is behind the scenes ship tour worth the money ?

[capriccio]

How large is the group? Is there a maximum number of people allowed to do this tour? Thanks!

 

The limit was either 10 or 12 when we did it in 2009.

[Redwing55]

You have to admit that it's rare to find an excursion with so many positive reviews. Princess is doing something right here.

 

IMO, the tour is worth the $150 if one appreciates a behind the scenes perspective and the opportunity to get true face time with many of the people that direct the cruise. I can't think of many other times when this opportunity presents itself. Even Disney's behind the scene tours don't interact with many of the employees.

 

And, although it may not float your boat, the robes really are top shelf... let alone the other articles that one gets.

 

If you can afford it, pull this trigger!

[cruzsnooze]

We've done a backstage tour on a number of ships during the years & spent at least 45 minutes on each one with Q & A afterwards. How much more could there possible be to hear about?

The galley tour is very comprehensive in my opinion. Unless you want to see them cutting up the meat & actually washing dishes, it's sufficient.

We received robes complements of Princess a few years ago & they're still fine. Of course they're not the heave ones but in Florida who needs it?

 

I suppose some find the stuff worth the admission price but I consider it way overpriced for my money.

 

RCL still gives the equivalent tours to their Diamond plus members as a perk for free. Having taken them numerous times I found it got boring. Too much info on things that didn't interest me, particularly mechanical things. RCL only gives out a cookbook but it was free so a nice little gesture. Princess used to give an abbreviated tour to the one they now charge for which I experienced. Since the OP asked for opinions I gave mine that it wasn't worth the cost, YMMV.

As an aside, they have several documentaries on the learning channel about what goes into ship building and behind the scene areas. They also delineate which areas are the biggest revenue generators which are the bars and casinos. These shows might interest you.

[debkaysmith]

Does anyone know if they do the UST on the 3-day cruises? I have one coming up and think it'd make a perfect treat.

[floridalover5623]

RCL still gives the equivalent tours to their Diamond plus members as a perk for free. Having taken them numerous times I found it got boring. Too much info on things that didn't interest me, particularly mechanical things. RCL only gives out a cookbook but it was free so a nice little gesture. Princess used to give an abbreviated tour to the one they now charge for which I experienced. Since the OP asked for opinions I gave mine that it wasn't worth the cost, YMMV.

As an aside, they have several documentaries on the learning channel about what goes into ship building and behind the scene areas. They also delineate which areas are the biggest revenue generators which are the bars and casinos. These shows might interest you.

 

Seeing the popularity of the tour I'm surprise Princess doesn't raise the price.

It seems people will pay no matter how much they ask. :rolleyes:

[Eagle_and_hawk]

Does anyone know if they do the UST on the 3-day cruises? I have one coming up and think it'd make a perfect treat.

 

 

We were on a 5-day this past November with the Emerald Princess and was told they did not do a UST on cruises less than 7-days. It may be up to the specific ship though, just know what we were told on that trip.

[cruzsnooze]

Seeing the popularity of the tour I'm surprise Princess doesn't raise the price.

It seems people will pay no matter how much they ask. :rolleyes:

 

It would make good business sense as you pointed out since people are willing to pay. Thanks for supplementing my cruise fare folks. :) It helps keeps the fares down so they can keep booking and collect from spending on the ship.

[capriccio]

It would make good business sense as you pointed out since people are willing to pay. Thanks for supplementing my cruise fare folks. :) It helps keeps the fares down so they can keep booking and collect from spending on the ship.

 

10 or 12 people paying $150 each on a 7 or 10 day cruise doesn't provide much of an supplement to the fares of the other 2000 - 3000+ passengers!

[floridalover5623]

10 or 12 people paying $150 each on a 7 or 10 day cruise doesn't provide much of an supplement to the fares of the other 2000 - 3000+ passengers!

 

They wouldn't want to take everyone away from bingo or the casino. :D

[Steelers0854]

Add our vote to the yes column. Definitely worth doing once, now every cruise? Not so much. Maybe the different classes of ships, but you should absolutely do this atleast once.

[Gallivanting Souls]

Has anyone done the UST and the Behind the Fun Tour from Carnival and wish to compare?

Thank you!

[anthonyy7]

I've enjoyed all the positive feedback and will definitely be signing up on the Regal this summer!

[fishywood]

10 or 12 people paying $150 each on a 7 or 10 day cruise doesn't provide much of an supplement to the fares of the other 2000 - 3000+ passengers!

.

 

True the money collected is barely a drop in the bucket. But very likely that the entire amount of $1800 or so (figuring 12 participants on average) goes onto the books as pure profit, the cost of the items in the swag bag being borne by the departments they were appropriated from.

[Thoth]

It may depend on the ship as far as seeing the engines, as I think someone mentioned somewhere they did. When we did the UST on the Sapphire in Alaska, the engine control room was as the only part we got to see. The Chief Engineer said there was too much noise in the actual engine room and also due to security, that was not part of that tour.

 

It was really interesting talking to him as told us about how they have to run the gas turbine engines in parts of Alaska and I think off the coast of California. They have fuel usage down to a science. I don't remember the actual numbers now, as he was telling us that the diesels will only move the ship so fast. If the Captain is behind, and needs more power, they fire up the gas turbines, which the Chief Engineer hates to do as cost more $$. He says they have budget on fuel like any other thing & they try to stick too and he coordinates with the captain, about trying to not use them, unless required or needed for extra power. They have a diagram of the generators & engines up on their screen and it shows fuel usuage every few seconds. Very interesting for those who enjoy that type of thing.

