thoughts on the "Ultimate Ship Tour"

[mike_yung]

interested in the Ultimate Ship Tour for our cruise in the Regal

 

if you've been let me know how you enjoyed it

 

thanks

 

 

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[vantec]

interested in the Ultimate Ship Tour for our cruise in the Regal

 

if you've been let me know how you enjoyed it

 

thanks

 

 

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We took the tour a couple years ago and really enjoyed it, it was interesting, but once was enough. At that time we were given thick, heavy bathrobes as part of the fee that was charged - my husband is still wearing his. They took lots of pictures and gave them to us at the end of the tour, we were also given chef's jackets - we were not interested in those. It seems like we were given something else, maybe a light snack or champagne, part way through. It was a good experience.

[mike_yung]

Nice. We've never taken the tour. Sounds like we should.

 

 

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[cruiser113]

interested in the Ultimate Ship Tour for our cruise in the Regal

 

if you've been let me know how you enjoyed it

 

thanks

 

 

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Have done this tour on several ships. It last about 4 hours. You are taken to areas that were very interesting and make the ship run. The laundry area, print shop , medical , storage areas for kitchen and ship supplies, walk through the area where staff lives, mechanical room and more that I can't think of now. (we did this on the royal.....sister ship.

 

A ships photographer takes pictures of the group in all the areas and you get them delivered to your room with all the other goodies ( as other poster mentioned).

 

The last stop of the tour is the bridge where you get to meet the captain and have drinks ( maybe champagne??...we did ) we were in the bridge about 1/2 hour. You get an individual picture with the captain.

 

It was impressive and well worth the time. It lets you see how many people are involved to make your cruise seamless

 

Leave room in your suitcase if you decide to do the tour!

[marden1970]

This sounds interesting - are there many stairs involved or is it mostly elevators? My husband has problems with stairs. Thanks.

[mike_yung]

Sounds good. As an automation tech sounds like I'll really enjoy this. My son would like to see the galley.

 

Just checked online. They are giving away chef aprons now instead of bathrobes. You also get a framed photo with the Captain on the bridge by the steering wheel.

 

 

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[VTX-AL]

This sounds interesting - are there many stairs involved or is it mostly elevators? My husband has problems with stairs. Thanks.

 

 

We did the UST on the Grand in April '15 - very interesting, especially if you like to see "how things work" and behind the scenes views. Very few elevators were used and most changes from deck to deck were done using stairs - I use a cane and had to hustle to keep up. One hint: Tour size is very limited , think it is a max of 12 people and any more must go on a waiting list . On the Grand only one UST was held on a 15 day cruise. So, if you are interested, you should get to passenger services asap to sign up !

 

...VTX-Al

[Musky Ike]

I am kind of "fugal" so the cost put me off for awhile but we finally did the UST on the Regal last year and loved it. Particularly the Galley even though I am not a foodie as the logistics were fascinating. The bridge was a real treat as commodore Romano was in command on that cruise.

 

There was some walking and a few stairs so wheelchair or walker might be tough. Not sure, but they might have had a mobility restriction listed. We also had to sign a liability waiver.

 

Glad we did it. Just make sure you leave room in your luggage for all the goodies.

[capriccio]

We took it in 2009 on the Emerald when it was a fairly new offering and found it fascinating. I convinced my DB and SIL to take it on the Royal during a Caribbean cruise in 2013 and they both said it was the best 'excursion' of the cruise (which, given the cost, is a good way to think about it). On the Crown in December my DS and BIL (who is a retired engineer with the Naval Sea Systems Command) had a great time and talked about it almost daily on the following cruise (we were on a B2B). As others have said, sign up at the Passenger Services Desk on the first day even if you haven't seen an advertisement in the Patter yet.

[JF - retired RRT]

We did the UST on the Crown in December. It's well worth the cost. The swag they give you is worth what the tour costs.

We were given group pix from most of the places we visited (but no individual pix with the captain - maybe it's captain's choice?)

Champagne, OJ or mimosas with chocolate covered strawberries (all you care to eat or drink) after the bridge tour, but in the Hearts & Minds room. Again, may be captain's choice. Also, snacks and drinks in the galley when we went through there.

