Behind the scene tour?

[CruiseDreaming]

Does RCI have a behind the scene tour like Carnival's Behind the Fun tour?

 

Kerrie :)

[Pichu21]

The All Access Tour, a three-and-a-half hour, $150 per person guided experience through "back-of-house" shipboard areas that includes stops at the bridge, galley, backstage of the main theater and engine control room.

 

At least one All Access Tour will be offered on every Royal Caribbean sailing shorter than seven nights. Two tours will be offered aboard seven-night or longer voyages with additional tours added, based on demand. The experience can be purchased onboard ships.

[Sequim88]

Yes, but not sure if it is on all ships. Costs something like $150. Called the Royal Advantage - All Access Tour.

 

From the RCI web site:

This tour will grant guests an all-access pass to various areas deemed "back of the house", such as the Galley, the Bridge, the Engine Control Room, Laundry and more. Guests will be able to step inside the crew's shoes and gain insight and knowledge on what really goes on behind-the-scenes.

[negc]

RCI has recently begun offering an All Access Behind the Scenes tour for what I consider a high fee. It is similar to the tours offered by Princess and Carnival and does include extra perks but nothing that would entice me to pay the fee especially since we have had any number of free behind the scenes tours of the bridge, galley, theater and engine control room.:)

[AZDENNY]

Did the access on Princess last year, Hit all the main areas and included a chefs jacket, plush robe for for a tour price of $100 . Would enjoy doing RCCL if it were cheaper

[fdthird]

There was a free behind the scenes tour at the Amber Theater on the Alure during our June sailing.

[ck53]

Did it on Carnival but husband wants to see the engine room again and $150. seems a little steep!

 

Couldn't do the bridge or engine room after 9/11 for a long time but has opened up again.Ienjoyed it once ($100) but not again for $150.

[negc]

Did it on Carnival but husband wants to see the engine room again and $150. seems a little steep!

 

Couldn't do the bridge or engine room after 9/11 for a long time but has opened up again.Ienjoyed it once ($100) but not again for $150.

 

Did he actually see the engine room or was the tour confined to the engine control room? On Jewel of the Seas last year, we had a free tour of the engine control room but not the engine room. We have had many tours of the bridge since 9/11 but never was a fee involved.:)

Not sure what I would do with a chef's jacket and I have my own plush robe. Neither amenity would be worth $100 to $150 to me. :)

[CruiseDreaming]

Thanks all! $150 is steep, I think I may have to miss it. The one I did on the Paradise was only about $100 and that was a little steep I thought. If I were to purchase this tour can you only purchase it on the ship or in advance?

 

Kerrie :)

[Verfai]

150$!? That is to steep…Ow well, I was planning to see what the cost of the tour was for our coming up cruise…Not paying that amount that is for sure.

 

My guess is they make the price that high to avoid that the entire ship want to do this tour. If I were them I would do the tour when you make a donation at your discretion to their “make a wish” program…Sounds better to me than the “walking for wishes” or however it’s called.

 

Greets

[Paulxyz2004]

My guess is they make the price that high to avoid that the entire ship want to do this tour.

 

Well it might be a reason, though even at giving it away for 1$ they could limit the space on a first come first serve basis.

 

I think they are more looking at their competition and Princess charges $150 for it as well and they are able to sell it out at the price. SO the goal is to take in as much money as possible. The goal is to find the max price enough people are willing to pay.

 

If I were them I would do the tour when you make a donation at your discretion to their “make a wish” program…Sounds better to me than the “walking for wishes” or however it’s called.

 

Greets

 

If you were really them, your goal should be to make money and I believe this will be a money maker for the crusieline.

 

BTW, if they´d do it with a donation at your discretion, they would be overrun.

 

In the past (not sure if they still do it now that the tours are up) they used to auction off bridge tours and engine controll room tours for Make a Wish. Those tours went frequently for much more than the $150.

[Pichu21]

Thanks all! $150 is steep, I think I may have to miss it. The one I did on the Paradise was only about $100 and that was a little steep I thought. If I were to purchase this tour can you only purchase it on the ship or in advance?

 

Kerrie :)

 

RCI says "The experience can be purchased onboard ships."

 

So I would guess you can't reserve it before the cruise

[Tony20]

I called RCCL yesterday about the tours since I couldn't find it online.

 

They confirmed that it must be purchased onboard. They also said that the tour requires a minimum number of participants in order to be held. They determine that onboard.

 

Additionally, he said they are only on sea days, so three-night cruises won't offer them.

