In the opening edition, Jane and her fellow passengers stop off in Nassau in the Bahamas, where Jane finds solace in the state's oldest baptist church, and St Martin, where she seeks an intimate underwater audience with a host of sharks. Back on board, Jane is startled by the scale of everything - from the food and activities to the sheer number of people.
Jane gets in touch with her Scottish roots as she joins just six other passengers on what is easily her smallest ever cruise - around the Inner Hebrides. Among the locations visited is the famous Fingal's Cave on Staffa.
Jane sails the Danube on one of the most luxurious ships of its type as she makes her first foray into the realms of the river cruise. She visits the Szechenyi Baths in Budapest and meets a princess in Vienna.
Starting in Vancouver, Jane cruises around Alaska, enjoying a dog sledding adventure on an ice field, visiting the Glacier Bay National Park, meeting the cast of the onboard nightly musicals and taking a cooking lesson from the ship's executive chef en route.
New series. Traversing the Baltic on board the Viking Sky, the presenter takes full advantage of the ship's amenities. Her first stop is Tallinn in Estonia, a medieval town with much ancient architecture. Next up is St Petersburg in Russia, where Jane heads to the Hermitage Museum, hoping to spot the cats that traditionally live in the basement. The third stop is Helsinki in Finland, where Jane meets a woman whose ambition is to kiss a brown bear. Finally, the ship pulls into the Swedish capital of Stockholm for one of the highlights of the singer's journey - a guided tour around the Abba Museum.
The singer and presenter returns to Naples in southern Italy, from where takes a ferry to Capri, an island famed for its rugged landscape, upmarket hotels - and shopping experience. Here, Jane wishes to fulfil an ambition she has had all her life - to follow in the footsteps of English actress, singer and comedian Gracie Fields, once the biggest star in the UK, who spent the years leading to her death in 1979 living in the region. It proves to be a poignant journey that comes to rest at Gracie's graveside.
The presenter experiences a side of France she has never seen before as she journeys down the Rhone. In Lyon, she visits Marche Paul Bocuse, one of France's most celebrated food markets, and has the cruise takes Jane through a landscape dotted with unspoiled historic towns and villages, she gets a chance to achieve some lifelong ambitions, including riding in a hot-air balloon. The trip also opens Jane's eyes to the natural beauty of rural France, as she recreates a childhood fantasy picnic, and makes her way to Arles in Provence.
The presenter cruises around Cuba aboard the Celestyal Crystal, starting and ending in Havana, sampling the relatively new tourist industry of the Caribbean island. A stop in Cienfuegos leads to a salsa lesson and a flying visit to Jamaica allows Jane to have lunch in, or rather on, a floating Rasta Raft just off the beach in Runaway Bay. Before heading back to Havana, there's just time to join in the fun of a house party in Santiago de Cuba. And as the singer soon discovers, no one parties quite like the Cubans. Last in the series.
The singer explores more locations, beginning with a trip up the California coast on the luxury 3,000-berth Ruby Princess, taking in such landmarks as Los Angeles' iconic Hollywood sign and San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. On land, Jane strolls along Hollywood's walk of fame, shops in Beverley Hills and goes `beautiful' people-watching in the resorts of Santa Monica and Muscle Beach.
From Reykjavik, Jane boards the former ferry Ocean Diamond for a voyage around Iceland's rugged shorelines. Highlights include hot geysers, the aurora borealis, whale watching, a dip in a lagoon, a visit to a puffin rescue centre and joining in a rettir (rounding up sheep from the mountains).
Starting off in Ho Chi Minh City, Jane samples the sights, sounds and sumptuous cuisine of Vietnam, before setting sail up the Mekong to Cambodia where she visits a floating market before ending up at Ankor Wat, one of the oldest religious monuments on earth.
Jane gets a feel for New Orleans before boarding the world's largest steamboat for a trip along the Mississippi. On board there are sing-along piano bars and a theatre, and excursions include a trip to a former plantation, and the Louisiana State Penitentiary!
Part one of two. The presenter takes on Australia and New Zealand, beginning her adventures in Sydney, where she experiences the highlights on an open top bus tour. Next stop is a backstage pass to the world-famous Sydney Opera house. Next stop is Tasmania, where she visits a local wildlife sanctuary and its volunteers, comes face to face with its furry residents, and has a run-in with a cheeky wombat. Her first step onto New Zealand soil is at Dunedin, which is rich in Scottish heritage. Later, she heads on to Christchurch, a city devastated by earthquakes.
