The Suite Life on Deck

Premise

Sometime after the events of the previous series, Mr. Moseby has been transferred to manage the SS Tipton, a cruise ship owned by Mr. Tipton. Aboard the ship, Zack and Cody Martin enroll at Seven Seas High School, a Semester at Sea-like study-abroad program offered on the ship, receiving affordability discounts due to their mother being a Tipton employee. London Tipton is also forced to attend the program under the direction of her father, with Mr. Moseby remaining responsible for her. A small-town farm girl named Bailey Pickett also enrolls for the program. The twins set on a range of new adventures and make new friends, as they begin attending classes on the cruise ship, while the ship sails around the world.

Cast

Main

Cole Sprouse as Cody Martin, the intelligent, kind-hearted, and sensitive twin. Cody performs well academically, is a straight A student, and has shown to have a great interest in academics; however, he does not perform well in sports. Cody has been noted to be ten minutes younger than Zack and often plays into Zack's crazy schemes. Cody is usually picked on by Zack, but Zack becomes very defensive when other people do it. Likewise, Cody cares very deeply for Zack, despite his picking on him constantly. At the end of season one, Cody begins dating Bailey Pickett, but they sever their romantic relationship in the second-season finale due to a misunderstanding in Paris. However, near the end of the third season, they get back together again after confessing that they never stopped loving each other. In "Das Boots", it is revealed that he has multiple allergies. Also, in "A London Carol", a future version of Cody and Bailey are married, though it's not certain if it was their real future.

Dylan Sprouse as Zack Martin, the fun-loving, rebellious, and immature twin. He works in the juice bar on the ship as a result of using up both Cody's and his money for the semester. Cody is forced to obtain the job as a towel boy. Zack does not perform particularly well academically, but he manages to graduate in the series' finale episode. He performs very well physically and enjoys physical sports, especially basketball and football. Zack acts selfish at times but he also sincerely cares for his brother and friends, even if he does not always show it. He flirts with most of the girls on the ship by using various pick-up lines, although he rarely ever stays with them for more than one episode. At the beginning of the third season, he starts to develop strong feelings for a new student on the ship named Maya. At first, she refuses to go out with him since he was a "player," but eventually he wins her over by throwing a surprise party for her. He then surprises his friends by being a good boyfriend. Although initially there is confusion as to whether he loved her or whether he was just taking her on as a challenge, he proves to have strong feelings for her in later episodes. She breaks up with him in the episode "Graduation on Deck" because of a Peace Corps assignment she accepts, but they remain close friends.

Brenda Song as London Tipton, the socialite of the four main teenage characters. She is a parody of Paris Hilton. She is the daughter of Wilfred Tipton, a multi-billionaire and the owner of the Tipton Hotel chains, including the one in Boston and the SS Tipton. London is typically selfish, dim-witted, spoiled, gullible and meticulous about her appearance but she is happy and heartwarming, and she does care for her friends (even if she can't remember the difference between Zack and Cody). She also has a pomeranian pet dog named Ivana. When she is happy, she usually claps her hands and repeatedly jumps up and down while saying her catchphrase, "Yay me!" Mr. Moseby fools London into thinking that she is on the SS Tipton for a vacation, to trick her into boarding the ship. London gets enrolled at the Seven Seas High School program because her father wants her to live in the real world. London does not live in a first class suite on the SS Tipton, but a small cabin. London reluctantly agrees to accept Bailey Pickett (Debby Ryan) as her new roommate, although she does so after unsuccessfully trying to bribe Bailey into leaving as she did with her previous roommate. The two later become good friends. In The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, when London resided at the Tipton Hotel, it seemed that she was living in her own bubble. On the SS Tipton, London became more aware of the real world and faced several difficulties to help her when she takes over her father's business.

Special guest appearances

Kim Rhodes: Carey Martin (1: "The Suite Life Sets Sail", 1: "Mom and Dad on Deck", 3: "Trouble in Tokyo", 3: "Graduation on Deck")

Ashley Tisdale: Maddie Fitzpatrick (1: "Maddie on Deck")

Miley Cyrus: Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana (1: "Double-Crossed")

Emily Osment: Lilly Truscott/Lola Luftnagle (1: "Double-Crossed")

Selena Gomez: Alex Russo (1: "Double-Crossed")

David Henrie: Justin Russo (1: "Double-Crossed")

Jake T. Austin: Max Russo (1: "Double-Crossed")

Jordin Sparks: Herself (2: "Crossing Jordin")

Kathie Lee Gifford: Cindy (2: "Model Behavior")

George Takei: Rome Tipton (2: "Starship Tipton")

Sean Kingston: Himself (3: "Party On!")

