Box office The film was the third most popular movie at the British box office in 1955, after
The Dam Busters and
White Christmas. Thomas claimed in 1956 that it made half a million pounds profit.
Doctor at Sea was one of the top five money-earners in the United Kingdom between 1951 and 1960. In October 1957 Rank claimed the film and
Doctor in the House had been seen by 24 million Britons.
Critical Variety accused Rank studios of playing safe, writing that "
Doctor at Sea does not rise to the same laugh-provoking heights as its predecessor... By far the most dominating performance of the cast is given hy Justice. He towers-above the others and is the focal point of every scene in which he appears. Bogarde plays’ the ’medico with a pleasing quiet restraint and Brigitte Bardot, a looker, from Paris; has an acting talent to match her charm. She’s a positive asset to the production." The
Radio Times also found it "short on truly comic incident, and the shipboard location is limiting", but
Allmovie wrote, "Often funnier than its predecessor, Doctor at Sea proved the viability of the "Doctor" series."
Daily Telegraph said "the treatment is more farcical and scrappy but the laughs are there."
Filmink called it "breezy ‘50s British fun – in colour, full of high spirits, an accomplished cast well led by Dirk Bogarde, which cleverly rehashes events of the first film by redoing them at sea. Bogarde spends the majority of the film avoiding women, even Bardot, who is very cute and winning, like the whole movie really. It’s a sweet relic of a bygone era." ==Awards==