Behind the Scenes Ship tour (Encore)

[MichelleR1963]

Has anyone done a behind the scenes ship tour?  We became platinum level and were wondering how it works. 

Is there a cost?

How do you book it?

Thank you. 

[cruiserbear55]

24 minutes ago, MichelleR1963 said:

Has anyone done a behind the scenes ship tour?  We became platinum level and were wondering how it works. 

Is there a cost?

How do you book it?

Thank you. 

Have done a behind the scenes tour on the Gem. No cost, open to platinum and above. Sign-ups were accepted, as I remember, the first night on-board at the cruise next desk.(Yours may be elsewhere).Tour went the next morning. We first toured the stage prop and costume changing areas. From there we viewed the laundry area. Sounds boring, but the towel and sheet folding machines are a sight to behold!!   We then toured the length of "I-95" , the main route on deck3(?-might be 2) which is used by all crew to traverse the ship and to move supplies.Finally we toured the main kitchen area, both the prep and sanitizing areas. With a little time left , some of us went up to deck 11 to visit the bridge viewing area. My only caution is if you have any mobility issues, some of the tucked away stairways you'll use are not for the faint-of -heart!!                                                                                                                                        

[debenson0723]

1 hour ago, MichelleR1963 said:

Has anyone done a behind the scenes ship tour?  We became platinum level and were wondering how it works. 

Is there a cost?

How do you book it?

Thank you. 

I did the behind the scenes tour on the Encore March 2020 and it is almost exactly like Cruiserbear55 described.  Sign up at the CruiseNext desk that first afternoon or evening (it will list the time in the daily but I want to say it was 3pm).  It does fill up so if you really want to do it, don't delay. We met the next morning around 9am, had 2 groups of 10-12. We did basically the same areas but did the stage last. I really enjoyed it and hope to do it again in September.

[BirdTravels]

The tour is first-come-first-serve when signing up. So, stop by the CruiseNext desk on embarkation afternoon. May be limited or eliminated under current operating conditions (Royal did not run any tours on their first sailings). There is a free tour for Platinum and above (it is a little less than the paid tour). 

 

 

 

[david_sobe]

We paid for the tour on Getaway and we enjoyed it.  The price included a great photo of you wearing a chef hat working in the kitchen.  I would be surprised if these tours will be happening during the pandemic.  I think this may be the last cruise ship option to get back to normal  

[roger001]

We did a BTS tour on the Pearl about 10 years ago.  It was very complete, including a lot of time spent up on the bridge.  Here's a bunch of pictures from that tour.  

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/P5Ja8L4PrfQQfErW2

[ColonieCruiser]

Don't forget to wear closed toe shoes.  They won't allow sandals or flip flops.  Our tour was held up waiting for a lady to run back to her cabin for proper foot wear.

[CptAleSpill]

No engine room?  🤨

[Laszlo]

I've done a few. First was on the Gem.... 3 hour payed tour. Went to the Bridge for 30 minutes.

 

Both BA and Escape were freebies.... about 2 hours... no bridge tour

 

Each tour is slightly different were you go and what you see. No photos or filming in certain areas. No filming or photos on any tour in the I95 area. Closed shoes are a must or they will send you packing, I've see it happen on every tour. I've been in a group of 25, their were three groups going. I've been a group of 7 that was awesome

 

No engine room, not even close

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 1, 2021 by Laszlo

[david_sobe]

I also would not suggest this tour for young kids.  They just don't have the patience or interest to stand around and hear about bulk laundry and trash compactors.  We had a few in our group that could not keep still.

I feel lucky to have gotten one of the last bridge tours in 2015.  It was pretty cool. Another very interesting feature about the tour was before it started, they gave about a 25 minute video presentation about the NCL company.....how it started, how it grew, all the ships and how it is today, etc. 

Edited July 2, 2021 by david_sobe

[MorganClark]

20 hours ago, CptAleSpill said:

No engine room?  🤨

 

That would be a barge. 😉

[BirdTravels]

21 hours ago, CptAleSpill said:

No engine room?  🤨

No engines. No engine control room. No bridge.
 

The bridge tours were discontinued after terrorist attacks in Paris. On small ships and the Epic, there are bridge observation rooms. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

7 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

No engines. No engine control room. No bridge.
 

The bridge tours were discontinued after terrorist attacks in Paris. On small ships and the Epic, there are bridge observation rooms. 

Well this sounds crappier all the time.  We'll reach platinum soon, and for some crazy reason I was envisioning seeing the engine room (maybe it's because a buddy saw that on a Princess tour).  If it's just laundry and kitchen, I'll likely politely decline the whole thing.  DW will probably "force" me to do it once, which I'll do just to keep her happy and confirm that it is a goof.  Happy wife, happy life. 😎

[MichelleR1963]

Thank you everyone for your responses.  Looking forward to this.

 

[MorganClark]

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Well this sounds crappier all the time.  We'll reach platinum soon, and for some crazy reason I was envisioning seeing the engine room (maybe it's because a buddy saw that on a Princess tour).  If it's just laundry and kitchen, I'll likely politely decline the whole thing.  DW will probably "force" me to do it once, which I'll do just to keep her happy and confirm that it is a goof.  Happy wife, happy life. 😎

 

When you reach Platinum, NCL should let you drive the shio!