[rubrrick]

Did he actually see the engine room or was the tour confined to the engine control room? On Jewel of the Seas last year, we had a free tour of the engine control room but not the engine room. We have had many tours of the bridge since 9/11 but never was a fee involved.:)

Not sure what I would do with a chef's jacket and I have my own plush robe. Neither amenity would be worth $100 to $150 to me. :)

 

 

Bill, you get these goodies because you cruise a great deal with Royal Caribbean.

 

The problem with anyone touring any engine room, is that the ships captain is hanging his (her) head out to be dismissed, should (God forbid) anything happen when a guest is touring the engine room. There are hydralics, that have been known to let lose scalding fluid on occasion, if a line or fitting were to fail. The ladders are steep, and in certain areas, there is a lack of safety rails etc....so I have been told.

 

I have visited every bridge of every Royal Caribbean ship that we have sailed, from the Monarch to the Allure, and feel very fortunate to have spent time there.

 

I'm sure that there are people that do not have the number of cruises that you do, Bill, that would be happy to pay to see the "working side" of the ship.:)

 

Rick

[negc]

Bill, you get these goodies because you cruise a great deal with Royal Caribbean.

 

The problem with anyone touring any engine room, is that the ships captain is hanging his (her) head out to be dismissed, should (God forbid) anything happen when a guest is touring the engine room. There are hydralics, that have been known to let lose scalding fluid on occasion, if a line or fitting were to fail. The ladders are steep, and in certain areas, there is a lack of safety rails etc....so I have been told.

 

I have visited every bridge of every Royal Caribbean ship that we have sailed, from the Monarch to the Allure, and feel very fortunate to have spent time there.

 

I'm sure that there are people that do not have the number of cruises that you do, Bill, that would be happy to pay to see the "working side" of the ship.:)

 

Rick

 

The engine control room was offered to Diamond Plus members and suite guests so I don't think we were singled out because of our number of RCI cruises, Rick, and I don't have any great desire to tour the actual engine room, for the very reasons you describe. The bridge, galley and behind the scenes theater tours have been offered for free for several years and while they didn't come with the extras that the "for a fee" tours do, I just don't think that they are worth the fee being charged. I know that if even I were a newbie cruiser I would still be reluctant to pay out so much money for those tours. Unless they have halted the free tours most of those people who haven't reached Diamond Plus level cab still get a galley tour (buty the cookbook) or the backstage tour (check your Cruise Compass to see if and when it is offered to any and all passengers. If these "for a fee" tours sell out, I am obviously mistaken about them but that wouldn't be something new for me.;)

[rubrrick]

The engine control room was offered to Diamond Plus members and suite guests so I don't think we were singled out because of our number of RCI cruises, Rick, and I don't have any great desire to tour the actual engine room, for the very reasons you describe. The bridge, galley and behind the scenes theater tours have been offered for free for several years and while they didn't come with the extras that the "for a fee" tours do, I just don't think that they are worth the fee being charged. I know that if even I were a newbie cruiser I would still be reluctant to pay out so much money for those tours. Unless they have halted the free tours most of those people who haven't reached Diamond Plus level cab still get a galley tour (buty the cookbook) or the backstage tour (check your Cruise Compass to see if and when it is offered to any and all passengers. If these "for a fee" tours sell out, I am obviously mistaken about them but that wouldn't be something new for me.;)

 

 

Let's give it a few months, and bring it back to see if anyone has paid to see the working side of the ship, and whether they felt it was worth the price.:)

 

Rick

[negc]

Let's give it a few months, and bring it back to see if anyone has paid to see the working side of the ship, and whether they felt it was worth the price.:)

 

Rick

 

That works for me, but I believe that a similar program has been successful on Princess and perhaps Carnival as well, so it could very well be that there is a market for this type of tour on RCi ships also - it just won't involve my participation.:)

[alexkrn46]

I agree, I would be interested to see an actual person's report who took this tour.

[dotcomgirl]

We sail on the Allure two weeks from today and Guest Services is our planned first stop immediately after boarding to book this tour. I will report back after 8/28 when we return (if we manage to get on the tour)!

[Barnaby100]

The engine control room was offered to Diamond Plus members and suite guests so I don't think we were singled out because of our number of RCI cruises, Rick, and I don't have any great desire to tour the actual engine room, for the very reasons you describe. The bridge, galley and behind the scenes theater tours have been offered for free for several years and while they didn't come with the extras that the "for a fee" tours do, I just don't think that they are worth the fee being charged. I know that if even I were a newbie cruiser I would still be reluctant to pay out so much money for those tours. Unless they have halted the free tours .....me.;)

 

We were in a suite on independence but the concierge 'forgot' to email us pre trip and we didn't get invite to tour (which everyone else did). I was a bit annoyed as we had no concierge contact before or during trip (despite sending 2 emails to rccl- not concierge prior to trip ) Rccl seemed to think it was below par and sent compensation.

