Cruise behind the scenes

[benalexe]

Just got off the oasis and they had a behind the scenes tour of the ship where you get to see the private parts of the ship including crews quarters systems engine room etc. the cost was $150 per person and I tried to sign up but was sold out in minutes, I am so hungry for knowledge on he this industry works. Wondering if anyone can reccomemd a behind the scenes book that give an inside look into the cruise industry ships etc.

 

 

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[MisterMom]

Where/when did you try to sign up? I'm sailing this summer and really looking forward to taking this tour.

[Docdan48]

We just got off the Jewel of the Seas on Dec 8th. My wife and I had tried to take this tour on the Freedom but due to a conflict we could not. When we boarded the Jewel we immediatly signed up for this tour. We were charged $ 150.00 each . The tour was good as we did see areas of the ship not accessible to the general public. We could not go back stage in the theater since they were rehearsing the new stage show. Upon completion they gave us a canvas bag and a glass of champagne. We discussed the tour with the other participants and all came to the conclusion that even if it was interesting it was way overpriced.

[matj2000]

$150 to look at crew areas.

Sounds pretty pricey to look around, then again people go crazy for bingo and inches of gold.

NCL gave a free bridge tour for everyone on the CC group...

[Merion_Mom]

1. It is called the All Access Tour.

 

2. I wandered into the crew area on deck 1 by mistake on Wednesday. Oops. Rather interesting. All of the cabin corridors have "street" names.

[Discodaisy]

I went to the theatre tour on the Radiance. It was very interesting, went for about 1 & 1/2 and it was free.

[benalexe]

So any books?

 

 

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[Lloyd555]

So any books?

 

 

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Googled "cruise ship behind the scenes" and came up with articles and videos, and got caught up looking at them.

 

As for books, some of the first Google finds were "The Truth About Cruise Ships - A Cruise Ship Officer Survives the Work, Adventure, Alcohol, and Sex of Ship Life" and "Cruise Confidential: A Hit Below the Waterline: Where the Crew Lives, Eats, Wars, and Parties. One Crazy Year Working on Cruise Ships (Travelers' Tales)".

There are likely a few other books available. Let us know what you find.

[erbunny]

It does sound pricey, but interesting.

 

We took free backstage tours on Monarch and Voyager that were fascinating. All those costume and wig changes take place in a space about the size of my bathroom at home.

[LoneStarJeffe]

There are a lot of videos showing engine rooms and crew areas. I probably would not pay $150 to see them live.

 

What I find fascinating is the economics of a 1. billion dollar cruise ship and how it generates profits. There was an interesting show following an NCL cruise and tracking how the made a profit for a 7 day cruise. Weather affected several ports and they ended up making a profit because of alcohol and gambling offsetting the loss of the port excursion fees.

 

If everyone on board did not drink or gamble and just used only what was included in the cruise fare, the ship would book a loss for that trip. it is pretty amazing how efficient they are at getting people to pay more during the cruise. I know I do. :)

[trev71]

150$ to see the behind scenes of the Oasis ? No thanks i barely had enough time to check out the stuff I was allowed to see on the ship. 150$ is way over priced.

[wscott52]

So, I'm curious, what would be a fair price for the All Access tour? I'm a techy nerdy sort of guy and would enjoy seeing behind the scenes but not for $150.00. I would really love to see the bridge since I ran a 50' boat in the 1980s. I'm thinking I would probably pay $50.00 without a qualm, maybe even $75.00, but beyond that I'll probably pass. If you've done it, what do you think it's worth? I mean after all it doesn't cost RCCL more than a few bucks for the souvenier and champagne.

[labcruiser]

Just off of Oasis - my husband and 18 year old son both did the All Access tour. $150 is expensive--- but they both enjoyed it tremendously and thought it was well worth it! They looked at it as an excursion - it lasted over 3 hours. Our zip line in Labadee was about $90 a person and lasted about 3 minutes! So for the techie geeky kind of guys that they are it was perfect!! They learned a lot and came back with lots of interesting facts.

 

By the way, there is a great show on Nova or PBS about the building and operations of the ship. I don't recall what it is called but I know we have watched it a couple of times. I don't know of any books though.

[Ocean Boy]

Interesting that the crew would probably much rather have accomodations like the passengers have and that the passengers will actually pay to go to the crew's area.

[Pete B]

$150 for a ship tour !

If RC can make a mint out of this then good luck to them but they wont be seeing my 150.

I just looked at excursions for our stay in Dubrovnik next year and I can can get all 3 of us on a cable car trip and an old town tour for less then 100 dollars. Where do they justify this money for a ship tour ?

 

Bah Humbug !

[B_Mc]

I did it on the Jewel and thought it was a fantastic tour. I'd much rather do this tour than drink or gamble $150! An hour in the spa can run you the same price!

 

I asked about the high cost - it is partly to cover the overtime of the people in each department who speak with you (they are all off duty) and partly to attract the "right" people.

