Behind the Fun

[Franklissa]

Hello all,

 

I have a question regarding the Behind the Fun tour. Is it offered on all ships? And if it is how would you go about booking it?

[beachbum53]

Hello all,

 

I have a question regarding the Behind the Fun tour. Is it offered on all ships? And if it is how would you go about booking it?

 

To the best of my knowledge, it's available on all ships. You book it at the purser's desk. Probably the best time would be on the evening of embarkation day (around dinner time), or the following morning. Availability is limited, and the tour fills up very quickly.

[dulcimergirl]

In addition, there is usually only one Behind the Fun tour per cruise. I think the limit on the Fantasy class ships is 16. I loved doing it, I'm highly interested in the goings on behind the scenes. I will do it now on every Carnival ship I get on.

It is usually on the last sea day. Look for me on the Paradise and Legend soon..

[Mrsdigi]

Hate to hijack, but does anyone know what the age limit is for the tour? My son will be six but is a budding engineer and would love to go if he could.

[Sheran]

What do you get to see and do on the tour?

[cuyahoga11]

Carnival’s “BEHIND THE FUN” Tour Unique Insight into the Line’s Shipboard Operations

 

For those who want an insider’s look at the inner-workings of a Carnival “Fun Ship,” we’ve created Behind the Fun, a guided tour that provides guests with a unique insight into Carnival’s shipboard operations.

 

Behind the Fun is offered fleetwide. On cruises 6 days or longer, a 3.5-hour tour offers participants an extensive behind-the-scenes look at a wide range of shipboard venues that are normally off limits to guests. During the tour, key shipboard personnel, including the captain, chief engineer, chef de cuisine and other department heads, share their vast knowledge in their particular area of expertise. (On 3, 4 or 5 day cruises, a shortened version of the tour may be offered, running approximately 2 hours.)

 

Behind the Fun begins with a stop backstage in the main show lounge where participants can see exactly what goes into creating Carnival’s award-winning revues. The tour then moves on to normally restricted areas such as the laundry room, crew galley and dining room, crew gym and crew training center.

 

Next it’s on to the expansive main galley where talented culinary artists prepare upwards of 12,000 meals and snacks per day for Carnival’s guests. The tour also includes a visit to the ship’s bridge and engine control room, and informative Q&A sessions with the captain and chief engineer, respectively.

 

In addition to a comprehensive overview of Carnival’s shipboard operations, Behind the Fun participants receive a number of commemorative gifts, including a custom-made Behind the Fun baseball cap and lanyard, a Team Carnival “Picture Perfect” book with stunning photographs of Carnival ships and destinations taken by the line’s employees, and even complimentary photos with the captain on the bridge.

 

Behind the Fun tours can only be booked onboard, through the ships’ Shore Excursion Desk. The cost is $95 USD per person and capacity is limited to 16 guests per tour. Guests must be 8 years old or older to participate; anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

 

General Information

 

• Tours are conducted on the last sea day of each cruise.

 

• Guests are not permitted to have cameras, cell phones or video recording equipment on the tour.

 

• Guests must be 8 or older to participate; anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

 

• The tour is approximately 3.5 hours for cruises 6 days or longer, with shorter versions possible, approximately 2 hours, for 3, 4 or 5 day cruises.

 

• The tour can only be purchased during your cruise through the Shore Excursion Desk, please stop by once onboard for specific date/time and exact pricing.

[ready2cruzagain]

You sign up for it at the excursions desk. If you wait until embarkation night or the next day it might be too late. The one we took was filled up within a couple of hours after the excursion desk opened on embarkation day.

 

I would recommend going to the excursion desk when you get on the ship and sign up then.

[lsp]

We did the Behind the Fun tour on the Breeze TA crossing and it was well worth it. Forget all the naysayers that say don't do it. We loved it. Just seeing the top of the boat where the captain is and the engine room (not actually where the engines are) is awesome. I would do it again in a heart beat. Plus, the captain and the other officers aren't bad to look at either. My only complaint was we had one person who kept asking really stupid questions to the point that several of us were rolling our eyeballs up behind her back, no one else could get a question in. One dumb a-- question was, what do you do if you come up on a sail boat??? Well, that sail boat better get out of the way of this really big boat is all I could think of. Do it if you can.

