Behind the scenes ship tour

[NewGenCruiseCouple]

Hi everyone, 

 

I am heading on the Sea Princess on April 9th for a 5 week cruise to Hawaii. 

I want to know how I go about / if it's possible to do a behind the scenes ship tour and if anyone has done one in the past. 

 

I have found varying information on this and read some details from the Princess website, but would like to know some specifics. 

 

- Is it available on the Sea Princess?

- How many times are they likely to run the tour?

- Can I book it before hand? 

- If you have done the tour, was it just awesome? 

 

Thanks SO MUCH in advance for any help and comments! 

[Colo Cruiser]

12 minutes ago, NewGenCruiseCouple said:

Hi everyone, 

 

I am heading on the Sea Princess on April 9th for a 5 week cruise to Hawaii. 

I want to know how I go about / if it's possible to do a behind the scenes ship tour and if anyone has done one in the past. 

 

I have found varying information on this and read some details from the Princess website, but would like to know some specifics. 

 

- Is it available on the Sea Princess?

- How many times are they likely to run the tour?

- Can I book it before hand? 

- If you have done the tour, was it just awesome? 

 

Thanks SO MUCH in advance for any help and comments! 

Not sure if it is on the Sea Princess or not. I thought it was on all Princess ships.

It is usually offered once per cruise. So I would imagine your 5 week cruise is made up of several cruises? When they offer it will be by demand so if they don't get the 10-15 people sign up they may cancel it.

Cannot book ahead.

It is usually announced in the Patter. I would ask as soon as you get onboard if they offer it.

It is definitely a must do at least once. It is awesome to see the workings of the ship behind the scenes.   $150pp. US. Some gifts are included. 

[satxdiver]

The tour you are asking about is called the UST (ultimate ship tour) and costs around $150.  You should go to the PSD soon after boarding and the activity has died down.  Ask them if there is going to be a UST offered and if so sign up for it.  As already mentioned they require 10 or more to do the tour and do it on a sea day.  Sea Princess is a small ship so I am not sure what all you would be able to see.  In my case on the CB it was more than worth is to me as an engineer to see the workings of the ship as well as various departments for our comfort.  At the end we were given photos taken by the ship photographer during the tour (no private cameras allowed), Princess robe and other items.  The group was led by a member of the CD staff and a security officer as well as the ship photographer.  One picture was on the bridge with the captain.  

[Jmanly]

I've done tee UST on 3 different ships and highly recommend it. 

[jwattle]

An absolute must do! I did it in the Grand, and now want to for each class of ship.

[caribill]

4 hours ago, satxdiver said:

At the end we were given photos taken by the ship photographer during the tour (no private cameras allowed), Princess robe and other items.  The group was led by a member of the CD staff and a security officer as well as the ship photographer.  One picture was on the bridge with the captain.  

 

On the several Princess USTs we have been on, we have always had a camera and were allowed to take photos on the Bridge. Yes, the written instructions say no cameras.

 

Carnival absolutely prohibits cameras on their tours and uses metal detectors and wanding to be sure you do not have one.

 

Celebrity says "Be sure to bring your camera" and allows photos everywhere on their tour.

[satxdiver]

3 hours ago, caribill said:

 

On the several Princess USTs we have been on, we have always had a camera and were allowed to take photos on the Bridge. Yes, the written instructions say no cameras.

 

Carnival absolutely prohibits cameras on their tours and uses metal detectors and wanding to be sure you do not have one.

 

Celebrity says "Be sure to bring your camera" and allows photos everywhere on their tour.

On my one UST we were told upfront to not use or have a camera.  We all complied but if we did not there was a security officer with us at all times.  It really is a simple request and I have seen it in other situations including when I was working in IT and no cameras were allowed in computer rooms. 

[abqmommyof4]

we  did it on the Island  and  it was  amazing,   we are  geeks,  so it was  right up our alley

[peanutter]

We just did this on our Emerald - 15 day Hawaii cruise.

 

I never saw it in the Patter (might have missed it).  We didn't get onboard until right before the muster drill so went immediately after the drill to Guest Relations.  When I signed up myself and DH, we were numbers 7 & 8 on the list.  There were 15 of us.  Not sure if this is all that signed up or if people were turned away.  If it's something you want to do, sign up as early as you can just in case. 

 

We were notified several days into the cruise that we were "selected" to take the tour.  It was on a sea day morning and lasted around 4 hours.  I asked our guide (assistant cruise director, in our case) how many they were offering and he confirmed just the one (I thought maybe one or two more since we had several sea days).

 

The tour was fantastic and I'm glad we did it.  I think it's great for geeks and non-geeks alike.  Although everything on the ship is "technical" in nature, things like the laundry, medical center, galley, behind the stage area and the fabulous view from the bridge are just really cool.  

 

Please be aware that the gifts they give you (very nice!) are a bit heavy.  I had a luggage scale and they weighed in at 6 lb. each, so I had to find extra space as we were flying out.  

 

If you choose to go, enjoy!!

[JF - retired RRT]

1 hour ago, peanutter said:

We just did this on our Emerald - 15 day Hawaii cruise.

 

I never saw it in the Patter (might have missed it).  We didn't get onboard until right before the muster drill so went immediately after the drill to Guest Relations.  When I signed up myself and DH, we were numbers 7 & 8 on the list.  There were 15 of us.  Not sure if this is all that signed up or if people were turned away.  If it's something you want to do, sign up as early as you can just in case. 

 

We were notified several days into the cruise that we were "selected" to take the tour.  It was on a sea day morning and lasted around 4 hours.  I asked our guide (assistant cruise director, in our case) how many they were offering and he confirmed just the one (I thought maybe one or two more since we had several sea days).

 

The tour was fantastic and I'm glad we did it.  I think it's great for geeks and non-geeks alike.  Although everything on the ship is "technical" in nature, things like the laundry, medical center, galley, behind the stage area and the fabulous view from the bridge are just really cool.  

 

Please be aware that the gifts they give you (very nice!) are a bit heavy.  I had a luggage scale and they weighed in at 6 lb. each, so I had to find extra space as we were flying out.  

 

If you choose to go, enjoy!!

Also, the swag from the tour is probably equal to the cost for the tour.

Everything was delivered to our cabin in 2 Princess bags. If you don't unpack them, you could use them as a carry-on if you're flying.