Galley and Bridge tours

[1 HappyCruiser]

Princess began charging for the same tour program a while ago at the same price. It was so successful that people actually rush aboard the ship to get in line. It won't be long before you see the same thing happen on Celebrity since some people will just pay anything they perceive as a value no matter what it is, especially the newbie's when on vacation.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I just got off the Connie on December 17. Both kinds of tours were offered on the ship--the free, by invitation tours, and the pay a fee tours. I suspect that will continue to be the model.

[1 HappyCruiser]

I just got off the Connie on December 17. Both kinds of tours were offered on the ship--the free, by invitation tours, and the pay a fee tours. I suspect that will continue to be the model.

 

Are you saying the tour of the bridge is free then.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Are you saying the tour of the bridge is free then.

 

No, I said there were two types of tours. Those one was invited to (which were free) and those that anyone could attend upon paying the stated fee.

[waggie]

I just got off the Connie on December 17. Both kinds of tours were offered on the ship--the free, by invitation tours, and the pay a fee tours. I suspect that will continue to be the model.

Thank you very much for this information.....when I made the comment:'Let's just hope that these tours are in addition to the current 'free' benefits and don't replace them'....this was the response I hoped for. Now, we have choices!:)

[excitedofharpenden]

Thank you very much for this information.....when I made the comment:'Let's just hope that these tours are in addition to the current 'free' benefits and don't replace them'....this was the response I hoped for. Now, we have choices!:)

I hope so too. There's another thread about Elite Plus which has had a discussion on the Elite Lounge numbers. Intangibles (or maybe not so intangible now!) such as this worked for the benefit of more frequent cruisers and/or attendees to the Cruise Critic Connections party I feel are much valued.

 

Phil

[hcat]

Could not believe the prices listed for these events when I saw them in the recent Newsletter-- Conjured up some ideas about what they'd be offering for a fee next time around! :rolleyes:

 

Luckily we have done them all for free except we paid for the photo with the cap. at our last bridge tour. That is a nice tour but would not pay--

 

One of the most disappointing events was the Elite sailway from the helipad on Equinox with Sr. Officers....I believe the port was St Kitts (?).. Although it replaced the free nightly Elite cocktail hr, the drinks at this event were cash bar only! Although it was another chance to meet the officers & other elite passengers, the location was in the hot sun, no shade, no chairs & not handicap accessible.... Will pass on it next time...

 

Other than the spa, The Bistro on Five & Silk Harvest (if they have on on board), some drinks and shopping on board we try to limit the extras.....esp. now that we have dining in Blu and AQ access to the Persian gardens

[excitedofharpenden]

 

One of the most disappointing events was the Elite sailway from the helipad on Equinox with Sr. Officers....I believe the port was St Kitts (?).. Although it replaced the free nightly Elite cocktail hr, the drinks at this event were cash bar only! Although it was another chance to meet the officers & other elite passengers, the location was in the hot sun, no shade, no chairs & not handicap accessible.... Will pass on it next time...

I did the sail into Venice from the helipad in June on Solstice and that was a really nice experience, but that was cash bar only too. To be honest it was a bit early for a drink anyway:o

 

Phil

[micruiser12]

I am really amazed at their charging for these tours, especially at such a high price!

 

We have been lucky to have toured the bridge on the Solstice and the gallery and backstage tours on several ships for free. Would never pay such a high price to see any of these tours, even with lunch included.

 

I would be interested to know what kind of a response they receive for these paid tours.

 

I would hope that they keep these tours free for elite members as a perk. We are not elite members yet, but I would like to think loyalty has it's perks.

[ghstudio]

Just off the Equinox today. We had a free tour of backstage (interesting) and a free tour of the galley (worth missing...although they did give us chocolate covered strawberries). We are celebrity elite but I think the galley tour was open to anyone but the backstage tour was limited to some level of captains club.

 

I have visited the engine control room on the eclipse and I would not pay to see it again. Now if they would actually take you to the engine room, as they do on the Xpedition, that's really a terrific visit.

 

A bridge visit is terrific...that's really the only one that's worth paying for IMHO. The current offering including champagne is just a terrible idea concocted by some marketing "genius" with no focus on the fact that no one should drink in the bridge, paying or not. They really should lower the price and serve nothing in the bridge.

[phdiva]

The price is set at what the market will bear. Clearly, they don't want a lot of people clamoring to take the tours. Makes sense to me!

