Visit the Ship's Bridge

[harryt8]

Anyone made it on to the Bridge of any Princess ships at sea?

 

I'm not particularly interested in a $150.00 "Behind the Scenes" tour which is probably done in harbour anyway.

 

I am on Sapphire Princess 31 day Asian cruise ex Singapore 24 March.

[chengkp75]

The behind the scenes tours are generally done on sea days. Due to the ISPS security Code, access to the bridge is limited even for crew, and short of an invite from the Captain, the tours are the only time anyone is allowed.

[paul929207]

Since Princess gets $150 for the Ultimate Ship Tour, they are not looking to give away a part of it.

[Wehwalt]

Others with more experience may supplement, but the ways for the passengers to get to the bridge that I've heard of are:

 

1. UST ($150)

 

2. Milestone cruise, i.e. 50th cruise credit

 

3. High level VIP or good friend of someone who can get access.

 

I've been there by #1 and #2, once each.

[Shogun]

Hi

 

There are a number of ways an average passenger can make it onto a bridge tour,

 

all would need a very nice letter

 

honeymoon couples,

 

retired captains, harbour pilots, senior naval officers

 

golden wedding anniversary

 

100 birthday

 

competition winners

 

Very rare to be on bridge while leaving port, and unless you are Captains twin brother almost no chance of being there for arrival into port.

 

yours Shogun

[chengkp75]

Like I said, a personal invite from the Captain.

 

And I would say the chance of doing it, in particular since the Costa Concordia, during arrival/departure will be nil. Even those crew who normally have access to the bridge, are not allowed during periods of restricted maneuvering.

[chrysalis]

....but it is possible....

 

[chengkp75]

....but it is possible....

 

 

While that was most likely a violation of Princess' ISPS Code at the time, please note that this was in 2010, as I said, before the Costa Concordia. I really doubt any Captain will make that mistake again, given the publicity about the dancer, and the cell phone audio and video from that disaster.

[chrysalis]

While that was most likely a violation of Princess' ISPS Code at the time, please note that this was in 2010, as I said, before the Costa Concordia. I really doubt any Captain will make that mistake again, given the publicity about the dancer, and the cell phone audio and video from that disaster.

 

 

 

Perhaps....but two of those same people were on the bridge of a Princess ship last year, too.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

One of the nice things about the glass bridge wings, is that you can see who is on the bridge,

 

just have a look who's up there next time you are on a ship,

 

 

yours Shogun

[chengkp75]

Perhaps....but two of those same people were on the bridge of a Princess ship last year, too.

 

All I can say is, wow. As I've said, generally the crew and senior officers are further restricted in access during maneuvering, and conversation, even among the bridge staff is kept to only business. With the advent of Voice Data Recorders on bridges today, I'm amazed that either the Captain is willing to do this, or that Princess' ISM and ISPS systems would allow it. Just the fact that there are "personnel not required for navigation of the vessel" during these times can become a huge liability issue for the company.

[ChiefBoats]

I have done the ultimate ship tour on the Coral and we did get to the bridge. The Captain was there to give us the tour. Then we had pictures taken with him. I tried to get the one on the new Royal but did not get selected. It is restricted to 12 people and if there are more than that they do a lottery to select the 12. I'll try again the next time we cruise on the Royal or Regal. Hopefully next year.

___________________________________

Island Princess 2008 Alaska

Island Princess 2009 (B2B) Alaska

Royal Princess (Old) 2010 Alaska

Golden Princess 2011 Alaska

Coral Princess 2012 Panama Canal

Star Princess 2012 Alaska

Island Princess 2013 Alaska

Crown Princess 2013 Western Caribbean

Caribbean Princess 2013 Western Caribbean

Royal Princess 2014 Eastern Caribbean

Royal Princess 2014 New England

Emerald Princess 2014 Western Caribbean

[Loonbeam]

Even the UST has changed in terms of bridge access since the Concordia.

 

When we did it in 2009, we had the run of the bridge, in fact we got to take photos at the 'wheel' and had drinks and snacks in the ready room.

 

In 2014, we were limited to a roped off wing of the bridge, snacks were served there and the photo with the captain was done there (he had a wedding to do so didn't stay to chat) - 2nd officer was great.

 

Still a cool experience but not the same as it used to be.

 

Bridge visits now are highly secured and regulated, non-staff must be accompanied by ship security at all times for example.

[MTJSR]

Bridge visits now are highly secured and regulated, non-staff must be accompanied by ship security at all times for example.

 

Yes they are, during my UST on the Sapphire Princess, we were escorted onto the bridge by ships security and only let thru the double set of doors after a radio call to alert staff and cameras? (my assumption) We also had to be very quiet as we passed sleeping staff cabins.

[jagsfan]

Times have changed, haven't they? Left Tampa once on the bridge, drinking Dom Perignon as we went under the Skyway. I would think that would be a real no-no now, and probably should have been then.

[Hlitner]

We will not get into a discussion on security rules, issues, etc. But suffice it to say that DW and I have been invited to the bridge on several cruise lines (including once on Princess). There are usually certain security rules (DW was told not to bring her purse) and one bridge actually had a metal detector. So how does this happen? Sometimes it is just a matter of who your friends are, and other times it can because you are simply a frequent cruiser. On one cruise we happened to get invited to the Captain's table for dinner (we were a last minute substitute) and DW hit it off with the Captain who was fascinated by the Amish (we live in Central PA). At the end of dinner the Captain simply invited us to join him on the bridge (the following day) as we cruised into a port. When things got really busy (as we neared the pier) we were simply directed out the Bridge Wing on the side not being used.

