klam_chowder Posted February 20, 2018 #1 Share Posted February 20, 2018 I know it's been changed from the $150 3-hour version (which was reputedly great) to a $119 version, and am looking for reviews on the new tour offered. How long was the tour? I know worth is subjective, but was it worthwhile to you? I noticed the tour is offered on 2 days, 3x/day so 6 times total. How far in advance do you think one should book it? First time RC cruiser so any insights on this much appreciated! cheers, :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTCruiser74 Posted February 22, 2018 #2 Share Posted February 22, 2018 We took this tour in October. It was really good and it’s something I would recommend all cruisers do once. It was a very cool experience. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klam_chowder Posted February 22, 2018 Author #3 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Thx for the reply, CTCruiser74 - I was giving up hope! How long was the tour? I'm not sure when the new price came into effect (from $150 to $119) and was wondering how much time was cut out of the new tour. cheers, :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEMJMcC Posted February 26, 2018 #4 Share Posted February 26, 2018 I took this tour of Oasis on 2/12/18, our second day onboard. It was slated to start at 9:00 AM, but many folks did not read the instructions and showed up in shorts or with open-toed sandals and had to go back and change. We finally started the tour around 9:30 AM. We were all given radio ear buds (one ear only) so we could hear the tour guide(s) better - this worked pretty well. We visited: 1. Main Dining Room on Deck 5, met a head chef who took us into the Galley for the MDR on the same deck. 2. I-95 where crewmembers are able to move quickly from forward to aft - we also saw where they bring fresh provisions in and toured one of the coolers where they keep fresh fruit. 3. Engine Control Room - a small room with many video displays 4. Ship's Laundry which was way down into the belly of the ship, deck 0. 5. Finally the Bridge. All told it took about 2.5 hours with a lot of standing, walking, and some stair climbing. As an engineer, I would have liked to see the actual engine room, but I understand the security issues there. I can't say I'd recommend it unless you've got some time and money to spend. On a scale of 1 to 5, I'd give it a 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klam_chowder Posted February 26, 2018 Author #5 Share Posted February 26, 2018 LEMJMcC, thx a mint for the thorough review - much appreciated! Ugh! Sounds like the changes have really impacted the tour - used to be everyone raved about it. I was really looking fwd to it - too bad they changed it - I'd rather pay an extra $31 for a better tour. My cruise isn't until December so I'll hold off booking with the hopes that others' comments will inspire RC to revert to their previous formula. Dreamer...LOL! Just curious if they were still giving away the souvenir landyard or apron at the end? (I'd read about this on some trip reports but not sure if they were still doing this before they changed the tour.) cheers, :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uday23 Posted February 27, 2018 #6 Share Posted February 27, 2018 This sounds like the same one completed earlier this year...nothing seems to have changed except for a lower price. I took this tour of Oasis on 2/12/18, our second day onboard. It was slated to start at 9:00 AM, but many folks did not read the instructions and showed up in shorts or with open-toed sandals and had to go back and change. We finally started the tour around 9:30 AM. We were all given radio ear buds (one ear only) so we could hear the tour guide(s) better - this worked pretty well. We visited: 1. Main Dining Room on Deck 5, met a head chef who took us into the Galley for the MDR on the same deck. 2. I-95 where crewmembers are able to move quickly from forward to aft - we also saw where they bring fresh provisions in and toured one of the coolers where they keep fresh fruit. 3. Engine Control Room - a small room with many video displays 4. Ship's Laundry which was way down into the belly of the ship, deck 0. 5. Finally the Bridge. All told it took about 2.5 hours with a lot of standing, walking, and some stair climbing. As an engineer, I would have liked to see the actual engine room, but I understand the security issues there. I can't say I'd recommend it unless you've got some time and money to spend. On a scale of 1 to 5, I'd give it a 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klam_chowder Posted February 27, 2018 Author #7 Share Posted February 27, 2018 uday23 - then that is great news - thx for info! I'd be irked if I had to wait for 30 mins because others could not be bothered to start the tour prepared. I think it'd be better if they just started the tour and had 1 staff wait for all the guests, who had to change, to reassemble, and then walked the group to meet up with the rest. cheers, :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seavino Posted February 27, 2018 #8 Share Posted February 27, 2018 We booked the All Access tour for our cruise next week and when I view it on RCI's My Calendar it shows the time blocked as 1:00pm - 2:15pm... an hour and 15 minutes. Who knows! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusty nut Posted February 27, 2018 #9 Share Posted February 27, 2018 We booked it on Harmony. It's something to see, that's for sure. Was it worth it? I would have to say "yes", but be forewarned, the I95 corridor is a full on smoking zone for all employees. Although I enjoyed the tour, I would never subject myself to that again. I had to change my clothes when the tour was over. Yes, the cigarette smoke was that bad. Had I known this before hand, I never would have booked it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BillOh Posted February 27, 2018 #10 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Thx for the reply, CTCruiser74 - I was giving up hope! How long was the tour? I'm not sure when the new price came into effect (from $150 to $119) and was wondering how much time was cut out of the new tour. cheers, :) I've only done the 3 hour tour on Oasis, wasn't aware of a shorter version, but am not surprised as Royal has found a cash cow. Between the time it was first offered and I went on Oasis in 2016, the did quite a bit of cutting back on what was included, but I still found it worthwhile. I did find on our cruise that the tour varied a little bit by who was running it. We got a bored British girl who couldn't wait to get rid of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BillOh Posted February 27, 2018 #11 Share Posted February 27, 2018 2. I-95 where crewmembers are able to move quickly from forward to aft - we also saw where they bring fresh provisions in and toured one of the coolers where they keep fresh fruit. . That reminds me, if you are the type to need a sweater in the theater or dining room, bring it on this tour as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klam_chowder Posted February 27, 2018 Author #12 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Thx for the replies. seavino, are you going on the Oasis? If so, after you've returned home and recovered, it would be wonderful to hear how the tour was. :ship: BillOh, I read your "trip report" on it and recall seeing your note about a sweater - great tip! cheers, :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seavino Posted February 28, 2018 #13 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Actually doing the tour on Allure and I will definitely report back after we return home. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seavino Posted March 16, 2018 #14 Share Posted March 16, 2018 Mt family of 5 (3 boys 18, 19, 20) did the All Access tour last week on Allure. We assembled in the Silk dining room, were given a special lanyard that had an attached "all access" luggage tag to keep as a gift. We also all used a bluetooth earpiece to hear the tour guide. Really worked great! The tour was much like LEMJMcC outlined above. All of us enjoyed the tour and thought it was worth the $100 we paid. It ended up being 2 1/2 hours long and everyone showed up in closed toed shoes and long pants (a couple women had capri's on) so we started on time. Glad we did the tour but it was a one time deal for us. Regarding the comment on crew smoking smell in a previous post, we never encountered the smokey hallway, and we were down in the crew area. After seeing all the jobs in the laundry and galley, our kids appreciated the jobs they have more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seavino Posted March 16, 2018 #15 Share Posted March 16, 2018 As far as temperatures, we all had on a short sleeved shirt and were comfortable, except when we were given the opportunity to enter a freezer. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klam_chowder Posted March 16, 2018 Author #16 Share Posted March 16, 2018 seavino, thx a mint for taking the time to post back with your details! Sounds like the paired down version will still be worth it for us. cheers, :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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