Ultimate Ship Tour **Review**

[ChuckinSC]

In reference to the tour not running due to lack of interest. I'm sorry to hear this. As you can see, my wife and I'll be on the CP in less than 2 weeks. One of the things we're looking forward to is this tour. It will be very disappointing if it doesn't materialize.

Edited July 16, 2011 by ChuckinSC

[BratDet]

kitchen galley tour...and also a Backstage Tour...

 

Having done the free version, and the paid version- the paid version is much more in depth...

 

Bernadette

[janina]

Great review, thanks.:)

[caribill]

WoW....came across this post and was shocked....we had a tour of the galley....and the bridge tour was free...We also took a tour of the "behind the scenes" stage tour in the theatre~~free too!! This was both on Carnival and RCCL!!

 

If anyone is staying in a suite, I would ask the concierge about a tour of what u want to see, and you might be surprised...;)

 

Did your tour include up to a half hour presentation by the department head in the galley and backstage? Did it include the medical center, laundry area, print shop, photo shop, engine control room, each with a department head explaining how the department works?

 

Princess does not have a concierge for suite passengers.

[caribill]

Exactly! Why not charge $50 per person and give the tour to 20 people instead of charging the ridiculous $150pp and have no one go on it! What a lame idea.

 

 

Some of the areas visited cannot hold 20 people. Even with just 12 people it can be crowded.

 

Nearly 100% of the people who have posted about the UST have said it was worth the cost.

[SuzanneE]

Do they allow wheelchairs on this tour as it sounds like a lot of walking. Did you ever use your chef's jacket? Thanks for all the info.....it's great!

[Janet Foster]

There are lots of stair climbing and you have to go through steel door openings that are rounded and have a curved lip to climb through so I would not recommend this for a wheelchaired individual. The letter they sent to me stated the tour could be physically challenging. I would sure ask at the Passenger's Desk.

 

All in all it was a great tour but I only needed to see it once.....

 

Janet

[suzyed]

Great summary of the tour!

 

One quick caveat for people reading this later, the locations may vary slightly from ship to ship and tour to tour. For example, we were not able to go up on the funnel when we did it due to crosswinds.

We got to visit all the places mentioned above on the Ruby.

 

I wish they had an option of doing the tour at a reduced price, with out all the goodies...I would love to tour again, but don't need any more of the ''stuff"

[suzyed]

The robe I'd use every morning after my shower but the chef jacket will be useless to me. Anyone want to bid on ebay? :)

That's a great idea...how much are you going to ask for yours?? I will price mine the same! LOL;)

[suzyed]

Just did this yesterday on the Coral. It was well worth the $150 to us. It was a bit rocky at the start but we trudged on. We brought our small cameras but it wasn't mentioned if we could take photos or not, so we didn't. I was very impressed with the Captain and the amount of time he gave us and the questions he answered. We were on the land tour prior to the cruise and we didn't arrive at the ship until 7:30 pm (boarding began at 1:00.) As soon as we got on board we went to passenger services and signed up. We were the first to sign up. Passenger services said our group size was 12 but we had an hour time change the night before so it seems some people backed out. We ended up with only 8 on the tour. When we signed up for the tour we had to write down our size.

I don't remember seeing where to put your size prior to the tour, but when we got ours and mine was WAY big, I asked for a smaller one and they brought it to our cabin.

[Bopper155]

Been reading lots of nice comments about the Princess Ultimate Ship Tour. My twist - is there any recommendation for what NOT to do? I plan on signing up as soon as practical once on-board. Thanks in advance.

[Gmanfl]

I did the same tour on the Emerald this past April and agree it was worth every penny. I thought of it as an on board excursion plus all the souveniers. We didn't get a chefs jacket,we were given a very nice embroidered apron. Our tour ended in the Adagio Lounge with Champagne and Canapés. Might try to do it again on the CB in October.

[floridarob]

When I worked on the Golden at the desk, I used to recommend this tour to anyone that asked for a "facts" sheet about the ship because this meant they had an interest in this type of stuff. They would ALWAYS come back after and thank me.

 

Also, if you have a balcony, the Balcony Dining Experience (I've never done it myself) has had great reviews from guests.

 

Capt. Lubrano looks, acts and walks more like a soccer player or boxer to me and has a VERY pretty wife.

 

Someone mentioned Marco Fortesse (sp?).... he is now a Fleet Captain and I have cruised with him many times as a passenger, so many funny stories and pictures together.

 

 

Ahhh, but talking about the price of the UST... sure you can get the free tour of the galley and backstage, but doesn't compare to the personalized feel of this tour. Just figure the cost (if you were to buy) the 5 photos, chef coat, robe and the other stuff... the tour is practically a zero cost and there is not a rule that you must take the stuff with you ;)

 

If it was free then everyone would do it.... reminds me of all the people at the Capt Circle party or Champagne waterfall having the free stuff but would never think of buying a drink, lol

[Smokeyham]

Just got off the Star Princess, and here is my review of the Ultimate Ship's Tour:

 

On our second sea day we met at 8:30 AM at Crooners bar. We handed in our liability forms and were introduced to a staff member from the Cruise Directors staff and a security officer who would be accompanying the 11 of us who had signed up. The cost is $150 per person, and I thought it was well worth it.