 

 

I went back and looked at our group picturesd they took along the tour, and everyone was in long pants. Since it was Alaska in September, there was not a lot of short pants being worn onboard.

:cool: I do not expect to be exposed to all the noise anyway.

[Thoth]

Just wanted to chime in and thank the OP for posting this question in the first place and to everyone who offered their opinions and experiences with the tour. I had always wondered whether or not the tour was worth the price of admission or not. These posts have convinced me that I need to sign up for this tour on my next cruise (on the Regal).

thank you :)

[Thoth]

Also I look forward to the behind the theater part of the tour. Back in 2006 I did a complementary theater tour on Carnival Legend which was so very interesting. First...there are frequently only 12 dancers and 2 singers which means those 14 have to work very hard. Backstage during a show is a madhouse with everyone running. Each performer has her/his costumes arranged out in order with mere seconds to change. Second... the whole troop are a team before they even see the ship and when the contract is over the whole lot is replaced. Their boss is the team captain and are not under the cruise director's thumb. Third...the special effects magic was done with flat panels which drop from the ceiling, lighting gave the panels a 3D effect. Fourth...on many ships all those songs are done by 2 people one male one female. Dancers lip sync. Fifth...when not in shows the dancers have other duties such as monitoring the library, assisting with bingo, or herding crowds onto shore excursions.

I interested in seeing how Princess does it. My guess is the same ways.

[Hawka]

worth it for sure $175 but worth it i would do it again

[Croptop]

On second thought, if word continues to get out on how informative and how much fun this tour is, everyone will want to go and either I'll never get a spot or Princess will double the price.

 

So I think we need to delete this thread in its entirety and post a new one where we all agree to say that the tour is horrible and not worth the money! We need to keep this tour our little secret folks (at least until after my cruise next year).

 

Who's with me? :D

[floridalover5623]

On second thought, if word continues to get out on how informative and how much fun this tour is, everyone will want to go and either I'll never get a spot or Princess will double the price.

 

So I think we need to delete this thread in its entirety and post a new one where we all agree to say that the tour is horrible and not worth the money! We need to keep this tour our little secret folks (at least until after my cruise next year).

 

Who's with me? :D

 

I think there was a price increase about a year or two ago. Not sure - but from the popularity of what I read it's probably due very soon. People are rushing on board to make reservations and are disappointed in many cases.

[Loki'smom]

On second thought, if word continues to get out on how informative and how much fun this tour is, everyone will want to go and either I'll never get a spot or Princess will double the price.

 

So I think we need to delete this thread in its entirety and post a new one where we all agree to say that the tour is horrible and not worth the money! We need to keep this tour our little secret folks (at least until after my cruise next year).

 

Who's with me? :D

 

I agree. Let's keep it under wraps. My husband was asking how do we get a tour if they only allow 12 people in it with our embarking being at 2:30. Not sure if they follow that rule or not.

[mmckm]

We have tried 3 times to get on the tour. Each time we were told there were not enough people to do the tour. That was on our last 3 cruises, so I don't think its that popular with most cruisers. The $150 turns most away. Also have had 2 cruises that there weren't enough people for the chefs table. One time there was only 4 people and another there was 6. Both cruises we were on a B2B and got on the chefs table the second week.

We have done Carnivals tour and it was ok, but not the extras that Princess gives as gifts. Most of the tour sounds the same but the Princess tour sounds better. hope to get on it next cruise in a couple months.

[trystran72]

On second thought, if word continues to get out on how informative and how much fun this tour is, everyone will want to go and either I'll never get a spot or Princess will double the price.

 

So I think we need to delete this thread in its entirety and post a new one where we all agree to say that the tour is horrible and not worth the money! We need to keep this tour our little secret folks (at least until after my cruise next year).

 

Who's with me? :D

 

haha YES! I'm with you on this. I'll be (hopefully!) doing this on the Regal a couple of weeks before you, so I'll be sure to report back that it's a total waste of good mojito money. ;) This is hoping of course I can get 11 or so more people to join me on this excursion...

 

mmckm - good luck on your next cruise!! :)

[floridalover5623]

Is it possible to have an Elite or suite member make reservations in another person's name?

[Eagle_and_hawk]

I agree. Let's keep it under wraps. My husband was asking how do we get a tour if they only allow 12 people in it with our embarking being at 2:30. Not sure if they follow that rule or not.

 

If they get more than 12 people to sign up' date=' my understanding is they do a drawing to select who gets to go. I have also heard that those in a full suite, get priority. We did it on a 7-day Alaskan cruise with 12 people. We signed up on an 11-day Panama Canal cruise, and there was not enough to form the tour. They did however, get everyone who signed up together the last day and took us for a tour of the bridge & meet the captain. We thought that was nice of them since they didn't have to do that. I believe there was six of us.

 

They list the UST in the patter, however in looking back at the patter from the Coral, it's not a very good description nor does it mention the bag of gifts. I could see that those who know nothing about it, probably would not jump at spending $150 for a tour, just based on what it says.

From the patter in 2/2014: Princess Cruises Ultimate Ship Tour - Go behind the scenes of the Coral Princess. Cost of the tour is $150 per person. Space is limited. Sign up at the Passenger Services Desk.

[Eagle_and_hawk]

Is it possible to have an Elite or suite member make reservations in another person's name?

 

I would probably say no. When we signed up for it, they give you a description of the tour to read. If you want to go, they take your cruise card and fill out the information in a notebook. I believe we had to initial in the notebook, that we agree to take the tour and would be automatically charged for it when they decided who was going.