Ultimate Ship Tour - Sea Princess

[Eaglemad]

I am interested in the Ultimate Ship Tour and was just wondering if they run one on the Sea Princess:

Is it worth doing

How much is it

 

4 days to go :)

[rkmw]

I am interested in the Ultimate Ship Tour and was just wondering if they run one on the Sea Princess:

Is it worth doing

How much is it

 

4 days to go :)

 

we have never done one but its supposed to be worth the money and the cost is $150 but you get lots of goodies back

 

when you first go onboard see the reception and put your name down, if they get too many takers they could draw the names out of a hat as they only take a dozen people

[MMDown Under]

we have never done one but its supposed to be worth the money and the cost is $150 but you get lots of goodies back

 

when you first go onboard see the reception and put your name down, if they get too many takers they could draw the names out of a hat as they only take a dozen people

 

WOW $150 is a lot of money to do a ship's tour.

 

And to think I took all my free tours over the years for granted! :)

[KarateMan]

It is worth it for the money as they give you things along the way and deliver to your cabin. The tour is ideal if you really want to visit the bridge. The other areas like backstage, print shop, are not so much interesting. Galley again that is an area that some lines let you in for free.

 

They give you a large fluffy bathrobe with Princess Cruises emblem on it. They give you all the photos and a frame. You are given a Princess Cruises apron, personalised Princess Cruises stationary like notepad with your name listed on it with the Princess ships logo.

 

Afterwards there are alcoholic drinks and canapés served in one of the bars. You are given treats to eat in the galley.

 

They make a profit but if you are desperate to see the areas then it is worth going on it.

 

Personally I have visited the bridge for free in the past and seen much more classified and off limits areas on warships than a cruise ship could ever offer. They state security as a reason it is off limits which is garbage. The real reason is they just want to control the numbers so the event is not out of hand and make a profit.

[Whoey]

I have done the tour on Sun Princess. It did cost $180 which is expensive as I have also done the tour on Carnival Spirit which was $95. The difference is you get a photo from the bridge visit & one from somewhere else I recall, a thick dressing gown, a chef's robe and personalised stationery.

 

The tour is excellent however you would need to be a big fan of behind the scenes stuff, like I am, to value it to that amount.

 

In truth there is little difference between the two tours except for the goodies.

[Thorpe]

I have done the Dawn tour and really enjoyed it. Loved the laundry and behind the scenes of the theatre. Also went to the Bridge, the print area, the galley, the engine room, the anchor area ( don't know the name ) and other bits you don't normally see.

Got the free goodies as previously described and also a photo at a few of the stops with the crew there.

I also did one on the Oosterdam and I signed up for the Sun but I didn't have closed in shoes so couldn't do it. Even though I had done it in sandals on the Dawn. I have also been on a free bridge tour with our CC group but that didn't stop me signing up again for a return visit.

If time permits there are free galley tours on some cruises and maybe other areas as well. But I love the tours and will probably do them on other ships I haven't sailed on.

If you plan on doing it make sure you both have closed in shoes just in case :)

[LC1950]

Yep, done the UST on the Sun Princess oh, about 2 years ago on the inaugural repo cruise to Japan (our very first cruise). Yep, IMO well worth it. It was illuminating to actually see how the crew live, work and exist "below the waterline". Gosh people, it's a whole different world down there and I reckon every cruiser should get down there and see how things are at least once. Might make you appreciate how the people who serve you actually have to live! ..... just sayin'. And no ... I'm not an angry dispassionate person at all. Just hard workin' Aussies here and thankful for anything we can learn!!!

 

Can't remember exactly how much it cost us 2 years ago ... hubby thinks from memory it was about $150.00 each. But you do get "loot" ... a swag of photos, a top of the range "Princess" bathrobe, a "Princess" apron (LOL hubby loves wearing his when BBQ-ing), personalised stationery, printed info sheets and other stuff I just can't recall. You get a "mocktail" with chef and the food and beveridges guy in the galley ... oh with a whole heap of canapes (LOL stuff your guts people), a fabulous tour through the galley ... amazing!!!! As well as a wander through the various cold rooms, vegie rooms and butcher rooms, etc.

 

Then for our tour it was up to the bridge where we met our Captain and a great lecture by our First Officer. With booze and nibbles. Gosh it was fabulous.

 

So .... if you're interested in checking out how things work on your cruise ship ... do it!!!! Well worth the money IMO.

 

Actually, the backstage area most interesting to me personally. Worked in theatre as a "young-un" many decades ago now. Gosh amazing how they can do so much in such a small space on a ship! Well worth seeing.

 

Word to the wise ... if you really want to do this, make sure you book it at Passenger Services when you first board. Otherwise, you might miss out.

[Eaglemad]

Sounds like it is worth a go. My wife isn't interested, would rather read her book. How long is the tour normally and I suppose you have to book it on embarkation.

 

I couldn't find prices on the Princess website, thanks for the recommendations to date. :)

[Team Alpha]

I did the behind the scenes tour on carnival Spirit in June 2013. I can't be certain but I think it was around $130. I found it very interesting with tours of all areas as listed in earlier posts. I personally find all the engineering and logistics stuff interesting so I thought it was worth it. I certainly didn't get all the freebies that the people on Princess got. All I got was a couple of photos (the best was with the captain on the bridge) a wrist band, and a carry bag.

[Thorpe]

Go to the Passenger Services Desk once you board and ask to put your name down, not sure it's done on all cruises as it depends on certain things. Like enough interest, crew available to assist and timing on a sea day. Think it's about $180 and it's mostly men who leave their wives reading or doing other things :) When we did it we got the big bathrobes which can be an issue with taking up space in suitcases when flying. It's around 3 hours and it's usually in the morning from memory.

[Witchymob]

Hi, I did the tour on Sun Princess think it cost $150.00, was in 2010 well worth it, the tour of the laundry and the food storage areas is very interesting. As is the engine control room etc. Tour lasted about 4 to 5 hours. There are only about 12 people on the tour, not a quick walk through like the free galley, backstage tours. The staff answer all your questions, so you can be in one area for quite a while. Most of the men found lots to ask in the engine control room. Just walking around the behind the scenes is fascinating.

When you get on board, let us know what the technical problem is. We are booked on the cruise out of Fremantle on 8th July. SE asia cruises cover a lot of distance, she will need her speed. We were on Sea Princess when she was Adonia, and we were slow for most of our cruise and missed a port.

Sheila

[bronte2]

We did the tour on Dawn Princess in around 2011. There was only 8 of us and DH and I loved it. As described by others, you get to see lots of areas that aren't visited by the free tours and in each area, the supervisor of that area explains the workings of their domain. Admittedly I glazed over a bit in the engine control room but the men seemed to enjoy it!

The tour is scheduled for around 2 hours I think but ours was over 3 hours and IMHO it's worth every cent as it's a fascinating tour.

 

We put our name down at the passenger services desk the first day on board and we were told that we would be contacted if they were going to run it.