Blue chefs aprons - meh

Thick personalized note tablet 8 1/2" X 5 1/2"

Picture frame

And the luxurious, thick bathrobe (value in gift shop around $80?). The robe is one size fits some and wrap around with a belt. I don't like that style, so I bought a long zipper and installed it. Much roomier that way.

All of those things are per person, so bring something to put them in or pack light. I thought I left room in our suitcase, but they wouldn't all fit. Luckily we bring fold up backpacks from Amazon. The swag that wouldn't fit was in one of the backpacks.

BTW: all stairs except for one elevator ride (in a crew elevator, kind of interesting).

[Colo Cruiser]

interested in the Ultimate Ship Tour for our cruise in the Regal

 

if you've been let me know how you enjoyed it

 

thanks

 

 

It was excellent. Its a must do at least once. ;)

[BassettMom]

I've done it on almost every ship I've been on (I think of it as an "excursion") and I've enjoyed it every time. I've learned something new about ships operations each time since it's been on different ships and the officers and crew members in each different area talk about different aspects. The navigational bridge tour has also been different on the different ships. You don't always get individual pictures taken with the captain--depends on what the captain wants to do. One time, we each got to sit in the captain's chair wearing the captain's hat for individual pictures with the captain standing next to us. Another time, after touring the bridge, the captain took us all to his cabin where we sat around his conference room table sipping champaign (he had bottled water ;-)) while he answered questions and told funny stories about being a captain with Princess (we were there about an hour). Those two times really stood out, but they are not the norm. Even with the "normal" ships tour, I will do it again, since it's one of my favorite "excursions" and the "souvenirs" are great! Definitely leave room in your luggage for the bathrobe (I keep giving them away to family and friends since I have 2 of my own). The robe and photos themselves are worth the price, and you get other things such as picture frame, personalized stationery, chefs apron (used to be a chef's hat), drinks, and treats in the galley, as well as a unique and interesting (in my opinion) tour.

 

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[cboyle]

Sounds good. As an automation tech sounds like I'll really enjoy this. My son would like to see the galley.

 

Just checked online. They are giving away chef aprons now instead of bathrobes. You also get a framed photo with the Captain on the bridge by the steering wheel.

 

 

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We did the UST on the Regal in January 2017. Each participant in the tour received a Princess tote bag full of loot: a plush waffle bath robe, a chef’s apron, four group photos, a nice wooden picture frame and a personalized pad of notepaper. All of that was delivered to our cabin later in the afternoon after the tour.

[cboyle]

We did the UST on the Regal in January 2017. We had never taken this tour before and debated whether the extra cost was justified. However, the highly detailed review by CRLess (boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=51688142&postcount=47) changed our minds. If you have any questions about the tour, they are probably covered in CRLess' review.

[donh1]

It was excellent. Its a must do at least once. ;)

 

 

Totally agree. Did it on the Grand a few years ago and it was very nice to see the inner workings of the ship. Thought it was well worth the money. By giving you a few goodies they can up the price and reduce the demand. Princess has no problem selling out this tour. It gave me a better understanding of my surroundings on subsequent cruises which is nice.

[MrSchwump]

I just did it yesterday on the Regal. It's long -3.5 hours. Mostly it's great. I didn't care for the photo or print area. Meeting the Commodore was a treat. He's a very nice man. I won't do it again but I'm glad I did it this time.

Sign up asap!

 

 

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[Loonbeam]

Done it several times plus similar on other lines (Princess does it the best). Most of our family has bathrobes now. Will do it again on any new ship if nothing else but to see what is the same and what is different.

 

Itinerary will vary based on sea conditions and willingness of staff...

 

Some fun memories were peeking into the turbine engine on the Coral since we couldn't go up the stacks due to wind), watching members of the group try to lift one segment of anchor chain on the Royal, and having them direct the bow cams so we could see dolphins playing on the bridge screens (your experience may vary).

 

There are LOTS of steps, and I think they have replaced the Chef's Jackets with an apron now..

 

Areas we have seen over multiple ships and lines - Galley, different food storage areas, forward anchor room, engine room, bridge, photo shop, florist, laundry, waste processing (on NCL only so far), Captains ready room, pool maintenance, sickbay (incl the morgue - sickbay will be skipped if any patients in residence), engine control room, brig (just a peek in), Crew mess and bar (RCCL), backstage, dressing room, and I think I am missing some.

