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All Access Ship Tour


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My absolute favorite part of the tour was seeing the food and beverage storage areas! The presenter for that area gave us a rundown of the staggering numbers used for each product category, including frozen, fresh, dry foods and also beer, wine and liquor. I can't quote the quantities, but it just was amazing.

 

All the other areas were interesting as well, so if back of the house holds some appeal, don't hesitate to go. Think of it as an "excursion", one that is very interesting and informative!

Barb

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Has anyone been on a behind the scenes / all access ship tour before? Where do they take you and are you allowed to take photos during the tour.

 

I did an all access tour on a P&O ship (Ventura) and it was really good. Seems very similar to the experienced described by other posters on this thread. Definitely worth the money IMO.

 

I have done several behind the scene tours with RCL, the most recent being on the Oasis. These are small segments of the all access tour lasting less than an hour each. On the Oasis I did the galley and the bridge. These are complementary to guests D+ and something my sister managed to arrange. I am not sure whether it is available to all suite guests. Worth asking if you are in a suite.

 

You learn a lot, get to meet the officers and hear about their experiences. Also great opportunities to take pictures. The view from the bridge is great.

 

On our last bridge tour, I felt sorry for the officer showing us around. He was busy talking about the controls and how he navigates the ship. In the meantime my wife spotted a dolphin, the news spread and everyone was looking out of the window, ignoring the officer. The officer was for a moment unaware of the cause of the distraction. :)

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We went on the all access tour on the FOS last March. It lasted about 3 hours and there was lots of walking and standing, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought it very informative. I highly recommend it. Each area was so interesting especially the laundry, the galleys, and the bridge.

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I did the All Access Tour last week on the Serenade (10-day Caribbean), which took place on the final sea day before returning to FLL. I would agree with most of the comments that it was totally worthwhile. In my case, I don't spend much else onboard and if you compare $150 with the cost of a 50-minute treatment in the spa, then clearly the tour is a much better value.

 

On Serenade, we met outside Chops and were first shown the dedicated galleys for Chops and Giovannis, before heading down to the main galleys and provisions areas. Highlight for me was the central bakery, where everything is made from scratch onboard. The Chief Engineer spent a lot of time with us in the engine control room and the captain came out to say hello when we were on the bridge.

 

I wasn't on the tour for any souvenirs and I even turned back the badge so they could re-use it. Otherwise, no gift of any kind, which was fine with me.

 

I highly recommend this tour.

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Has anyone been on a behind the scenes / all access ship tour before? Where do they take you and are you allowed to take photos during the tour.

 

Did it on Quantum last March.

 

My wife was a bit skeptical at first; her concern was that we were going to be going near 'mechanical operations. We didn't.

 

The highlight for her was the 'restaurants' kitchens deep down under. She couldn't believe the 'quality of the food preparation. She doesn't impress easily, as she is a self-taught gourmet cook and made the same out of all three of our sons (their wives are happy). The meat (beef) preparation, and the technology linked timing of "what is ordered when statistically," blew her away with 'how they did it to end up with rare, medium rare, medium, medium well and well done "at the estimated times that they would be ordered."

 

For me, it was the Bridge. Learned quite a bit. The redundancy (physical maps) of navigation tools was quite impressive.

 

Also, we were complementary on the 'common areas for the staff and crew level arrangements; restaurant style eating, stores, bars, activities, etc. Very nicely done. The sleeping arrangements, however, made me tip my cap to the guide. I couldn't do it.

 

There were many other sections of the tour, these just stood out.

 

So, I hope this helps. We thought it was worth it.

 

Take a sweatshirt for the food storage; the cooler is, well, really cool.

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  • 6 months later...
I'm kind of a ship nut so I try to pick up the All Access Tour whenever I can. I think I've been on either 4 or 5 and I'm booking one on Anthem in June of '16. We are D+ so we get offered the 'free' tours, but they are only a small slice of what you see on the All Access Tour.

