Do they still give tours of the bridge?

[sarahksmom]

My husband and daughter would love to do it and I was just curious if they still did it.

[madforcruising]

My husband and daughter would love to do it and I was just curious if they still did it.

 

 

It´s at the decision of the Captain if bridge tours are offered, if they are they are usually offered as a D+ and Suite perk.

[estoyer]

Nope! Not since 911...

 

Sorry

Earl

[wraithe]

Yes and no, it is completely up to the Captain, some do and some don't. Usually it goes to Diamond +, Diamond C&A members and Suite guests, unless you submit a request to the Captain. You can write a letter to the Captain requesting a tour, submit it at the Purser's Desk, and you might get "lucky". Hope it works out.

[silentbob007]

I went on one at the start of the year and it was interesting, though security was very tight. Invitations were sent out on our sailing to diamond members and above specifically stating that ONLY people on the invitation could come and, even still, many invitations brought extra people and tried to bully the organizing staff into cooperation.

[estoyer]

Yes and no, it is completely up to the Captain, some do and some don't. Usually it goes to Diamond +, Diamond C&A members and Suite guests, unless you submit a request to the Captain. You can write a letter to the Captain requesting a tour, submit it at the Purser's Desk, and you might get "lucky". Hope it works out.

 

Hello on our last cruise this past February we where told by our cruise director that since 911, tours are no longer permitted. Mind if I ask when and what ship did you have your last tour on? I hope on our next cruises if we follow your instruction we could tour the bridge as well.

 

Happy Sailing

Earl

[FLACRUISER99]

My husband and daughter would love to do it and I was just curious if they still did it.

YES

 

Nope! Not since 911...

 

Sorry

Earl

Wrong, in fact it is a D+ Benefit.

 

Behind the Scenes Tours, Galley, Bridge, Entertainment tour and VIP Theatre Experience available only on cruise vacations of 5 nights or longer. Royal Caribbean International reserves the right to cancel these tours (ie. Due to safety and security concerns). In the event of cancellation a notification will be sent.

[PrincesScuba]

Nope! Not since 911...

 

Sorry

Earl

 

Hello on our last cruise this past February we where told by our cruise director that since 911, tours are no longer permitted. Mind if I ask when and what ship did you have your last tour on? I hope on our next cruises if we follow your instruction we could tour the bridge as well.

 

Happy Sailing

Earl

 

Earl, that is simply not true.

 

Bridge tours are given ALL the time. As wraithe stated, the Master of the ship is always the one who decides whether there will be any passenger access to the bridge, but most allow it. Also as has been stated already, these tours are by invitation only and generally it is D+ and suite passengers who are invited.

[wraithe]

I went on one at the start of the year and it was interesting, though security was very tight. Invitations were sent out on our sailing to diamond members and above specifically stating that ONLY people on the invitation could come and, even still, many invitations brought extra people and tried to bully the organizing staff into cooperation.

 

My experience exactly, and the extra folk did not go on the tour in my case, the extras were turned away by security.

[jmezmom]

 

Mind if I ask when and what ship did you have your last tour on? I hope on our next cruises if we follow your instruction we could tour the bridge as well.

 

Happy Sailing

Earl

 

I did a bridge tour last Aug/ Sept on Enchantment, December on Mariner,

 

April on Rdaiance, May on Mariner and May on Rhapsody.

 

It is a Diamond Plus/Suite perk.

[wingatesl]

YES

 

Wrong, in fact it is a D+ Benefit.

 

Behind the Scenes Tours, Galley, Bridge, Entertainment tour and VIP Theatre Experience available only on cruise vacations of 5 nights or longer. Royal Caribbean International reserves the right to cancel these tours (ie. Due to safety and security concerns). In the event of cancellation a notification will be sent.

According to the website it is Diamond, Diamond +, and Suite. We went on one during our last cruise.

[nanfromatlanta]

We were on the July 4th sailing of the Liberty and were lucky enough to receive an invitation to dine with the captain. :D As we were finished eating, he offered us invitations for a bridge tour a few days later. It was a great opportunity and very interesting. :cool:

[wraithe]

Hello on our last cruise this past February we where told by our cruise director that since 911, tours are no longer permitted. Mind if I ask when and what ship did you have your last tour on? I hope on our next cruises if we follow your instruction we could tour the bridge as well.

 

Happy Sailing

Earl

 

I have toured the bridge on several different ships, most recently on Liberty in March, 2010.

[wraithe]

I did a bridge tour last Aug/ Sept on Enchantment, December on Mariner,

 

April on Rdaiance, May on Mariner and May on Rhapsody.

 

It is a Diamond Plus/Suite perk.

 

It is normally a D/D+/Suite perk, however, my first behind the scenes tour was the Engineroom Control Room on the Mariner, on my second cruise. I dropped a letter at the Purser's Desk, the Chief Engineer called and set up a time, explaining that it would only be the Control Room, but after we finished touring the Control Room, I can say that I have some very nice pictures of my wife standing next to various engineroom components, since then, I have had the pleasure of touring several other Engineroom Control Rooms as well.

