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Sunshine's Behind the Fun tours


GeorgiaMomof4
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Looking at maybe doing a Behind the Fun tour on our Sunshine sailing in February.

 

This will be my Platinum cruise and I think it's time to see the inner workings of the ship.

 

Has anyone done this on the Sunshine? Is it worth the time and the money? I really don't want

to spend my last sea day doing it - had much rather do it earlier in the week.

 

Does anyone know if they only do them on the last day or do they do them other days as well?

I know I've read if there is great interest, they might add another one.

 

Thanks in advance for your answers!

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I've done it on 6 different ships and loved it each time. It's always on the last sea day, they're not going to change that. I'll do it on any new ships we go on.

 

Same here. I've done it on every Carnival cruise so far and will continue, as every tour is a bit different and I always see or learn something new.

See the inside of the Captain's cabin? Yep! Once.

See the Captain's private dining room? Yep, also only once.

See into a standard crew cabin (2 occupants)? Yep, once, since they're usually closed.

Get a "bonus" group photo on the ship's prow with the ship's bell? Yep, once.

See inside the ship's brig? Yep, once, as it happened to be open (and unoccupied :) )

See an underwater view from a camera pointed at the ship's azipod propulsion system? Yes, on the Vista.

...and so on.

 

The tours are always held on the last sea-day because it's the least crowded/cramped day "down below" -- the ship has consumed enough of its stores to make the tour areas and "I-95" more accessible.

 

Special note for anyone on the Vista, and presumably the Horizon and Panorama: the Engineering Control Rooms on those newest ships are really something special. Almost worth the price of the tour by themselves.

Edited by Pellaz
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I did it on the Glory and thoroughly enjoyed it. As mentioned above, no phones/cameras, skirts and you MUST have closed toe shoes. I didn't know this and showed up in sandals. The lady running the tour had me change and I'm so glad I packed a pair of sneakers! Our tour lasted 4 hours. We started in the library where security came by and swepted each of us with a wand. Then on to many, many areas of the ship. Again, we were wanded by security before entering the bridge to meet with the captain and have a photo taken. We ended our tour in the steak house with some champagne and mimosa's and were given a soap carving of a swan. We also were given a few "goodies" a drawstring backpack, a hat, a lanyard, 2 8x10 photos (delivered to our cabins later that day) a wristband and a program/paper on interesting Carnival Glory tidbits, such as how many eggs, steaks, cokes, beers, etc. are served on a typical cruise. On the back of this paper is the recipe for the Chocolate Melting Cake. We were done by 1:00 PM - still plenty of time to enjoy Sea Day.

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We did it on the breeze in 2015 and it was worth every penny. The gifts you get are worth it too. I would definitely do it again. It is a bummer that it is on the last sea day but we didnt care. We were finished right in time for lunch and it was a great way to end a great vacation. All the info about the rules is spot on. My son was 9 or 10 and he enjoyed it , so did my 70 + year old mother in law. We paid 95.00 and booked soon as we walked on the ship at the excursion desk. We are still talking about it to this day, especially since we just cruised the breeze again early August. I would like to do it on other ships. For some it's not worth the time spent or the money but for us it was.

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Forums mobile app

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I've done it twice: Conquest and Fantasy. And I'm going to do it again on my next cruise (Glory). My wife and I use the backpacks and lanyards on every cruise. And even the caps. I love the goodies, and the tour is very informative. I blew the ship's horn last time I went!

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I really want to do the Behind the Fun tour so bad. My dad and I want to do it on the Breeze coming up but unfortunately we are stuck with the 1230 - 1 check in time so I fear it will all be sold out by then because I know it books fast. The second I step foot on the ship I am going to try and book it. You go to the shore Excursion desk for it correct? Hoping there will still be a spot for two left

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We actually did it on the Sunshine - was a fantastic tour and both DH and I really enjoyed it. One of the stops was to see the service animal "rest area" - One of the service dogs on this specific trip was a huge great dane - and the little box they use for the dogs aren't very big - in a weird way I found it interesting. My boxers are half his size but then again they aren't service animals either.

Anyway - you can't go wrong with the tour - lots of interesting facts and you get a couple of pictures with the tour - one with the Captain and one group pic at the front of the ship. Lots of walking up and down stairs so if you have trouble with stairs it may be difficult for you.

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I really want to do the Behind the Fun tour so bad. My dad and I want to do it on the Breeze coming up but unfortunately we are stuck with the 1230 - 1 check in time so I fear it will all be sold out by then because I know it books fast. The second I step foot on the ship I am going to try and book it. You go to the shore Excursion desk for it correct? Hoping there will still be a spot for two left

 

 

 

Don't worry, we have bought it on board on the second day 3 times and it was never sold out

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i did one many many years ago. Reading this a lot has changed. I had my camera but this was before cell phone cameras. What i remember most was going thru the kitchen and a couple guys were making a pretty dessert in tall glass cups. there had to be 500 of them. Just the number was amazing. I was disappointed then cause it wasnt the entire ship. Bridge and engineering were not part of it .

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I really want to do the Behind the Fun tour so bad. My dad and I want to do it on the Breeze coming up but unfortunately we are stuck with the 1230 - 1 check in time so I fear it will all be sold out by then because I know it books fast. The second I step foot on the ship I am going to try and book it. You go to the shore Excursion desk for it correct? Hoping there will still be a spot for two left

 

Don't worry! When I booked mine, it was mid way thru our cruise on the Gory and they still had space. Ours did sell out - only 16 were allowed to go, but it must have sold out at the last minute. Enjoy it and please, post a review when you get back. I've been toying with the idea of doing it again on another ship.

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We actually did it on the Sunshine - was a fantastic tour and both DH and I really enjoyed it. One of the stops was to see the service animal "rest area" - One of the service dogs on this specific trip was a huge great dane - and the little box they use for the dogs aren't very big - in a weird way I found it interesting. My boxers are half his size but then again they aren't service animals either.

 

I can honestly say the service dog relief area hasn't been part of any of my BtF tours....yet, anyway, :)

Anyway - you can't go wrong with the tour - lots of interesting facts and you get a couple of pictures with the tour - one with the Captain and one group pic at the front of the ship.

 

Note that the photos vary a lot. On the "smaller, less expensive" tours you get just a free group photo with the captain on the bridge.

On the "longer/pricier" tours you should get an individual (or couples) photo with the Captain, and you can also get a group photo with the Captain on the bridge, OR a group photo on the prow by the ship's bell. On one ship (Freedom, maybe?), our tour got both of those group photos.

 

So, ya never know for sure, but what the heck, at least they're free. :D

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I've been on one aboard the Conquest and Triumph. Both were slightly different, but amazing. Conquest class ships are my favorite, so I was partial to that tour. Also, the captain at the time spent twice as much time answering questions with a couple of us that understand navigation back to the days of Loran.

 

.

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I've been on one aboard the Conquest and Triumph. Both were slightly different, but amazing. Conquest class ships are my favorite, so I was partial to that tour. Also, the captain at the time spent twice as much time answering questions with a couple of us that understand navigation back to the days of Loran.

 

Sometimes you get really lucky. On my first BtF Tour on Imagination, we were honored to have the ship's Chief Engineer, Mario Testa, as the presenter in Engineering Control. We had quite a few good questions and he was well-spoken and provided loads of info. We ended up spending nearly a half-hour there...to the dismay of our tour guide, who said we were running way late getting to the bridge. Ooops. :)

--And that was one of the "shorter" $55 tours that ended up lasting over three hours. :D

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