 

The tours are 'conducted' by a member of the Cruise Director's staff, but that person just escorts the tour folks around. The actual 'presenter' is someone (usually a junior officer but sometimes someone more senior) who is directly responsible for or involved in the particular area you might be viewing.

 

Two precautions: 1)Typically the All Access Tour won't run unless a minimum number of people sign up. That number has been between 10 and 15 - I've had one case where I signed up but the minimum wasn't reached and my money was refunded. 2)As mentioned by others, the usual duration is on the order of 3-4 hours. You are walking, going up and down stairs, and standing for almost the entire time. Make sure you are up to it.

 

I am scheduled to sail on the Adventure OS in a couple of weeks and have been thinking about this tour! Have you ever done the tour on the Adventure and was it worth it?

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  • 1 month later...
Hi could you tell me if its ok to take an iPad mini as your camera on the tour

As that's all I travel with now

 

Thanks for your feedback

Should be OK. Can only take pictures, no video. And no pictures of any security screening procedures before entering the engine control room or the bridge. Here is a link to ours from Mariner a few years ago so you know what to expect.

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  • 1 month later...

OK I'll pitch in again - my recent Radiance AAT was somewhat disappointing for $150.

 

Barely 2.5 hours, no meeting with the captain, and didn't get to visit the theatre at all. I think they substituted in the laundry [or is that a regular location?]. And the only thing you get is the lanyard/pass.

 

I really would've liked a chance to chat with Captain Tyrm and a few extra photos.

 

But at least the rest of the tour was interesting enough.

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One of the most enjoyable activities during our cruise on Allure the last week of November 2016. All the comments are correct so I will not repeat them. The only thing we were asked not to take pictures of were the various deck plans in I95 and elsewhere that showed the details of the crew areas; Explained it was for security purposes.

 

The engineering Control Room and Bridge portion of the tour was heavily escorted by ship security and we were "wanded" for metal before entering. Otherwise no issues on pictures, even I-95. Our tour guide was from the cruise Director staff but every station had an officer presenter.

 

Even though I am retired Navy and worked in shipyards, I found this a very worthwhile tour. DW enjoyed very much (her first cruise) and then I searched for the Freedom of the Seas new construction video on YouTube to show her when we got home -she got even more out of that having been on the tour.

 

The only thing I would have liked to see was the inside of a crew quarters; if just compare to current Navy berthing. The documentary had a very brief view of a tiered three bunks level. The guide stated most crew shared 2 man rooms with some individual rooms for senior crew. On way to bridge, we passed most of the officer staterooms; he noted they were individual and senior officers were large enough to have family join them.

 

Though we got backstage in the theater, I would have really enjoyed getting backstage of the Aqua-Theater also! :-(

 

One thing our tour guide did reveal... the Allure that week was on a Medical level 3 (of 5); he stated that meant there had been on average at least 6 new people during a 12 hour period coming to the Ships Doctor with gastrointestinal issues. When asked he said a level 2 would have been 10 new cases every 12 hours. We had a delay on boarding of a few hours due to intensive cleaning of the ship on turn-around day. When asked he stated it was the third week in a row of Level 3. As noted in other threads, the crew was always brushing down all bannisters and door handles with heavy disinfectant and offering sanitizing lotion from large bottles before entering almost all dining and when re-boarding the ship when in port.

Edited by Rubicon55
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  • 5 months later...

I took the tour on IOS, and it was very good, Its al subjective I think, I found too much time was spent behind the scenes in the Theatre, but then again I guess other people loved this... The galley and i95 brilliant.. the only downside for me is that on booking it I didn't realise it was the same time as we sailed through the straight of gibraltar and I would have preferred to have spent that time on deck having a look!

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Did you all bring your children on the tour? Is it the same cost? I'm considering taking my 9 and 10 yo since it's just the three of us on the cruise.

 

We did not bring our kids when we went since it's so pricey. They would have enjoyed it, but everyone pays the same price.

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