Women have joined the military in Denmark but may still not serve in the navy. This makes the lives of the sailors difficult when three women get trapped on board of a navy vessel do to an surprise exercise at sea. Trying to hide the three women leads to comical situations.

Captain Crowther's lot is not a happy one! Five of his crew have to be replaced and at such short notice before the voyage begins there isn't much to choose from. Not only does he get the five most incompetent shipmates ever to sail the seven seas, but the passengers turn out to be a rather strange bunch too. The SS Happy Wanderer will never be the same.