Just off the CB - did the UST, crab shack and AI beverage package...any questions?

[MicCanberra]

Its on the Princess website, just put in Ultimate ship tour in the main page search box.....

 

Princess Cruises Offers Rare Behind-the-Scenes Access to Ship Operations with "Ultimate Ship Tour"

 

 

Most cruise ship guests enjoying a relaxing cruise vacation know there’s a bustle of activity behind the scenes, but few have gotten an up-close look at these inner workings. However, with Princess Cruises’ Ultimate Ship Tour, guests have an exclusive opportunity to experience an array of “back of house” areas that are key to a ship’s daily operations.

This pioneering concept gives guests the unique opportunity to explore beyond the public areas with visits to the ship’s engine control room, medical center, incinerator room, print shop, laundry, photo lab, bridge and other spaces for a rare insider’s view of many areas typically seen only by the ship’s crew. Participants also receive a variety of themed mementos at many of the stops along the route.

The Ultimate Ship Tour lasts approximately three hours, and is offered once or twice per cruise on a sea day. Space is limited for the tour, which is available for $150 per person, and can be reserved onboard at the Passenger Services Desk. The tour is available on most Princess ships.

 

 

 

 

The innovative tour features:

• Back Stage Area – Guests start the tour with a glimpse behind the glitz in the Princess Theater, home to Princess’ sparkling stage productions. They’ll meet the cast and production staff, who will show them all that goes into making sure the show goes on night after night – including costumes and dressing areas, scenery and technical operations such as lighting and sound.
  
• Galley and Food Production Areas – In the galley, guests will meet the executive chef, learn about the process of providing thousands of guests meals each day, and see the inner workings of the ship’s kitchen areas while enjoying a glass of French champagne and canapés. In addition, guests will get a peek into some of the ship’s vast food storage and production areas, each specially equipped and temperature-controlled for a specific type of food. Each guest will also be presented with an official chef’s jacket.
  
• Engine Control Room – At the center of the vessel’s mechanical and electrical systems, the engine control room is where the ship’s technical team monitors everything from the operation of the ship’s propellers to the water supply in each stateroom. Participants will meet the chief technical offer and his staff who will explain the numerous functions overseen by the control room, including the vast amount of power generated to operate the ship.
  
• Incinerator Room – The ship’s environmental officer will show guests just what happens to the waste discarded during the cruise. Participants will see first-hand how all garbage is sorted onboard and how waste streams are processed for recycling or proper shore side disposal.
  

• Print Shop – Guests will see where their daily Princess Patter, among other things, is produced. The ship’s printer will meet the group and demonstrate the printing equipment and explain which materials guests see each day are printed right onboard. To mark their visit, each guest will receive their own set of personalized stationery printed on board.
  
• Photo Laboratory – Princess was the first cruise line to go completely digital, and each ship operates a full photo lab with the latest in digital printing equipment. The group will meet the ship’s photo staff and learn how they manage the thousands of pictures taken and printed each day. Participants might even see their own smiling faces print out during their visit.
  
• Medical Center – The ship’s doctor will meet the group to show them the state-of-the-art medical facilities, including treatment rooms, laboratory facilities, critical care unit, and x-ray room. Participants will learn how the ship’s doctors and nurses – all full-time maritime medicine specialists – keep both guests and crew healthy and handle medical emergencies. They’ll also learn about the most common reasons guests visit the medical center.
  
• Main Laundry – The ship’s onboard laundries operate 24 hours a day to wash tons of guest and crew linens, towels, and clothing – including more than 20,000 towels a day alone. Here visitors 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 guests.
  
• Funnel – The group will then travel to the upper most deck of the ship to join the staff captain for the opportunity to peek inside the ship’s funnel area high atop the vessel, where they will be treated to spectacular views of the ship and the surrounding ocean.
  
• Bridge – The tour concludes at the ship’s command center, where guests will meet the captain and his bridge team and learn about the state-of-the-art navigational equipment and safety systems on board. Guests will also take in the dramatic front-of-ship views from the bridge’s wraparound windows, while they enjoy special refreshments and pose with the captain at the ship’s wheel for a complimentary photo. The framed photo and a tour completion certificate signed by the captain will later be delivered to each participant’s stateroom.
  