[madforcruising]

Hello on our last cruise this past February we where told by our cruise director that since 911, tours are no longer permitted. Mind if I ask when and what ship did you have your last tour on? I hope on our next cruises if we follow your instruction we could tour the bridge as well.

 

Happy Sailing

Earl

 

 

Just have a look at my signature and what ships I´ve been on, as about any ship I´ve been on the last several years offered the tours for D+/Suite guests. The only one I missed was Oasis, because it was scheduled for a time when I was on a shore excursion, but sure it was offered.

 

However it´s nothing available to everyone onboard.

 

One option not mentioned so far I think is to bid for it in the auction for the Make a wish foundation. It usually goes for several hundreds.

[Esmerelda]

We were on the Liberty last year and stayed on the ship in Labadee (we've seen in twice before). Hubby and I ended up at the pool for the late morning and chatted with a most lovely woman and her 2 delightful sons. After about an hour or two, we were getting up to leave and this woman informs us she is the Captains wife. She invites us (along with 2 teenage sons that weren't at the pool) to come to the bridge the next afternoon to have waffles. WOW...we had no clue this woman was Captain's Charles wife. She was so sweet and personable and we were very honored.

 

We spent probably 2 hours on the bridge the next afternoon talking to the crew and having waffles and icecream (Norweigan captain, this is tradition). It was absolutely a highlight of our cruise and we took many photos with the entire crew. So to answer your question, YES they can invite people up to the bridge, they are just more picky on whom I would guess that they ask. (and no we are not D+ cruisers)

 

:D

[rubrrick]

It's one thing to be invited for a tour of the bridge, whether you are a D+, staying in a suite, etc., and go as a group.

 

What the above poster mentioned is something very special, and does not happen very often.

 

We have been so fortunate to have gotten to know a few of the Captains, and have had a few experiences like the one mentioned above.

 

And someone also brought up a point, and that is that for a donation to the Make a Wish Foundation, certain captains will have you up to the bridge for a sail away, and sound the whistle. Last I heard, they were going for between $200 and $400 in donations.

 

Rick

[stretch44]

It´s at the decision of the Captain if bridge tours are offered, if they are they are usually offered as a D+ and Suite perk.

 

 

Actually it's a D+ benefit and if any room is left then it becomes a suite perk. We asked about a tour last time cruising in a suite. The concierge shook his head in disgust and said because of the large number of D+ aboard there was no extra room. He seemed truly unhappy he wasn't able to provide this. Unlike many other cruise lines, it seems RCCL puts a higher emphasis on pleasing D+ members than suite guests. Not saying this is right or wrong, just the way it is.

[madforcruising]

Actually it's a D+ benefit and if any room is left then it becomes a suite perk. We asked about a tour last time cruising in a suite. The concierge shook his head in disgust and said because of the large number of D+ aboard there was no extra room. He seemed truly unhappy he wasn't able to provide this. Unlike many other cruise lines, it seems RCCL puts a higher emphasis on pleasing D+ members than suite guests. Not saying this is right or wrong, just the way it is.

 

 

And even for D+ it´s still the final decision of the Captain.

[sjb317]

We did two tours, both on the Mariner in 2009, and there was no "security" either time, did not even ask our name. On the Enchantment in June; however, we had to show our seapass card, they checked a list, and we had to be checked with a wand. Huge difference!

Sherri:)

[stretch44]

And even for D+ it´s still the final decision of the Captain.

 

Very true.

[wingatesl]

And even for D+ it´s still the final decision of the Captain.

D and D+

[carkosh]

On Liberty a couple of years ago the captain hosted the suite cocktail party on the bridge for the sailaway from Labadee. On Oasis this past May the RCI casino dept hosted their twice a year blackjack tournament which DH was invited to play in. The casino arranged a bridge tour for those (& families) playing. The captain was not on the bridge however his 2nd in command did the tour. I enjoyed both very much although the sailaway was really a treat...I've never heard of another captain doing bridge tours this way; obviously it depends on the different captains how they handle (& who's invited) the tours. Interestingly, the Oasis bridge didn't appear any different from Liberty's.

 

Carol

[heavychevy]

And even for D+ it´s still the final decision of the Captain.

 

 

Well don't let rick fool you either. He claims to be friends with a lot of the captains and he states he is always on at bridge, so he is probably bumping some of the D and D+, and side swipping some rules that RCI has established. For reference check out his comments on Current Captains. So good luck getting to the bridge, and just be nice to one another, you never know who's wife you might meet at the pool:cool:

[madforcruising]

Well don't let rick fool you either. He claims to be friends with a lot of the captains and he states he is always on at bridge, so he is probably bumping some of the D and D+, and side swipping some rules that RCI has established. For reference check out his comments on Current Captains. So good luck getting to the bridge, and just be nice to one another, you never know who's wife you might meet at the pool:cool:

 

 

:confused::confused::confused: