Ultimate Ship Tour - reviews?

[jonesmen]

Has anyone done the Ultimate Ship Tour? What did you think? Is it work the $150 per person?

[SiBreeze]

Has anyone done the Ultimate Ship Tour? What did you think? Is it work the $150 per person?

 

We have done the UST a couple of times on different ships. It is well worth the money, IF you are interested in the behind scenes workings of the ship. For the money you get a spa bathrobe, personalized stationary, chef's jacket and a couple of 5x7 photos. It is usually done on the last sea day and lasts about 3 hrs. I concludes with champage and snacks in the Adagio Bar.

[Love.II.Cruise]

Has anyone done the Ultimate Ship Tour? What did you think? Is it work the $150 per person?

 

Yes we've done it. Our review on the day we did it is in post #73 in the following link (scroll down it's over half way down):

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1586027&page=4

 

It is worth the $150pp.

[MustangGT]

We enjoyed our UST on the Island last year. It was interesting but we probably don't need to do it again. Be sure to have room in your suitcase for the robes! They are super plush!

[lovezepplin]

We did this tour 2 or 3 years ago at my husbands insistance and I thought it was a waste of money.

[caribill]

Think of it as a shore excurion on the ship. Well worth the costs.

 

The areas visited are hosted by the department heads.

 

Do bring your camera. Some areas are off limits for taking pictures, but in other areas (including the brdige) pictures are allowed.

[Wileyd577]

I found it very interesting. Worth it to go one time. Chef's jacket, nice robe, a tour of the towel folding machine....priceless....

[capriccio]

I concludes with champage and snacks in the Adagio Bar.

 

On the Emerald Princess in June 2009 it concluded with champagne and snacks on the bridge with the Commodore of the Princess Fleet. Unfortunately we were in the middle of a fog bank in the Baltic Sea but it was interesting to see and hear what extra precautions and staffing they need to do in that case. It was great to hear the department heads - with justifiable pride - discuss their organizations. I too found the laundry fascinating. We highly recommend it!

[Suzanne123]

I really enjoyed it, but wouldn't spend the money to do it twice. --Love the robe, though.

[Ethel5]

We thought it was worth the price. We had pastries and punch in the galley and ended up with treats and champagne/soft drinks with the Captain on the bridge.

[framer]

We did the UST several years ago and loved it. My sister and an 88 YO friend were on a cruise with us in 2010 and we talked then in to signing up. They both loved it.

 

No matter what they tell you before about no cameras allowed, take it just ask before you take a picture. They always said no problem to any photo I wanted to take.

 

Have fun...

 

framer

[jeromep]

UST is great! The $150 price tag chases away a lot of the riffraff, and those that do go, or are granted space, on the tour really want to be there, tend to ask reasonably intelligent questions of the staff and officers you encounter, and generally don't make Americans look stupid or ignorant.

 

I did some numbers and figure that for the $150pp we spent to take the tour, we got about $140 retail cost in merchandise in return. The bathrobes are the thick plush terry robes, not the thin waffle weave robes that you typically find in your cabin. They sell for $90. We got 4 or 5 8x10 photos of our group with various officers and staffers that posed for photos with us in different "off limits" parts of the ship. We also received some custom printed stationary from the ship's print shop and both an invitation letter and a thank you letter signed by the captain.

 

At the end of the tour we shared hors d'oeuvres and Mimosas with the captain and some of the bridge staff. It was really a nicely done tour and a great way to meet those who run and staff the ship. I'm not sure I'd do it again but it was a great experience and something you should do at least once when sailing with Princess.

[caribill]

The bathrobes are the thick plush terry robes, not the thin waffle weave robes that you typically find in your cabin. They sell for $90.

 

Usually, but not always.

 

When we did it, all on the tour received the waffle weave robes, not the thick plush ones we were expecting.

[as19111]

We took the tour on the Coral in January and it was worth the cost. As mentioned, you receive a plush robe, stationary, chef jacket, and photos in addition to the champagne and treats in the galley AND for us, in the Captain's lounge.