[Eagle_and_hawk]

We just did the UST two days ago on the Caribbean Princess. We also did it one other time on the Sapphire Princess and both tours were similar. I believe I counted 14 in our group and we signed up as a soon as we got on, being number 9 & 10 on the list. The tour was held the last sea day and started at 8:25AM.

 

We went back stage to the Princess Theater, printing room, photo room, medical center, anchor room, laundry room, kitchen galley, engineering room, and the bridge. In the Kitchen, we had the drinks and snacks. All the pictures they took were of the group and I wish they had taken individual pictures with the captain. We found both tours interesting and when we are on the Coral in August, we plan on signing up for it then as want to tour the Panamax ships too.

 

The package they gave us at the end was the blue shopping bag, bath robe, 5-6 group pictures taken along the way, note pad with our name, picture frame, and the blue apron. It was the exact same thing several years ago on the Sapphire. We seemed to have missed the tours when they were giving out the Chef's jacket as I would rather had one of those.

 

UST2017 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

[Steelers0854]

Add our vote in the definitely worth doing once and more than once if you are interesting in seeing how different ships are laid out and ran. We had a blast.

[AVCruzers]

We always recommend this tour to anyone that asks about it! I wear the apron daily and I agree that the bathrobe is so thick: we have them in our guest bedroom. As a female, I really was fascinated by the anchor area and amazed in the laundry room-the guys working there seemed so glad to see us! Can you imagine working in that area 7 days a week?

[Kenswing]

We had a ton of OBC so we took the tour on the Caribbean Princess. Glad we did and would do it again on a different class ship.

[TLCOhio]

Have done this tour on several ships. It last about 4 hours. You are taken to areas that were very interesting and make the ship run. A ship's photographer takes pictures of the group in all the areas and you get them delivered to your room with all the other goodies. The last stop of the tour is the bridge where you get to meet the captain and have drinks ( maybe champagne??...we did ) we were in the bridge about 1/2 hour.

 

Appreciate these postings. Getting ready to do our first cruise with Princess. Boarding the Island Princess in Fort Lauderdale Tuesday afternoon on the way to San Francisco via the Panama Canal.

 

KEY PHOTO QUESTION???: What are the mechanics and "details" for how the photos come from the ship's photographer? Just a few 5x7" prints in a paper folder? Or, a large number of visual images on thumb drive? If you have not purchased the photo package for this trip, do you still get theses photos? If you have your camera along, will that photographer be kind enough to snap some pix's (in the safe and appropriate areas of the ship) for us? Any other details to share? Overall, this tour sounds very interesting. Just want to know as much as possible on the photo potentials and process. As I have done on many other cruises, I like to do live/blogging with many visuals images included. Would like to "show off" this tour!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 171,921 views for this posting.

[Eagle_and_hawk]

Appreciate these postings. Getting ready to do our first cruise with Princess. Boarding the Island Princess in Fort Lauderdale Tuesday afternoon on the way to San Francisco via the Panama Canal.

 

KEY PHOTO QUESTION???: What are the mechanics and "details" for how the photos come from the ship's photographer? Just a few 5x7" prints in a paper folder? Or, a large number of visual images on thumb drive? If you have not purchased the photo package for this trip, do you still get theses photos? If you have your camera along, will that photographer be kind enough to snap some pix's (in the safe and appropriate areas of the ship) for us? Any other details to share? Overall, this tour sounds very interesting. Just want to know as much as possible on the photo potentials and process. As I have done on many other cruises, I like to do live/blogging with many visuals images included. Would like to "show off" this tour!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 171,921 views for this posting.

 

 

These photo's are all done outside of any the photo packages. The best way to describe it as it is an "excursion onboard". In our tour, they took 5-6 group photos along the way, then at the end of the last night, the printed pictures were in our room to take home. They were not available in any shape or form, with the typical pictures found in picture row on the promenade deck.

[easyboy]

Add our vote in the definitely worth doing once and more than once if you are interesting in seeing how different ships are laid out and ran. We had a blast.

Ditto.

[AF-1]

Do you sign up for the ship tour at guest relations desk; or somewhere else? What is the cost per person? Does the tour vary by ship? How many do they take on tour? I assume it is first come first served for this tour? Thanks