Behind the Fun tour

[Taylorcast]

I am aware that to sign up for the Behind the Fun tour, I have to go to the shore excursions desk once on board and sign up, and that it's very limited (only 2 tours morning of last day, 16 people per tour).

 

What I am wondering is, in reality, how fast does this sell out? I have FTTF so priority boarding. In all reality, I can go there first thing after boarding (if the desk is open that early) or I can go to my room first to drop off my carry on....

 

So for people who have done this tour before, did it sell out the day of embarkation? Is the shore excursions desk open as soon as you board?

 

If you didn't board with a priority status (Diamond, Platinum, weddings, suites, FTTF), were you able to get tickets or did they sell out within the first couple of boarding groups? (This is assuming the shore excursions desk is open as soon as you board)

[SadieN]

Depends on the ship, length of cruise and your fellow pax whether or not it sells out.

Can also purchase it at Guest Services.

 

 

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[Gumbo4Life]

We had an OS cabin so boarded fairly early. We did go to our room and explored a bit and had lunch then went to the excursion desk to sign up. I didn't get the feeling we were in any danger of not getting a slot at that time. But, I am a data point of 1 so take it FWIW!

[CA_Cruzing]

It's the first thing we do when we board. Sign up for the tour. Lunch can always wait. And we almost always have FTTF.

 

 

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[bwellen]

On the Breeze last month we got on board about 30 minutes after the first groups started boarding. We went straight to the excursion desk and we were the beginning of the second group. So we were persons 17-20 of the 32 people allowed to take the tour on that cruise. When we walked away the couple behind us in line said "we want the same tour as they signed up for".

 

I would do it first thing. It only takes about 5 minutes to register.

 

 

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[moondog73]

When we were on the Sunshine earlier in March, we boarded as FTTF and went directly to room to drop off carry on luggage and then to excursion desk to sign up for the tour. We were spots 3-5. The tour was full the day we did it.

[CB42]

We cruised on the Magic this month and had FTTF, We went straight to the excursion desk and were the 3rd and 4th to sign up. Fills up super quick

[sydney dog]

What is this tour? Never heard of it. How do they doit the morning you disembark? Am I reading it correctly?

[Singer4Him]

On the Breeze last month we got on board about 30 minutes after the first groups started boarding. We went straight to the excursion desk and we were the beginning of the second group. So we were persons 17-20 of the 32 people allowed to take the tour on that cruise.

 

Pretty much the same thing happened to us on the Dream in 2015. We had FTTF and went straight to the Shore Excursions desk upon boarding. We were the last four in the first group.

Since you're boarding just steps away from the Shore Excursions desk, I would go ahead and do it immediately if you really want to do the tour.

[asalligo]

What is this tour? Never heard of it. How do they doit the morning you disembark? Am I reading it correctly?

 

Mine was the last sea day. The tour was great, they took us through all of the crew areas, then the galleys and the bridge.

[Singer4Him]

What is this tour? Never heard of it. How do they doit the morning you disembark? Am I reading it correctly?

 

Behind the Fun is done on the last sea day of the cruise. It's a tour that takes you to many different "behind the scenes" places on the ship including the galley, bridge, the crew areas, backstage in the main auditorium, engine control room, etc. If you've never done it, it's probably something you should look into. I would suggest putting "Behind the Fun" into the search bar on this forum and see what comes up.

We've done it twice; once aboard the Freedom and then aboard the Dream. It's about a 3.5-4 hour tour but for security purposes, there are no cameras, phones, or any devices such as that allowed so you won't find any pics online. They actually "wand" everyone who is going on the tour to ensure that no devices are on the tour.

All in all, it's one of our favorite excursions that we've done.

[caddykid12]

Depends on the ship and crowd. Believe it or not. We were on the Splendor NYE cruise this December. Boarded as fttf. Went to room to but carry on away. Get the wheelchaiur that was delivered. Around 6pm. I remembered to go book it as I had forgot.

 

Mom and I were 1 and 2. On the 2nd tour as it was later for us.

 

Great day it was. Saw the bridge with ample time (30 min) including a lengthy Q&A with captain. Group and Individual pics. Saw crew areas on the bow and chow hall. Mourge. Jail/Brig. Behind the stage and dressing room. Galley. (In action) was around 1130 at that time. Brunch was in service. Did a fruit carving demo. One young woman was upset that mushroom soup was not on any menu for 7 days and asked why. Chef said he didn't know what menus were rotated but OFFERED to make a batch for her and the family of 8 she had. He had a notepad wrote it down and table number. Saw her in the casino and chef did follow thru. We Saw I95. The walkway the length of the ship. The crew learning area with computers for language skills. Saw 2 meat freezers and fridges. Beverage cooler and a Q&A with the manager. Laubdry room and crew work out gym. As well as a lengthy in depth exploration of the Engine Control Room with the Chief Engineer. Ended with a stop upstairs for a demo and soap carving at the steakhouse before u got a free drink and a backpack and hat and fill out your fast survey.

[DM_KidAtHeart]

Depends on the ship and crowd. Believe it or not. We were on the Splendor NYE cruise this December. Boarded as fttf. Went to room to but carry on away. Get the wheelchaiur that was delivered. Around 6pm. I remembered to go book it as I had forgot.

 

Mom and I were 1 and 2. On the 2nd tour as it was later for us.