[Starlight Durban Cruising]

Hate to hijack, but does anyone know what the age limit is for the tour? My son will be six but is a budding engineer and would love to go if he could.

I stand under correction but I think it is 8 years of age - but you might be lucky ...

Please note that you do NOT visit the engine room - so if your son wants to see that then no-luck.

What do you get to see and do on the tour?

Visits:

- Galley

- Meat freezer

- Soda/Liquor storeroom (no samples :mad: )

- Laundry

- Towel folding room

- Central access zone down below in the hold (where all items are loaded on or off the ship)

- Engine CONTROL room

- Crew Dining room

- Crew training room

- Theater backstage

- the Bridge (Group photo taken with the captain)

- Crew recreation room.

 

There might be a few more that I have forgotten, but that is probably about it as listed above. It could also include more places on larger ships as I did the tour on the Inspiration last year.

Tour lasts between 2.5 and 3.5 hours depending on size of ship.

You will get group photo taken with the captain, lanyard, cap, wristband (similar to those Livestrong ones), and a plate of strawberries delivered to your cabin later. It was worth it to do it once.

 

NO cameras, phones or video allowed for security reasons.

[ready2cruzagain]

We did the Behind the Fun tour on the Breeze TA crossing and it was well worth it. Forget all the naysayers that say don't do it. We loved it. Just seeing the top of the boat where the captain is and the engine room (not actually where the engines are) is awesome. I would do it again in a heart beat. Plus, the captain and the other officers aren't bad to look at either. My only complaint was we had one person who kept asking really stupid questions to the point that several of us were rolling our eyeballs up behind her back, no one else could get a question in. One dumb a-- question was, what do you do if you come up on a sail boat??? Well, that sail boat better get out of the way of this really big boat is all I could think of. Do it if you can.

When we were on the Behind the Scenes tour we had 2 people like that!:eek: It was really annoying because they dominated the whole tour. Must be at least one on every tour lol.

[funfamilyfun]

Does anyone know the price for a 5 night cruise? We are going on the Triumph and for a 2 hour tour, I would hate to spend $99 per person. We were really interested in this tour. Thanks

[ILCruzr]

We did it on the destiny in 2009 and it was so fun. I think we paid 50 a person bc it was a 4 day cruise, can't remember. Just it's cool to see all the stuff behind the scenes and the kitchens, it's crazy! Well worth doing it once!

[Purplehaze21]

We did this tour on our last cruise. It was well worth the money! We saw so

many interesting things, Bridge being the most interesting.

The Captain showed us everything and he even pulled up

a ship that was close. We saw the ships name, where it

was going and why it was going there. I may be weird but

I found the Laundry Room really interesting.

 

We booked it as soon as we went on board. It sold out

really fast, as in by 3pm.

[Franklissa]

Thanks everyone for the great answers. Our next cruise is only a 4 day but I hope they offer it because it sounds really neat :D

[Starlight Durban Cruising]

Does anyone know the price for a 5 night cruise? We are going on the Triumph and for a 2 hour tour, I would hate to spend $99 per person.

We did it on the destiny in 2009 and it was so fun. I think we paid 50 a person bc it was a 4 day cruise, can't remember.

I paid $55 on the 3 day cruise in November. When I was on the 7 day in 2011 it was either $95 or $99, and so when I saw that it was $55 on this recent cruise I jumped at the opportunity to do it. After all if you take out the retail rate on the swag then it was probably something like a $35 tour. Not bad for the price.

[kingoftheicedragons]

Price depends on the ship, I believe, and what you can expect to see. We did this on the Victory during a 7-day southern itinerary, and the cost was $55. I think on a lot of the other ships, it's $95. It's about a three hour tour, and you do quite a bit of walking, but you do get served snacks during that time as well.

 

I would definitely recommend people who like cruising to take the tour at least once. You get to see a lot and you learn a lot.

