Paul Merton is not only an intrepid explorer; he is also an astute observer and a genial comedian. His TV travelogues are watched by millions.

After recent visits to Europe, China and India, his latest adventures took him to even more exciting and exotic locations.

On the 19th October viewers will be able to watch him in action in the TV programme Paul Merton’s Adventures, which debuts on Channel 5 next Wednesday. In his many adventures viewers will see him upset the Top Gear generation in a caravan, embark on a fly-drive holiday in Florida, climb the Alps, visit the clubbing paradise of Ibiza and tour Scotland.

The first episode, however, will be all about cruising. In “On a Cruise” he and 6,000 other passengers will board the largest cruise ship in the world, Allure of the Seas, for a seven-day cruise around the Caribbean.

Merton set off from Fort Lauderdale a few months ago. Details of his trip are sketchy right now, but we do know that he visited Royal Caribbean’s private Haitian resort island. He was also spotted at the brand new port at Falmouth, Jamaica and in Cozumel, Mexico.

The first teaser released by Tiger Aspect, the company producing the series, shows him getting lost on a reef in Mexico and hitching a ride from a dogsled team in Jamaica. A little more bizarre, given the name of the production company, it also shows him having a run-in with a tiger.

At least we can be sure of one thing: that did not happen on a P&O cruise ship, or any other ship for that matter.