Tours on a Cruiseship

[aus1235]

Hi All,

 

Going on my First cruise later in the year. I am wondering what tours they do on a Cruise ship.

 

I know some cruise ships has tours of the Galley but do they have other tours of the ship ie. Like on the Bridge.

 

Thanks

[Ferry_Watcher]

Some cruise lines like Celebrity offer a "Behind the Scenes" tour as an 'excursion' on sea days for a fee.  Our  2024 tour did include visiting the Bridge.

[CDNPolar]

37 minutes ago, aus1235 said:

Hi All,

 

Going on my First cruise later in the year. I am wondering what tours they do on a Cruise ship.

 

I know some cruise ships has tours of the Galley but do they have other tours of the ship ie. Like on the Bridge.

 

Thanks

 

Hey!  Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Let us know the cruise line and the ship.  Sometimes it depends on the ship, the line, and where you are cruising, but more over whether a Captain will allow some tours.

 

We have done galley, bridge, and what I will call the Engine Control Room.  The latter was the best in my opinion seeing all the control panels and all the systems that were being monitored.

 

We have also done the wheelhouse on a river cruise ship.  Not as spectacular as the ocean ship, but interesting none the less.

 

We have been on cruises that they advertised you to sign up for these, some cruises that if you asked they would quietly let you know that they were doing them but not advertising them, and then on some sailings that we asked and they were not available.

[Essiesmom]

Carnival does the full tour, called Behind the Fun.  Lots of stairs, required closed toe shoes, no skirts for the ladies, no cameras/phones.  Takes up to three hours, on a sea day.  EM

[puppycanducruise]

We did a bridge tour on Holland America last year.  It was conducted by the Third Officer.  There were about 12 people on the tour, picture taking was allowed.  Very informative.  The officer was personable, professional and answered questions.  He was only 23.

[donaldsc]

If you go on a small ship cruise they often have an open bridge policy which means that you can spend as much time on the bridge as you wish.  Yet another advantage of small ship cruising.

 

DON

[ldubs]

3 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

Carnival does the full tour, called Behind the Fun.  Lots of stairs, required closed toe shoes, no skirts for the ladies, no cameras/phones.  Takes up to three hours, on a sea day.  EM

 

Thanks.  What is the typical cost of this tour, if you don't mind my asking.  

[CDNPolar]

17 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

Thanks.  What is the typical cost of this tour, if you don't mind my asking.  

 

I know you are asking about this particular tour, but I would be surprised if there was any cost.  

 

We have never paid for any ship tour.

[mjkacmom]

5 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

I know you are asking about this particular tour, but I would be surprised if there was any cost.  

 

We have never paid for any ship tour.

I think many of the mainstream lines charge for tours.

[Essiesmom]

23 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

Thanks.  What is the typical cost of this tour, if you don't mind my asking.  

It used to be $55 on Fantasy class, $95 on the larger ships.   To sure what it is now.  EM

[CDNPolar]

Guess that is another perk on Viking.  Free ship tours, when they offer them.

[CroozeNoob]

NCL has them, it's 99 dollars!

[SoloAlaska]

If I remember correctly Celebrity had a your you could pay for which was several hours and you went all over but they also had a free galley tour which my mom loved. 

[verviers2000]

Besides the Galley tour, many ships offer a behind-the-scenes tour that can include the Bridge, engine room, laundry facilities, and other areas. 

[KBS1607]

In 2014 Princess had a great one it was expensive but we received a personalized note pad from the print shop, a really nice bathrobe and many pictures, including one with the Captain. I’m so glad we did it then.  I don’t have the mobility for it anymore. 
 

I hope you enjoy your first cruise and find a great tour!

Edited Friday at 07:15 PM by KBS1607

[broadwaybaby123]

On 6/23/2024 at 5:18 AM, aus1235 said:

Hi All,

 

Going on my First cruise later in the year. I am wondering what tours they do on a Cruise ship.

 

I know some cruise ships has tours of the Galley but do they have other tours of the ship ie. Like on the Bridge.

 

Thanks

Due to security, it's unlikely they'll do tours of the bridge. That said, many offer my favorite tour: the backstage tour of the theater where you'll get to meet the cast of the production show and ask them any questions (literally ANY questions fro auditions to putting on show on it's feet and seeing the final product).

[donaldsc]

15 minutes ago, broadwaybaby123 said:

Due to security, it's unlikely they'll do tours of the bridge. That said, many offer my favorite tour: the backstage tour of the theater where you'll get to meet the cast of the production show and ask them any questions (literally ANY questions fro auditions to putting on show on it's feet and seeing the final product).

 

 

It isn't just security.  I have done many cruises on small ships (<200 people) which have an open bridge policy.  You get a really interesting perspective when you spend a lot of your day on the bridge.  Granted that there are only 200 instead of 3000 passengers in potential danger of someone wants to make trouble but if the issue were just security we wouldn't be allowed on the bridge at all.

 

DON

Edited 22 hours ago by donaldsc

[chengkp75]

8 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

 

It isn't just security.  I have done many cruises on small ships (<200 people) which have an open bridge policy.  You get a really interesting perspective when you spend a lot of your day on the bridge.  Granted that there are only 200 instead of 3000 passengers in potential danger of someone wants to make trouble but if the issue were just security we wouldn't be allowed on the bridge at all.

 

DON

It is security.  Each cruise line (or shipping company) writes their own Security Plan, based on the IMO's ISPS (International Ship and Port Security) convention.  In this Security Plan, each cruise line makes a risk analysis of everything done onboard from a security basis, and then sets policies based on these analyses.  Some cruise lines are more risk tolerant than others, and these may allow passengers on the bridge while others may not.  Large cruise ships used to be built with bridge viewing rooms, but changes in Security Plans, based on experience, led to those being closed off, and not included in newer ships.

 

However, many lines do include a bridge tour as part of the "behind the scenes" tours.  But the security measures used when offering these is that photos are not allowed, and security escorts the tour.  The same holds true for the Engine Control Room, usually offered on these tours as well.