 

You need to book it as soon as the excursion desk opens. The tour is limited to 16 people I believe, but it may be likely that they'll do two tours especially if there is a large demand. They will put your name down, but they can't actually sell you the excursion until you leave port because of taxes. I can't remember if you go back after you set sail to pay, or if they take your sail and sign card number right away and automatically bill you once you leave port. But as long as you get your name on the list, you're good to go.

 

Other areas you see that weren't previously mentioned...

The brig (walk past only)

The crew outside deck

The crew bar

The crew gym

Possibly crew quarters--if a steward is cleaning it and the door is open, but you can't go inside crew quarters.

[Pellaz]

I highly recommend the BtF Tour, especially if you have any interest in the inner workings of a large cruise vessel at sea. I've done it twice and will probably do it again on my next cruise.

 

As others have said, go to book it as soon as you board or shortly thereafter. There's a good chance it will fill up. AFAIK they don't have to wait until after they're at sea to charge it; on both of my cruises they have done so before sailaway.

 

Unfortunately it sounds like your 6-year old won't be able to attend...unless he's really big and mature for his age, anyway. :)

 

In addition, there is usually only one Behind the Fun tour per cruise. I think the limit on the Fantasy class ships is 16. I loved doing it, I'm highly interested in the goings on behind the scenes. I will do it now on every Carnival ship I get on.

It is usually on the last sea day.

 

On Imagination, there was just one tour, and it was the shorter version, but oddly, more informative; on Liberty, there were two tours and they were longer...but I think they added the second tour because one of the dancers' families was on the cruise and they wanted to take the tour. (I was envious, because it looked like their tour guide was more 'into it' than ours, who was a soft-spoken Asian lady.)

 

Other areas you see that weren't previously mentioned...

The brig (walk past only)

The crew outside deck

The crew bar

The crew gym

Possibly crew quarters--if a steward is cleaning it and the door is open, but you can't go inside crew quarters.

 

These are apparently included on the 'longer' tour, but not on the shorter one. The Steakhouse is also included on the longer/more expensive tours....no steak samples, but they did offer us a glass of champagne.

I think the "dividing line" (between short/long tours and the price differential) is whether the ship has a Steakhouse or not.

 

Some of the info posted above about the 'schwag' wasn't completely correct -- I didn't get a photo book with pics by Carnival employees on either tour. You WILL have photos taken of you with the captain on the bridge, either with the whole group (short tour) or group and individual (long tour). For our longer tour, there was also a group photo taken on the forward outside deck by the ship's bell. (They'll be delivered to your cabin the night of the tour.)

The longer tour also included a Carnival "backpack" as part of the schwag, but it's more of a stuff-sack than a true backpack. Still, it was big enough to hold a towel and some stuff. :cool:

[Starlight Durban Cruising]

You need to book it as soon as the excursion desk opens. The tour is limited to 16 people I believe, but it may be likely that they'll do two tours especially if there is a large demand. They will put your name down, but they can't actually sell you the excursion until you leave port because of taxes. I can't remember if you go back after you set sail to pay, or if they take your sail and sign card number right away and automatically bill you once you leave port. But as long as you get your name on the list, you're good to go.

Sounds right to me. I went to the Excursion Desk within 1 hour of boarding and wanted to book for the Behind the Fun Tour as well as a land tour. They gave me the ticket for the land tour immediately, and then sent the ticket for the BTF tour later via the steward. They did put me on the list for the tour as I was in the batch of 16, and they said they were contemplating that they may run a second tour. The charge for the BTF tour only surfaced the next day - they had taken down my S&S card # at the time when I made the booking.

[kingoftheicedragons]

 

 

These are apparently included on the 'longer' tour, but not on the shorter one. The Steakhouse is also included on the longer/more expensive tours....no steak samples, but they did offer us a glass of champagne.

I think the "dividing line" (between short/long tours and the price differential) is whether the ship has a Steakhouse or not.

 

 

Keep in mind, whether you want to call the tour on the Victory a "long" tour or a "short" tour, the places I mentioned as being included in the tour were on the Victory tour. The Victory does not have a steakhouse, so therefore by your definition would be classified as a "short" tour and most likely is. But it does also include the places that you mentioned as being only on the "long" tour.