 

It was a four hour tour. We spent far more time on the bridge than I would have expected. The Captain also joined us in his lounge and answered our questions. There were some spouses that chose not to come, so if the other wants to go, they will enjoy it, but those who don't miss a lot.

 

The tour of the laundry, the in-depth tour of the galley (not the end of ship tour), and the freezers are a memory we'll always enjoy. We also went to the medical center, the printing room, the anchor room(picture), the engine room command center(picture), the backstage of the theater (picture), the bridge (picture).

[Norski]

We did the UST on the Island. Well worth the $$. When we got to the Print Shop and found out teh printing equipment was from the company my husband worked for. They made sure he got a picture standing beside the equipment. The photographer special delivered the picture to our room. The memories were well worth the cost

[snowman]

UST is great! The $150 price tag chases away a lot of the riffraff, and those that do go, or are granted space, on the tour really want to be there, tend to ask reasonably intelligent questions of the staff and officers you encounter, and generally don't make Americans look stupid or ignorant.

 

I did some numbers and figure that for the $150pp we spent to take the tour, we got about $140 retail cost in merchandise in return. The bathrobes are the thick plush terry robes, not the thin waffle weave robes that you typically find in your cabin. They sell for $90. We got 4 or 5 8x10 photos of our group with various officers and staffers that posed for photos with us in different "off limits" parts of the ship. We also received some custom printed stationary from the ship's print shop and both an invitation letter and a thank you letter signed by the captain.

 

At the end of the tour we shared hors d'oeuvres and Mimosas with the captain and some of the bridge staff. It was really a nicely done tour and a great way to meet those who run and staff the ship. I'm not sure I'd do it again but it was a great experience and something you should do at least once when sailing with Princess.

The Riffraff, huh who might that be? Stupid or ignorant americans huh. WOW!!! If you buy this tour you can ask ANY questions you want,

[TheSmartOne]

Yes we've done it. Our review on the day we did it is in post #73 in the following link (scroll down it's over half way down):

 

We took the tour on the Coral in January and it was worth the cost. As mentioned, you receive a plush robe, stationary, chef jacket, and photos in addition to the champagne and treats in the galley AND for us, in the Captain's lounge.

 

So it looks like both Suitelive and as19111 did the UST in January 2012...but when my sister wrote to Princess to ask about the sizing of the chef coat/robe, she was told "It appears a robe or Jacket is not something offered as a memento for the tour." The issue of sizing - ie: are the items available in 2XL or 3XL - will make or break our decision to try to get on the UST for our upcoming Panama Canal transit on the Coral (ONLY 25 DAYS TO GO!).

 

Anyone else have more recent experience and/or do you happen to know if the chef coat/robe come in 2XL or 3XL? TIA for any info you can offer! :)

[jonesmen]

My DH has always wanted to "get behind the scenes" when we've cruised, so it sounds like he will love this. It sounds like we need to wait until we board to sign up, or is it possible my TA can do it ahead of time?

[Love.II.Cruise]

Usually, but not always.

 

When we did it, all on the tour received the waffle weave robes, not the thick plush ones we were expecting.

 

Same here. We did not get stationary though.

[Love.II.Cruise]

My DH has always wanted to "get behind the scenes" when we've cruised, so it sounds like he will love this. It sounds like we need to wait until we board to sign up, or is it possible my TA can do it ahead of time?

 

You need to do it when you board at the Passenger Services Desk. If they have too many people sign up they hold a drawing.

[as19111]

You need to do it when you board at the Passenger Services Desk. If they have too many people sign up they hold a drawing.

 

We went to the desk as soon as we boarded. The staff pulled out a sheet with at least 8 names typed on it already...and we were early boarders. When we assembled for the tour, I asked if anyone in the group signed up before boarding and they said, "Yes, our travel agent signed us up." I don't know the details of how they did this. Any way, they limit the tour to 12 people and in our sailing, they had two tours (we had a lot of sea days on this cruise) a few days apart. I suppose if there is enough interest and time, they may schedule more than one tour.

