A cruise-ship dining experience like no other - eat, drink, smash and smell

It's the dining equivalent of a speakeasy, hidden behind a crew-only door. Twenty guests are led out the back of a cruise-ship restaurant and ushered into a windowless room. A trio of violinists are playing dramatically as we take our seats at a circular table. As the lights dim, actress Brooke Shields appears on wraparound 4K screens, sitting on the balcony of a Princess Cruises cabin, journalling her voyage through the Mediterranean. The first stop is Greece. Suddenly, the walls burst into footage of an olive grove, Greek music blares from the speakers, and the table lights up with video projections of decorative plates, which we are encouraged to virtually smash with our hands. Ten waiters walk in with trays of mezze and white wine, and I don't know whether to eat, drink, watch or listen.

Our next dish is grilled octopus salad, served with a Santorini backdrop. A Spanish charcuterie plate is paired with a grenache that was aged underwater for six months in Costa Brava, poured from a barnacle-encrusted bottle. Then we go to Italy for buffalo mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes, basil and balsamic glaze.

This is 360: An Extraordinary Experience, a culinary theatre presenting a seven-course meal in synch with storytelling, sounds and smells. The multisensory show is carefully choreographed, down to the background songs and lighting. In between courses, scents are pumped through the venue to set the scene, while a narrator tells stories about the regions and local traditions.

During the introduction to a lemon orchard on the Amalfi Coast, a citrus aroma wafts in, whetting our appetites for the spaghetti al limone. And as we sip glasses of Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio, the Pompeii vintner describes his agricultural process that dates back to Roman times. After the main dish of surf 'n' turf, we finish with a honey and lavender mousse. Screens display the purple fields of Provence, as the flower's fragrance flows through the air. We raise our flutes of champagne and toast a memorable evening.