Behind-the-Scenes Ship Tour

[Alex81]

As anybody done the "Inside Access Behind-the-Scenes Ship Tour"?

On my last cruise I hesitated to do so... It seemed pricey for what it was.

 

Was it worth it?

I would be curious to see the engine bay area.

[mazza]

No, but we are planning to do it on our cruise in 2 weeks. I thought the price was okay given it was the tour plus lunch. Anyway, I'm a sucker for behind the scenes tours!

[Alex81]

But I don't see how the lunch is adding any value since we already have free lunches on board.

But still... it seems interesting. On Celebrity Website, is says that the number of tours are limited to one or two per sailing and are limited to 15 persons.

We need to book with Guest Relations desk on board.

I am wondering if we can book online.... it sucks because their site is down tonight....

[Andy]

We need to book with Guest Relations desk on board.

I am wondering if we can book online.... it sucks because their site is down tonight....

 

Hi Alex,

 

Im fairly certain the "behind the scenes tour" cannot be booked in advance. It's something you should inqure about, with Guest Relations on Day 1 of your cruise. I hope this helps !

[mazza]

But I don't see how the lunch is adding any value since we already have free lunches on board.

 

Assume it's a 'higher' standard that the buffet for example, and includes wine. Others who have done it already might be able to enlighten us.

 

It can't be booked online unfortunately.

[fleckle]

I can't see paying extra to tour the bridge or galley or theater backstage or engine control room since those tours were all provided on Celebrity cruises previously at no charge.

 

It looks like someone just thought up a new gimmick to generate additional revenue by combining them all into one tour, tossing in some additional behind-the-scenes spots and a meal, and charging for it.

 

I remember hearing that another cruise line was charging their passengers for such tours back when we were getting them on Celebrity for free.

 

[micmacmissy]

What is the cost of the full tour?

 

We did a galley tour (for free) by asking the matire d' about it- he arranged it for us, and it was great!

[ghstudio]

If you have enough credits to be captains club elite, they almost always have a by navigation elite private backstage tour.

[ozark74]

They have had free galley tours on all of the Solstice cruises we have been on this year. They have it published in the dailies no secret.

[voyager90265]

I did it on the Equinox Eastbound TA last year. You must book it onboard via Guest Relations. I believe it was $150 for the tour and lunch in Tuscan Grill.

 

The tour takes 4+ hours including lunch. It starts in the conference room next to Sky Lounge and includes the Bridge, the helo landing pad, the outdoor crew bar just below the helo deck, the anchor storage areas, backstage of the theater, the MDR galley, a walk along "I-95" which is the below decks passage way that runs the length of the ship, the cold storage areas, food prep areas, crew lounges, crew mess, engine control room. In each area a crew member from that space does a brief presentation about the area and in the case of the galley some food prep demonstrations. On the bridge we were fortunate to get the First Officer and were able to spend about 30 minutes watching the operations.

 

Following the tour you proceed to Tuscan where there is a full lunch with wine pairings if you so desire with a senior officer. In our case, we had the Hotel Director.

 

Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed it as I am a bit of a ship nerd. The crew put a lot of work into the tour and present a fascinating insight into crew life and how these glorious vessels operate. I particularly enjoyed being able to meet crew members outside the passenger areas and chat with them. The engine control area was a favorite because we were able to see closed circuit tvs showing the inside of the pods underway.

 

The tour usually takes place on the final sea day from 10 until after 2pm.

[picture]

So can you take your camera on this tour & take photo's?

[Esprit]

So can you take your camera on this tour & take photo's?

 

Yes. I got some great pictures from the bridge. We were allowed to take pictures in all the areas we visited (including the engine control room with all the webcam images). I even took a picture of the crew notice board with the various job availabilities.

 

The tour was well worth it.

[Bailey & Sophie]

So this tour co-incides with the buffet lunch on the last sea day?

[rkacruiser]

The description by voyager90265 is very accurate. I did the tour on Celebrity Eclipse and found it to be very interesting. Being able to talk with Senior crew members in their own departments provides insights to a guest that one would never be able to acquire.

 

Our Tuscan Grill lunch was delicious with a menu offered from which one could choose. A never empty wine glass was a welcome feature. Each table had an officer as a host; mine was the Human Relations woman who provided a still different view of shipboard operations.

 

I highly recommend the experience!

[keesar]

I can remember a few years ago that the tours were free. I was shocked to find out that they were charging for the tours. It has to be a revenue generating strategy.

[Alex81]

Wow… it seems very interesting! I am going to book it for sure! I am glad that we can take pictures.

Since I already have access to Blu which I love, I don’t see the point in paying extra for a dinner in other specialty restaurants. But since with this tour, we lunch at Tuscan Grill, it will be interesting to try it out.

I remember last year in the Eclipse, they had a presentations in Comedy Central by the engineer and officers about the technical aspects of the boat. It was fascinating to understand how it was operated. I love the fact that we were only 15-20 people attending. We could ask all the questions we wanted.

[rkacruiser]

Alex81,

 

I attended one of those sessions in Comedy Central and found them interesting as well. Really enjoyed being in a small group as well. That is one of the major advantages of the Behind the Scenes tour: it is limited in number so everyone can hear and see without undue strain. You'll love the experience!

[fleckle]

I can remember a few years ago that the tours were free. I was shocked to find out that they were charging for the tours. It has to be a revenue generating strategy.

I agree. On the free tours, we also took photos and got time to talk with the senior crew members and officers in each of the various departments we visited.

 

They limited the size of the groups as well.

Often the tours were organized by the Captain's Club Hostess.

When there were lot of people who wanted to take a tour, they just split us up and ran multiple separate tours.

 

They also offered us free snacks and choice of wine or mimosas or orange juice, and often chocolate covered strawberries at the end of the tour.

 

I prefer the way they used to take us to visit different areas of the ship on separate tours on different days instead of combining them all into one longer tour and charging for it.

[voyager90265]

So can you take your camera on this tour & take photo's?

 

Oh absolutely! I think by the time it was over I had snapped a couple hundred photos.