 

The ship photographer and a ship security officer remained with us the entire tour. You are requested to wear close toe shoes and long pants. I thought it odd that the assistant CD (our escort) wore a dress, but they did check the shoes. No one in our group produced a camera on the tour, which lasted 4 hours and the majority of the time, you are walking or standing.

 

As to the question about size of robe/jacket, when we signed up, they asked for our size. I can't guess if the 2x/3x are available on the ship, but I think the robe is one size fits most. There is no mention of these "gifts" when you sign up for the tour. I was only aware of it from CC. I thought we would get cook books and not chef jackets, but that was my surprise! We gave the jackets to our SILs and look forward to having them grill for us wearing them;)

 

If you take the tour on the Island or the Coral, the laundry area is different than the other ships in the fleet. I believe they said that the system works so well that it will be placed on the Royal, too.

 

We learned a lot. I think jeromep was trying to say that the small size of the group really enhances the entire experience and encourages the group to ask questions that further everyones knowledge. Because you pay a premium price for the tour, it keeps it to a manageable level for everyone.

[jeromep]

Usually, but not always.

 

When we did it, all on the tour received the waffle weave robes, not the thick plush ones we were expecting.

That is too bad. I would have been pretty dissapointed. At least they tried. My guess is that their on board supplies of the nice bathrobes had been depleted and they had to resort to the standad grade robes. Either that or whomever was responsible for getting the materials out to the tour participants wasn't provided clear instructions about what was supposed to be given.

[jeromep]

We learned a lot. I think jeromep was trying to say that the small size of the group really enhances the entire experience and encourages the group to ask questions that further everyones knowledge. Because you pay a premium price for the tour, it keeps it to a manageable level for everyone.

 

Thank you, I guess I wasn't so clear.

 

Yes, the smaller group is nice because you do end up in some tight spaces and the more people in the group, the less you see in some locations. Even though the tour is 3 or 4 hours, you are being moved through the ship in what seems like a very quick sucession of locations and staff members. Having good questions means that everyone does get more enrichment out of the experience, especially when you are in each location for a short period of time, not sufficient for a group of 16 to all ask questions with each staffer that you meet.

 

On our tour there was one family of 4, my wife and I and one other gentleman who was touring alone as his wife and kids weren't interested. Our group was really engaging and the kids in the group were all well behaved. when I was 12 or 15 such a tour would have been really exciting to me.

 

Anyway, I could tell a few stories about the riffraff that you always find on board a cruise. We certainly met a few on that cruise. The world is a big place and it takes all kinds. Live and let live.

[WAJohnno]

I have done two of the UST's one on the Dawn Princess world cruise 2010 and one on the Diamond Princess on the Asia to Canada repositioning voyage in 2011.

 

I did the two mainly for a comparison of the ships but the tour was along the same format on each as has been described in prior posts.

The bathrobes are the same size which swamps my wife who is tiny in stature but it keeps her warm.

 

I liked the whole tour however having done two now I wont do any more I think its a good thought on Princess behalf to give folks a bit of an insight to the running of the ship from behind the scenes,I am not aware of any other cruise lines that offer this type of in house tour but I guess there must be.

 

Cheers:)

[SCjason]

Has anyone done the Ultimate Ship Tour? What did you think? Is it work the $150 per person?

 

It is definitely something that you need to do at least once!! We were on a Princess ship around the same time that they were experimenting with this and it was still new. When we got home I listed both of our chef's coats on eBay and they sold for almost $200 so it almost paid for our tour. But if you search now it looks like everyone had that idea and the price of them dropped. We loved being able to see the bridge. My wife is a nurse so being able to tour the medical center was a great treat for her. My favorite was the engineer room. Even though I had no clue what any of the lights or screens meant, it was really neat to see how a ship that large is run. Seeing all of the kitchen prep rooms and coolers was fun. I would definitely do it at least once.