[floridatravelersforlife]

We (Elite) did the bridge tour on the Millie b/4 Thanksgiving and several before.. For $75, I should get to drive the ship or toot the horn like Steam Boat Willie.

 

I hope departing Celebrity does this from, say Grand Cayman, (from a moored position). As far as pax being up there during US port operations, that's a concern. Imagine sailing out of FLL or MIA with all the traffic in the harbor?. Once on the Century, this ferry backed right in front of our ship. Not good if the crew is distracted by pax.

 

George

[TLCOhio]

$150 per person to visit behind the scenes (to some extent) on the ship you've already spent a considerable amount on just to board? Perhaps the "X" pennant should add the Jolly Roger logo. Seems there's a new brand of pirate afloat.

 

Agree that $150 per person price seems high, HIGH!!! In June on the Solstice there was no extra charge. It was a popular tour on a sea day. Many people, including us, have previously done galley and bridge tours on earlier cruises. Not sure it will be that popular at this pricing point. Time will tell.

 

Below are a couple of pictures I took from the June Solstice galley tour. Nice staff work shown!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Back from a June 7-19 Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 53,303 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

We did a galley tour and here is one of the staff members displaying his fine art in carving.:

 

 

 

During the galley tour, here is what can be done with the very good bread sticks. The bread options were good on this Solstice sailing.:

 

[jgnova]

We've done the bridge "tour" on a couple of Celebrity sailings and the most enjoyable was the last when the captain came out and talked about his experiences. But the smaller ships do offer a lot more. On the Mozart down the Danube, they offered a bridge tour (which I missed) and an engine room, which I did not. That was fantastic as we saw not only the control room, but the generators, engines, and water processing equipment.

 

But my favorite part was going through a lock when the river level was high. They had to lower the normal bridge and use "satellite" controls to navigate. I got to see them doing everything right up close! (I think I have photos in my listings in our sig).

 

I agree with the idea that everything is or will become a revenue stream. How soon will they drop the shampoo/conditioner? Or leave the only free meal as the buffet. The introduction of the Aqua class and an associated dining room is a throwback to the days before cruising with different class cabins and facilities. The old ocean liners had completely separate facilities for each passage class. One selling point for cruises back in the 60's was the end of classes. Now it's returning.

 

j

[Blue Lagoon]

Maybe, just maybe, Celebrity has decided to put these 'inside' tours out there at the outrageous price of $150, knowing full well that very few people will buy in.

 

Then in a few months, the tours not being popular at all, will be opened up to Elite 'Plus' members as a benefit, free of charge.

 

Sometimes, I give myself a headache when I come up with these inspirations!:D

[DrJJ]

Just off the Solstice. I did the $75 bridge tour. I had done the free bridge tour on previous cruises which consisted of a quick walk through of the bridge conducted by a junior officer done while the ship was in port.

For the $75 tour we entered the bridge 20 minutes before sail away and stayed through sail away from St. Maarten. The tour was led by the Ship's Master (the ship was actually navigated out of port by the Staff Captain) who spoke to the group for more than an hour and answered multiple questions. There were about 20 people on the tour. I thought the tour was very worthwhile.

[TLCOhio]

Just off the Solstice. I did the $75 bridge tour. I had done the free bridge tour on previous cruises which consisted of a quick walk through of the bridge conducted by a junior officer done while the ship was in port. For the $75 tour we entered the bridge 20 minutes before sail away and stayed through sail away from St. Maarten. The tour was led by the Ship's Master (the ship was actually navigated out of port by the Staff Captain) who spoke to the group for more than an hour and answered multiple questions. There were about 20 people on the tour. I thought the tour was very worthwhile.

 

Personally, for what you got and at $75, I would agree that this could work out well and be of interest for me. My wife wouldn't be interested, even at zero price. In the bridge at this busy sailing time, you can't handle a large number of people and this is one way to narrow the numbers/demand. Plus, provide some revenue stream.

 

If they offer "value", it does make more of a difference.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Back from a June 7-19 Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 53,502 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[Cruiser 4 Life 66]

Stupid. Especially charging just to stand on the helicopter landing pad, when that was free when I cruised with their parent company Royal Caribbean.

 

This is just another case of cruise lines charging for something that was once free. From "speciality restaurants" to special areas of the ship only rich people can go (and not "3rd class steerage") cruising seems to be going backwards instead of forwards. I remember visiting the Queen Mary and hearing them talk about "the first class pool" and how odd that sounded that only certain people were allowed to use the pool. Now we have cruise lines doing the same thing and only letting "Aqua class" people and "suite people" use certain things and charging people for things that have always been free.

