aus1235 Posted June 23 #1 Share Posted June 23 Hi All, Going on my First cruise later in the year. I am wondering what tours they do on a Cruise ship. I know some cruise ships has tours of the Galley but do they have other tours of the ship ie. Like on the Bridge. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ferry_Watcher Posted June 23 #2 Share Posted June 23 Some cruise lines like Celebrity offer a "Behind the Scenes" tour as an 'excursion' on sea days for a fee. Our 2024 tour did include visiting the Bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CDNPolar Posted June 23 #3 Share Posted June 23 37 minutes ago, aus1235 said: Hi All, Going on my First cruise later in the year. I am wondering what tours they do on a Cruise ship. I know some cruise ships has tours of the Galley but do they have other tours of the ship ie. Like on the Bridge. Thanks Hey! Welcome to Cruise Critic! Let us know the cruise line and the ship. Sometimes it depends on the ship, the line, and where you are cruising, but more over whether a Captain will allow some tours. We have done galley, bridge, and what I will call the Engine Control Room. The latter was the best in my opinion seeing all the control panels and all the systems that were being monitored. We have also done the wheelhouse on a river cruise ship. Not as spectacular as the ocean ship, but interesting none the less. We have been on cruises that they advertised you to sign up for these, some cruises that if you asked they would quietly let you know that they were doing them but not advertising them, and then on some sailings that we asked and they were not available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Essiesmom Posted June 23 #4 Share Posted June 23 Carnival does the full tour, called Behind the Fun. Lots of stairs, required closed toe shoes, no skirts for the ladies, no cameras/phones. Takes up to three hours, on a sea day. EM 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare puppycanducruise Posted June 23 #5 Share Posted June 23 We did a bridge tour on Holland America last year. It was conducted by the Third Officer. There were about 12 people on the tour, picture taking was allowed. Very informative. The officer was personable, professional and answered questions. He was only 23. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donaldsc Posted June 23 #6 Share Posted June 23 If you go on a small ship cruise they often have an open bridge policy which means that you can spend as much time on the bridge as you wish. Yet another advantage of small ship cruising. DON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldubs Posted June 23 #7 Share Posted June 23 3 hours ago, Essiesmom said: Carnival does the full tour, called Behind the Fun. Lots of stairs, required closed toe shoes, no skirts for the ladies, no cameras/phones. Takes up to three hours, on a sea day. EM Thanks. What is the typical cost of this tour, if you don't mind my asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CDNPolar Posted June 24 #8 Share Posted June 24 17 hours ago, ldubs said: Thanks. What is the typical cost of this tour, if you don't mind my asking. I know you are asking about this particular tour, but I would be surprised if there was any cost. We have never paid for any ship tour. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjkacmom Posted June 24 #9 Share Posted June 24 5 hours ago, CDNPolar said: I know you are asking about this particular tour, but I would be surprised if there was any cost. We have never paid for any ship tour. I think many of the mainstream lines charge for tours. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Essiesmom Posted June 24 #10 Share Posted June 24 23 hours ago, ldubs said: Thanks. What is the typical cost of this tour, if you don't mind my asking. It used to be $55 on Fantasy class, $95 on the larger ships. To sure what it is now. EM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CDNPolar Posted June 24 #11 Share Posted June 24 Guess that is another perk on Viking. Free ship tours, when they offer them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CroozeNoob Posted June 25 #12 Share Posted June 25 NCL has them, it's 99 dollars! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloAlaska Posted June 25 #13 Share Posted June 25 If I remember correctly Celebrity had a your you could pay for which was several hours and you went all over but they also had a free galley tour which my mom loved. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBS1607 Posted June 28 #14 Share Posted June 28 (edited) In 2014 Princess had a great one it was expensive but we received a personalized note pad from the print shop, a really nice bathrobe and many pictures, including one with the Captain. I’m so glad we did it then. I don’t have the mobility for it anymore. I hope you enjoy your first cruise and find a great tour! Edited June 28 by KBS1607 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broadwaybaby123 Posted June 30 #15 Share Posted June 30 On 6/23/2024 at 5:18 AM, aus1235 said: Hi All, Going on my First cruise later in the year. I am wondering what tours they do on a Cruise ship. I know some cruise ships has tours of the Galley but do they have other tours of the ship ie. Like on the Bridge. Thanks Due to security, it's unlikely they'll do tours of the bridge. That said, many offer my favorite tour: the backstage tour of the theater where you'll get to meet the cast of the production show and ask them any questions (literally ANY questions fro auditions to putting on show on it's feet and seeing the final product). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donaldsc Posted June 30 #16 Share Posted June 30 (edited) 15 minutes ago, broadwaybaby123 said: Due to security, it's unlikely they'll do tours of the bridge. That said, many offer my favorite tour: the backstage tour of the theater where you'll get to meet the cast of the production show and ask them any questions (literally ANY questions fro auditions to putting on show on it's feet and seeing the final product). It isn't just security. I have done many cruises on small ships (<200 people) which have an open bridge policy. You get a really interesting perspective when you spend a lot of your day on the bridge. Granted that there are only 200 instead of 3000 passengers in potential danger of someone wants to make trouble but if the issue were just security we wouldn't be allowed on the bridge at all. DON Edited June 30 by donaldsc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chengkp75 Posted June 30 #17 Share Posted June 30 8 hours ago, donaldsc said: It isn't just security. I have done many cruises on small ships (<200 people) which have an open bridge policy. You get a really interesting perspective when you spend a lot of your day on the bridge. Granted that there are only 200 instead of 3000 passengers in potential danger of someone wants to make trouble but if the issue were just security we wouldn't be allowed on the bridge at all. DON It is security. Each cruise line (or shipping company) writes their own Security Plan, based on the IMO's ISPS (International Ship and Port Security) convention. In this Security Plan, each cruise line makes a risk analysis of everything done onboard from a security basis, and then sets policies based on these analyses. Some cruise lines are more risk tolerant than others, and these may allow passengers on the bridge while others may not. Large cruise ships used to be built with bridge viewing rooms, but changes in Security Plans, based on experience, led to those being closed off, and not included in newer ships. However, many lines do include a bridge tour as part of the "behind the scenes" tours. But the security measures used when offering these is that photos are not allowed, and security escorts the tour. The same holds true for the Engine Control Room, usually offered on these tours as well. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9tee2Sea Posted July 1 #18 Share Posted July 1 On 6/23/2024 at 2:18 AM, aus1235 said: Hi All, Going on my First cruise later in the year. I am wondering what tours they do on a Cruise ship. I know some cruise ships has tours of the Galley but do they have other tours of the ship ie. Like on the Bridge. Thanks Most ships have signs directing you to the Bridge Viewing Room. Open to anyone, free of charge. You stand behind the glass wall, and peer into the Bridge and all the activity that goes on inside. As for guided tours, look on the activities section of your cruise, or stop by the Shore Excursion desk ( or maybe Guest Services) when you board and sign up for that. If there is a charge, it will be charged to your onboard account ( if you sign up on ship). Sometimes, the viewing room is closed due to security Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axel44 Posted July 1 #19 Share Posted July 1 My wife and I did the "Behind the Fun" tour on the Carnival Liberty about a year ago. It included the Engine Control Room, the crew area including the crew bar and gym, and their learning center. It also included a full bridge tour with the Captain. It also included a backstage tour of the theatre show where we spoke with theperformers. It cost $90 per person and was worth every penny in our minds. My wife and I are both Engineers so you can guess which part we liked the best. We had a full security escort and metal detector screening throughout the tour, especially the engine control room and bridge. If you get a chance to do the tour, do it. These cruise ships really are marvelous machines. Axel44 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanaPam00 Posted July 1 #20 Share Posted July 1 We've been on multiple ships with Disney, Royal and Celebrity and have never had a bridge viewing room. We have paid for "Behind The Scenes" tours that took us to the bridge, engine control room, backstage at the theatre, a galley or two, food storage areas and even a crew bar. The cost was usually between $100 and $150 per person depending on ship. Royal did allow photos in all of the areas, even the bridge, but that was about 10 years ago, so things may have changed. Celebrity also offers a ship's art tour on the Edge class ships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiationman Posted July 30 #21 Share Posted July 30 Windstar has open bridge policy. One can walk into the bridge most anytime and look around. Usually the bridge crew will answer questions but no formal tour. Bridge is closed when pulling in and out of port and as you could imagine during rough seas. Did a galley tour on Princess several years ago as it came with the chefs table. Interesting. I don't think I would ever pay for any "behind the scenes" tour. Really not interested Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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