Behind the scenes tour

[Taclin01]

Hello, I was thinking about booking the behind-the-scenes tour but then saw the price tag of $125 a person. We have never done anything like this and it would be interesting but is it worth the price tag? Thanks

[Northern Aurora]

Does this tour include a special lunch?  Years ago they included a special lunch in a specialty restaurant, and then when the lunch was discontinued the price dropped to something more like $89.  We have done them on M-class ships and in September did one on a S-class ship.  And while I don't remember the price I am thinking it wasn't $125, but may be I am in error.  

 

In any event, they are a hoot.  You visit areas such as the bridge, the engine control room, the galley, the laundry, the recycling center, food storage areas, interior crew bars and on the one in September we visited the crew messes (they have more than one).  Taking one makes you realize how little of the ship is open to passengers, and the questions other passengers have are so interesting.

 

I've just asked my husband if he remembers the price from last September and he doesn't remember a $125/per person price either.

 

 

[mfs2k]

17 minutes ago, Taclin01 said:

it would be interesting but is it worth the price tag?

I did it on Beyond last week. I found it interesting but If I didn’t have a lot of OBC I probably wouldn’t have done it. 

[Stem to Stern]

Book it!  Although the price of this tour has apparently experienced a price increase this year, I would highly recommend it.  We found it very interesting and informative.  As you move from one department to another a different crew member will give their part of the presentation.  Some crew members are easier to understand than others.  We found the control room (look for the garlic) and laundry particularly fascinating.  On the bridge we were sequestered to a small area on the far end, but it made for great selfies looking down the side of the ship.  Enjoy your cruise.

[Taclin01]

I should have mentioned that it is on the beyond!

[Stem to Stern]

2 minutes ago, Taclin01 said:

I should have mentioned that it is on the beyond!

All the more reason to book it!!!

[GottaKnowWhen]

2 hours ago, Taclin01 said:

Hello, I was thinking about booking the behind-the-scenes tour but then saw the price tag of $125 a person. We have never done anything like this and it would be interesting but is it worth the price tag? Thanks

Yes.

[Esprit]

I did the tour on Reflection and Edge. Both were equally enjoyable but I'm not sure they are worth the money.

Fortunately my DD was the Activities Manager whilst on board so I got them for free!

[stl82]

I agree the price is a bit steep, but because you have never done this, I think it is worthwhile. I especially enjoyed the galley, amazing how so many meals can be prepared daily and be of good quality. The control room, bridge, I-95, recycling center, etc. all very interesting.

[gerelmx]

I'm only interested in the Bridge tour

[mahdnc]

13 hours ago, Taclin01 said:

Hello, I was thinking about booking the behind-the-scenes tour but then saw the price tag of $125 a person. We have never done anything like this and it would be interesting but is it worth the price tag? Thanks

 

I think it is worth doing once although I was able to buy it for $99 before the pricing was raised a few months ago for our recently completed Constellation TA sailing.  If you are interested, here are a few photos and descriptions of the tour:

 

 

 

 

The bridge tour was a bit of a disappointment as it was not as good as some of the free bridge tours that I have been invited to because the bridge consoles were roped off so you couldn't get a close-up look at the controls.  This may be because we were at sea where the other bridge tours have occurred at port. 

 

 

The highlight for me was the tour of the engine control room which I had never seen before.

 

Edited November 9, 2022 by mahdnc

[go.without.you]

Pre Covid on Equinox I got invited to the "Officer's lunch" on the last sea day. It was held in Blu and afterwards we were given a tour of the bridge. That tunnel like section that sticks out on the side of the ship has a plexiglass window on the floor and you could see down into the ocean. We had a pod of dolphins racing our ship at the time, it was beautiful.

 

I signed up for this on Silhouette and am looking forward to it.

[zitsky]

I think I read in another thread that you can sign up a few months before the cruise?  I'm waiting to sign up for my Beyond cruise in May.

[mahdnc]

8 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I think I read in another thread that you can sign up a few months before the cruise? 

 

That's what I did.

[mfs2k]

36 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I think I read in another thread that you can sign up a few months before the cruise?  I'm waiting to sign up for my Beyond cruise in May.

You will have to do this before your trip because it sells out quickly

[mahdnc]

52 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

You will have to do this before your trip because it sells out quickly

Our group size was 12 which I think was the max.  However Celebrity ran this tour on 3 different sea days during our TA.

[zitsky]

I keep checking the onboard excursion list but it’s too far out for me.  (May)

[D. B.]

I just did it on Silhouette in September.

 If you are the Curious Type or an Engineer ( I'm Both) you will find it interesting.

 There is No Lunch but you do get to visit parts of the ship you would otherwise never get to see.

 The Bridge visit was too short and the officer we had knew less about what we were seeing than I Did.

 The size of the Booze Storage rooms is an indication of how much the guests consume!

 We had a ton of OBC because of canceled shore excursions or I would probably not have done it.

We converted the remainder of our OBC by loading it into slot machines in the casino then cashing out and turning in the ticket at the cashier for cash.

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, D. B. said:

I just did it on Silhouette in September.

 If you are the Curious Type or an Engineer ( I'm Both) you will find it interesting.

 There is No Lunch but you do get to visit parts of the ship you would otherwise never get to see.

 The Bridge visit was too short and the officer we had knew less about what we were seeing than I Did.

 The size of the Booze Storage rooms is an indication of how much the guests consume!

 We had a ton of OBC because of canceled shore excursions or I would probably not have done it.

We converted the remainder of our OBC by loading it into slot machines in the casino then cashing out and turning in the ticket at the cashier for cash.

Did you sign up before the cruise?  I’d like to do it.  I’m a project manager and would like to go around the ship telling people what to do.

[D. B.]

No I took the tour after signing up a few days before the tour to burn off some OBC's from canceled Shore Excursions (WE were At the Canary Islands for 2 days but it was Raining so bad all the excursions were canceled and just about everything around the ports was closed.

 I saw 2 guys going ashore in swimsuits and plastic flip flops so they could at least set foot on land and say Yes we went to the Canary Islands.  September 2022.

[lhermance]

On 11/8/2022 at 8:40 PM, mfs2k said:

I did it on Beyond last week. I found it interesting but If I didn’t have a lot of OBC I probably wouldn’t have done it. 

We are on Beyond on Feb 5. Would you mind sharing where you saw information on the BTS tour?  We’d like to do it but aren’t sure where (or when) to find the listing. 

[mfs2k]

10 minutes ago, lhermance said:

We are on Beyond on Feb 5. Would you mind sharing where you saw information on the BTS tour?  We’d like to do it but aren’t sure where (or when) to find the listing. 

It was on the Celebrity website cruise planner site

[zitsky]

54 minutes ago, lhermance said:

We are on Beyond on Feb 5. Would you mind sharing where you saw information on the BTS tour?  We’d like to do it but aren’t sure where (or when) to find the listing. 

You have to keep checking the website….  I’ve been told to check a few months before my May cruise.  Not sure when to start looking.

[prmssk]

58 minutes ago, lhermance said:

We are on Beyond on Feb 5. Would you mind sharing where you saw information on the BTS tour?  We’d like to do it but aren’t sure where (or when) to find the listing. 

It's listed under shore excursions in the cruise planner for sea days.  This may vary from ship to ship, itinerary to itinerary but we booked ours in mid-May for an early November cruise.  It was really interesting.

[zitsky]

6 minutes ago, prmssk said:

It's listed under shore excursions in the cruise planner for sea days.  This may vary from ship to ship, itinerary to itinerary but we booked ours in mid-May for an early November cruise.  It was really interesting.

Under on board activities yes?