Behind the scenes tour feedback

[phoneman69]

Have not done a behind the scene tour on any cruise i have taken. Looking for feed back on the tours. I am sailing the Magic in Sept and really thinking for doing the tour this trip. Were you happy with the value and did you find it interesting / worthwhile ?

[Shmoo here]

7 minutes ago, phoneman69 said:

Have not done a behind the scene tour on any cruise i have taken. Looking for feed back on the tours. I am sailing the Magic in Sept and really thinking for doing the tour this trip. Were you happy with the value and did you find it interesting / worthwhile ?

Yes.

 

We've taken the behind the scenes tour on both Carnival and Princess.  I found it very interesting.

[jjcruiselover]

We did the Behind the Fun tour on the Magic with our 10 year old granddaughter and another couple. We all really enjoyed it and we each found their own area of fascination.  It was very informative and we felt we got our money's worth. 

[Border Granny]

25 minutes ago, phoneman69 said:

Have not done a behind the scene tour on any cruise i have taken. Looking for feed back on the tours. I am sailing the Magic in Sept and really thinking for doing the tour this trip. Were you happy with the value and did you find it interesting / worthwhile ?

I have done the tour on the Triumph, which of course is smaller, but I loved it!  You must wear sensible closed toe shoes and you will do a LOT of walking, and stairs. It was very interesting and you get to meet the captain on the bridge and they take a picture. You will get some swag at the end, and if I remember correctly they deliver the picture in a folder to your room. We thought it was worth it.

[klfrodo]

Yes, I have taken this tour.

No, I did not find it of value or fun.

Some of it might be interesting however, it's like going to the slaughter factory. I may enjoy my steak, but that doesn't mean I want to see where it comes from. Or, I may enjoy the magic of Disney, but I still don't want to see how the magic is made.

[jjcruiselover]

We received a group photo and then one with only our family and the Captain.  They delivered the photos to our stateroom with two plates of chocolate strawberries and a few different fancy pastries. The swag bag had some nice items too. Our granddaughter got to push the button to make the horn blow when we got to tour the bridge. They also had a continental breakfast setup before the tour and then mimosas and some snacks after the tour. Be sure everyone in your group can go up and down stairs and walk a lot.

[drgonzogoo]

Behind the Fun is a great tour and if you have ever been involved in restaurant or hotel operations, it can be interesting to see how they do it all so smoothly. I have done it on the Breeze(2016) and the Vista(2018). I really liked the tour on both however there were a few things about the last one that were a bit of a stumble for me. On the Breeze we were able to go to the bow and look around but not on the Vista. On the Vista you ended in the Red Frog and were given a sample glass size of 1 flavor of beer, i felt that a 5oz sample was a bit skimpy for a $95 tour. But, i really enjoy it and will do it again when on a different class of ship. 

  I also have a fun story about the Behind the Fun tour on the Magic in 2017.... it was the last seaday and i was drowning my last-day-of-cruise sorrows in the free champagne art show with my fiance, and she interprets anything more than 1 drink as over-doing it. So, i said, "I have to use the facilities, I'll be right back." Well as i made my way down the hall towards the bathrooms, i passed the library, i believe, and noticed what was the end of the BTF tour. I went back and the waiter had a tray full of mimosas and a tray of pastries, and was tidying up the area. The person who had led the tour was packing up her stuff and was in a big hurry, i could tell as she seemed a bit frustrated that someone came into the room. I asked a silly question, to seem harmless, and she spit an answer as she went out the door. I turned to the waiter and asked, "What is to become of these orphaned beverages, my good man?" He said tour was over and he was taking everything back to the kitchen. He was still cleaning but i knew i had to work quickly, and i still actually had to go to the can. I said, "How much for some of these beverages, sir?" He just shrugged. I gave him a fiver, took 2 and said i'll be back. I slugged back those, left the glasses on the counter in the bathroom. Got back to my new bestie, and he was about done but still had his tray. I gave him a ten, took 3, we both smiled.... #HitemwiththeHein 

[GLCM GUY]

Have done the Behind the Fun Tour on both the Splendor and the Spirit.  Both were well worth the $$ and the time.  It is a busy and interesting 3+ hours.  I highly recommend it!

[teknoge3k]

We've done it on 4 different ships and loved it. I'll likely do it again. 

[Jamman54]

We have done the tour on two different  classes of ships and enjoyed it both times. Just be aware that no cameras or cell phones are allowed because you will be taken to some sensitive areas of the ship. 

[ShakyBeef]

DH and I did Behind The Fun on the Pride a few years ago (maybe 2014?) and really enjoyed it.  We definitely felt it was worth the money.  Not rushed.  Lots of information and questions answered and interaction with staff and crew behind the scenes.  Lots of ground covered.  Sling-style backpacks packed full of Behind The Fun logo goodies, including a little soap swan sculpture made by a crew member in the galley (he was demonstrating the making of them as we toured the galley) for each of us.  Pictures with the Captain on the Bridge.

 

The crew bar was one of our stops on the tour.  The next day, at HMC, we had the Private Oasis and when our bartender asked what we did yesterday and we mentioned the Behind the Fun tour, he said "Then you saw my bar!  I am the crew bartender!  That is my bar!"  He was very proud of it and it was neat and informative talking with him about it and hearing his stories of the goings-on and the frenetic stress of his "regular job" as crew bartender.  He said his day serving just the six of us at the PO was like a vacation day for him.

