Does Cunard still offer $120 tours of areas of the ship us passengers normally don't get access to?

[Cruise Liner Fan]

Since I'm going back aboard the QM2 in 4 weeks from today (October 7th-October 25th) Does Cunard still offer $120 behind the scenes tour like the Bridge, Engine control room and other areas of the ship the passengers the passengers normally don't get access to? I was last aboard the QM2 in October of 2016.

[BklynBoy8]

Not sure if still offered.  Think it is 4 hours or 3 hours long. Heard you can do some real climbing. 

Edited September 9, 2022 by BklynBoy8

[Cruise Liner Fan]

I did do this tour aboard the QM2 in 2013

[Host Hattie]

I don't think it's been offered since the re-start of operations.

[exlondoner]

10 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

I don't think it's been offered since the re-start of operations.

Wasn't offered on either of my trips this year.

[Golfwidow100]

This wasn't offered (to my knowledge anyway) on our QM2 roundtrip transatlantic Aug/Sep 22.

We did do a tour pre covid on QE and thoroughly enjoyed it so IMO it's well worth the money if offered again. 

 

[Windsurfboy]

Sorry I  must live on another planet, but $120 to be shown round a ship I've  paid to cruise on , just seems pure greed.

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, Windsurfboy said:

Sorry I  must live on another planet, but $120 to be shown round a ship I've  paid to cruise on , just seems pure greed.

Actually, I thought it worth every penny. You get to talk to lots of heads of department, get a few freebies, and a couple of photos, see lots of bits of the ship you wouldn’t generally see. An excellent three and a half hours.

[Host Hattie]

5 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

Sorry I  must live on another planet, but $120 to be shown round a ship I've  paid to cruise on , just seems pure greed.

It's not compulsory, if you don't want to pay, just enjoy the public areas of the ship and the free galley tours (if they are on offer again).

I thought Mr HH had got lost, he was gone so long when he did the tour on Queen Elizabeth.

[Windsurfboy]

4 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Actually, I thought it worth every penny. You get to talk to lots of heads of department, get a few freebies, and a couple of photos, see lots of bits of the ship you wouldn’t generally see. An excellent three and a half hours.

 

That still doesn't stop it being pure greed on Cunard part. However everyone is free to spend their money on whatever they like. 

[exlondoner]

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

That still doesn't stop it being pure greed on Cunard part. However everyone is free to spend their money on whatever they like. 

Well, you are paying for quite a lot of different people’s time, whom you get to talk to for as long as you want: Ents. manager, captain,  chief engineer, exec chef, safety officer, theatre producer etc. So I don’t see it’s that greedy. I felt it was value for money. Much less greedy than what they charge for photos.

Jane

[Windsurfboy]

3 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Well, you are paying for quite a lot of different people’s time, whom you get to talk to for as long as you want: Ents. manager, captain,  chief engineer, exec chef, safety officer, theatre producer etc. So I don’t see it’s that greedy. I felt it was value for money. Much less greedy than what they charge for photos.

Jane

 

The job of all the people mentioned is to look after passengers , they are being paid anyway.

 

I just remember  days when things like this were all part of the service. Nowadays everything is seen as an opportunity to extract a few pennies. 

 

Some people long for the old days when everyone wore a jacket and tie.

 

I on the other hand miss the days when everything wasn't a revenue opportunity.

[BlueRiband]

I had the opportunity to take this tour a few years ago on QM2 and it was limited to 16 per sailing.  A fellow tour member asked why it was not expanded to include more passengers, given its popularity.  The answer was that it took work to conduct the tour and those preparing and leading it have  to do this in addition to the normal duties.    

[majortom10]

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

The job of all the people mentioned is to look after passengers , they are being paid anyway.

 

I just remember  days when things like this were all part of the service. Nowadays everything is seen as an opportunity to extract a few pennies. 

 

Some people long for the old days when everyone wore a jacket and tie.