 

Great day it was. Saw the bridge with ample time (30 min) including a lengthy Q&A with captain. Group and Individual pics. Saw crew areas on the bow and chow hall. Mourge. Jail/Brig. Behind the stage and dressing room. Galley. (In action) was around 1130 at that time. Brunch was in service. Did a fruit carving demo. One young woman was upset that mushroom soup was not on any menu for 7 days and asked why. Chef said he didn't know what menus were rotated but OFFERED to make a batch for her and the family of 8 she had. He had a notepad wrote it down and table number. Saw her in the casino and chef did follow thru. We Saw I95. The walkway the length of the ship. The crew learning area with computers for language skills. Saw 2 meat freezers and fridges. Beverage cooler and a Q&A with the manager. Laubdry room and crew work out gym. As well as a lengthy in depth exploration of the Engine Control Room with the Chief Engineer. Ended with a stop upstairs for a demo and soap carving at the steakhouse before u got a free drink and a backpack and hat and fill out your fast survey.

 

 

You did the tour with one of you needing a wheelchair? I've always read there are tight stairways to navigate as part of these tours.

 

 

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[Alaskan Joe]

Does this tour cost??? If so how much??

[bwellen]

Does this tour cost??? If so how much??

 

 

$95 to $55 per person depending on the ship. The larger ships cost more.

 

 

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[originalgeek]

Does this tour cost??? If so how much??

 

Ours was 95 bucks each on the Conquest last July and we considered it money funly spent.

 

To answer OP, I think we signed up for it the morning of the second day at Guest Services BUT we had no choice of the two tours - the first one was sold out so we got into the second one. I remember because we had to cancel our Dr Suess breakfast to do it. (No worries, we got to Dr Suess on our next cruise in December!).

 

But if I was going to do it again (and depending which ship it is we might because it was very interesting) I would go sign up on the first day at least if not right as we board.

[ShellLoves2cruise]

We did the Behind the Fun tour on the Victory and loved it! I highly recommend it. The tour we were on wasn't full and they said that hardly ever happens! We were the first 2 to sign up, they said they needed at least 6-8 to be able to do the tour. Luckily, seven more people signed up so there were 9 of us altogether. The crew member that lead the tour took all our cell phones/cameras/etc from us and put them in a backpack during the tour (which she carried).

Be sure to wear closed toe shoes or they'll send you back to your cabin to change your shoes. It may be hard for people with any kind of limitations (bad back, knees, or trouble walking/climbing stairs). We got several goodies like the pictures, backpack, cap, lanyard and later that night there were chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us in our cabin. I would definitely do it again on a different ship, well worth the money IMO :D

[caddykid12]

You did the tour with one of you needing a wheelchair? I've always read there are tight stairways to navigate as part of these tours.

 

 

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No wheelchair just was adding why I had forgotten to sign up earlier yet still had openings on a holiday cruise

[BusyBlond]

We did the Behind the Fun tour on the Victory and loved it! I highly recommend it. The tour we were on wasn't full and they said that hardly ever happens! We were the first 2 to sign up, they said they needed at least 6-8 to be able to do the tour. Luckily, seven more people signed up so there were 9 of us altogether. The crew member that lead the tour took all our cell phones/cameras/etc from us and put them in a backpack during the tour (which she carried).

Be sure to wear closed toe shoes or they'll send you back to your cabin to change your shoes. It may be hard for people with any kind of limitations (bad back, knees, or trouble walking/climbing stairs). We got several goodies like the pictures, backpack, cap, lanyard and later that night there were chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us in our cabin. I would definitely do it again on a different ship, well worth the money IMO :D

Sad that they don't let you take pictures during the tour. We weren't allowed to when we did behind the scenes on the Elation either. Did the tour on NCL Epic and they not only allowed, but encouraged people to take pictures.

 

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[BigChiefJJ]

We were on a 7 night out of Galveston on the Freedom earlier this year. The cruise director was announcing that there was still available space on the tour the morning of the tour. Freedom is an older boat, so I'm guessing newer bigger ships fill up fast, older boats not so fast.

 

If you really want to take the tour, sign up right when you get on.

[originalgeek]

Sad that they don't let you take pictures during the tour. We weren't allowed to when we did behind the scenes on the Elation either. Did the tour on NCL Epic and they not only allowed, but encouraged people to take pictures.

 

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I would have liked to take pictures too however they did take a bunch with their photographers and those were included in the price of the tour - even a pic with the captain on the bridge.

 

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[tllstaco]

We did the Behind the Fun tour on the Freedom in October 2016. My wife and I signed up the day before the tour. The first tour was full but the second tour only had 4 people. It made it very nice as you could ask lots of questions. Highly recommend doing this tour!

[wolfatlga]

When we tried the Behind the Scenes tour on RCCL they told us in addition to closed toes shoes everyone had to wear long pants for our safety. We passed and said we would wait till we were on Carnival. They also would not let men where dress shorts on casual night, so now we are booked on the Miracle, Yeah! I can dress like an adult and not have a supervisor for dinner dress code.

[bfrazer1956]

This tour sounds interesting. Let me know if you got this link and able to open.

 

 

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[mumofsons]

DH and I did this on our Sunshine cruise in February - we are platinum and were on of the first on the ship and I went straight to sign us up. We were the first ones but later that first evening they excursion desk had a problem with our sail and sign (I used DH's cc and we needed to go to the front desk to get him to say he approved the charges:cool:) anyhoo - by 7pm the first day both tours were sold out because we asked about two more spots for our grown kids.

The ship was totally sold out (it was super bowl week) I don't know if that made a difference. It was 95 each and both of us felt it was totally worth it! I don't think I would do it more than once though.