[Ocean Boy]

I did it on the Jewel and thought it was a fantastic tour. I'd much rather do this tour than drink or gamble $150! An hour in the spa can run you the same price!

 

I asked about the high cost - it is partly to cover the overtime of the people in each department who speak with you (they are all off duty) and partly to attract the "right" people.

 

Interesting. Overtime on a cruise ship. The 40 hr. work week makes its way to RCI's ships.

[juiceman]

Just got off the oasis and they had a behind the scenes tour of the ship where you get to see the private parts of the ship including crews quarters systems engine room etc. the cost was $150 per person and I tried to sign up but was sold out in minutes, I am so hungry for knowledge on he this industry works. Wondering if anyone can reccomemd a behind the scenes book that give an inside look into the cruise industry ships etc.

 

 

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That's interesting that your's sold out within minutes. I was able to do the All Access Tour on my Allure cruise back in November & signed up for it on the Tuesday afternoon of my cruise. There were about 14 other people in my group (first group on Friday morning). Some of them may have been

Diamond Plus or Pinnacle members, however. They also had another group right after mine, plus one or two on Saturday morning. I thought it was well worth it & a good way to kill three hours on a sea day.

[LAatl]

There's a bunch of stuff on youtube.com try searching there

[Docdan48]

I did it on the Jewel and thought it was a fantastic tour. I'd much rather do this tour than drink or gamble $150! An hour in the spa can run you the same price!

 

I asked about the high cost - it is partly to cover the overtime of the people in each department who speak with you (they are all off duty) and partly to attract the "right" people.

 

I have to disagree with you. On our tour everyone that spoke with us was on duty at the time. From the 3rd officer on the bridge,the crew in the engine control room, the chef in the kitchen and even the laundry officer. Also what do you mean the "right people"?

[juiceman]

I have to disagree with you. On our tour everyone that spoke with us was on duty at the time. From the 3rd officer on the bridge,the crew in the engine control room, the chef in the kitchen and even the laundry officer. Also what do you mean the "right people"?

 

They want to prevent those dirty steerage class plebes??? :confused:;):):D:p

[MisterMom]

So any books?

 

 

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I have quite the library to "hold me over" between cruises. Here's my preferred listing of "behind the scenes on a cruise ship" literature:

 

Chronicles of a Cruise Ship Crew Member - as told from the perspective of a band member

Cruise Confidential; a hit below the waterline - an American tries to survive as a waiter on the cruise lines

Cruise Quarters -

Cruise Ship Confidential - not really behind the scenes but a good read nonetheless

Permanent Passenger - told from the perspective of an asst cruise director

The Purser - tales of a purser on a luxury cruise line

Ship for Brains - follow up to Cruise Confidential when the author becomes an art auctioneer

The Truth About Cruise Ships - a ship IT guy

Unsinkable Mister Brown - follow up to Cruise Confidential - not really cruiseline specific

 

I also captured this picture on the Oasis of a crew stairwell. I'd love to hang out on Deck 18 in "Blown Away."

 

[Docdan48]

They want to prevent those dirty steerage class plebes??? :confused:;):):D:p

 

Thanks Juiceman, That clears up my question. LOL

[Sharkb8]

We did the All Access tour on Freedom a few weeks back and the package included lunch, two dinner reservations (Chops or Portofino), bag w/apron and luggage tags, champagne at the end. Very enjoyable and well worth it, in our opinion. Hubby loved the bridge/engineering parts, I loved the kitchen/pantry parts, good stuff. Our hostess said that the Captain tries to meet every tour, which is rare (for most captains, I guess). One tour that week, we made reservations online prior to sailing.

 

So, I'm curious, what would be a fair price for the All Access tour? I'm a techy nerdy sort of guy and would enjoy seeing behind the scenes but not for $150.00. I would really love to see the bridge since I ran a 50' boat in the 1980s. I'm thinking I would probably pay $50.00 without a qualm, maybe even $75.00, but beyond that I'll probably pass. If you've done it, what do you think it's worth? I mean after all it doesn't cost RCCL more than a few bucks for the souvenier and champagne.

[OPSoccermom]

We did the tour on the Dec 15th Oasis sailing and found it very interesting. The tour is limited to 30 people per cruise, split into 2 tours. Suite guests get first opportunity to book and it books quickly. Our concierge, Francis, contacted us to see if we were interested.

 

Highlights included a backstage look at the Aquatheater with the stage manager, galley tour, engine room. the laundry area, meeting with the head of human resources about the experience of the crew, and time on the helipad while under full sail. During the engine room tour, an engineer explained the fuleing process in St Maartin. My favorite parts were the time on the bridge (the captain was on the bridge to answer questions, and there was a missing passenger at the time which made things interesting) and the time spent on the crew deck and touring the areas around I-95 including the cold and frozen storage areas. My son is a food a beverage manager for a baseball team, and got to discuss food purchasing, etc. with one of the managers - very interesting.

 

Would recommend it - if you are Diamond or are a suite guest, check with a concierge as soon as you can after boarding.