[gmbhardy]

6 hours ago, MorganClark said:

 

When you reach Platinum, NCL should let you drive the shio!

I agree. I’d love to drive the shio!

[BirdTravels]

On 7/1/2021 at 10:29 AM, Laszlo said:

No engine room, not even close

We got a private tour of the engine control room on the Sky once. It was done by the Chief Engineer who was not happy having "tourists" in his control room and not happy about being assigned to give the tour. 

 

On that same cruise, the Captain gave us an hour-long private tour of the bridge. That was fun because the ship was securing from tendering at GSC, pulling the anchor, and getting underway while we were on the bridge. There was a 7-year-old girl physically in the Captain's chair as we got underway. 

[SomewhereGirl]

Have these tours been happening on the Encore the last few sailings?  Some were wondering if they still would after the restart.

[bob brown]

Some cruise lines were still including bridge and engine control room tours recently...there is no maritime regulation prohibiting it...is strictly Company policy....

[www3traveler]

2 hours ago, SomewhereGirl said:

Have these tours been happening on the Encore the last few sailings?  Some were wondering if they still would after the restart.

I have seen postings saying that at the moment neither the tour and "Dining With An Officer" are available.  My guess would be Covid-19 related.  Does not sound like you can have your picture taken with the Captain either.

[mking8288]

I would not be entirely surprised if the BTS tour will go "virtual" although NCL is a bit behind others with AI and AR technologies ... LOL  

 

Same could be done very easily with photos taken with the Captain, etc. - instead of just merging the virtual background alone, just insert ... (sorry, shouldn't give more funky ideas to bean counters at NCL)

 

"Virtual" Dining w an "Officer" for P+ is a possibility, might be a bit more difficult to arrange but it isn't exactly a most sought after perks with "some" P+ members.  

[BirdTravels]

8 hours ago, SomewhereGirl said:

Have these tours been happening on the Encore the last few sailings?  Some were wondering if they still would after the restart.

On our cruise, we were advised that CDC did not approve NCL's plan to conduct tours or dinners,,,, having dirty passengers within the crew COVID bubble. 

 

We were on Royal's first cruise and at our first port of call, they led ShoreEx participants down the I95 as a short cut to the gangway. Next port of call, someone realized that having hundreds of dirty passengers walking through the crew area was bad, so we had to climb up 2 decks, down the hall, then down 4 decks to the gangway. 

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, bob brown said:

Some cruise lines were still including bridge and engine control room tours recently...there is no maritime regulation prohibiting it...is strictly Company policy....

NCL discontinued allowing passengers to access the bridge after the Paris terrorist attacks and a credible threat of an attack on a cruise ship. That was about 6 years ago and they have never changed that policy. At the time, they were even talking about sealing the bridge viewing rooms on small ships and the Epic, which they never did.  

[don't-use-real-name]

Small ships having the Bridge Viewing are the:

 

JEWEL

JADE

GEM

PEARL

SPIRIT

Deck 11 forward port side 

 

A 2/3rd window view of the Bridge - can't see the wings 

Bridge viewing hours are daytime - the blinds curtains are pulled at night 

The curtains maybe pulled at times for security and other sensitive issues

 

FYI

 

Tours are escorted by a Cruise Next member with a Security officer bringing

up the rear to keep control

 

Groups of 15-20 on small ships - maybe larger of the mega-ships

Sign up early on embarkation day at the Cruise Next (Shore Excursions?) desk.

Limited - first come first taken reservations - standbys sometimes taken

 

The BST are normally held the first SEA day in the am hours 

Platinum & (+) as a rule are not permitted to have guests space being available

One can ask the Cruise Desk or Concierge for an exception - BUT expect a no

not even if the guest is willing to pay a difference between the paid tour

 

BST - areas covered are the Back Stage of the Theatre -

Laundry facility -

I95 the main deck 3 of crew activity including recycling of trash and movement of ship

supplies & materials -

and lastly the Galley serving the Main Dining Room(s)

 

Expect it to be a least an hour to an hour and half more on the mega-ships

 

As noted proper footwear always -

Climbing steep stairwells between decks -

stairs are not carpeted - possibly rough perforated metal planking

 

Photography/Videos limited in some areas -

ASK before taking photos/videos -

I95 strictly forbidden and back stage areas of the theatre (costume changing room)

 

For your sake and others - be in good health - DO NOT take this tour if ill or not well !

 

 

[luckyinpa]

if you love tours do the regal princess. in 2019 i did it and it was fantastic. 4 hours including 1 hour on the bridge asking the captain whatever you want. plus tons of swag. very very worth it.  surprised how close they let us get to the controls and stuff. very neat!

 

unsure if all princess ships are this detailed though. was neat to go up where the anchor drops and other little seen places including the control room. they had a plastic cover on the controls because they are tied into the bridge control. you arent allowed any pics but they take group pics and you get them free. 

Edited August 30, 2021 by luckyinpa