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Jane McDonald needs very little introduction. Cruise fans have been travelling the world with her on screen for years, sharing everything from sun-soaked sailings to showstopping performances at sea. But even for someone with such a long cruising history, Jane McDonald: From Pole to Pole is something else entirely.
The Channel 5 series which aired earlier this year saw the singing superstar swapping familiar ports for the icy extremes of Antarctica and the Arctic aboard Scenic’s ultra-luxury discovery yacht, Scenic Eclipse. Along the way, each episode shone a spotlight on a different part of the world, from South Georgia and the Falklands to Brazil, Norway, Svalbard and the Arctic Circle. Later in the series, Jane traded polar exploration for la dolce vita, joining Scenic’s sister ship, Emerald Sakara, for a luxury Mediterranean yacht cruise from Athens to Sorrento.
Here, Jane talks about saying yes to adventure, discovering that it’s never too late to try something new, and why a little bit of luxury – and a glass of champagne – makes even the wildest journeys better.
If you had said to me, where do you fancy going on your holidays? I would never have said, ‘Ooh, let’s go to Antarctica and then travel all the way back up to the Arctic.’ Never in a million years. But that’s what I love about this show, it takes me completely out of my comfort zone. To be honest, I would be just sat on a sun lounger in Tenerife drinking a pina colada for the rest of my life if it wasn’t for these amazing experiences that I get to do. This was the most incredible thing I have ever, ever done.
Once you get to over 60 it’s that thought, ‘let’s do this amazing journey while we still can’. Get into a Zodiac and climb up mountains because there comes a day when you can’t. You start to think how many summers have I got left here? Talking to people on board that included guests in their 50s, 60s and 70s it was ‘why are we waiting?’ You can wait and wait and wait and then there will be something that happens, and you’ve missed the window.
I just thought, ‘This is a long way! Where are we going?!’ Usually, you can get anywhere within 24 hours, even Australia. This took days. Then on the morning we arrived in Antarctica and opened the curtains it was just (gasps) vast snow-covered mountains and icebergs and 50 shades of grey. Incredible. That was when I realised it was worth it. Just for that view when you open the curtains, and your breath leaves your body.
Scenic Eclipse is perfect in every way if you are on a discovery adventure. What made it fantastic for me was that all the staff were experts, whether they were helicopter pilots or marine biologists. They knew everything. It was a joy to sit and talk to them. They’ve got two helicopters on board. When I landed on the Scenic Eclipse in one of them, that was a real James Bond moment where I thought ‘I’m liking my life right now!’
Oh yeah, listen I’m no Michael Palin or David Attenborough. Hands up to that, I like it with champagne on a luxury yacht. But it’s not your typical cruise ship. The yacht is for people who are not so bothered about going to a show or going to the bingo. There was the most amazing bar with every whisky, and I tried quite a lot of them because I am a bit of a whisky drinker. When everyone gets back on board from the day out, you have the most fabulous dinner. The food is exceptional, and the cocktails are even better. Then you all talk about your amazing experiences. You become very close with your fellow passengers because you are so excited to tell them about everything you’ve done that day.
My thermals. They worked there and they work in Wakefield. If you need to turn the heating down a couple of degrees, which we might all be doing this year, get your thermals on. You can get them in every cheap shop. They’ve got them in Marks’, they’ve got them in H&M. I must admit I lived in mine. I took about three pairs and rotated them the whole time. Never had them off. And then everything else is clean because you’ve got your base-wear on. Thank goodness for my ski suit. I took two ski suits. A black one for Antarctica – hark at me! – and then I had this multicoloured one for the Arctic.
Seeing nature like that and being a guest in their home, it was breathtaking. The whales didn’t care. I think they are quite used to the guides. They know that we are no threat. That’s lovely.
I realised that there is a big difference between being alone and being lonely. You can be lonely in a massive city with thousands of people around but that solitude of pure nature, no negative ions, no pollution, just completely fresh air, was quite addictive. It was something I have never had, ever, in my life. I’m usually bang, bang, bang, everything is so busy. To feel that peace and solitude, everything enveloping you, it was lovely for me.
I know, 10,000 penguins were my backing singers. And then we had two that just wandered up. You are supposed to back off from them, but they were very inquisitive these two. They were looking up at me singing. It was hilarious. If they could have sung it would have been the most perfect Disney moment. Then they put their wings together like they were clapping. Jason Harbour was like a little city of seals. It was like Hobbitville. That was fascinating. The baby seals looked so cute but they’re not cute – they’ll have your hand off. You want to pat them but if they are coming towards you, you’ve got to put your hands up in the air and make yourself very tall. That makes them back off. You have really got to be aware of that.
Alex was a joy to meet, and his food was exceptional. I loved the fact that he had studied so much of the British culture – scones and pasties and cakes – and then incorporated the Falkland’s Diddle Dee jam and tea berries and had a Chilean twist on that with the empanadas. It was a feast. And he made a great cup of tea as well. After all that time of being away that brew was delightful. What a character, just hearing his story.
That’s what I love about this job as well, I get to learn all about these wonderful people who have made life-changing decisions and survived it and said it’s the best thing they’ve ever done. I think how brave these people are. For me, this is the dream job because I’m right nosy. I will see somebody in the queue and just start a chat. That happened on one of the islands. I had asked this woman where something was, she asked if I was a visitor and when I said yes, she said, ‘Come on, I’ll show you around.’ She was like my guide. She was only out for a loaf of bread!
It was about the same as my kayaking. But how big is the fleece? And the oil in it. I asked Louise from the family of sheep farmers on the island about it and she told me to rub it into my skin. My hands were the softest they had ever been for like a week afterwards. She said, ‘If you can get that on your hands, leave it there.’ It was incredible. Then I asked where the wool went, and she said to Bradford. I could have taken it back for them!
This series completely blew my mind. I’ve always been a homegirl but the more I travel, the more I think that there’s more to life. I’ve been cruising for a lot of years now but the beauty of working with Scenic is that, unlike the big cruise ships, they can get into all sorts of places that I’ve never been before. This took me to places that I will never forget. I would work with Scenic again in a heartbeat.
Rio was an incredible experience, but it was packed. Coming from Antarctica to Rio was a culture shock. I thought, ‘I don’t think I like this as much as Antarctica’ but if I had done the trip the other way round, I would have said Rio, Rio, Rio all day long. To see the statue of Christ the Redeemer and the cross was incredible.
In Italy, we saw the town where The Godfather was made, Savoca and Forza d’Agrò. We did the walk where Al Pacino goes to the church, and we had a coffee in the café where Michael Corleone asks about the daughter. Oh my god, you could feel it. Everybody was so excited, especially the men. It was fabulous.
We drove down the Amalfi coast as well. That’s a bucket list thing for me. Stopping off in Capri. There is so much in this trip and this series. Hopefully people are going to be blown away by it.
I am so lucky. I am flying out to Nashville to record a new album, a country album. This is just incredible. At my age to be flying out to Nashville at the Blackbird studio where Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton, all the big stars, recorded. I’m going to be in the same studio. Not only that, but we are also doing a two-part travel documentary all about Nashville for 5. My mind is blown by what’s happening. And then we’ve got a national arena tour – hark at me and arenas! What’s going on?! Who would have ever thought this?
