening.