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Behind the Fun tours -- are they back?

Pellaz

By Pellaz,
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Pellaz

Pellaz

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I browsed through pages of topics and didnt see them mentioned...which could be good news (they've been back and not causing any major discussion) or bad news (they're NOT back and maybe not likely to return).  😮  

 

So, uh, what's the story?  🙂 

 

Before COVID I took the tour on every Carnival cruise and always learned something new, or was able to see something new.  Our next cruise is on the Horizon in about a month, and having done the tour on the Vista before, I know the Engineering Control Room alone is worth the price of admission...

 

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Pellaz

Pellaz

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58 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

They have been back since last March/April. 😎

 

Happy dance!   

 

'Course, now I can't make a beeline for JiJi's or the Cucina upon boarding; I'll have to go to ShoreEx first.  

 

And I meant it when I said Engineering was worth the price alone, on the Vista.  The control room looked like a starship's bridge, complete with a flatscreen video "table" they could display things on, like a live view of one of the azipods. 😮  

I was tempted to ask if they could use it as a plotting table to plan an attack on a Solarian League star-system...but I digress.  😄  

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notscb "Live from...." Rare

notscb

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They are definitely doing it- signup times were weird when I was on Radiance in May and the cost was a bit much so I chose not to do it. I don't think they had even announced it on day 1, but you can always try to go over and see if you can signup for it.

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Pellaz

Pellaz

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6 hours ago, exarkkun said:

We did it on the Valor in May and it was really great. We had always wanted to do it but never had the chance. Happy Cruising!

 

Glad you enjoyed it!  Reviews for the BtF Tour here on Cruise Critic have generally been pretty positive over the years.  While every tour is different and some have been better than others, I've always enjoyed them...and I've done nine.    😮  

You never truly know what you'll get, either.  Some tours have included an individual photo with the Captain, some a group photo, and some a group photo by the ship's bell and spare anchor in the prow.   We've seen inside a temporarily vacant crew cabin, the Captain's private dining room (on older ships), and even inside the Captain's cabin (once; we had to tiptoe past since the door was open and he was working at his desk. 🙂 )  

 

 

4 hours ago, notscb said:

They are definitely doing it- signup times were weird when I was on Radiance in May and the cost was a bit much so I chose not to do it. I don't think they had even announced it on day 1, but you can always try to go over and see if you can signup for it.

 

I noticed (below) that the price has increased...no surprise there.  Pre-COVID it was around $70 on ships without a steakhouse, and closer to $100 on ships with a steakhouse.  

 

4 hours ago, ObstructedView2 said:

 

Hi @Pellaz🙂

 

Behind The Fun Tour can be purchased on board at the Shore Excursion Desk. Information below from Carnivals website.

 

20230919-103417.jpg

 

 

 

 

🍹

 

Thanks.  Aside from the increased prices, this looks exactly how I remembered the details from before.  Kudos on finding it on the website; as I recall it was never easy to find.  In fact, I first discovered the existence of the BtF Tour right here on Cruise Critic, just before my first Carnival cruise on the Imagination (r.i.p.)   
Maybe because it was my first tour, maybe because we got a little extra on that one, but it still ranks as one of THE best BtF Tours I've done.  The Chief Engineer himself officiated in Engineering Control (!) and we were there so long we were late getting up to the Bridge.  😄  

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CruiseAdict218

CruiseAdict218

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1 hour ago, CarnivalShips480 said:

The first cruises to have it again was on March 6th. My cruise was the week before 😒

That happened to me as well, I wanted to do it on the Pride this past March but didn’t start till a week or two later. My next cruise I was told Venezia wasn’t starting it right away but turns out they did. Leaving again for Venezia Saturday so that’s what I’ll be doing the minute I board. 

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Pellaz

Pellaz

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On 9/19/2023 at 4:51 PM, CruiseAdict218 said:

That happened to me as well, I wanted to do it on the Pride this past March but didn’t start till a week or two later. My next cruise I was told Venezia wasn’t starting it right away but turns out they did. Leaving again for Venezia Saturday so that’s what I’ll be doing the minute I board. 

 

I think Venezia is similar to the Vista class, so hopefully your visit to the Engineering Control Room will be as nifty as mine was.   (Well, darnit, I thought it was nifty. 🙂 )

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Haljo1935 "Live from...." Rare

Haljo1935

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3 hours ago, Pellaz said:

 

I think Venezia is similar to the Vista class, so hopefully your visit to the Engineering Control Room will be as nifty as mine was.   (Well, darnit, I thought it was nifty. 🙂 )

 

On 9/19/2023 at 4:51 PM, CruiseAdict218 said:

That happened to me as well, I wanted to do it on the Pride this past March but didn’t start till a week or two later. My next cruise I was told Venezia wasn’t starting it right away but turns out they did. Leaving again for Venezia Saturday so that’s what I’ll be doing the minute I board. 

Go to Shore Exc Desk as soon as they open first day. They'll have a book for you to sign up. We got our tickets a couple days later. 

20230924_125134.jpg

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Pellaz

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11 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

 

Go to Shore Exc Desk as soon as they open first day. They'll have a book for you to sign up. We got our tickets a couple days later. 

 

 

Yes, the BtF Tour is always conducted on the last sea-day.  For one thing, it's much easier to see things like the food and drinks storage rooms when they aren't completely full of stuff and you can't even hardly get inside.  

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carol louise

carol louise

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15 hours ago, Pellaz said:

 

I think Venezia is similar to the Vista class, so hopefully your visit to the Engineering Control Room will be as nifty as mine was.   (Well, darnit, I thought it was nifty. 🙂 )

Oh, it is, totally! Our visit to that room on Venezia in June was fascinating. The officer who spoke to us was entertaining, as well. He mentioned that the guys up in the bridge think they are running the ship. “They are just steering; we run it.”

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Pellaz

Pellaz

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2 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Me too - so excited to go. No phones allowed is kinda a bummer.

 

Yes it is, and I understand their reasoning, but you will get at least one and possibly two professionally-taken photos free as part of the deal.  

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Haljo1935 "Live from...." Rare

Haljo1935

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3 hours ago, Pellaz said:

 

Yes it is, and I understand their reasoning, but you will get at least one and possibly two professionally-taken photos free as part of the deal.  

Thanks for saying that - I get it, too. Just know there's so much I'm going to see that DH would like to see (he's not on this trip).

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thesmiths

thesmiths

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My son and his two buddies did it a few weeks ago, He is a paid firefighter as well as one of the other guys, the third was an engineer.

 

All three enjoyed it tremendously and found it very, very interesting,

They are all 27 years old.

 

This was on the Venezia!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Pellaz

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18 hours ago, CruiseAdict218 said:

Are one of them taken on the bridge do you know?

 

Yes, and sometimes you might get a group photo AND an individual photo with the Captain.  

 

As with every tour I've done, you just never know quite what you'll get, and what you'll see.  But I've always learned something new.  

 

 

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CruiseAdict218

CruiseAdict218

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On 9/27/2023 at 3:56 AM, Pellaz said:

 

Yes, and sometimes you might get a group photo AND an individual photo with the Captain.  

 

As with every tour I've done, you just never know quite what you'll get, and what you'll see.  But I've always learned something new.  

 

 

 

On 9/26/2023 at 12:52 PM, shof515 said:

Yes. the picture is with the captain 

Thank you, it was totally worth the money, we did a group photo. Definitely want to do it again on the other classes of the fleet. 

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