What All Can You Tour on the Ship?

[6Arabianhorses]

We will be on the O'dam in 3 weeks and I'm wondering what "behind the scenes" tours of the ship are available (bridge, galley/kitchens, engine room, etc., etc.), and how we would arrange those. Thanks for the help!;)

[doone]

Last I knew the Bridge tours had stopped since 9/11. The kitchen tour is extremely fascinating, don't miss it.

[lougee1043]

you can also tour the casino during the hours it is open -- bring plenty of cash so you can see exactly how a casino functions ---lol

[Druke I]

Damn near impossible to get into the Engine Rooms, but occasionally you might get a glmpse into the Control Room. You might have to get friendly with an Engineering Officer to accomplish that.

[6Arabianhorses]

We will be in an S suite, so would I just check with the concierge at the Neptune Lounge about arranging the kitchen tour and whatever else they might offer? Thanks for your help!

 

PS: Yeah.........that casino tour sounds positively fascinating!! :p

[sail7seas]

Please don't count on the fact you are in an "S" should give you the opportunity to tour the bridge or engine room. It is a rare event today when a guest is permitted in those areas.

 

I wouldn't want you to think that will automatically grant you that availability and then be disappointed.

 

[6Arabianhorses]

Please don't count on the fact you are in an "S" should give you the opportunity to tour the bridge or engine room. It is a rare event today when a guest is permitted in those areas.

 

I wouldn't want you to think that will automatically grant you that availability and then be disappointed.

 

 

That actually never occurred to me............rather I was wondering WHO we should try to arrange a tour of the kitchen with. I think someone had already mentioned that bridge tours were no longer being conducted since 9/11. I certainly wasn't meaning to imply that because we have an S suite, (btw, a splurge in celebration of our 20th wedding anniversary!), that we were entitled to something that other passengers are not.

[Judyjay]

There is a meet and greet with the cast at the end of the cruise and they give backstage tours. It was interesting to see how they store all the costumes and set pieces.

[sail7seas]

That actually never occurred to me............rather I was wondering WHO we should try to arrange a tour of the kitchen with. I think someone had already mentioned that bridge tours were no longer being conducted since 9/11. I certainly wasn't meaning to imply that because we have an S suite, (btw, a splurge in celebration of our 20th wedding anniversary!), that we were entitled to something that other passengers are not.

 

Of course you didn't mean that and I didn't think you did. My comments are 'in general' .

The concierge would be one person you could ask. Also, perhaps at the Welcome Aboard in the Neptune Lounge you may have the opportunity to ask one of the Officers who might be present.

 

Congratulations and Best Wishes for a Very Happy 20th Wedding Anniversary . Hope you have a wonderful cruise and celebration.

Hope you enjoy many more years together in good health and happiness.

 

[K&RCurt]

When we were on the Westerdam a kitchen tour was offered on the first sea day. it was announced in the daily program and everyone interested gathered in the Explorer's lounge at the indicated time. It encompassed an organized tour of one level of the Galley. They had several items available for taste testing and gave a great explaination of how the meals are prepared. Afterward they had a cooking demonstration in the Vista Lounge. If the cooking demo is still part of the tour, I imagine it would be in the Culinary Arts Center now.

 

So, 6Arabianhorses, I don't think it will be necessary to make special arangements for a galley tour, it was a regular part of the activities on a sea day.

[HALOnlyCruiser]

6Arabian Horses:

Where in the mountains do you live? Colorado? I love dogs and photography, too! We will be on the Odam July 15. Please e-mail me......Have lots to tell you.

Cindy

[Copper10-8]

As has been said, really the only public tours that remain today are the kitchen and backstage tours. The only way nowadays you might be able to get a tour of "sterile" area's like the Bridge and Engine Room is to get to know and/or already know someone in the chain of command of "officer country". I was lucky enough to get a tour of the Engine Control Room and the Engine Room of Zuiderdam back in DEC 02. When pulling out of Key West, I started talking to a young lady who happened to be the Dutch girlfriend of one of the Dutch engineers. I gave her some souveniers from my work and, in return, I received an invitation to meet her boyfriend who wound up giving me a very interesting tour of both rooms. The Engine Control Room is very hi-tech and very quiet. The Engine Room on the other hand, is very noisy making it nearly impossible to carry on a normal conversation there without having to shout. He also showed me the Azipod propulsion system from the inside at the very rear of the ship. There's actually a very tiny opening on the top of each pod in order to crawl inside to make repairs when necessary. I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to get that tour and see that.

[kryos]

We will be on the O'dam in 3 weeks and I'm wondering what "behind the scenes" tours of the ship are available (bridge, galley/kitchens, engine room, etc., etc.), and how we would arrange those. Thanks for the help!;)

Galley (Kitchen)

Ship's Tour (public areas)

Backstage Tour

Spa Tour

 

That's about it, I think. Bridge and engine room tours would only be available via video on your cabin tv and on the cruise DVD, should you decide to purchase that.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[gizmo]

Like K&RCurt mentioned, I have seen it listed in the daily programs. From what I recall the kitchen tours were usually given on a sea day.

