Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

A three hour tour

Cruising89143

By Cruising89143,
in Royal Caribbean International

Recommended Posts

Cruising89143

Cruising89143

Posted
Posted

No, it's not Gilligan giving the tour but a new way for Princess to bring on more on board revenue. Wonder if this is something that the other cruise lines including RCI will offer?

 

From Princess Cruise Lines

 

Princess Cruises Debuts New “Ultimate Ship Tour” with Launch of Ruby Princess

Rare Behind-the-Scenes Access Will Give Passengers Exclusive Insider’s View of Ship Operations

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (September 2, 2008) – Most cruise ship passengers are aware that behind the scenes of their relaxing cruise vacation there’s a bustle of activity to deliver an excellent experience, but few have gotten an up-close look at these inner workings. This will change in November with the debut of Ruby Princess as Princess Cruises introduces an industry first, The Ultimate Ship Tour, an exclusive opportunity to experience an array of “back of house” areas that are key to a ship’s daily operations.

This pioneering concept will give passengers the unique opportunity to explore beyond the public areas with visits to the ship’s engine control room, medical center, print shop, laundry, photo lab, bridge and other spaces for a rare insider’s view of many areas typically seen only by the ship’s crew. Participants will also receive a variety of themed mementos at many of the stops along the route.

“This tour is really the ultimate opportunity for some of our passengers to get a very unique view of the new Ruby Princess, and meet some of the ship’s senior officers in their working environment,” said Jan Swartz, Princess senior vice president. “I’m sure people will be amazed at what goes into running a city at sea, particularly since our onboard staff makes it appear so easy.”

The Ultimate Ship Tour lasts approximately three hours, and will be offered once or twice per cruise on a sea day. Space is limited for the tour, which will be available for $150 per person, and can be reserved onboard at the Passenger Services Desk. Following its debut aboard Ruby Princess, the program will be introduced aboard all Princess ships.

The innovative tour will feature:

Back Stage Area – Passengers start the tour with a glimpse behind the glitz in the Princess Theater, home to Princess’ sparkling stage productions. They’ll meet the cast and production staff, who will show them all that goes into making sure the show goes on night after night – including costumes and dressing areas, scenery and technical operations such as lighting and sound.

Galley and Food Production Areas – In the galley, guests will meet the executive chef, learn about the process of providing thousands of passengers meals each day, and see the inner workings of the ship’s kitchen areas while enjoying a glass of French champagne, caviar and canapés. In addition, passengers will get a peek into some of Ruby Princess’ vast food storage and production areas, each specially equipped and temperature-controlled for a specific type of food. Each guest will also be presented with an official chef’s jacket.

Engine Control Room – At the center of the vessel’s mechanical and electrical systems, the engine control room is where the ship’s technical team monitors everything from the operation of the ship’s propellers to the water supply in each stateroom. Participants will meet the chief technical offer and his staff who will explain the numerous functions overseen by the control room, including the vast amount of power generated to operate Ruby Princess.

Print Shop – Passengers will see where their daily Princess Patter, among other things, is produced. The ship’s printer will meet the group and demonstrate the printing equipment and explain which materials passengers see each day are printed right onboard Ruby Princess. To mark their visit, each passenger will receive their own set of personalized stationery printed on board.

Photo Laboratory – Princess was the first cruise line to go completely digital, and each ship operates a full photo lab with the latest in digital printing equipment. The group will meet the Ruby Princess photo staff and learn how they manage the thousands of pictures taken and printed each day. Participants might even see their own smiling faces print out during their visit.

Medical Center – The ship’s doctor will meet the group to show them the state-of-the-art medical facilities, including treatment rooms, laboratory facilities, intensive care unit, and digital x-ray system. Participants will learn how the ship’s doctors and nurses – all full-time maritime medicine specialists – keep both passengers and crew healthy and handle medical emergencies. They’ll also learn about the most common reasons passengers visit the medical center.

Main Laundry – Ruby Princess’ onboard laundries operate 24 hours a day to wash tons of passenger and crew linens, towels, and clothing – including more than 20,000 towels a day alone. Here visitors will meet the laundry master and will see this impressive operation in action. Participants will also receive a luxurious bath robe usually reserved for suite passengers.

Funnel – The group will then travel to the upper most deck of the ship to join the staff captain for the opportunity to peek inside the ship’s funnel area high atop Ruby Princess, where they will be treated to spectacular views of the ship and the surrounding ocean.

