Behind the Scenes Tour

[IUBryan]

My wife and I are travelling on Eurodam on June 24th to Alaska. I have had the hardest time finding information about Holland America's offering of a behind the scenes tour on the ship. We are luckily in the first boarding group and are planning on going to the guest services desk as soon as we board to inquire. Has anyone been on a Holland America ship this year and do you know if a behind the scenes tour was available?

Thanks!

[CruiserBruce]

The Behind the Scenes tours have not been offered since before Covid.

[weix]

There is a ,sort of, tour the Captain gives on the main stage. . It is called ASK the CAPTAIN. It is a Video and Slide combination narrated by the Captain.

[Haljo1935]

@IUBryan we were on European to AK April 29 - May 6 this year - there was no behind the scenes tour offered.

There was the Ask the Captain session @weix mentioned and one called City at Sea (or similar) that was done in the theater w/some behind the scenes footage. It was free and very informative.

Enjoy your cruise!

[JeffElizabeth]

We got to take a tour on the old Rotterdam during our Panama Canal cruise during the pandemic in March and it was fascinating. The biggest soup tureen I have ever seen! And a machine to fold sheets.  Really interesting to watch the bridge crew at work even when we were tied off in port. Constantly monitoring the wind and tidal conditions to prevent damage to the ship. 

[IUBryan]

Thanks for all the responses! We will definitely go to the Ask the Captain session and will probably check out the City at Sea presentation too.

 

That is too bad the real tours haven't resumed since COVID. Perhaps those are becoming a thing of the past, at least on large ships.

[Haljo1935]

@IUBryan please update us if you find one - I'd love to do it!

[asebastian]

I have been on 2 of these tours pre-covid (Zaandam and Nieuw Statendam). The tours are NOT advertised anywhere, but you have to approach Guest Services and ask to put your name on the "secret list". Once the tour is confirmed, you'll get a note in your cabin with details of when and where. Numbers are usually quite small, not exceeding 15. Usually led by the CD, and it is a fascinating tour that takes you up and down the ship, from Deck 0 to the bridge, and ends with a Q&A session with the Captain and a photo. Free drinks at the meeting place too. You may also be presented with a keepsake from the ship. Tours were not cheap, $150 added per person to your running bill on the ship.

One of our group recently on the Nieuw Amsterdam was interested, and asked Guest Services and he was told the tours are not offered at the moment.

Edited June 12, 2023 by asebastian
spelling

[Haljo1935]

6 hours ago, asebastian said:

I have been on 2 of these tours pre-covid (Zaandam and Nieuw Statendam). The tours are NOT advertised anywhere, but you have to approach Guest Services and ask to put your name on the "secret list". Once the tour is confirmed, you'll get a note in your cabin with details of when and where. Numbers are usually quite small, not exceeding 15. Usually led by the CD, and it is a fascinating tour that takes you up and down the ship, from Deck 0 to the bridge, and ends with a Q&A session with the Captain and a photo. Free drinks at the meeting place too. You may also be presented with a keepsake from the ship. Tours were not cheap, $150 added per person to your running bill on the ship.

One of our group recently on the Nieuw Amsterdam was interested, and asked Guest Services and he was told the tours are not offered at the moment.

Yes, that is what I've been told. I feel fairly certain I will not ever have the opportunity to do one, but doesn't mean I will stop asking.

[Dobby36]

When we were on the Oosterdam, someone asked the Captain about such tours returning.  He said he suspected as staffing and training continue to be returned to “normal” post restart, you could expect behind the scenes tours and galley kitchen tours to restart as well. Bridge tours are gone forever due to regulations and inherent risks. 
Ive never done the full behind the scenes tour, but the galley tour on Zuiderdam in 2019 was free, a group of a few dozen.  Found it fascinating and I think it was just listed in the daily program, for a slow time between lunch and dinner service.  

[CruiserBruce]

15 minutes ago, Dobby36 said:

When we were on the Oosterdam, someone asked the Captain about such tours returning.  He said he suspected as staffing and training continue to be returned to “normal” post restart, you could expect behind the scenes tours and galley kitchen tours to restart as well. Bridge tours are gone forever due to regulations and inherent risks. 
Ive never done the full behind the scenes tour, but the galley tour on Zuiderdam in 2019 was free, a group of a few dozen.  Found it fascinating and I think it was just listed in the daily program, for a slow time between lunch and dinner service.  

The free galley tour has been around for quite awhile. Its usually the first sea day around 10am. I am not sure if those have resumed post Covid....I don't remember them on our 3 cruises in 2022.

[IUBryan]

19 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

@IUBryan please update us if you find one - I'd love to do it!

I will definitely report back after our trip if something is offered. We will ask guest services when we get on just to be sure.

