Behind the scenes tour of Getaway for engine lover?

[QuadraCatLady]

I've seen that some ships offer behind-the-scenes tours but it looks like none get into the mechanics of the ship--engines, etc. My husband LOVES anything to do with machines and engines and tech and I know he would totally nerd out at the chance to see some behind-the-scenes stuff on a cruise ship. Is there any chance this is a possibility??? The rest of the tour stuff he would find somewhat interesting but the mechanical stuff would truly float his boat, so to speak. 😉

 

2

[Sauer-kraut]

No, due to security concerns since 9/11 no tours to the engine rooms or mechanical areas

[QuadraCatLady]

2 minutes ago, Sauer-kraut said:

No, due to security concerns since 9/11 no tours to the engine rooms or mechanical areas

☹️ Aw, that's too bad.

[don't-use-real-name]

1 minute ago, Sauer-kraut said:

No, due to security concerns since 9/11 no tours to the engine rooms or mechanical areas

 

Nor Bridge tours !

Some ships have a Bridge Viewing Room is about as close as you will get.

Although with an Ambassador or High Platinum level in a Haven OS it maybe possible ! Ask !

On some phases of the BST photo/video is restricted usually the I95 areas.

If the stage is being set up for the evening show and your tour is there at that time that too maybe photo restricted. 

 

[www3traveler]

Somewhere during your cruise will be a Q&A with the Captain and the Chief Engineer.  During that presentation there will probably be a slide show of the Engine Room.  It is really interesting.

[shof515]

1 hour ago, don't-use-real-name said:

 

Nor Bridge tours !

Some ships have a Bridge Viewing Room is about as close as you will get.

Although with an Ambassador or High Platinum level in a Haven OS it maybe possible ! Ask !

On some phases of the BST photo/video is restricted usually the I95 areas.

If the stage is being set up for the evening show and your tour is there at that time that too maybe photo restricted. 

 

 

whats odd, on other cruise lines they do offer a bridge tour visit during the behind the scenes tours and you can also visit the engine control room. so far, Norwegian is only one that has no bridge room tours or engine control rooms.

[zqvol]

3 hours ago, QuadraCatLady said:

I've seen that some ships offer behind-the-scenes tours but it looks like none get into the mechanics of the ship--engines, etc. My husband LOVES anything to do with machines and engines and tech and I know he would totally nerd out at the chance to see some behind-the-scenes stuff on a cruise ship. Is there any chance this is a possibility??? The rest of the tour stuff he would find somewhat interesting but the mechanical stuff would truly float his boat, so to speak. 😉

 

2

 

They don't do engine room tours due to safety reasons. The rooms are simply too loud to safely allow passengers in them. The behind the scenes tour will give him some insight into how the ships run, but actually seeing the engine room will not happen.

[zqvol]

1 hour ago, shof515 said:

 

whats odd, on other cruise lines they do offer a bridge tour visit during the behind the scenes tours and you can also visit the engine control room. so far, Norwegian is only one that has no bridge room tours or engine control rooms.

 

On some NCL ships there are bridge observation rooms that are open at all times. Ii will admit that going on the bridge the first time is pretty interesting, but that doesn't last long. Engine room tours are really not that interesting because they are too loud and cramped. It's a shame that NCL doesn't offer views of the engine room and the engine control room.

[CookieShip]

3 hours ago, Sauer-kraut said:

No, due to security concerns since 9/11 no tours to the engine rooms or mechanical areas

Not sure that is the case, as shof515 mentioned, it is allowed on other lines.

Personally I've done it on Carnival post 9/11, but cameras were not allowed on those tours. 

[don't-use-real-name]

The sterile bridge and engine room concept is just like the airlines - no cockpit access and you

certainly would not want to check out the engine room in flight ! LOL !

With a cavet of when boarding maybe having a peak at the cockpit briefly.

 

As for the other cruise lines - well they conduct their business in their way and NCL does not

always follow (or lead) in that category -

Still yet it is keep the darn thing afloat no stinking sinking ships - that's bad for business !

Costa Concordia 101 log version

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, Sauer-kraut said:

No, due to security concerns since 9/11 no tours to the engine rooms or mechanical areas

Well,,,, no. 

 

Actually, the closure of the bridge came after the Paris terrorist attacks in 2015. At that time, there was a credible threat that terrorist would try to take over a cruise ship. NCL secured their bridges and, for a time, talked about permanently sealing off the bridge observations rooms on the small ships and the Epic. That never happened. 

 

We were on a public BTS tour of the Getaway in February 2014 on her inaugural voyage from Miami. And the bridge actually had that "new car smell". At the time, you could take pictures out the windows, but not directly at the controls or security panels. 

 

Every wondered how much the bridge crew can see of large balconies?

 

 

Edited August 12, 2019 by BirdTravels

[chengkp75]

As others have noted, the closest that any cruise line allows passenger access is the Engine Control Room.  All engineering spaces are restricted areas, and even 95% of the crew are not granted access to these areas.  While some compartments of the engine room may be relatively quiet, and relatively cool (about 95 in the Carribean), the actual engine rooms where the engines are running will be 130*F,  and around 130 dB of noise (standing 50 feet away from a military jet taking off with afterburners).  It would also require traversing several hydraulic watertight doors, which in and of themselves can be dangerous, steep ladders (stairs) at 60-70* pitch, areas of low overhead clearance, much tripping hazards, etc.  The tour guide would be shouting into each person's ear individually to get about 50% of the message understood.

