Is the "Ultimate Ship Tour" back?

[SantaFeFan]

13 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I don't know why you take that comment in that way but to me it only says if you fee the stuff it worth it, then go for it. 

 

I have always heard that phrase in the context of a mild insult, so I took it that way. Perhaps different people have different meanings for it?

Edited February 16, 2023 by SantaFeFan

[caribill]

2 hours ago, DCThunder said:

On the TA that I did on Regal in November, Alex the ED, arranged for a free "back stage" tour of the Princess Theatre including a panel discussion with two featured singers, several dancers, and a stage manager about their life as performers on cruise ships.  We then walked through the back stage area, seeing the dressing rooms, the storage for the stage sets and other props for the shows and then walked across the stage.  There were performers at various points who would answer questions about how the shows worked. 

 

This used to be an event on most Princess cruises.

 

2 hours ago, DCThunder said:

A few days later one of the third deck officers gave a presentation about how you became a cruise ship officer, the promotion path to captain, and discussed other facts about the navigation and running of the ship.  He showed a lot of photos of the bridge and other areas of the navigation areas.  We didn't get a tour, but his presentation was very informative and he stayed behind to answer questions.

 

On one Trans-Atlantic Princess cruise several years ago, there was a session like this with a different officer on many sea days. Extremely informative as each presenter told why they had picked the career they had at sea and how they advanced through their careers.

[damiross]

On 2/15/2023 at 4:01 PM, jwattle said:

Few dollars worth of stuff? We got the nice plush robes, chef coats and chef hat, photos, personalized pads, pic frames...but you do you. As a female in a "man's world" with cars, the engine control, bridge and anchor rooms were amazing to see, as well as many other "crew only' areas.

Robe:  I don't need.

Chef coat/hat: I'm not a chef and I don't do costume parties

Photos: might be nice if they are of my loved one, me, and the captain

Personalized pads:  I don't need

Picture Frames: Might be nice

 

Again, as I said before, I'd be satisfied with a tour of the bridge and the engine room (although the tour only shows the control room, if I remember correctly).

[jwattle]

1 hour ago, damiross said:

Robe:  I don't need.

Chef coat/hat: I'm not a chef and I don't do costume parties

Photos: might be nice if they are of my loved one, me, and the captain

Personalized pads:  I don't need

Picture Frames: Might be nice

 

Again, as I said before, I'd be satisfied with a tour of the bridge and the engine room (although the tour only shows the control room, if I remember correctly).

I was only questioning the "few dollars worth of stuff" comment. The photos did include the Captain  with us, fyi. Also, the galley tour was informative in showing how much stuff they really make onboard: it's AMAZING! 

[Papa Yoda]

3 minutes ago, jwattle said:

I was only questioning the "few dollars worth of stuff" comment. The photos did include the Captain  with us, fyi. Also, the galley tour was informative in showing how much stuff they really make onboard: it's AMAZING! 

I think you had quoted the wrong message.  You were not really replying to @SantaFeFan

 

We agree the Ships Tour is one of our favorite "excursions", just watching the sheet dryer/folder is amazing.  I still have plush robes that I use all the time - retail they are ~$50

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, Papa Yoda said:

I still have plush robes that I use all the time - retail they are ~$50

I should only live long enough to wear them all out. 😄

[justafem]

We got

 

Robe (waffle, not plush)

Apron

Photos as a group and individual with captain.

Personalized pad

Picture Frame

Autographed Cookbook 

Fresh Flowers

And weirdly enough, $50 spa credit. We didn't tour the spa.  But hey, I got my nails done pretty! 

[jwattle]

8 hours ago, Papa Yoda said:

I think you had quoted the wrong message.  You were not really replying to @SantaFeFan

 

We agree the Ships Tour is one of our favorite "excursions", just watching the sheet dryer/folder is amazing.  I still have plush robes that I use all the time - retail they are ~$50

We still wear our robes; our kids dropped by one mid-morning when we were being lazy and DH still had his on and to this day refer to his "Hugh Hefner" robe. We can't figure it out; it's the plush one, not silk😂

[SantaFeFan]

11 hours ago, jwattle said:

I was only questioning the "few dollars worth of stuff" comment.

 

And like I explained (which you have completely ignored), all we got was a "few dollars worth of stuff" that only consisted of a single personalized notepad, a group photo and a cheap picture frame. So my comment was accurate for OUR group's tour. 

 

"But you do you". 

Edited February 17, 2023 by SantaFeFan

[XBGuy]

13 hours ago, damiross said:

Robe:  I don't need.

Chef coat/hat: I'm not a chef and I don't do costume parties

Photos: might be nice if they are of my loved one, me, and the captain

Personalized pads:  I don't need

Picture Frames: Might be nice

 

Again, as I said before, I'd be satisfied with a tour of the bridge and the engine room (although the tour only shows the control room, if I remember correctly).

 

I am, pretty much, on the same page with you.  The swag is delivered to your cabin sometime after the tour.  There is no requirement to pack it up and take it with you.  In fact, it will take up a lot of space in your luggage.  Just leave it in the cabin,

 

The point of the UST is the tour and learning about the behind the scenes operations from the people doing it.  That was all I needed.

