Behind the Scenes tour on Encore

[KimGhee]

Sailing to Alaska on the Encore on 9/3. We are very interested in the behind the scenes tour and are wondering how to book it. The app shows that it is not available to book. First time sailing NCL. Thanks!

[genealogyfan]

You should be able to book it at the excursion desk onboard. I would suggest going there as soon as you board.

[FLAHAM]

Usually costs $100 or so per person.

[The Traveling Man]

2 hours ago, KimGhee said:

Sailing to Alaska on the Encore on 9/3. We are very interested in the behind the scenes tour and are wondering how to book it. The app shows that it is not available to book. First time sailing NCL. Thanks!

Welcome to Cruise Critic.  The behind the scenes tour (BTS) can be an interesting and enlightening event.  Many passengers, however, seem to think that the price is a bit high for what you get.  You didn't mention how often you cruise or whether you have cruised with NCL previously, but frequent cruisers can participate in a free BTS tour after they have accumulated enough loyalty points in NCL's Latitudes Program.  You may want to check the benefits available to see if this might be of interest to you.

 

https://www.ncl.com/latitudes-rewards-program

 

 

[DanielNL]

I was able to book the BTS tour in advance through the NCL app for my Getaway cruise next month. I have paid €118. 

[phillygwm]

There are (or were, pre-pandemic) 2 BTS tours:  One for Platinum level and above (status perk) and another which anyone can pay for.  I'm not sure what the difference is, if any, between the two.

 

I've done the Platinum tour on a number of ships.  It's interesting but not terribly different from ship to ship.  You see the galley, the laundry, and backstage in the theatre.  It did not include the bridge.  I'm told it did at one time but security is what it is nowadays.

 

Personally, I've always wanted to see the darker side of the ship:  the brig, morgue, water treatment plant, etc. (I saw the latter on one of those cruise ship cable shows.)  I might pay $100 for that 🤣

[shof515]

5 minutes ago, phillygwm said:

There are (or were, pre-pandemic) 2 BTS tours:  One for Platinum level and above (status perk) and another which anyone can pay for.  I'm not sure what the difference is, if any, between the two.

 

 

the paid tour goes to the bridge and the platinum tour does not. thats how i usually remember it and what i noticed on my past cruises

[julig22]

4 hours ago, KimGhee said:

Sailing to Alaska on the Encore on 9/3. We are very interested in the behind the scenes tour and are wondering how to book it. The app shows that it is not available to book. First time sailing NCL. Thanks!

It might be sold out.  They can't accommodate very many people, I'm thinking 20 or less for each tour.  Go to the excursion desk and get on the waiting list - they might have cancellations or choose to add additional tours if enough people ask.

[The Traveling Man]

1 hour ago, phillygwm said:

There are (or were, pre-pandemic) 2 BTS tours:  One for Platinum level and above (status perk) and another which anyone can pay for.  I'm not sure what the difference is, if any, between the two.

 

I've done the Platinum tour on a number of ships.  It's interesting but not terribly different from ship to ship.  You see the galley, the laundry, and backstage in the theatre.  It did not include the bridge.  I'm told it did at one time but security is what it is nowadays.

 

Personally, I've always wanted to see the darker side of the ship:  the brig, morgue, water treatment plant, etc. (I saw the latter on one of those cruise ship cable shows.)  I might pay $100 for that 🤣

As with so many other things on NCL ships which require an interpretation of a stated policy or rule, the answer is "it depends."  We have never purchased a BTS tour on NCL, but have taken several free tours as Latitudes members at the Platinum level or above.  In addition to the standard tour of the laundry, theater backstage,  I-95, and main galley, we have visited under the stage to see the stage lifts, the recycling operation, butcher shop, bakery, bridge, sub-zero freezer (it's HUGE), crew lounge, crew mess, crew training area, and the portion of the forward deck which usually is off-limits to passengers.  Other than the engine room, I can't imagine any other location on the ship that I might want to visit which I haven't already seen.  For me, then, there would be no interest in a paid BTS tour, regardless of what added features it might include.

[KimGhee]

5 hours ago, KimGhee said:

Sailing to Alaska on the Encore on 9/3. We are very interested in the behind the scenes tour and are wondering how to book it. The app shows that it is not available to book. First time sailing NCL. Thanks!

Thanks for the responses! As this is our first time sailing NCL, and my in-laws first cruise ever,  we aren't Latitude members so we'll only be able to book BTS (...which were completely fine with. My father in law who is an engineer dreams of seeing the engine room.)

[julig22]

4 minutes ago, KimGhee said:

Thanks for the responses! As this is our first time sailing NCL, and my in-laws first cruise ever,  we aren't Latitude members so we'll only be able to book BTS (...which were completely fine with. My father in law who is an engineer dreams of seeing the engine room.)