[tomk3212]

We were able to tour the bridge aboard the Gem a number of years ago (probably before 2015) when we did the BTS tour and i was allowed to take pix; still have them on my other PC as they come up once in a while on my screen saver...

 

Discovery Channel had a show on cruise ships that centered around NCL Jewel which gave you some looks into the engine room area; certainly not a tour!  I think that's as close as you'll come nowadays to a "tour" of these sensitive areas aboard cruise ships.  Ditto the bridge.

 

Hope you have a great cruise!

[QuadraCatLady]

4 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

As others have noted, the closest that any cruise line allows passenger access is the Engine Control Room.  All engineering spaces are restricted areas, and even 95% of the crew are not granted access to these areas.  While some compartments of the engine room may be relatively quiet, and relatively cool (about 95 in the Carribean), the actual engine rooms where the engines are running will be 130*F,  and around 130 dB of noise (standing 50 feet away from a military jet taking off with afterburners).  It would also require traversing several hydraulic watertight doors, which in and of themselves can be dangerous, steep ladders (stairs) at 60-70* pitch, areas of low overhead clearance, much tripping hazards, etc.  The tour guide would be shouting into each person's ear individually to get about 50% of the message understood.

Okay, this makes a lot of sense. Duly noted. Thanks!

[QuadraCatLady]

Thanks for the replies everyone! Looks like we'll stick to the Discovery Channel "tour". 🙂

[brookie848]

It's definitely not the engine room, but the machinery in the laundry area is interesting to see. That area is included on the behind the scenes tour. 

[Budget Queen]

15 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

 

Nor Bridge tours !

Some ships have a Bridge Viewing Room is about as close as you will get.

Although with an Ambassador or High Platinum level in a Haven OS it maybe possible ! Ask !

On some phases of the BST photo/video is restricted usually the I95 areas.

If the stage is being set up for the evening show and your tour is there at that time that too maybe photo restricted. 

 

 

Nobody but staff  get in the bridge 

[Laszlo]

14 hours ago, shof515 said:

 

whats odd, on other cruise lines they do offer a bridge tour visit during the behind the scenes tours and you can also visit the engine control room. so far, Norwegian is only one that has no bridge room tours or engine control rooms.

I was able to do one 7 years ago on the Gem......

 

 

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, QuadraCatLady said:

Okay, this makes a lot of sense. Duly noted. Thanks!

Having been a ship's engineer for 44 years, and a Chief Engineer for 37+, and having worked on cruise ships as well as other types, if DH has any questions regarding shipboard operations or equipment, I'm almost always here for answers.

[QuadraCatLady]

23 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Having been a ship's engineer for 44 years, and a Chief Engineer for 37+, and having worked on cruise ships as well as other types, if DH has any questions regarding shipboard operations or equipment, I'm almost always here for answers.

How cool! I'll let him know. Thank you!

[newty25]

Not so fast. We met the captain on the Getaway this past Thanksgiving. He invited us up for a private tour of the bridge. Answered tons of questions for us and was very gracious. It was just us three (wife, son, and I).

 

He even let my kid "drive" the boat! Let him wear the hat too! LOL!

 

Was definitely the highlight of our trip and we thanked him profusely. Very kind gentleman, indeed.

 

[QuadraCatLady]

20 minutes ago, newty25 said:

Not so fast. We met the captain on the Getaway this past Thanksgiving. He invited us up for a private tour of the bridge. Answered tons of questions for us and was very gracious. It was just us three (wife, son, and I).

 

He even let my kid "drive" the boat! Let him wear the hat too! LOL!

 

Was definitely the highlight of our trip and we thanked him profusely. Very kind gentleman, indeed.

 

How cool! Lucky kid. 🙂

[FreestyleNovice]

OP, not NCL but Celebrity does better Behind The Scenes tours, including a bridge visit (roped off part plus one of the bridge wings), laundry room, I95, crew bar, mess, fruit storage, waste management and engine control room with numerous screens with live streams of the engines and showing current nautical and technical information. And photo's were allowed on Celebrity Reflection.

Staying in a Concierge Class balcony also tends to lead to an helipad sail away or sail in, which is also an experience!

 

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[FreestyleNovice]

1 hour ago, newty25 said:

Not so fast. We met the captain on the Getaway this past Thanksgiving. He invited us up for a private tour of the bridge. Answered tons of questions for us and was very gracious. It was just us three (wife, son, and I).

 

He even let my kid "drive" the boat! Let him wear the hat too! LOL!

 

Was definitely the highlight of our trip and we thanked him profusely. Very kind gentleman, indeed.

 

 

 

I am asking this for a friend; which suite category were you in? 

 

[newty25]

16 minutes ago, FreestyleNovice said:

 

I am asking this for a friend; which suite category were you in? 

 

 

Not the OS or the DOS. We were in a plain-ole H4. 🙂