 

I only see this situation getting worse, not better. More segregation, more charging for things that shouldn't have a charge. Cruise lines are shooting themselves in the feet if they are hoping to attract more of middle America to cruising. In case they haven't checked we are in rough economic times and people don't like being nickel and dimed to death.

[CelebrityMan]

I've done a great deal of group escort work over the past 30+ years. I've always been able to arrange special behind-the-scenes tours for my groups by coordinating them through appropriate channels. It has always been a very enjoyable time for my tour group members. I'm hoping those will continue, but it does make me wonder since the time & logistics will be complicated by the paid tours.

 

Up until this year's event (this past April) our bridge tours have always been fairly open events. While we had to go in registered, limited groupings, our time on the bridge was usually about 45 minutes and we were permitted to roam back & forth in all areas except behind the phalanx of desks (understandably so). This past April the tour limited us to the port wing and prevented us from the central expanse of windows. We did still receive a very competent and interesting talk by the Staff Captain and a long question & answer period until basically no one in each group had any more questions.

 

For some of the clientele I work with (and I suspect for many for whom cruising is not a regular vacation), fixed incomes require judicious planning. Many could not consider spending $75 or $150 for these shipboard tours.

 

 

CM

[Fixit2010]

Having just returned from the Solstice I can tell you the following conversation I had with guest relations.

 

Me: I would like to enquire about the bridge tour please.

Guest Relations: It is $75 per person.

Me: Excuse me ! since when? Last year it was complimentary.

Guest Relations: It is up to the captain to invite guests for free.

Me: Please can I make a request to the captain to visit the bridge?

Guest Relations: Certainly Sir.

3 days later an invitation arrived. Cost ZERO.

Be polite with them and treat them as you would want to be treated and they will put themselves out for you.

 

Also they ran a guided tour of the galley on a sea day for free.

[jd1966]

We also asked for a tour of the Engine Control Room and were accommodated for free. All we did was ask. However, I don't think it's fair to compare a standard "bridge tour" with a tour conducted when leaving port. I would seriously consider paying the $75 for the opportunity!

[Hawaiidan]

First I totaly agree with Cruise for Life66, There is a most specific trend to class distinction, being an elite , restricted access, and that which was included 20 years ago is not pay as you wish. I appreciate smaller ships under 1000 and one dining venue not 6. I have an aversion to being in elite clubs or status as I subscribe to Sam Clemons, " I would not want to join any club that would have me as a member".

 

However, Gonzo and others have a point too. This is a business, its not a charity event. As an example 15 years ago it cost 2600 pp to sail and inside cabin 15 days to Hawaii and back. Today with the dollar worth way less and fuel and food costing way more it is about$1200 to 1600 pp in the same cabin!!!

 

So given the economic picture how do you make up the difference? Simple by down grade of food and services and offering at huge margins better quiality Too, by selling country club elitism with special this and that.

Cunard does this and have 3 classes with decks and restauraunts reserved for their well oiled or desireous passengers. So too now many lines, with Celeb. in the lead it appears.

Things like internet, pay movies, special decks, special events, lounges, meet the captain, .... all that was inclusive is not.

 

As ships get bigger the fares will come down to fill them, ports will get cut and the passengers will be a captive audience to be sold all sorts of things to make up the difference.

As I recall, a hotel manager told me once that they target each person to spend a of 50% over THEIR cruise fare for a cruise in extras. So your 2000 per pp per week will cost you $1000+ pp in sales.

 

Some time back I did a cost comparision of sailing in a suite on a luxury line where everything air, tip, wine, booze, shore ex. all meals and pre and post hotel transfer and hotels are all included in one price. it comes to about$ 850 a day for a couple and all on a large ship with only 600 to 700, not 2900

I then compared a cabin of similair size, added liquor, wine, speciality dining, transfer, airfare, shore ex and tips and found wonder of wonder that the 2 cruises were of about the same cost. Except one with 700 and one with 2800, was a considerable different experience.

 

My Luxury cruising is over, I dont need that any more and I go for bare bones on the smaller ships now. Sadly these new maga ships 2600 to 6000 are , to me, not crusing at all but a floating resort. ( I saw one, in Turkey this fall and it looked like a floating ant farm..)

I would rather pay more and have what I used to have and not cruise on a floating used car lot.