I have always wanted to get on one of these tours but thye have been sold out before I can get on on it.:( Will attempt again to do one next year, sixth times a charm.

[YehWereCrusing]

How about the Pub Lunch ..... was it offered?

 

I want to try the Crab Shack, but am really fond of the fish & chips at the Pub Lunch.

 

Maybe I will get to do both on my upcoming CB cruise, if I am lucky!

 

The pub lunch was offered twice (both sea days) - I had the fish and chips which were excellent (I am very particular about fish and it tasted very fresh to me) and the DH had the bangers and mash which he also enjoyed.

The Crab Shack was offered on two evenings.

[YehWereCrusing]

Will be on Caribbean princess in 24 days!!! What cabin were you in? Who is Cruise Director and what did you think of them? Can you comment on entertainment?Thanks.

 

E301...we were upgraded to a handicapped room (obstructed oceanview) which was extremely spacious. Very nice room.

The Cruise Director is Lee Childers - we did not go to any of the Princess production shows, only the magician and comedian - the magician (Landon Swank) was very good, the comedian was just OK IMHO. We spent most of our evenings at Crooners preferring conversation and drinks to shows. Plenty going on during the day...there was as much or as little going on as one wanted to participate in, more I felt than our previous cruise on the Ruby.

[YehWereCrusing]

Hi and thanks for all your great info re your cruise ! Could you tell me what nights were formal nights? What shore excursions did you do? Did you go to Cafe Caribe any other nights? Thanks

 

Formal nights were first sea day and Grand Cayman.

We did the following excursions:

Jamaica - "Paradise Cove, Swim & Scenic Coastal Cruise" through Princess

Grand Cayman - "Stingray Snorkel and Cayman Highlights" through Princess

Cozumel - "Cozumel Barhop" booked on our own

If you want to know about any of these just let me know

 

No, we did not eat in Horizon or Cafe Caribe at all other than when we attended the Crab Shack

[YehWereCrusing]

I have always wanted to get on one of these tours but thye have been sold out before I can get on on it.:( Will attempt again to do one next year, sixth times a charm.

 

I went first thing to Passenger Services, before even eating lunch and put my name on the list. We only had 8 in our group so I think it was just not very popular on our sailing as I have heard a group of 12 is the norm, could be wrong.

[MicCanberra]

I went first thing to Passenger Services, before even eating lunch and put my name on the list. We only had 8 in our group so I think it was just not very popular on our sailing as I have heard a group of 12 is the norm, could be wrong.

Cheers, I will try again and get there as soon as possible.

I have tried this strategy but seem to have missed out. Someone told me that status may matter and preference goes to those who are Elite rather than Ruby or Platinum.

[lovevacadays]

Thanks for posting your thoughts. Sounds like you had a great cruise.:):):)

[lexyplexy]

Cheers, I will try again and get there as soon as possible.

I have tried this strategy but seem to have missed out. Someone told me that status may matter and preference goes to those who are Elite rather than Ruby or Platinum.[/qu

 

 

Don't think is necessarily true, my DH was able to go on the UST when it was only our 2nd cruise.

He went with my BIL his 3rd and a friend and it was his first. I think it comes down to first come first served. We registered when we boarded.

 

Good luck!!

[MicCanberra]

Cheers, I will try again and get there as soon as possible.

I have tried this strategy but seem to have missed out. Someone told me that status may matter and preference goes to those who are Elite rather than Ruby or Platinum.[/qu

 

 

Don't think is necessarily true, my DH was able to go on the UST when it was only our 2nd cruise.

He went with my BIL his 3rd and a friend and it was his first. I think it comes down to first come first served. We registered when we boarded.

 

Good luck!!

Thanks, hopefully I can be one of the first comers next time.:D

[Randolphkay]

colocruiser thanks so much for the info. UST sounds fabulous. Will be sure to sign up soon as we get on The ship. If both husband and wife go will we get 2pictures or just one? Again thanks for your help. Enjoy your next cruise.

Sandy

[YehWereCrusing]

colocruiser thanks so much for the info. UST sounds fabulous. Will be sure to sign up soon as we get on The ship. If both husband and wife go will we get 2pictures or just one? Again thanks for your help. Enjoy your next cruise.

Sandy

 

You will get 2 sets of all of the pictures. We received 6 or 7 each.

[Keith1010]

Glad you enjoyed the cruise.

Keith

[dorisis]

If you are on a B2B cruise you will be able to register for the UTI before the rest of the Pax get on.

[Gabrielle R.]

I haven't heard about the crab shack. True I haven't cruised Princess for about a year... We are booked on Ruby in Dec. :D

 

Could anyone tell me a bit more about the crab shack? I understand it is in the Carib Cafe..... How does it work? Offerings? When I was on Crown they didn't have it... Grand of course didn't have the Carib Cafe.... I'd like a bit more information about how it all works.

 

THANKS!!!

[hawkeyetlse]

Could anyone tell me a bit more about the crab shack? I understand it is in the Carib Cafe..... How does it work? Offerings?

It's basically a specialty restaurant (you reserve and pay $20 extra to eat there) without an actual restaurant location. The Patter will tell you which days it will be open on your cruise, and where. Here is a photo that a CC member took of the menu on a recent Alaska cruise: Crab Shack menu.

[geoherb]

Thanks for all the info on the Ultimate Ship's Tour. I may have to splurge for us on our upcoming CB cruise in August. We'll be celebrating our first wedding anniversary. I've already planned to do the Ultimate Balcony Dinner.

[jg51]

... Overall, amazing cruise, I took many pictures so let me know if there is something you specifically want to know or see a picture of! Melody

 

Thanks, Melody.

We are wondering if you have photos of the wine lists (both MDR and Vines, or either) and of the bar menus (listing shots, cocktails, martinis, etc.). If so, we would love to see them.

[RocketMan275]

Ultimate Ship Tour- So worth the splurge at least once. We so enjoyed the galley and bridge but saw other interesting areas such as the print shop, photo lab, mooring area, engineering, princess theater, etc. "Presents" at the end were just a bonus.

Crab Shack - Very good and well worth the price. They served King crab legs not Snow and they were very slightly over cooked but still delicious, fried appetizer basket was yummy, clams were well cooked, husband says peel and eat shrimp were very good.

 

Melody

 

So, how did you like the Crab Shack dessert? Wife and I thought it one of the best on the cruise.

[diego]

Formal nights were first sea day and Grand Cayman.

We did the following excursions:

Jamaica - "Paradise Cove, Swim & Scenic Coastal Cruise" through Princess

Grand Cayman - "Stingray Snorkel and Cayman Highlights" through Princess

Cozumel - "Cozumel Barhop" booked on our own

If you want to know about any of these just let me know

 

No, we did not eat in Horizon or Cafe Caribe at all other than when we attended the Crab Shack

 

Hi Melody,

Did the ship change to port time in Grand Caymen or did you stay on ship time?

Thanks for all of your info!

[YehWereCrusing]

So, how did you like the Crab Shack dessert? Wife and I thought it one of the best on the cruise.

 

We were too full for dessert but they offered 3 that looked delicious!

[YehWereCrusing]

Thanks, Melody.

We are wondering if you have photos of the wine lists (both MDR and Vines, or either) and of the bar menus (listing shots, cocktails, martinis, etc.). If so, we would love to see them.

 

All I have is the list at Crooners if you are interested I will upload it when I get to my home computer

[YehWereCrusing]

Hi Melody,

Did the ship change to port time in Grand Caymen or did you stay on ship time?

Thanks for all of your info!

 

The ship stayed on Florida/Ship time but if you boom an independent excursion they may run on local time, we ran into this in Cozumel. Only one hour difference.

[jg51]

All I have is the list at Crooners if you are interested I will upload it when I get to my home computer

Yes, that would be VERY helpful. Thanks so much!

[Woobstr112G]

Thanks for the info on the CB. We are sailing on her next year and I will use your observations to help me further enjoy my cruise......:):):)

 

Bob

[Gabrielle R.]

It's basically a specialty restaurant (you reserve and pay $20 extra to eat there) without an actual restaurant location. The Patter will tell you which days it will be open on your cruise, and where. Here is a photo that a CC member took of the menu on a recent Alaska cruise: Crab Shack menu.

 

Thank you! That is exactly what I was wondering!!! THANK YOU!:)