Bridge – The tour concludes at the ship’s command center, where passengers will meet the captain and his bridge team and learn about the state-of-the-art navigational equipment and safety systems aboard Ruby Princess. Passengers will also take in the dramatic front-of-ship views from the bridge’s wraparound windows, while they enjoy special refreshments and pose with the captain at the ship’s wheel for a complimentary photo. The framed photo and a tour completion certificate signed by the captain will later be delivered to each participant’s stateroom.

Ruby Princess, a sister ship to Emerald Princess and Crown Princess, will debut on November 8. Ship features include a dramatic piazza-style atrium featuring small-bite eateries and an ever-changing array of performing street entertainers, Princess' signature adults-only retreat called The Sanctuary, an Italian restaurant, a seafood and steak house, and "Movies Under the Stars," a giant outdoor movie screen. The 113,000-ton vessel will feature an inaugural season of Western Caribbean cruises roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale, followed by a program of Mediterranean voyages in summer 2009.

Additional information about Princess Cruises is available through a professional travel agent, by calling 1-800-PRINCESS, or by visiting the company's website at www.princess.com.

To change your mailing preferences or unsubscribe, click here. You may also unsubscribe by replying to this email with the word "unsubscribe" in the SUBJECT LINE.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
amybear912

amybear912

Posted
Posted

Sounds like they want to charge for essentially a "Samantha Brown" Travel Channel special...;) Or, in other words, an Onboard Ship Excursion...

 

I wouldn't pay $150 for it but I agree with you that this is probably something the other lines will adopt if Princess does well with it... Personally, I can't see too many people going for something like this...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
hermang

hermang

Posted
Posted
It looks like fun. BUT for $150.00, I just dont know.

 

As Captains Club Elite and Diamond we often get back stage tours for free.

Galley twice, Theater twice and Bridge tour on our med cruise.

Just what I want to pay $150 for - see my laundry done

Link to comment
Share on other sites
G'ma

G'ma

Posted
Posted

Well, it sounds like it might be interesting and there are people who would probably pay for such an indepth tour.

 

Not me, personally....but then, I don't ever buy shore excursions anyway, so buying a ships tour wouldn't be in my plans at all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mamaza

mamaza

Posted
Posted

I love to do it, but $150 is a bit steep for us. But, I'm sure they are trying to limit the number of people to small groups while at the same time getting what the market will bear. IOW, it they want 20 people per tour, and they can get 20 for $150 then why drop it to less just to attract more people than they can confortably handle in a day and leave a bunch of disappointed people who do make the reservation in time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Host Kewlguy

Host Kewlguy

Posted
Posted

On Celebrity Constellation last September we were practically frisked before we were allowed up on the bridge. Also we were told cameras were not allowed. They made us return our camera back to the stateroom. So much for security concerns in 2008. It seems the almighty dollar is more important than the safety of the passengers and crew.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rclcruzer

rclcruzer

Posted
Posted
On Celebrity Constellation last September we were practically frisked before we were allowed up on the bridge. Also we were told cameras were not allowed. They made us return our camera back to the stateroom. So much for security concerns in 2008. It seems the almighty dollar is more important than the safety of the passengers and crew.

That's what I was thinking too. What about safety measures? Just a thought.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
truffles2

truffles2

Posted
Posted
On Celebrity Constellation last September we were practically frisked before we were allowed up on the bridge. Also we were told cameras were not allowed. They made us return our camera back to the stateroom. So much for security concerns in 2008. It seems the almighty dollar is more important than the safety of the passengers and crew.

 

We have always been able to take cameras on the bridge on RCI. They do wand you and examine bags before you go in though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Merion_Mom

Merion_Mom

Posted
Posted
We have always been able to take cameras on the bridge on RCI. They do wand you and examine bags before you go in though.

 

We were wanded and had our bags glanced at before our Liberty bridge tour.

 

Cameras welcome.

 

Never touched or looked at before a Monarch bridge tour. ;) ;) ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
leoandhugh

leoandhugh

Posted
Posted

$150 ($300/couple) is ludicrous. You can get an all day shore excursion for less. In depth - I doubt that. It will probably be more like a walk through of the area - notice that it says engine room control room - not the actual engine room. And do I really want to see the ship's laundry? I sincerely hope that this is not a success and at the proposed price charge, I doubt that it will be:(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail on Sun Princess®
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...