 

We are going on adventure next week and emailed concierge ourselves. The tour will cost 150 usd so seemingly no suite tour. The compensation wasn't as much as 4x 150 usd so bit annoying.

[dutchclogs]

We were in a suite on independence but the concierge 'forgot' to email us pre trip and we didn't get invite to tour (which everyone else did). I was a bit annoyed as we had no concierge contact before or during trip (despite sending 2 emails to rccl- not concierge prior to trip ) Rccl seemed to think it was below par and sent compensation.

 

We are going on adventure next week and emailed concierge ourselves. The tour will cost 150 usd so seemingly no suite tour. The compensation wasn't as much as 4x 150 usd so bit annoying.

 

We're just back from the Mariner. Thare was a complimentary tour of the galley for suite guests (don't know if there was one for diamond plus, suspect not). The executive chef literally said that they did not offer a free tour as they wanted to limit the no. of participants but the all access tour was offered on a to pay basis.

Looks like RCI are flying a kite to see if there is a demand...

[GlobalGypsy]

Did the access on Princess last year, Hit all the main areas and included a chefs jacket, plush robe for for a tour price of $100 . Would enjoy doing RCCL if it were cheaper

 

The price on Princess is $150 and has been for several years.

[Maeshel]

Was on the Majesty of the Sea last week and they offered the All Access Tour at a cost $75. They said it was something new and we were only the second group to take the tour. Participation was low. Myself and two other couples.

We were met by the activities director at the guest relations desk.

 

First stop Officer mess hall. There the Head of HR met us and talked about life on board and emploment opportunities. We then proceded to the crew lounge where we were served a frozen cocktail.

 

Next stop Galley. We were met by the Head Chef and given a tour of the kitchen. They served us some fresh fruit with chocolate for dipping.

 

Third stop the waste disposal area where we were met by the Chief Eviormental Officer. I wasn't real excited about this stop at first, but found it very interesting. No we weren't give a free piece of garbage. LOL

 

On to the Engine Control Room and were met by the Chief Engineer. The tour was led by his second in comand. Being in the Industrial electrical field for 38 years, I found this real interesting. I could have spent the whole day asking more question than a 5 year old.

 

The final stop was the bridge and were met by the Captian. The tour was conducted by a junior officer and was interesting.

 

We then went to the main dinning room and had lunch together with the Daryl the activities director. Daryl had been on many of the RC ships and was very informative.

 

Freebees. Chef apron and a nice large tote bag.

 

At first I felt the $75 was a little pricey, but am glad I took the tour. I is in the top 2 highlights of my cruise. I would take the tour again when on a different ship at $75, but $150 I would probably say, "No Thank You."

[rubrrick]

Was on the Majesty of the Sea last week and they offered the All Access Tour at a cost $75. They said it was something new and we were only the second group to take the tour. Participation was low. Myself and two other couples.

We were met by the activities director at the guest relations desk.

 

First stop Officer mess hall. There the Head of HR met us and talked about life on board and emploment opportunities. We then proceded to the crew lounge where we were served a frozen cocktail.

 

Next stop Galley. We were met by the Head Chef and given a tour of the kitchen. They served us some fresh fruit with chocolate for dipping.

 

Third stop the waste disposal area where we were met by the Chief Eviormental Officer. I wasn't real excited about this stop at first, but found it very interesting. No we weren't give a free piece of garbage. LOL

 

On to the Engine Control Room and were met by the Chief Engineer. The tour was led by his second in comand. Being in the Industrial electrical field for 38 years, I found this real interesting. I could have spent the whole day asking more question than a 5 year old.

 

The final stop was the bridge and were met by the Captian. The tour was conducted by a junior officer and was interesting.

 

We then went to the main dinning room and had lunch together with the Daryl the activities director. Daryl had been on many of the RC ships and was very informative.

 

Freebees. Chef apron and a nice large tote bag.

 

At first I felt the $75 was a little pricey, but am glad I took the tour. I is in the top 2 highlights of my cruise. I would take the tour again when on a different ship at $75, but $150 I would probably say, "No Thank You."

 

 

Great feedback!! So, how was it advertised??:)

 

Rick

[alexkrn46]

Maeshel, thanks for the update, did they take any pictures ? Give you any freebies, for example when we did the cupcake decoration class we got aprons.

 

Once again thanks for the feedback.