Private ship tour on NCL (excursion) ?

[Master98]

Hi,

On Carnival Cruise, they offer a tour called "Behind the fun ultimate tour" where you can visit beyond the public areas of the ship (see attached link):

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1386/~/carnival’s-‘behind-the-fun-ultimate-tour

Is there an excursion like this one available on NCL? We are sailing on the Norwegian Escape.

Thank you

[shof515]

yes, it is called the behind the scenes tour. stop by the shore excursion desk to purchase it

[Master98]

Thank you :-)

[TexasCigarGuy]

On a recent EPIC cruise, it was being offered for $79.

[Master98]

What is included in this tour? I don't find any official document on the NCL website.

[SouthLyonCruiser]

Latitudes members of platinum and above get the ship tour for free as a perk. I don't really know if they are available outside of the rewards program.

[Sunseeker810]

We did this tour for free because we are platinum. They took us to the laundry room. That was very interesting. Also. we saw some of the food prep areas. They do not show you anything to do with the mechanics. Probably for safety reasons? We did enjoy it, but I don't think that it was worth $79.00.

[shof515]

Latitudes members of platinum and above get the ship tour for free as a perk. I don't really know if they are available outside of the rewards program.

We did this tour for free because we are platinum. They took us to the laundry room. That was very interesting. Also. we saw some of the food prep areas. They do not show you anything to do with the mechanics. Probably for safety reasons? We did enjoy it, but I don't think that it was worth $79.00.

 

the free platinum tour is completely different then the paid tour. it is two different tours. On the paid tour, you go to more places that they do not go to on the free tour.

 

in the freestyle daily, it is listed as this:

Explore the Norwegian (ship), Get to see the Galley, Provision Area, Environment Area, Main Laundry and Backstage Area

. They do not list the bridge, but i read some posts that it is up to the captain to decided that.

[don't-use-real-name]

What is included in this tour? I don't find any official document on the NCL website.

 

I don't think that there is a specific tour itinerary for this.

Basically it covers the Laundry facility Main Dining Room Galley and Back Stage Theatre and a brief

walk down I-95 the main corridor of crew traffic generally 1- 2 decks below the passenger decks - this

might include a visit to a recycle station (glass cardboard plastics) and the crew mess.

The guided tours are composed of from 16-20 passengers and use steep ladder wells (stairs) with grated

holes therefore the need for close toe shoes NO FLIP FLOPS.

For safety and security the engine machinery room - the bridge and other environmental areas are not

included.

The tours are generally mid-day 10am ish on the first day at SEA and take from 1-2 hours depending on

the participation of the guests asking questions and ship activity permitting casual access to the tour areas.

Since these tours are not productive while the ship is in port they are only done while at sea.

There maybe a few of these or a great deal depending on demand and time considerations.

The Shore Excursion desk handles the reservations.

 

If one is of Latitudes Platinum status you get the tour free - on some ships this is an abbreviated tour of

the PAID ($80) tour and on others it is the very same tour.

For Platinum guests when you board the ship and check in at your cabin you will find a guest welcoming

packet with the tour information - IT IS SUGGESTED TO CONTACT THE Shore Excursion desk ASAP

for getting scheduled on these tours. If there is not enough of a response and a few Plats still want to go

these folks are generally scheduled in with the paid tours which can fill up very fast. So the first day on board

get your request in.

As an alternative to the Shore Excursion desk - visit the Next Cruise desk; did this recently on the NCL SUN.

 

One can not question the merits of a FREE tour but the Behind the Scenes Tour for about $80 is questionable

for some and of great value to others. Operating on a less expensive budget - you could forgo the tour

however have some non-refundable OBC it would OBC $ well spent. The tour is definitely in my opinion

worth it for at least for the first time NCL passenger. Not necessarily is it "you have seen one you have seen all".

On the bigger ships you may see more of the interior of the ship but with less time spent in the tour areas.

I have done the tours on the STAR DAWN and the SUN all smaller ships and while they are very similar

the ships interior I-95 crew areas are different and the tours are not all done in the same department order.

The Main Dining Room Gallery for instance maybe done first to avoid conflict with the lunch time crowd.

The Back Stage of the Theater may be at the end to avoid interrupting a show rehearsal.

 

What is really a set-back is the absence of the Bridge tour - with security being paramount it is very difficult

to have a visit to the bridge which was common and the best selling reason to take the BST.

[Sauer-kraut]

IF you do take the tour you need to wear closed toed shoes and be able to stand for 2 hours.

[jdvmd]

We've done a few of these and always find them very interesting. They let me put some napkins through the press.