Dwight Howard: Dwight Moseby Howard (3: "Twister, Part 1")

Deron Williams: Himself (3: "Twister, Part 1")

Kevin Love: Himself (3: "Twister, Part 1")

Hutch Dano: Moose (1: "Mulch Ado About Nothing", 3: "Twister, Part 2")

John Michael Higgins: Wilfred Tipton (3: "Twister, Part 3")

Jennifer Tisdale: Connie Fitzpatrick (1: "Flowers and Chocolate", 1:"Cruisin For A Bruisin")

Notable guest appearances

Brian Stepanek: Arwin Hawkhauser/Milos Hawkakapolis (1: "It's All Greek To Me", 3: "Computer Date", 3: "Graduation on Deck")

Brittany Curran: Chelsea Brimmer (1: "Flowers and Chocolate")

Sophie Oda: Barbara Brownstein (1: "Flowers and Chocolate")

Charlie Stewart: Bob (1: "Flowers and Chocolate")

Jennifer Tisdale: Connie the Activities Coordinator (1: "Flowers and Chocolate", 1: "Cruisin' for a Bruisin")

Jacopo Sarno: Luca (1: "When in Rome...")

Robert Torti: Kurt Martin (1: "Mom and Dad on Deck", 3: "Graduation on Deck")

Justin Kredible: Armando the Magician (2: "Ala-ka-scram!")

Elizabeth Sung: Khun Yai (2: "Family Thais")

Ed Begley Jr.: Mayor Ragnar (2: "The Swede Life")

Charo: Señora Ramírez (2: "Mother of the Groom")

Kurt Warner: Himself (2: "Any Given Fantasy")

Charles Shaughnessy: Constable (2: "Rollin' With the Holmies")

Camilla and Rebecca Rosso: Jessica and Janice (2: "Model Behavior")

Matthew Willig: The Genie (2: "Rock the Kasbah")

Andy Richter: Brother Theodore (3: "The Silent Treatment")

Production

Development

On February 4, 2008, it was announced that the Disney Channel was developing a new contemporary sequel to the Disney channel sitcom The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. The announcement was made by Gary Marsh, the President of the Disney Channel. He stated, "Our audience has shown us that after 88 episodes, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody remains one of their favorite sitcoms ever, we decided to find a new way for Zack, Cody, London, and Mr. Moseby to live 'The Suite Life' in a whole new setting – this time aboard a luxury cruise liner." The series original creator, Danny Kallis was announced to be involved with the project. The elements from the original series remain the same though the setting is completely different.

In December 2008, it was reported that the Disney Channel had renewed the series for a thirteen episode second season. On May 11, 2009, Disney issued a press release stating that the second season had been extended to include a larger number of episodes than the original thirteen. Gary Marsh, the president of Disney Channels Worldwide said: "With this second-season extension, the cast of ‘The Suite Life’ makes Disney Channel history by becoming the longest running continuous characters on our air – 138 half-hour episodes. We are thrilled for them, and for the brilliant, inspired production team that made this extraordinary run possible."

As of 2024, The Suite Life series still holds the record (162 episodes) for having the longest running characters on air in a Disney Channel franchise produced without interruption. However, the That's So Raven/Raven's Home franchise (222 episodes) and the Boy Meets World/Girl Meets World franchise (230 episodes) have since supplanted it in the overall total by being relaunched years after being taken off of the air with certain characters that were consistently on both shows.

Settings

According to show creators and producers, the choice of setting was made to appeal to an international audience with different ports-of-call, such as India, Greece, Italy, Morocco, the United Kingdom and Thailand. An on-board theater serves as an "organic" set-up for musical numbers. Most of the action in the series occurs on board the SS Tipton. However, the ship travels to a variety of places around the world, which are often unfamiliar places to both Zack and Cody Martin.

The SS Tipton is a cruise ship belonging to London Tipton's father. The ship had its first canon appearance in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody episode "Let Us Entertain You". Unlike most cruise ships it also includes a study-abroad school, Seven Seas High School, which is a common setting on the ship, as are the Sky Deck, the lobby, the corridors outside the students' cabins and the cabins themselves. In the third season, the Aqua Lounge, a newly refurbished space on the ship, was shown, and it replaced the Sky Deck as the main hangout (although the Sky Deck is still commonly shown). There are also various areas on the SS Tipton that are mentioned, but never seen, including several decks and the ship's putt-putt golf course, where the captain spends most of his time. In the crossover episode of Wizards of Waverly Place, "Cast-Away (To Another Show)," Mr. Moseby reveals that the ship itself weighs 87,000 tons. After the events in "Graduation on Deck" the SS Tipton was sold and later dismantled. Moseby mentioned in the season 1 episode "Cruisin' for a Bruisin'", that the ship was not the first ship with the SS Tipton name (indicating that the Tipton cruiseline had been in service long before the events of the first series). Mr. Tipton commissioned a scale model "replica-in-a-bottle" of the first SS Tipton as a gift for Captain Lunsford.

Australia mentioned in the season two episode "The Defiant Ones"

Antarctica in the season three episode "Frozen"

Belgium in the season three episode "Party On!"