[joepeka]

I will join the majority on this topic. We've done it twice (Freedom and Miracle) and enjoyed both but then again, I'm kind of a behind the scenes geek so go figure. We've also done a similar tour on Royal Caribbean (where they did allow cameras, to our surprise). It seemed like the crew members that we encountered on the tour were really glad we could see the out of sight places where they worked. I've told this here before but on the Miracle, we visited the small room where the organic garbage was prepared for disposal. The room was rather small, kind of grimy, did not have a the most pleasant odor and definitely not a great place to work. Regardless, the two crew members working that morning were smiling and happy that we could see them at their jobs, despite the nature of that work. It was kind of inspiring actually.

[Tampa Bay Irish]

Not worth the money. The cheapskates at Carnival should offer free to platinum cruisers. 

[K_e_short]

My 11 year old son and I did the tour on our last cruise.

He is OBSESSED with cruise ships and loved it. At parts he was more interested in it them me.

 

Our tour had mainly students who were learning about working in the travel industry. We got a lot of information about working on a cruise ship.I will say that it is very difficult working conditions and not something I would choose to do.

[cloudninecat]

We took the tour on the Triumph and enjoyed it immensely. My husband especially liked going to the bridge and engineering. Having come from a restaurant background he was surprised to learn that all the food is cooked via electric, no open flame anywhere. 

 

I enjoyed going to the bridge, of course, and seeing the crews quarters, mess and private bar area. I wanted to take their laundry folding machine home though it's almost as big as my house. And I was VERY tempted to leave my husband  of (then) 20 years for the suave Italian captain.   😂 

 

We both felt it was worth the money and plan to do the tour again now that it's the Sunrise. 

 

[Shmoo here]

2 hours ago, ShakyBeef said:

He said his day serving just the six of us at the PO was like a vacation day for him.

Hmmm..... does that mean the crew drinks a lot?

[ShakyBeef]

Just now, Shmoo here said:

Hmmm..... does that mean the crew drinks a lot?

 

Yes, according to him, they drink a lot; they don't have much time to imbibe those drinks so they want them NOW; and they are all demanding them in about 10 different languages, loudly, all at the same time in this small, overcrowded bar.  He said it gets kinda crazy.😮

[Vitamin Sea Addict]

Not to hijack the thread but how does booking this tour work? 

[ShakyBeef]

1 minute ago, Erikup said:

Not to hijack the thread but how does booking this tour work? 

 

It can only be booked once onboard, at GS or Shore Excursions desk.  Book it ASAP - it fills up fast.

 

ETA: I used my FTTF access to the VIP GS line on embarkation day to skip the long waits in the regular GS line and Shore Excursion Desk lines in order to make sure I got our tickets.  That sped up the process a lot.

Edited April 21, 2019 by ShakyBeef

[coevan]

57 minutes ago, cloudninecat said:

he was surprised to learn that all the food is cooked via electric, no open flame anywhere. 

 

 

 

Only the Steakhouse has open flames. This is why the steak will never be the same as the MDR, even with the upgrade. They use similar broilers to Ruth's Chris

[cloudninecat]

1 minute ago, coevan said:

 

 

Only the Steakhouse has open flames. This is why the steak will never be the same as the MDR, even with the upgrade. They use similar broilers to Ruth's Chris

I don't eat steak in MDR. I'm very particular about my steak. I think Ruth's Chris is good but not great. We're going to try the steakhouse when we go on the Sunrise (they didn't have it on the Triumph) and we'll see if I like it or not. I won't eat steak warmed over either. I had heard that they cooked them over an open flame in the steakhouse. I wouldn't pay the up charge if not. 

 

[phoneman69]

I want to Thank You All for the feed back. I believe i am going for the tour this cruise. Not sure the DW will want to do it but i sure would . All of the different locations threw out the ship sound very interesting. No flames and all electric cooking was some thing i had never even considered.

Thanks Matt

[ShakyBeef]

8 hours ago, phoneman69 said:

I want to Thank You All for the feed back. I believe i am going for the tour this cruise. Not sure the DW will want to do it but i sure would . All of the different locations threw out the ship sound very interesting. No flames and all electric cooking was some thing i had never even considered.

Thanks Matt

 

Have a great time!

[Anyislandwilldo]

I felt it well worth the money when I stood on the bridge and looked out and saw nothing but the sea ahead of me.  The captain was so gracious to us even after having to do this meet once a week.  You will find out some interesting tidbits of the ship and crew as you go along.  Have fun!!

[Anyislandwilldo]

14 hours ago, cloudninecat said:

We took the tour on the Triumph and enjoyed it immensely. My husband especially liked going to the bridge and engineering. Having come from a restaurant background he was surprised to learn that all the food is cooked via electric, no open flame anywhere. 

 

I enjoyed going to the bridge, of course, and seeing the crews quarters, mess and private bar area. I wanted to take their laundry folding machine home though it's almost as big as my house. And I was VERY tempted to leave my husband  of (then) 20 years for the suave Italian captain.   😂 

 

We both felt it was worth the money and plan to do the tour again now that it's the Sunrise. 

 

It sure would be nice to have that laundry folding machine at home!!  Our captain on the Dream was very gracious and Italian.