Part two of two. The presenter's trip to Australia and New Zealand concludes as she visit the North Island, known for its outdoor activities and adventures. She begins in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, before travelling 900m above sea level to take part in quad-biking. The ship then sails north to Napier, where Jane takes a bus trip to meet a traditional Maori tribe, before arriving in Rotorua, a place famous for its dramatic landscapes.
Jane sails around South America in style aboard an ultra-luxury ship. Starting in Valparaíso, she embraces her inner Banksy on a street art tour, before beginning her journey south along the Chilean coast. A few days later she reaches the breathtaking glacier on Laguna San Rafael. Here, Jane partakes in the customary and traditional drinking of whisky on ice directly from the glacier. She then ventures further south into deepest Patagonia, stopping off in Punta Arenas. Back on board the ship, Jane enjoys a tour of the bridge with the captain as they make their way to the Falklands.
The singer concludes her trip to South America by stopping off in Argentina, where she visits the largest Welsh settlement outside of Wales before finding out about the life of former first lady Eva Peron in Buenos Aires. She then sails to Uruguay's capital Montevideo, where she seeks shelter from the rain in one of the country's oldest wineries.
The singer heads off to uncover the mysteries of the Mediterranean on an island-hopping tour of Greece. She begins by riding a segway - a personal transportation vehicle - through the ancient streets of the capital Athens, before boarding her ship to start her aquatic adventure on the Mediterranean. With champagne-popping nights out in party capital Mykonos, and the stunning sunsets on the island of Santorini, this cruise offers the perfect combination of ancient Greek history and exciting modern landscapes.
The singer begins her Portuguese adventure in Porto, where she discovers the roots of a similarly named fortified wine. She then boards the impressive vessel that will take her down the River Douro. The cruise delivers her to the architectural wonder of Lamego, Vila Real and the home of Mateus Rose. She even manages to hop over the border to Spain to visit the city of Salamanca. There is plenty of food, drink and local culture on offer on Jane's luxurious cruise, which ends its journey in the capital city of Lisbon.
The first of a two-part Indian adventure finds Jane amid the colourful chaos of the city of Kolkata, where she visits the largest flower market in Asia, before being treated to a ringside view of some traditional wrestlers in action. Jane then sets sail on India's most holy river, the Ganges, on board a five-star ship. Stop-offs include the temple city of Kalna and the former home of the historic East India Shipping Company, Murshidabad. While in Murshidabad, Jane explores the grand palaces of the city, before going off the beaten the track to see some local artisans at work.
The voyage concludes with the second part of Jane's journey across India, which sees her fully immersed in her cruise on the sacred Ganges river. After visiting the home of the Hare Krishna movement, she is invited to join the masses making the pilgrimage to the sacred city of Mayapur, where she takes in the spectacular shrines and ceremonies. After the cruise reaches its final stop, Jane continues on land to the famous `Pink City' of Jaipur, and then onto the Agra. The curtain falls on her trip of a lifetime with an emotional visit to one of the wonders of the world - the Taj Mahal.
The singer uncovers a little-known cruise route in the Great Lakes of America and Canada. Heading to post-industrial Cleveland, she joins her fellow cruisers to explore the sights of this re-emerging city, popping into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame to cast eyes on memorabilia from her musical heroes. Jane later visits the natural wonder that is Niagara Falls. Not satisfied with being drenched by the sheer force of the waterfalls, she opts to take an adrenalin-pumping zip-line across the falls. Then, ends her cruise by jet-boating across the perilous rapids outside Montreal.
The singer enjoys new adventures in the Mediterranean, cruising along the stunning, stylish Riviera. She begins in historic Rome, where she embarks on a vintage car tour of the city. That done, Jane joins her cruise vessel to sail to the tourist hotspots of Florence and Pisa. In Monte Carlo, she samples a hint of the millionaire lifestyle, meeting yacht masters and sneaking into a £8,000-per-night suite in one of Monaco's most exclusive hotels. While in Spain, she tastes tapas from Barcelona's world-famous La Boqueria food market, and then braves the heights of the vertigo-inducing King's Passage.