[HALOnlyCruiser]

I had forgotten about the Q & A with the show cast. That was interesting and it is amazing how little space there is backstage. The cast that year on the Veendam (2004) was the best ever. I took a video of "Love In Any Language" and it's one of my favorites. The funny thing is, we were on a B2B, so we went to the Q & A both weeks. Oddly, the VERY SAME questions were asked by the "audience" at both events. I think they plant a shill!:) or two.:):).

[pantux]

I am a drama teacher . On one cruiese I was on I got to know the stage manager and he gave me a tour of the backstage and let me sit in the booth during a preformance. Very cool. Not of intrest to every one but I found it quite interesting. So get to know someone with some pull and you never know. Enjoy your cruise.

[5 in OK]

6Arabianhorses

 

You are going to enjoy your upcoming cruise so much. Pre-planning will make it a more memorable trip and save you from "wish we'd looked into that" moments afterwards. :)

 

As a suite pax you will be spoiled and pampered by your Neptune Lounge concierges. This is a wonderful perk you are entitled to by booking (and paying for) a suite - enjoy every moment of it!! When you arrive to the Neptune the first day the concierge(s) will welcome you with a smile and yummy treats!! (From that moment on they will know you and your family by name - it's so cool!!) They will ask if there is ANYTHING they can do for you - just mention you would like a list of all behind the scenes tours. They will have it for you (probably before you eat your 2nd chocolate covered strawberry!) and help you with any other reservations you may need (Pinnacle Grill, Spa ect..). They always have a smile - they truly want you to have the best cruise experience possible!! It is so wonderful having the concierges in the Neptune to help you with all kinds of questions you'll have through the week. (They even booked my husband and two sons' golf outing in Juneau - it wasn't on any excursions list - they contacted the golf course via internet and set everything up for us. Wonderful customer service!!!)

 

Enjoy your week! You are going to have a blast! Happy 20th Wedding Anniversary!:)

 

Janet

[6Arabianhorses]

6Arabianhorses

 

You are going to enjoy your upcoming cruise so much. Pre-planning will make it a more memorable trip and save you from "wish we'd looked into that" moments afterwards. :)

 

As a suite pax you will be spoiled and pampered by your Neptune Lounge concierges. This is a wonderful perk you are entitled to by booking (and paying for) a suite - enjoy every moment of it!! When you arrive to the Neptune the first day the concierge(s) will welcome you with a smile and yummy treats!! (From that moment on they will know you and your family by name - it's so cool!!) They will ask if there is ANYTHING they can do for you - just mention you would like a list of all behind the scenes tours. They will have it for you (probably before you eat your 2nd chocolate covered strawberry!) and help you with any other reservations you may need (Pinnacle Grill, Spa ect..). They always have a smile - they truly want you to have the best cruise experience possible!! It is so wonderful having the concierges in the Neptune to help you with all kinds of questions you'll have through the week. (They even booked my husband and two sons' golf outing in Juneau - it wasn't on any excursions list - they contacted the golf course via internet and set everything up for us. Wonderful customer service!!!)

 

Enjoy your week! You are going to have a blast! Happy 20th Wedding Anniversary!:)

 

Janet

 

Thank you so much Janet for this info and your kind words! We can hardly wait and it certainly helps to know that the Neptune Lounge concierges will be so helpful. Yum!! So looking forward to those chocolate covered strawberries!! :p

[cands]

I was fortunate enough to tour the bridge on Royal Princess during the Antarctica cruise in January 2005.

It was organized though a travel agent traveling with a group I became friendly with while on board. They ran tours each day for about 15 people at a time.

A condition of the tour was that we didn't talk about it to other passengers! We were allowed to take photos. The officer of the watch gave a brief lecture - all very interesting stuff.

 

So it is still possible, just depends on policy, who you know, and possibly a little luck.

[Navy_Chief]

Seems to me I saw a deck plan to a ship that actually had a public area set up in the aft part of the bridge as a "Viewing Gallery" for the passengers. It was an enclosed space but you can view the activities from there. It was NOT on a HAL ship. I think it might have been an NCL ship, I don't recall now. At any rate, enjoy your cruise and happy 20th.

[cands]

Seems to me I saw a deck plan to a ship that actually had a public area set up in the aft part of the bridge as a "Viewing Gallery" for the passengers. It was an enclosed space but you can view the activities from there. It was NOT on a HAL ship. I think it might have been an NCL ship, I don't recall now. At any rate, enjoy your cruise and happy 20th.

 

Hi,

Norwegian Spirit has this feature. The ship was the Superstar Leo in another life.

 

Regards,

Steve.