Galapagos Islands in the season one episode "Sea Monster Mash"

Greece in the season one episode "It's All Greek to Me"

Theme song and opening sequence

The show's theme song, "Livin' the Suite Life," was written by John Adair and Steve Hampton (who also wrote the themes for fellow Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Phil of the Future, and Wizards of Waverly Place, as well as the theme for the ABC Kids series Power Rangers: RPM), with music composed by Gary Scott (who also composed the music cues to signal scene changes and promo breaks, some of which are styled similarly to the theme), and is performed by British singer Steve Rushton (who is only credited for performing the theme in the second season).

Episodes

Note: The show's first ever air date was in the United Kingdom on September 19, 2008.

Wizards of Waverly Place and Hannah Montana

The episode "Double-Crossed" is the second part of a three-way crossover that begins on Wizards of Waverly Place and concludes on Hannah Montana. Cody promises to get tickets for himself and Bailey to a concert in Hawaii featuring Hannah Montana, who has boarded the SS Tipton. In the meantime, the Russo siblings enjoy a cruise of their own until Alex pulls a prank that causes Justin to turn blue.

Film

On September 20, 2010, Disney Channel announced that production had begun for a Disney Channel Original Movie based on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Suite Life on Deck.

The Suite Life Movie premiered on the Disney Channel in the United States and Canada on March 25, 2011.

Cancelled revival

In 2013, during an interview with Gawker, Dylan Sprouse revealed he and his brother had pitched an idea to the Disney Channel about continuing the Suite Life series. The show would see Zack and Cody return to the Tipton Hotel in Boston to live with their mother, and would become mentors to a boy who lived with his father at the hotel. Disney rejected the idea initially, but contacted the twins a year later with an edited concept that retained the boy and his father storyline, but Zack and Cody would move to a Miami hotel instead, Selena Gomez would also star and the twins would not get producer credits like they had requested. The Sprouses rejected the concept, leaving the project abandoned.

Broadcast

The Suite Life on Deck premiered in Australia and New Zealand October 6, 2008. It is broadcast on Disney Channel and on NZ MediaWorks TV3 and FOUR.

Merchandise

Other media

An activity book based on the series was released on July 13, 2009. The book is called "The Suite Life on Deck Sink or Swim Sticker Activity Book". A photo album based on the series was also released, and it includes several posters, colored images from the series, captions and activities for the reader. In August 2009, two new books titled "Suite Life on Deck: A Day in the Life" and "Suite Life on Deck Party Planner" were released by Disney.

Reception

U.S. Nielsen ratings

The show's pilot premiered on the Disney Channel in the U.S. on September 26, 2008, and gathered 5.7 million viewers on the night of its premiere. The series premiere in Canada was also the most watched series premiere on Family channel. In December 2008, Business Wire reported the show was 2008's #1 top scripted television series for children between the ages of 6 and 11 and pre-teenagers between the ages of 9 and 14, beating the veteran series Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place in the ratings. The show was in the #1 spot for the top rated children's television series for many months. The show has been one of the top 4 live-action television series for many months. Since then, "The Suite Life on Deck" held a commanding lead in the time slot (Friday 8:00 p.m.), ranking as TV's #1 program among the key children demographics, virtually doubling Nickelodeon among children between the ages of 9 and 14, and defeating it by a 6% among children between the ages of 6 and 11. In addition, the series would reach #1 in total viewers on all cable, outperforming #2 networks Fox News and Nickelodeon by 800,000 more viewers.

As of August 2009, the highest rated episode of The Suite Life on Deck was "Double-Crossed," the second part of Wizards On Deck with Hannah Montana, a trilogy of crossover episodes featuring guest stars from Wizards of Waverly Place and Hannah Montana which premiered on July 17, 2009, on Disney Channel. The special was viewed by more than 10.6 million viewers, program of the night across both cable and broadcast television, and ranks as one of the highest-rated episodes for a Disney Channel original series. This was the first episode that Cody and Bailey go out on a date.

In early October 2009, the series one-hour special episode "Lost at Sea" became the most watched episode of the series, with 7.6 million total viewers, including 3.2 million in the Kids 6–11 demographic, and 2.8 million in the Tweens 9–13 demographic. The episode delivered Disney Channel's best numbers in the hour with regular programming in the net's history. In 2009, the series was the most watched scripted series in the children and tween demographic (6–14), outpacing Hannah Montana and several other teenage shows. The series second season's ratings grew 25% higher than the show's season one ratings, the second season has averaged approximately 5.1 million viewers.

iTunes

Before the series officially made its debut on air, the first episode entitled "The Suite Life Sets Sail" was made available as a free download on iTunes. All series have since been made available.

Resurgence of Zack and Cody's dinner reservation episode

In November 2023, an episode entitled "When in Rome..." went viral over social media due to Zack and Cody's restaurant reservation date. The episode featured Zack and Cody attempting to reserve a table at an Italian restaurant, only to find out their table was reserved for 7:30p.m. on November 16, 2023.