Starting in Budapest, Jane boards a steam train built at the peak of the Austro-Hungarian Empire for the exclusive use of the emperor and empress. It is not long before she is back on water though, boarding a luxury river ship to sail to the blossoming post-communist cities of Bratislava and Belgrade. From there, Jane heads towards one of the natural highlights of the Danube, the Iron Gates. After coming face to face with folkloric monsters and sampling the local moonshine, she finishes her journey in Romania's most popular destination, Bran Castle, the assumed home of Dracula.
In her final adventure in the current series, the singer takes to the Adriatic Sea. Starting in the popular and historic city of Dubrovnik, Croatia, Jane escapes the hordes of tourists on a four-wheel-drive tour in the picturesque hills of the city. Boarding the luxury ship, Jane's tour continues to Venice, where she meets gifted glass-makers on the island of Murano. The cruise then continues to the Roman city of Split in Croatia, before she ends her Adriatic adventure besides the mountains of Montenegro on the Bay of Kotor. Last in the series.
The singer embarks on a Christmas tour of Norway by cruise ship, beginning her journey in Bergen, where she visits the world's largest gingerbread city. She meets a swimming Santa on a trip to Scandinavia's biggest natural aquarium, before venturing deeper into the Arctic circle to sample mead at a traditional Viking midwinter festival in a replica of a longhouse. Finally, she takes a snowmobile ride across the Russian border.
The singer returns to embark on more voyages around the world, beginning with the first of two programmes charting a trip to the Caribbean aboard a new luxury liner. The first leg takes her south-east from Fort Lauderdale in Florida toward the private resort of Princess Cays on the island of Eleuthera, and from there she continues along to the Virgin Isles and St Thomas, ending on the island of St Martin.
The singer concludes her journey around the Caribbean, visiting Grand Cayman for a spot of horse-riding along the beach. She then heads to Roatan off the coast of Honduras, discovering the wonders of the deep aboard a submarine, before finishing her trip on the Mexican island of Cozumel, where she parties the night away at the colourful local carnival.
Jane books a four-berth private luxury river cruiser to travel along the Thames from Hampton Court to Henley-on-Thames to celebrate the 70th birthdays of her good friends Sue and Olwen. At Shepperton Lock, where they meet lock-keeper Steve Newman, who shares his 46 years of knowledge with Jane, before heading for Windsor.
Jane and her friends conclude their cruise down the Thames, setting off from Windsor in the Magna Carta and heading to Michelin-starred restaurant the Waterside Inn at Bray and visiting the Cliveden estate. Later, they go to the village of Cookham, where they take in the Stanley Spencer Art Gallery, before finishing their travels in Henley-on-Thames, where they enjoy a roast dinner.
Follow in the footsteps of Jane McDonald and immerse yourself in a winter wonderland with a Christmas cruise to Norway – in search of the Northern Lights
The presenter travels up the Rhine, creating her very own Christmas in her cabin aboard the SS Antoinette. Along the way, she visits some of the most dazzling festive markets that Europe has to offer, sampling traditional food and drink, as well as unique seasonal customs. Back on board, the fun continues as Jane joins her fellow shipmates to make decorations and create her signature Christmas dish. A rousing musical performance by carol singers entertains passengers as the ship makes its way to Switzerland, which is the final stop on this magical festive cruise.
A look back at the best bits, the never-seen-before out-takes and bizarre moments from the past four series of Cruising with Jane McDonald. Plus, a version of the festive classic The 12 Days of Christmas is sung by carollers from Jane's home town of Wakefield.
Previously unseen highlights of the singer's trip in which she explored Iceland aboard the Ocean Diamond, which began life as a ferry, but now braves the freezing Arctic seas to provide passengers with breathtaking views of the country's rugged shorelines.
Funny moments from the singer's series of voyages around the world.
The singer recalls two festive cruises in an edition featuring previously unseen footage. She starts on the SS Antoinette, travelling up the Rhine, then visits some of the world's best Christmas markets sampling traditional food and drink and getting to grips with unique customs. The Wakefield wonder then goes in search for a Nordic Crimbo on board the Norwegian institution the Coastal Express. Starting in Bergen, Jane feasts her eyes on the world's largest Gingerbread City then continues her cruise to visit Scandinavia's biggest natural aquarium for an encounter with a swimming Santa.
Returning to her Scottish roots, Jane McDonald starts her journey in Edinburgh, enjoying the sights and sounds at the city's spectacular Christmas market. Travelling north to the snow-capped hills and mountains, she meets friends old and new, enjoying a warm Highland welcome with whisky-tasting, bauble-making and candlelit carols with children.
