Behind the Fun tours -- are they back?

[ninjacat123]

If I don't get it this upcoming Oct cruise on Pride, I will definitely look into booking it for our Thanksgiving cruise out of Jacksonville on Elation.👍

[RogBus101]

How much?

[ninjacat123]

According to a previous post, $90-150.

[Pellaz]

6 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

According to a previous post, $90-150.

 

"Back in the day" pre-COVID they ranged from $65 or so up to $95, depending on the ship-size.  Not surprised the price has increased; now they're on a par with Royal's behind-the-scenes tours pre-COVID...and Royal's tours weren't quite as long or immersive.  

Edited October 2, 2023 by Pellaz
clarifying whose tours

[VentureMan_2000]

On 9/19/2023 at 11:55 AM, Pellaz said:

 

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. 
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.  😄  

Do they show you the engine room ?  And other engineer/mechanical areas ?

Would love to see the engine room, propeller drive shaft, water RO processing, laundry processing, sewage processing, kitchen food prep machines... all the mechanical stuff.   

Edited October 2, 2023 by VentureMan_2000

[CruiseAdict218]

3 hours ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

Do they show you the engine room ?  And other engineer/mechanical areas ?

Would love to see the engine room, propeller drive shaft, water RO processing, laundry processing, sewage processing, kitchen food prep machines... all the mechanical stuff.   

On Venezia you got to see galleries and storage, bit of the crew areas (like the mess areas), did get to see the laundry areas. As far as engine room, you didn't see the actual engine room itself but a control area with a lot of screens and different control panels. My favorite part being the bridge and finally you got to see the behind the scenes of the playlist stage. Each area had a senior representative that further explain the different processes and jobs that happen in each area. 

 

Total was $130, includes a hat, lanyard, drawstring backpack and a picture with the captain on the bridge (mine was group photo style). Definitely will be doing it again on the other ships in the fleet.

[Out of Iowa]

Ladies, I don't want you to miss out like I did:  no skirts/dresses.  When at home, plan your packing accordingly.

Edited October 2, 2023 by Out of Iowa

[Haljo1935]

21 hours ago, RogBus101 said:

How much?

Last week on Venezia it was $130, lasted 3.5 hours. Actually about 3 hours as there were several times the guide stopped, checked her phone (clock, I presume), said "we've got some time..." then had us wait until...

Very interesting, would do it again.

[KGab]

We have 2 cruises coming up.  If you were going to do one, would you do it on the Conquest or the Horizon?  You sign up as soon as you board?  Do you sign up at excursions?  Thanks!

[Haljo1935]

19 minutes ago, KGab said:

We have 2 cruises coming up.  If you were going to do one, would you do it on the Conquest or the Horizon?  You sign up as soon as you board?  Do you sign up at excursions?  Thanks!

Yes - sign up at Shore Exc. Good luck on getting a spot and enjoy!!

[KGab]

16 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Yes - sign up at Shore Exc. Good luck on getting a spot and enjoy!!

Is it really hard to get a spot?  I’ll be platinum for our January cruise so I was going to choose the earliest check-in time.  Fingers crossed!!

[Haljo1935]

33 minutes ago, KGab said:

Is it really hard to get a spot?  I’ll be platinum for our January cruise so I was going to choose the earliest check-in time.  Fingers crossed!!

We were told last week on the Venezia the slots are first come, so go early to sign up. You don't choose a slot - your name just goes on the list & you find out what time you get when you get your tickets.  

The number of tours they give depends on number who sign up as well as crew schedules - it involves crew from several departments, not just the guide.

1st week of our B2B, they said they could have filled 10 tours there were so many people that had signed up - they did 3.

Don't know how many they did our week, but there were 14 of us in our group.

[Pellaz]

13 hours ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

Do they show you the engine room ?  And other engineer/mechanical areas ?

Would love to see the engine room, propeller drive shaft, water RO processing, laundry processing, sewage processing, kitchen food prep machines... all the mechanical stuff.   

 

They do not take you to the actual engine room, but to the Engineering Control Room, for reasons of security as well as safety, as the engine room area requires ear protection.  They can bring up camera views of the drive-shafts and other parts of the diesel gensets and drive motors...or at least, they have done so on some of the tours I've done.   The water and sewage systems are controlled from there also.  Asking knowledgeable questions there will often get great results.  

 

You usually end up walking through the entire galley, so you'll see much of the food prep machinery. 

 

You DO visit the main laundry and see the giant washers and dryers, as well as smaller ones used for guest laundry, plus the real star in action...the automated drying and folding machine.   🙂 

 

You'll also get two presentations regarding the main stage production shows, one from the cast perspective usually from the dance-captain, and one from a technical perspective from the stage manager. 

 

3 hours ago, KGab said:

We have 2 cruises coming up.  If you were going to do one, would you do it on the Conquest or the Horizon?  You sign up as soon as you board?  Do you sign up at excursions?  Thanks!

 

Between the two I'd choose the Horizon.  I'll be doing that tour myself in about two weeks.  🙂  

 

2 hours ago, KGab said:

Is it really hard to get a spot?  I’ll be platinum for our January cruise so I was going to choose the earliest check-in time.  Fingers crossed!!

Definitely choose an early check-in time and go to Shore Excursions immediately upon embark.  

 

9 hours ago, CruiseAdict218 said:

Total was $130, includes a hat, lanyard, drawstring backpack and a picture with the captain on the bridge (mine was group photo style). Definitely will be doing it again on the other ships in the fleet.

 

You didn't get a carved piece of soap that looks tantalizingly like white chocolate?  You wuz robbed!  😄   

Edited October 3, 2023 by Pellaz

[Haljo1935]

9 hours ago, Pellaz said:

...You DO visit the main laundry and see the giant washers and dryers, as well as smaller ones used for guest laundry, plus the real star in action...the automated drying and folding machine.   🙂  🙂  

 

You didn't get a carved piece of soap that looks tantalizingly like white chocolate?  You wuz robbed!  😄   

That machine is awesome - everyone in our group wants one for their very own, 😆 🤣 

I don't think we got carved soap; at least, I hope not cuz everything we got came delivered on 1 plate courtesy of the Chef. And none was white.

So, guess I wuz robbed!!

[CruiseAdict218]

12 hours ago, Pellaz said:

 

They do not take you to the actual engine room, but to the Engineering Control Room, for reasons of security as well as safety, as the engine room area requires ear protection.  They can bring up camera views of the drive-shafts and other parts of the diesel gensets and drive motors...or at least, they have done so on some of the tours I've done.   The water and sewage systems are controlled from there also.  Asking knowledgeable questions there will often get great results.  

 

You usually end up walking through the entire galley, so you'll see much of the food prep machinery. 

 

You DO visit the main laundry and see the giant washers and dryers, as well as smaller ones used for guest laundry, plus the real star in action...the automated drying and folding machine.   🙂 

 

You'll also get two presentations regarding the main stage production shows, one from the cast perspective usually from the dance-captain, and one from a technical perspective from the stage manager. 

 

 

Between the two I'd choose the Horizon.  I'll be doing that tour myself in about two weeks.  🙂  

 

Definitely choose an early check-in time and go to Shore Excursions immediately upon embark.  

 

 

You didn't get a carved piece of soap that looks tantalizingly like white chocolate?  You wuz robbed!  😄   

 

2 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

That machine is awesome - everyone in our group wants one for their very own, 😆 🤣 

I don't think we got carved soap; at least, I hope not cuz everything we got came delivered on 1 plate courtesy of the Chef. And none was white.

So, guess I wuz robbed!!

Carved piece of soap? Guess I was robbed of that but I did get that plate of goodies that’s pictured here. ^ 

[pc2425]

We did this tour once. I can’t remember which ship it was on. We loved it. We will be on Celebration in a couple of weeks. Does anyone know if they are doing them on there?

[Pellaz]

On 10/3/2023 at 9:40 AM, Haljo1935 said:

That machine is awesome - everyone in our group wants one for their very own, 😆 🤣 

I don't think we got carved soap; at least, I hope not cuz everything we got came delivered on 1 plate courtesy of the Chef. And none was white.

So, guess I wuz robbed!!

Yep!  

The carved soap -- a seahorse, I think -- was included  in the string-backpack that I've received as part of the swag. 

 

 

On 10/3/2023 at 12:22 PM, CruiseAdict218 said:

 

Carved piece of soap? Guess I was robbed of that but I did get that plate of goodies that’s pictured here. ^ 

 

Yep, they normally deliver some goodies to your cabin later the same day (so, usually the night before debark).   I've gotten strawberries decorated with black and white chocolate and looking like they were wearing tuxedos.   --Except on Liberty, where they just dumped some chocolate over strawberries and called it a day.  (The dining was wayyy off on that cruise.)  

 

11 hours ago, pc2425 said:

We did this tour once. I can’t remember which ship it was on. We loved it. We will be on Celebration in a couple of weeks. Does anyone know if they are doing them on there?

 

Seems like every ship has resumed the tours.  I really hope they're on Celebration as we'll be sailing on her in October 2024.  

 

[Haljo1935]

1 minute ago, Pellaz said:

Yep!  

The carved soap -- a seahorse, I think -- was included  in the string-backpack that I've received as part of the swag...

We received the string-backpack, but there was nothing in it. Boo Hoo 😞

[bhami]

Did this tour on 9/23 Panorama sailing.  Cost was $130 pp.  Tour lasted around almost 3 hours.  Friends we traveled with are Platinum so went to excursion desk upon boarding to sign us up.  All of us enjoyed tour.  Lots of Q&A so very informative.  Glad we did it and learned a lot but probably wouldn't do it again.