That's a big no on seeing the engine room.  I think that's as a result of 9/11 if I recall correctly. You go to the engine viewing room, where they monitor the engines.  You also go to the bridge, no photos of the console allowed.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, KimGhee said:

Thanks for the responses! As this is our first time sailing NCL, and my in-laws first cruise ever,  we aren't Latitude members so we'll only be able to book BTS (...which were completely fine with. My father in law who is an engineer dreams of seeing the engine room.)

As an engineer, I think that your FIL will love the paid behind the scenes tour.
 

We have done the paid tour in the past. But normally do the freebie tour for top tier latitudes guests (which is scaled back and done by the cruise sales staff). 

[Sundiego]

30 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 

We have done the paid tour in the past. But normally do the freebie tour for top tier latitudes guests (which is scaled back and done by the cruise sales staff). 

We have done a few paid tours over the years but never the Latitudes tour (which I know is more basic). Where do we book the Latitudes tour? Cruise Next desk, Shore Excursion desk?

 

Thanks!

 

Denis

[Davechipp74]

Has the BTS tour ever included a trip to the bridge?

[ggTexasGal]

19 minutes ago, Sundiego said:

We have done a few paid tours over the years but never the Latitudes tour (which I know is more basic). Where do we book the Latitudes tour? Cruise Next desk, Shore Excursion desk?

 

Thanks!

 

Denis

Yes, the Cruise Next desk.

[shof515]

1 hour ago, Davechipp74 said:

Has the BTS tour ever included a trip to the bridge?

the paid tour is suppose to go the bridge according to the tour description:

 

I did the tour on the Escape back in the day and it included a bridge visit

[The Traveling Man]

On 8/5/2023 at 1:16 PM, julig22 said:

That's a big no on seeing the engine room.  I think that's as a result of 9/11 if I recall correctly. You go to the engine viewing room, where they monitor the engines.  You also go to the bridge, no photos of the console allowed.

I recently have taken photos of the bridge console on several ships, including some by NCL and Celebrity.  None of the bridge officers made any attempt to prevent me or any other guests from photographing or taking videos.

[julig22]

3 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

I recently have taken photos of the bridge console on several ships, including some by NCL and Celebrity.  None of the bridge officers made any attempt to prevent me or any other guests from photographing or taking videos.

They told us no pictures of the navigation screen, anything else would have been OK.

[The Traveling Man]

21 hours ago, Davechipp74 said:

Has the BTS tour ever included a trip to the bridge?

Yes, it has been reported several times on CC that it used to be a regular part of the pay-to-play BTS tour.  I'm not sure if it still is.  The times that I have been given a tour of the bridge, it was by special invitation, not directly connected to a BTS tour.  Usually it has been a personal invitation from the Captain which he offered to those passengers who had dinner with him as a Latitudes benefit.  Once when my wife and I were on a Celebrity ship, we somehow managed to strike up a friendship with the F&B director.  He arranged the bridge tour for us, along with a private tour of the galley for one of the specialty restaurants.

[The Traveling Man]

2 minutes ago, julig22 said:

They told us no pictures of the navigation screen, anything else would have been OK.

No bridge officer ever mentioned that to us.  I have several shots of the navi screens.

[Turtles06]

2 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

I recently have taken photos of the bridge console on several ships, including some by NCL and Celebrity.  None of the bridge officers made any attempt to prevent me or any other guests from photographing or taking videos.

When we were on the Gem this winter, a sign in the Bridge Viewing Room said no photos of the Bridge were permitted. We’ve been on the Gem many times, well after 9/11, and that sign had not been there before. 

[YVRteacher]

Here you go. This is the description of the post Covid Behind the Scenes Tour. This is not the free Latitudes tour but the paid version.

[CruiseMH]

I did a BTS Tour on AIDA cruises and it included the engine room.

BUT,only for 7-9 seconds per person. Not because there was something you shouldn`t see but simply because it is insanely loud inside there.

Everybody got ear plugs and they made sure that you had them in properly before they let you have a short view inside.

And even with earplugs it was very loud.

So i guess that this is the main reason they don`t let you in there.

 

 

[julig22]

One of the more interesting things, to me anyway, was noticing the crew member whose sole purpose on the bridge at that time was whale-watch duty. Who woulda thunk.

So yes, they do watch and steer clear, as much as possible, if there's a pod in their direct path.

[omahabob]

On 8/5/2023 at 10:42 AM, phillygwm said:

...Personally, I've always wanted to see the darker side of the ship:  the brig, morgue, water treatment plant, etc. (I saw the latter on one of those cruise ship cable shows.)  I might pay $100 for that 

 

There is a way to see the brig for free. 

 

You can get to the morgue for free too, but you won't actually see it.