Ross Kemp like you've never seen him before... With a smile

Ross Kemp – who’s known for his gritty, hard hitting documentaries – can be seen as you’ve never seen him before as a film crew followed him onboard Marella’s Explorer 2 cruise ship.

The former East Ender was recruited to test Marella’s brand new ‘Smiletinerary’ programme, which sees him enjoying a new Smiletox facial treatment, taking part in a ‘Jumpga’ workout class and feasting on smile-giving food and drink.

This comes as Marella research found that Brits are smiling less than ever in 2019 due to increased work stress (71%), money worries (74%), political uncertainty (56%) and social media anxiety (47%).

With research showing that smiling more can add years to your life, the cruise company was prompted to curate its ‘Smiletinerary’ (smile itinerary), which acts as a ‘tick list’ for customers, encouraging them to take part in as many smile-giving activities as possible.

Kemp was the first to trial the ‘Smiletinerary’ to see if it works on even the toughest of customers. Hilarious scenarios include Ross enjoying a Smiletox facial treatment, designed to relax the muscles in the face and inspire the biggest smiles, as well as other activities such as a spot of mini-golf and relaxing in the Champneys spa.

Research from Marella also identified the things that help to put a smile on our faces - with a random act of kindness (68%), sunshine (63%), and going on holiday (62%) all topping the list (see more below).

Inspired by the findings, Marella’s ‘Smiletinerary’ - which can now be found on Marella’s Explorer ships - provides guests with suggestions of activities to try out whilst on board to inspire the biggest and best smiles, including smile-inducing food and drink.

Chris Hackney, Managing Director of Cruise from Marella said: “We care about ensuring our customers smile even brighter when they’re on board one of our ships, whether that’s down to our exciting itineraries, welcoming atmosphere or community spirit. We recently carried out research onboard, revealing that 83 percent of guests smile 60+ times a day while on holiday with us - that's more than three times the average when on land (20 times).

We’re determined to bring this number up even higher with our new ‘Smiletinerary’, showing just how dedicated we are to keeping our customers smiling. We were especially pleased to see it crack even the toughest of smiles in Ross Kemp and invite guests to try it out for themselves while on board!”

Ross Kemp added: “This was my first Marella cruise and needless to say quite different from my usual trips abroad. When I got the call from Marella asking me to put their new “Smiletinerary” programme to the test I admit I was a little surprised. However, after experiencing their new Smiletox treatment, dining in the fabulous restaurants onboard and taking part in a smile-giving Jumpga workout to name just a few things, I couldn’t help but crack a smile…or two.”

To find out more about the ‘Smiletinerary’ and to watch Ross Kemp test run the programme, visit: www.tui.co.uk/cruise/nauticalsmiles