[gamma5]

We did the Behind the Fun tour on the Breeze TA crossing and it was well worth it. Forget all the naysayers that say don't do it. We loved it. Just seeing the top of the boat where the captain is and the engine room (not actually where the engines are) is awesome. I would do it again in a heart beat. Plus, the captain and the other officers aren't bad to look at either. My only complaint was we had one person who kept asking really stupid questions to the point that several of us were rolling our eyeballs up behind her back, no one else could get a question in. One dumb a-- question was, what do you do if you come up on a sail boat??? Well, that sail boat better get out of the way of this really big boat is all I could think of. Do it if you can.

 

Oh gosh, that reminded me, the last time we did the Behind the Fun on the Fantasy, there was one woman that just would not give up! Her question, "Captain, I heard a big thump last night, what did we hit?" She kept on and on while the Captain kept trying to change the subject. BTW, we were in the MIDDLE of the ocean. She said she was SURE we had run aground and laid awake the rest of the night waiting for the alarms. Had to feel sorry for her because she was actually distressed. Although, it was kinda funny too! Poor Captain!

 

It is a fascinating tour though. My husband was just entralled by the engine room workings! It is not for the easily tired though as it is alot of walking and stairs.

[Pellaz]

Keep in mind, whether you want to call the tour on the Victory a "long" tour or a "short" tour, the places I mentioned as being included in the tour were on the Victory tour. The Victory does not have a steakhouse, so therefore by your definition would be classified as a "short" tour and most likely is.

 

Interesting; I'd have thought Victory would have a steakhouse. How much was your tour?

 

But it does also include the places that you mentioned as being only on the "long" tour.

 

If you got those (apparent) 'extras' on a lower-priced tour, that's awesome! :)

 

My experience between the two tours is that it wasn't so much the length of the tour, but the quality of the tour-guide and the various presenters. (Background noise in some places can be a factor, too.)

Our 'short' tour on the Imagination lasted nearly as long as the 'long' tour on Liberty, mainly due to some extra time spent in the galley and in Engineering Control (and THAT was awesome). Imagination's chief engineer did a better, longer presentation, and we all loved it.

 

You just never know. Which is why I'll probably do BtF again the next time, even though I said I wouldn't. :)

[Donna_In_India]

My husband just did the tour on the Breeze. He enjoyed it but said the woman who did the tour (from the hotel dept, I think?) could not answer most of the questions - including....how long was the ship. Seriously??? :eek: She kept saying "that's a good question"....

 

I booked the tour as soon as the excursion desk opened soon after we boarded.

[katskritter]

Does anyone know what time the excursion desk opens on embarkation day? I would like to book this as well on our cruise in three weeks.

[hillbillycruisers]

We did this tour last Nov. on the Triumph...and loved it!! It did seem a little pricey, and we were kinda iffy about wether we wanted to spend the extra $$$ on it...but afterwards were glad we did. It was very informative, and was interesting to see all the places normally off limits to passengers. Everyone we visited were very friendly, and seemed to go out of their way to answer questions and make us feel welcome. The parts I enjoyed most was the crews areas, the kitchen areas...and the bridge. The captain was especially friendly and seemed eager to answer our questions. I guess I was expecting him to be more stand-offish, but he was anything but! I think the cost is the same for a 7 day and a 5 day cruise. Ours was $95 for a 5 day cruise. Its something you may only do once, but you'll be glad you did!!:)

[CanWeGoYet?]

I got my tickets for the behind the fun tour at the guest services desk. I stopped by the evening of the first day, & was a little surprised that there were spots left. Also, the tour began at 9:30 AM. When I asked if there was a later time, I was told if more tours sold & they needed to add another time slot there would be a tour starting at 10AM & I could be switched to that time slot. And I did get the later time. It sounds like they were just trying to sell as many tickets as possible. I didn't count the number of people in our group, wish I had now. It looked to me more than 16, the group was large & if you were at the back it was hard to hear what the guide was saying.

 

On the 2nd part of our B2B, I heard the CD making announcements about this tour - this was on the 2nd day of the 3 day cruise.