Dennis Lindsey and his hot-tempered wife Carmelita set sail on a cruise to Hawaii that Carmelia believes is their "delayed" honeymoon. In reality, Dennis and his uncle Matt and aunt Della have booked the cruise in hopes of winning an advertising contract from the social climbing Baldwins. Also on the voyage is Dennis' business riva, George Skinner. To prevent the snobbish Baldwins from signing with Skinner, Dennis has promised to introduce them to Lord and Lady Epping at a party that night. When Carmelita learns of her husband's motive for their trip, she angrily shoves him out of their cabin and into the neighboring cabin of Fifi, an old girlfriend of Dennis'. Mr. Baldwin walks by at that moment, and seeing Dennis in Fifi's room, assumes that she is Mrs. Lindsey and invites her to the party. Aunt Della, who despises Carmelita, thinks that Fifi would make a splendid Mrs. Lindsey and persuades Dennis to continue the deception for business reasons. After berating her husband, a remorseful Carmelita begs uncle Matt to impersonate Lord Epping and induce Dennis to reconcile with her. Meanwhile, Lady Epping has decided to travel incognito, and the real Lord Epping, unable to locate his wife's stateroom, meets Skinner while he is wandering the ship's hallways. To conceal Epping from Dennis, Skinner offers him refuge in his own cabin. As Lord Epping drinks in Skinner's cabin, Dennis is deceived by uncle Matt's impersonation of the Englishman and takes him to meet Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin, who request that he bring Lady Epping to the party that evening. Carmelita, who is unaware that the real Eppings are on the ship, convinces a reluctant Matt to attend the party and recruits Miss Emily Pepper, an amateur playwright and actress, to play the partof Lady Epping. To continue his charade, uncle Matt as Lord Epping insists that Matt Lindsey not be invited to the gathering. Meanwhile, Carmelita, still fuming, meets Skinner and tells him about Dennis' "fake wife." Skinner proposes that she even the score by attending the Baldwin party as his fiancée. At the soiree that night, Miss Pepper, pretending to be Lady Epping, begins to read her play, but becomes perplexed when the guests start shouting and making faces at her because Matt has told them that she is deaf. When Matt loses his Lord Epping mustache in a cocktail glass, he runs out of the room, and the real Lord Epping then enters. Miss Pepper, thoroughly confused, flees the party, and Lord Epping follows, angry because his friend Matt has not been invited. Carmelita and Skinner then join the group, and Matt, having found his mustache, returns. Meanwhile, Lady Epping, who has read about the party in the ship's bulletin, enters, and Matt denies that she is his wife. To break the streak of bad luck that Mrs. Baldwin sees plaguing her party, she suggests that Carmelita and Skinner wed immediately, and Carmelita agrees after Baldwin offers her the contract as a reward. As Carmelita stalls the ceremony, Matt sets off the ship's rescue alarm, leading the passengers to believe that the ship is sinking. Chaos ensues as everyone runs to their cabins to don lifejackets, but all ends happily on deck when Carmelita presents Dennis with the Baldwin contract.