[FlaMariner]

23 hours ago, IUBryan said:

I have had the hardest time finding information about Holland America's offering of a behind the scenes tour on the ship.

 

on our recent Oosterdam cruise in March 2023, no behind the scene tour but their was a really good presentation in the Main Stage called something like "City on the Sea" and it went thru all the back office areas and what's needed/required to run a "city on the sea".....I believe the cruise director (whatever she/he is called now) was the narrator but the captain and others played a part.

 

Very informative.....

[Torquer]

In pre-covid times, the behind-the-scenes tour was always included for free to the Pinnacle Suite guests.  In our post-covid cruises, we always asked the Neptune Lounge concierges but have always been told they are no longer available.  We were told that it was because it brought guests into critical personnel that need to remain isolated so they don't get covid.  Maybe so, but then why is the captain and his other officers free to roam the ship and have, at least some, interaction with passengers.

 

Everybody who is interested should keep asking about them on every cruise and maybe they will bring them back.  We plan to do that on our Nieuw Statendam cruise next week.  The tours were usually the highlight of every cruise, even though we had been on quite a few of them.

[just_cruising_along]

For our experience, the Behind the Scenes tour was advertised but it filled up quickly. It was broken up into 2 days (both port days). It was a fascinating look at ship life and what it takes to keep everything running. Hopefully HAL can start these up again.  Let us know what you find out.

[asebastian]

6 hours ago, just_cruising_along said:

both port days

Both of my tours were on sea days!

[just_cruising_along]

12 minutes ago, asebastian said:

Both of my tours were on sea days!

That is interesting.  Our tour went to the Bridge so we could talk to the Captain and a couple of the officers.  I don't think they would have let us up there if they were busy navigating.  I am sure it all varies on the ship, the captain, the available staff to take you around, etc.  

[asebastian]

33 minutes ago, just_cruising_along said:

 I don't think they would have let us up there if they were busy navigating

I remember asking if the ship was on "auto pilot" and answer was no, it was all manual even though they had sophisticated equipment on board that allowed auto pilot. But the navigation officer said on sea days with no traffic around mostly, it was "steady as she goes" with the watch officers keeping an eye on what's outside. So it all seemed very calm and relaxed on sea days. Quite the different experience for me.

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, just_cruising_along said:

That is interesting.  Our tour went to the Bridge so we could talk to the Captain and a couple of the officers.  I don't think they would have let us up there if they were busy navigating.  I am sure it all varies on the ship, the captain, the available staff to take you around, etc.  

When was your tour? Things have changed a lot. We were also on the bridge at sea during our behind the scenes tour, but that was a lot time ago...like 2010 or 11. In the later part of the 20-teens decade, going to the bridge while at sea seemed to no longer be allowed.

[FlaMariner]

Foggy memory but didn't 9/11/01 end the passengers touring the bridge?  

 

Go enjoy the "city on the sea" presentation if it shows up in the daily program.

[CruiserBruce]

12 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

Foggy memory but didn't 9/11/01 end the passengers touring the bridge?  

 

Go enjoy the "city on the sea" presentation if it shows up in the daily program.

No. Have toured the Bridge a couple times since 9/11, but not since around 2011 or 2012.

[Sea42]

I ask the hotel director on our recent N.S. cruise about behind the scenes tours returning. He stated that they know how popular the tours were and that there is discussion on bringing the tours back late in 2023 or early 2024. Just discussion, not a firm approval that he was aware of.

[Torquer]

8 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

Foggy memory but didn't 9/11/01 end the passengers touring the bridge? 

All our tours, including the bridge, have been post 2010, the year of our first cruise.  Our last ship tour, which included the bridge, was August 2019 which was our last cruise before covid.  It is definitely not a security issue; the reason why we don't have them today is due to covid concerns.

 

Also despite a previous post about auto-pilot, all modern cruise ships do have a very sophisticated computer-controlled auto-pilot.  No one but the computer is steering the ship when at sea.  Manual steering is only done when coming or going from a port and during the actual docking.  It is very peaceful and calm on the bridge when at sea; all of our bridge visits were on sea days.  There are only 2-3 lookouts and 1-2 officers on duty when at sea.  Of course, I presume things are very different and hectic when near a port.

[IUBryan]

So I am back from my Eurodam Alaska Cruise (6/24 - 7/1). The Behind the Scenes Tour was not offered. I talked to guest services and they said it was stopped during COVID and has not started up again.

 

The "City on the Sea" show on the last full day of the cruise is closest you can get, and it is better than nothing. That being said, if you know any thing basic about how a cruise ship works, you aren't going to learn anything new.

[Haljo1935]

Sad to hear we're probably not going to ever get a behind the scenes peek - we always passed them over saying we could always do them "next time."