 

I on the other hand miss the days when everything wasn't a revenue opportunity.

But it has turned that way to allow Cunard to be competitive with headline prices and keep them lower. Our first cruise on QE2 in 1997 with the lowest grade inside cabin on the ship was over £100pppd. I shudder to think what it would be today with price of fuel and inflation since then. Nobody is forced to eat at speciality restaurants or do tours of the ship however expensive but if it gives Cunard revenue and lowers the price of cruises then I am all for it.

Edited September 10, 2022 by majortom10

[GonzoWCS]

9 hours ago, Golfwidow100 said:

This wasn't offered (to my knowledge anyway) on our QM2 roundtrip transatlantic Aug/Sep 22.

We did do a tour pre covid on QE and thoroughly enjoyed it so IMO it's well worth the money if offered again. 

 

Thanks for the response.  Hoping they start it back again.  We have done this type of tour other lines and it is always a treat!

 

Cheers

[frankp01]

20 minutes ago, GonzoWCS said:

Hoping they start it back again.

Even when it was being offered, I don't think it was advertised. We learned about it through word of mouth, and went directly to the Excursions Desk to sign up when we boarded. It never appeared in the Daily Programme. It can't hurt to visit the desk and ask as soon as you're aboard and inquire. 

[GonzoWCS]

29 minutes ago, frankp01 said:

Even when it was being offered, I don't think it was advertised. We learned about it through word of mouth, and went directly to the Excursions Desk to sign up when we boarded. It never appeared in the Daily Programme. It can't hurt to visit the desk and ask as soon as you're aboard and inquire. 

Thanks for this.  Will remember to do this once onboard!

 

Cheers

[rkacruiser]

28 minutes ago, frankp01 said:

Even when it was being offered, I don't think it was advertised. We learned about it through word of mouth, and went directly to the Excursions Desk to sign up when we boarded. It never appeared in the Daily Programme. It can't hurt to visit the desk and ask as soon as you're aboard and inquire. 

 

This is very good advice.  The size of the group is very small and when the tour is full, it's full.

 

8 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Well, you are paying for quite a lot of different people’s time, whom you get to talk to for as long as you want: Ents. manager, captain,  chief engineer, exec chef, safety officer, theatre producer etc. So I don’t see it’s that greedy. I felt it was value for money. Much less greedy than what they charge for photos.

Jane

 

Agree!

 

10 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

but $120 to be shown round a ship I've  paid to cruise on , just seems pure greed.

 

Some of us have much interest in what takes place behind the scenes and these tours provide a much better glimpse of that.  When I sailed on QM2, such tours were not offered.  I have taken these tours on Holland America Line, Princess Line, and Carnival line ships.  Each time, I learned more than I had the last time.  At the end of the tour, there is a further Q&A/discussion with the Host of the tour when whatever one wishes to drink and a very nice assortment of canapes are served.  Gifts are given to the guests.  I have a complete set of Rudi Sodamin's cookbooks, another large cookbook from Princess, and a Carnival backpack, soap sculpture, and ball cap.  The cookbooks are costly to buying them, so, these aren't inexpensive gifts.

 

On 9/9/2022 at 3:36 PM, BklynBoy8 said:

Heard you can do some real climbing. 

 

Yes.  Part of the time, guests will be using crew stairways and, particularly in the engine room area, are steep metal stairways.  Some crew elevator (or guest, when appropriate) use does occur.  

 

[Essiesmom]

Does the tour include the laundry?  We did this on Carnival ($95pp on Conguest class) and that was one thing everyone remembers…the big machine the feed the wet, flat sheets into and the come out dry, ironed, and folded.  We also got group pictures taken outside on the bow, and on the bridge with the captain.  We had an opportunity on the bridge to ask questions of the captain.  I was embarrassed at the naïveté of some of the questioners.  EM

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

Does the tour include the laundry?  We did this on Carnival ($95pp on Conguest class) and that was one thing everyone remembers…the big machine the feed the wet, flat sheets into and the come out dry, ironed, and folded.  We also got group pictures taken outside on the bow, and on the bridge with the captain.  We had an opportunity on the bridge to ask questions of the captain.  I was embarrassed at the naïveté of some of the questioners.  EM

 

Every tour that I have taken on Princess, Carnival, or HAL ships has included the laundry as well as the garbage/trash disposal area.  The ship's Chief Environmental Officer would be our "host" and provide much information about the "hows, whys, and the whats" of the process.  As well as speaking about the purity of the water that we consume.  