[Bogof1]

Would just like to say we did this tour in 2013 10 years later our plush dressing gowns still look like new, they were $99 in the ships shop. The photo frames sold for $30 in the camera shop, we had 8 photos, didn’t get the chefs jacket but got an apron…much more useful, notepaper, mimosa and chocolate strawberries in the kitchens, and finished of after visiting the bridge with champagne and nibbles. The extras were certainly not tat and no way would I have left them behind. Best $150 spent compared to some of the land excursions, would do it again in a heartbeat, our tour lasted over 5 hours.

[Kellyansapansa]

For those who have done the Ultimate Ship Tour more recently, can you please tell me how it was offered? Was it available to book prior to the cruise or is it like the Chef's Table where you ask to be added to the waitlist once on board? Thank you. 😊

Edited February 20, 2023 by Kellyansapansa

[jwattle]

Add it once you board 

[Kellyansapansa]

3 hours ago, jwattle said:

Add it once you board 

Great, thank you. 😊

[caribill]

3 hours ago, jwattle said:

Add it once you board 

 

Go to Passenger Services ASAP after boarding to sign up.

[Kellyansapansa]

5 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Go to Passenger Services ASAP after boarding to sign up.

Good to know, thank you. 😊

[PrincessLuver]

On 2/16/2023 at 11:07 PM, Papa Yoda said:

I think you had quoted the wrong message.  You were not really replying to @SantaFeFan

 

We agree the Ships Tour is one of our favorite "excursions", just watching the sheet dryer/folder is amazing.  I still have plush robes that I use all the time - retail they are ~$50

 

Agree.  We did it on a TA Crossing on the Regal and to this date it is one of our all time favorite excursions and we learned so much about the operations of the ship.  It is well worth the money we paid and loved the Princess' Swag.

[talkorpi]

10 hours ago, Kellyansapansa said:

For those who have done the Ultimate Ship Tour more recently, can you please tell me how it was offered? Was it available to book prior to the cruise or is it like the Chef's Table where you ask to be added to the waitlist once on board? Thank you. 😊

 

I started this thread originally asking if it was back as I have been unable to find any information about it post-pandemic.  Unfortunately it seems like it is still not being offered at this time 😞

[Kellyansapansa]

2 minutes ago, talkorpi said:

 

I started this thread originally asking if it was back as I have been unable to find any information about it post-pandemic.  Unfortunately it seems like it is still not being offered at this time 😞

I'm keeping everything crossed they bring it back before I cruise again in November! 🙏

[phoebe2m]

13 hours ago, Kellyansapansa said:

For those who have done the Ultimate Ship Tour more recently, can you please tell me how it was offered? Was it available to book prior to the cruise or is it like the Chef's Table where you ask to be added to the waitlist once on board? Thank you. 😊

We were on the Crown earlier this month. The UST was listed in the Patter on the back page on Day 5 of the 15 day cruise. 

[Kellyansapansa]

5 hours ago, phoebe2m said:

We were on the Crown earlier this month. The UST was listed in the Patter on the back page on Day 5 of the 15 day cruise. 

Ooh, that sounds promising, thank you! 🙏

[bedesibodie]

Hi cruiser friends!  We so enjoyed the UST a number of years ago while on an Alaska cruise/land trip. The behind the scenes tour was worth every penny!👍. Next cruise we are leaving Southampton UK for a 2 week round trip on Skye!  September 2 2023. So excited AND will be joined by friends - their FIRST cruise! 👏🙏. Do y’all still just suggest approaching Guests Svcs on board asap for the UST?  I can’t get much info from calling Princess 😪😩

[Ace_Caliente]

On Caribbean Princess in July 2023 there wasn't an UST as far as I could tell. They did have two separate "Life at Sea" presentations / behind the scenes talks - one by the cruise director and another one explaining navigation. I missed the navigation one, but I found the talk by the cruise director including video of the crew areas very interesting the talk was full capacity at the Explorer's Lounge.

[phoebe2m]

16 hours ago, bedesibodie said:

Hi cruiser friends!  We so enjoyed the UST a number of years ago while on an Alaska cruise/land trip. The behind the scenes tour was worth every penny!👍. Next cruise we are leaving Southampton UK for a 2 week round trip on Skye!  September 2 2023. So excited AND will be joined by friends - their FIRST cruise! 👏🙏. Do y’all still just suggest approaching Guests Svcs on board asap for the UST?  I can’t get much info from calling Princess 😪😩

When we cruised in February, the UST was listed in the Patter (or whatever it's called now). Small notice at the bottom of a page. We signed up but it was later cancelled. Wouldn't hurt to check with Guest Services. And when we do our reviews after the cruise we always mention that we hope the UST returns. 

[BassettMom]

On 2/16/2023 at 9:00 AM, SantaFeFan said:

 

I have always heard that phrase in the context of a mild insult, so I took it that way. Perhaps different people have different meanings for it?

I have heard the phrase as more of an insult as well.  Even if an insult is not meant, it can still be taken that way (I read one post a couple of months ago where someone got upset after being told "you do you" and replied they didn't need anyone's permission).