Gopher gives his parents a cruise as a Mother's Day present. Gopher's father grows jealous of the close relationship between mother and son. An older couple, who has finally seen its youngest child move out of the house, is stunned by an unexpected pregnancy. A widower's teenage daughters repeatedly reject his new wife, but must rely on her help when they get into a jam in Mexico.

Capt. Stubing receives a letter from his daughter, Vicki. When he tries to call her, he learns that she has run away from her aunt and uncle's home. She shows up on the ship and reveals that she has read her mother's diary, and now knows that the captain is her father. She wants to stay with him, but he feels that it is best that he return her. Vicki's aunt reveals that she is getting a divorce and wants to send her children away for a while so that they won't be affected by the proceedings. Capt. Stubing and Vicki are thrilled by the chance to live together on the ship. Julie plays matchmaker for two shy, old-fashioned people who are unaccustomed to the workings of modern romance. A man is annoyed by the presence of the woman who deadlocked the jury for the attempted murder trial on which they both served, leading to a mistrial. They constantly argue about the case.

Doc's most recent wife, Samantha, comes aboard with some shocking news: thanks to a crooked divorce lawyer who never filed their papers, they are still married. A man admits to his wife that he ""borrowed"" from his company's petty cash to pay for their cruise, as he felt ashamed by the fact that he couldn't give her things. They believe they may have found a way out of their predicament when they find 2000 dollars hidden in a jacket loaned to them by a passenger's wife. The man tries to retrieve his money without letting his wife find out that he is still gambling. A boy is horrified when his mother begins dating his hated history teacher.

Gopher invites his widowed mother onto the ship in the hopes of cheering her up, but is hurt by her seemingly cheerful attitude, which he interprets as an insult to his father. A group of buddies takes a cruise. One of the men meets a woman who is a regular customer at the restaurant where he works. He lies about his identity because he thinks she would be put off by the fact that he is a waiter. A comic's romance with the reporter who is writing a feature about him appears doomed after she takes offense to his act.