 

Photo ops with the Captain varied from one tour to another.

 

Questions from guests ran the gamut.  One tour that I was on during a HAL cruise, my fellow guests were very knowledgeable.  In the Engine Control Room, asking questions of the Chief Engineer, he must have been impressed enough with us that he guided us down the steps outside the Room into the Engine Room itself for a short walk through part of the Room.  Walking by those green engines, seeing the spinning of the shaft, the noise:  I won't forget that!  

 

Interestingly, when I have reported such a visit on CC, I have been told several times:   "You don't know where you were.  This didn't happen."  Well, it did!  

 

These tours are worth every penny spent, if one is interested in such and the tours are offered, because each one seems just a bit different--in a positive way.  

[Se1lad]

23 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

Sorry I  must live on another planet, but $120 to be shown round a ship I've  paid to cruise on , just seems pure greed.

It always sold out quickly, so they could probably charge more if they wanted.  Based on the amount covered on the tour and compared to the price of some of Cunard’s excursions, I always thought it was a good deal.

 

Also if they offered it for free, the people on the tour aren’t necessarily going to be people genuinely interested in learning about the ship - you’re also going to get people who will have just booked it because it was free.

Edited September 11, 2022 by Se1lad

[Redrobo]

Behind the scenes tour. 

Number of guests

Additional cost

Number of crew

Daytime activities.

Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes in the day to day running of an ocean liner? Join a behind the scenes tour to see the back of house operations and meet the Senior Officers on board.

 

Life on board

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[Windsurfboy]

16 hours ago, majortom10 said:

But it has turned that way to allow Cunard to be competitive with headline prices and keep them lower. 

 

Majortom,  I think we agree that it's indicative of a change, what many on the dress code threads bemoan as a Carnivalisation of Cunard. 

 

I wasn't arguing it wasn't a very interesting tour, or in some way value for money compared to other things.  Yes they could even charge more.

 

However in my old fashioned mind , one might have thought they would be PROUD TO SHOW PEOPLE BEHIND THE SCENES.  Perhaps charging a nominal amount to control numbers.  But clearly everything is about making that extra $.

 

 

[majortom10]

43 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

Majortom,  I think we agree that it's indicative of a change, what many on the dress code threads bemoan as a Carnivalisation of Cunard. 

 

I wasn't arguing it wasn't a very interesting tour, or in some way value for money compared to other things.  Yes they could even charge more.

 

However in my old fashioned mind , one might have thought they would be PROUD TO SHOW PEOPLE BEHIND THE SCENES.  Perhaps charging a nominal amount to control numbers.  But clearly everything is about making that extra $.

 

 

 Unfortunately we live in a world where majority of companies charge as much as they economically can get away with why should Cunard be any difference. You don't sell something for $50 if you can get customers charging $120 especially as the bean counters at Carniv wouldn't be happy.

[Vegas-Voyager]

On 9/10/2022 at 5:21 AM, Windsurfboy said:

Sorry I  must live on another planet, but $120 to be shown round a ship I've  paid to cruise on , just seems pure greed.

 

Seems I once read that no-one should have to justify how they spend their own money, what choices they make. Which cabins they book, which cruise lines you go on , how many holidays you have or what tours they take onboard. 😁

 

For those who have enjoyed the behind the scene tours, great for you, would have enjoyed it myself, for others, enjoy whatever choices you make.  Just enjoy and sail on!

Cheers.