We headed off to see the Ship’s Medical Center and the ship’s doctor gave us a presentation and showed us the facility. From there we went to see behind the scenes on the ship’s stage and cast areas. We were taken through the control both and given a presentation by the stage manager. From there we went to see the ship’s fo’c’sle, which is where the anchors and mooring lines are stored and deployed. We also got to see the ship’s laundry (7,000 towels a day are washed), and the print shop, ship’s galley, and the provisioning and food storage areas, as well as the Engine and Control Room and the Ship’s Bridge. It was fun to get to walk down the “M1” which is the passage which runs down the center of the ship. At each stop the presentation was very good and on the bridge we met Captain and were given a very good presentation by a Third Officer.

During the tour you may not take any photograph’s, but a ship’s photographer took five group photos which were later given to us. Since I did not know any of the other people in the group the group photos didn’t mean much, but they do help to remember what we saw.

We ended the tour in the “Hearts and Minds” ship’s chapel, were we were given champagne (or orange juice) and hors d’oeuvres. This was also a chance to ask more about what shipboard life is like for the staff and to learn about how their contracts work.

Later that afternoon we had some gifts delivered to our cabins. These were: the five group photos, a nice photo frame capable of holding a 10” x 8” photo, a nice fluffy robe, a tote bag and a Princess cooking apron. I had particularly want to do the ship’s tour on this voyage because I did not have to worry about luggage weight since I was not flying. The total weight of the gifts was 5.8 lbs.

You might note that the personalized stationery and a Princess chef’s coat were not provided. Not sure what I would do with a chef’s coat, so the apron is more practical. Also, we did not get to see the funnel, but on Star the Sports deck is just short of the top of the funnel, so you do have access to the view.

One suggestion... You should be able to walk at a normal pace to keep up with the group. One person in our group was very overweight and huffed and puffed her way through the tour. Everyone was very gracious and waited for her as needed, but it could not have been too much fun for her.

[SoCal Cruise Fan]

Thanks so much for your review. My wife and I are sailing on the Ruby Princess in December for our 25th anniversary, amd we are really excited about taking this tour. I hope they are offering it during our cruise. Thanks again.

[ChuckinSC]

We've took the tour on the Crown with captain Nash - worth every bit considering the robe, jacket, etc.. Just a thought, but if it was inexpensive there would be too many guests wanting to participate creating a lot of problems. I'm sure the tour has to be at least a little disruptive to the crew.

[caribill]

Thanks so much for your review. My wife and I are sailing on the Ruby Princess in December for our 25th anniversary, amd we are really excited about taking this tour. I hope they are offering it during our cruise. Thanks again.

 

Just go to the Purser's Desk ASAP after embarkation and sign up for it.

[mmckm]

Got to do the tour on our last cruise. We had tried 3 times previously and they did not do the tour because not enough people signed up. It is well worth the $150, the best value on the ship. We got the apron instead of the coat which was better as far as I'm concerned. Maybe they have changed and are giving aprons now. We didn't get to the funnel which was not big deal. Everything else was very interesting, getting to see the forward mooring station and being explained how they go about tying up the ship was the best part for me.

[cruiseintoheaven]

We did this on the Regal in 2014. DH and I are both big on "behind the scenes/how things work" so we enjoyed it very much. I still use my stationary. The robes, which are very plush and heavy, are fun to wear occasionally - especially as a hint that I'm ready to book a cruise! [emoji16]

 

 

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[Zooguy]

I took the tour on the Royal in February 2016. It was overpriced for what the tour provided. We had a small group of 10 persons. The take always were several photos of people you don't know, stationary, a waffle fabric robe which is thin not plush, and an apron which was the best item in the group. The tour was nothing special, some of which you could experience on your own. I sure wouldn't do it again or recommend it.

[Montrealais]

Janet Foster

 

 

« Main Laundry --This was really facinating (and loud) you will meet the laundry master and will see this impressive operation in action. Participants will also receive a luxurious bath robe usually reserved for suite passengers. (This is delivered to your cabin later that evening). »

 

 

« I loved all the gifts especially my nice plush.. (very very plush) bathrobe. If you decide this is something you want to do, be sure to bring along a collaspible back pack or duffle bag to put your robes in. They sure took up a lot of room! »

 

 

:confused: :confused: :confused:

 

Afterthought: maybe the second quote refers to the packing after the cruise? If so, forget about this post!

Edited June 23, 2016 by Montrealais

[Deeleedog]

Want ed to try to book us and my inlays on this on our San Francisco Hawaii cruise this October. Great review and now I hope to get it booked and that there are enough others wanting to book it help it to happen. This and the Chefs table dinner will be 2 surprises for the In laws. We are taking them on this trip as our gift to them.

[Deeleedog]

Took this tour on the Hawaii cruise we just came off of. So worth doing. The Chefs table was also very very much worth doing.

 

 

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[framer]

For the photographers wanting to take photos, I took a Nikon D3s w/ a 17-35 f/2.8 lens, no flash attached. I just asked if I could snap a photo here and there and was never refused.

 

I made sure not to slow the group down.

 

That a BIG camera, no hiding it...

 

framer

[RyanR1982]

How do you apply for this?

 

 

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