 

For anyone really interested in seeing what is happening on the bridge we would suggest taking a cruise on the Queen Mary 2. They have a narrow observation area directly behind the bridge with large windows. You walk into this darkened observation area (like a large hallway) and you can gaze down at the bridge for as long as you please. We wondered how the bridge staff (and senior Officers) feel about having folks gazing at their every move. This bridge observatory does not show on many published deck plans, but its there for anyone to use.

 

Hank

[chengkp75]

Never said you couldn't get on the bridge, or that it couldn't be done without going on the tour. What I'm saying is that getting on the bridge for departure or arrival would be exceedingly rare. Even those ships with a bridge viewing room will usually draw the curtains while entering and leaving port. And the bridge officers aren't real fond of the viewing room, feeling like a zoo exhibit.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Still a cool experience but not the same as it used to be.

 

Bridge visits now are highly secured and regulated, non-staff must be accompanied by ship security at all times for example.

We had a a bridge visit on the Pacific Princess at the captain's invite. It was very nice (he stayed the whole time) but the two security team members were THRILLED. They told us later it was their first time on the bridge (which may have been why they were chosen).

[AKman2495]

You can buy a tour if you buy one of the deluxe packages, such as the anniversary or renewal of vows packages. That's what we did in 2013. I took the tour (DW was not that interested).

 

We were at sea. We were instructed to meet on deck 10 at a specific time. A officer met us and led us to the bridge. At any given time during normal cruising, there are 4 people on the bridge-2 lookouts and two officers. When we were there, the captain joined us for a few minutes.

 

We actually got to look around quite a bit and ask questions of the guide officer.

 

Cruising in the open sea under normal conditions is not all that exciting. Mostly sea, waves and more sea. That have a very nice radar system that showed a vessel about 20 miles from us. It has all the is marks on it so we knew the vessel name and type of vessel it was.

 

After some more looking around we left. That was it.

 

Very interesting and very quiet in the bridge.

 

Also, the captain asked us (at least at that time) to keep the visit a secret as they did not want the general passenger population finding out about the tour. That is because it is restricted and only certain people are allowed on the bridge.

[jak378]

The Ultimate Ship Tour is well worth the money. My wife and I both did it on the Regal in December. Not only do you visit the bridge, but also other working parts of the ship. All are interesting and some, the kitchens and laundry are fascinating. The bridge is also fascinating. We were not restricted in moving about the bridge and the Captain greeted us with snacks, Champaign and soft drinks. After a talk, he turned us over to one of the officers of the oncoming watch who explained things in much detail. We were accompanied by security during that portion of the tour. After the tour robes, photos and photos of the tour appear in you cabin. A very worthwhile experience.

[DrivesLikeMario]

We were lucky enough to be invited to the Ocean Princess' bridge a few years ago. We received a hand-written invitation in our cabin. I have no idea why we were chosen. We were some of the most traveled on that cruise, so maybe that was it. (Have to laugh at that as on most cruises we are babies in the cruising world compared to some of the people here with 400-1000 days!).

[OCruisers]

We were lucky enough to be invited to the Ocean Princess' bridge a few years ago. We received a hand-written invitation in our cabin. I have no idea why we were chosen. .....

 

It does occasionally happen.

Several years ago on Crown Princess, there was a note in our cabin saying we had been invited by the Captain for a bridge tour and giving us the time and place to meet.

No clue why we were invited. :confused:

LuLu

[Bogof1]

We did the UST in 2013 on the Crown. A wonderful,experience over 3 hours touring the ship with about 40 minutes on the bridge. The captain was there for about 20 minutes chatting and answering any questions we had. Quite interesting as 2 days earlier we had gone to the aid of a Syrian refugee crisis so the captain was explaining why and how they did what they did.

[Oxo]

It does occasionally happen.

Several years ago on Crown Princess, there was a note in our cabin saying we had been invited by the Captain for a bridge tour and giving us the time and place to meet.

No clue why we were invited. :confused:

LuLu

 

Just got off of Regal Princess and yes, we were invited to the bridge. There were 10 people and it was very interesting, as the new technology is fantastic. Thank you Princess.

[Wehwalt]

The Ultimate Ship Tour is well worth the money. My wife and I both did it on the Regal in December. Not only do you visit the bridge, but also other working parts of the ship. All are interesting and some, the kitchens and laundry are fascinating. The bridge is also fascinating. We were not restricted in moving about the bridge and the Captain greeted us with snacks, Champaign and soft drinks. After a talk, he turned us over to one of the officers of the oncoming watch who explained things in much detail. We were accompanied by security during that portion of the tour. After the tour robes, photos and photos of the tour appear in you cabin. A very worthwhile experience.

 

I took the UST on the Ruby, on my third attempt (they needed a minimum of six, and didn't get it the first two of my short B2B2B). I very much enjoyed the tour, and found the Commodore most welcoming, and very impressive (if he wasn't, he'd be in the wrong job). Last December, I got the bridge tour for my 50th cruise credit. The credit had actually happened on the Grand the month before, but Captain Lawes had cancelled the tour due to the norovirus (we were on code red, this was the shortened cruise due to the South Pacific rescue). I spoke with the Captain's Circle rep on the Grand, and he wrote in my record that I had not gotten to do the tour. My next cruise was on the CB in December, I spoke with the Rep there the first day, and got the tour. I didn't find it quite as impressive, even though we were allowed to take pictures, as there's no buildup, you just meet security in an elevator lobby and go. We saw the captain for an instant, he came out of his office, there were about 12 of us. I did not consider it polite to ask why the others were there, but I got the impression that one at least was an executive with one of Princess's contractors.

 

Both fun, and I wouldn't mind doing it a third time, but not a big deal.