Bridge tour???

[karen sharpe]

Anyone know if they still offer tours of the bridge or engine room or is that a thing of the past in these unsteady times?:confused:

[woodofpine]

Thing of the past (absent inside connections).

[racepoint]

I've heard it's just not happening, but I'd be really curious to know if someone else knows differently. My auto mechanic husband lives and breathes engines and gadgets and things that go vroom. Some sort of tour that shows the behind-the-scenes action along those lines would make his cruise. C'mon . . .they must make exceptions.

[bacm]

We've asked the last couple of times and were told it is not allowed any longer.:(

[dforeigner]

Tour of the bridge, yes. Tour of the engine room, no such thing these days.

[LHC1CPA]

On the coral in feb. they were not giving anymore tours of the bridge...i think they were saying that it was unsafe to have a lot of people around...

[smeyer418]

While its true it not normally done, the Captain can authorise bridge tours. If you want it, WRITE a note to the captain and address it to him by name when you are on the ship. Give in at the front desk. State the reasons why you want the tour and be creative. My father was the captain of the Titanic etc...(your last name should be Smith) and sometimes they will do it. Be honest however....

[TCF]

On our last cruise I was told "no" to both requests and for a galley tour as well.:( That was on Carnival.

Since then I have seen on these boards that 'sometimes' folks have been able to go to the bridge by personal invitation from the Captain. Sometimes a request through the Room Steward, or one of the lesser ship's officers, results in such and invitation being offered.

Engine and mechanical spaces is a defintie "no". Aparently from what I have been able to learn these spaces are "off limits" even to the crew who do not work there.

Princess still offers galley tours...but Carnival and some others do not.

Just a sign of the times I guess....and it is probably for the best.:(

Tom:)

[nnanort]

we saw a virtual bridge tour last fall on the dawn--they had a great powerpoint and explained all the navigation systems, the engines, etc and answered all the questions where appropriate. very popular talk.

[amazingbargains]

we did a galley tour on Sun this past fall, and did galley and full bridge tour on the Star this past summer. this one was actually very well organized by the officers and crew. tried doing that on NCL dawn - was told a flat out NO to both. engine rooms have been a no-no for a long time now.

[woodofpine]

I was on the bridge of the (last commissioned of the Sun Class) Ocean Princess in '01 (pre 9/11). The bridge was actually very non-descript, a couple computer consels and a very compact steering column-wheel that was unattended. The ship was underway - which was pretty weird - in that we were a group (of about half dozen or so kids with a kids center counselor) alone with the exception of an accompanying second officer, a 30-something Scottsman. The 2nd Officer explained that the ship was sailing on auto-pilot.

 

The absence of activity, equipment, and personnel led me to believe the deck below the bridge was most likely the actual ship command center. I'd prefer to believe that than the alternative :eek:

 

I suspect that engine spaces and other areas are strictly off limits to passengers pursuant to maritime insurance policy provisions.

[joeinsb]

Can't recall if Princess does bridge tours for its frequent cruisers, but we're just off Celebrity's Century, which did offer a bridge tour to Captain's Club members. As for engine room tours, the only time we enjoyed that was on Legend of the Seas, while sailing to Hawaii in 1997. Not much to see below. The diesel engines are covered in metal fairing, so there's no moving parts to be seen. The motors, which are what drive the propellers, are pretty much obscured by metal coverings too. Other than that, there's a wall of dials, switches, etc and TV monitors. Not like in them thar' olden days when there were pistons pumping, steam gushing and all that (been there, seen that).:)

[tsj]

LOL, two years ago on the Dawn Princess we were told No Way (you know the whole security/terrorist thing) we of course understood. However our then 13yo daughter was given a tour with the Teen club AND had her pic taken sitting in the captains chair while holding his hat! My husband is an engineer and would have loved that tour, my daughters main concern was, which outfit would be cutest to wear on the bridge, LOL! I wonder does anyone know if they still allow the teens on the bridge? Teens on the Bridge!!! now there is a thought that could strike fear in the hearts of many!

[CruiseKing]

I believe it is offered as part of the upgraded Vow Renewal Package.

[karen sharpe]

tsg Hee Hee guess a group of teens are safe! Thanks all for info, hubby's Dad regaled him with stories of his Navy days so it might mean something for him to see the bridge . Will try that personal letter to the Captain through our steward after we board. We will be on the Grand this summer.

[johnmik1]

Anyone know if they still offer tours of the bridge or engine room or is that a thing of the past in these unsteady times?:confused:

We get invited every cruise with the last being 2 months ago.We have also had a complete tour of the ship but were never allowed in the engine room.We cruise often on Princess and know quite a few Princess officers.

[karen sharpe]

johnmik 1..Would you happen to know who is the new captain on the Grand now?

[johnmik1]

johnmik 1..Would you happen to know who is the new captain on the Grand now?

 

I certainly do as I received an email from him last week.His name is Ed Perrin.He is a very nice gentleman and if you send him a short note,upon embarkation, I am sure he would accomodate your request.

[karen sharpe]

I certainly do as I received an email from him last week.His name is Ed Perrin.He is a very nice gentleman and if you send him a short note,upon embarkation, I am sure he would accomodate your request.

Actually I think the name Perrin is in our family background..maybe he's a long lost cousin! Will send that note.Thank you.:)

[Plant]

We were on the NCL Dream recently and they offered tours of the bridge (20 people max) almost every day. We were told not to touch anything, but I believe they had everything "locked".

 

We enjoyed the tour by the Chief Navigational Officer and found it very interesting. While we were touring the fire alarm went off. The officer ran to the "Fire Station" area to see what was going on! It turned out to be the barbeque on the pool deck :D .

 

I think Princess could do the same kind of bridge tour, if they wanted to!

[CaptainEdwardJohnSmith]

bridge: possible, yes, very, very possible :D :D

 

engine room: out of bounds, period ;) ;)

[SharkieRools]

We had a bride tour of the Regal Princess back in 2005 :cool:

 

Regal Princess Bridge Tour

[karen sharpe]

johnmik1 I read this in another post: Captain Perrin is going to the Grand Princess out of Galveston in mid March for 2 months and then on vacation and then rejoining the Grand again in Southampton on July 28. Do you know if he will be onboard the Grand June 7th 07 for a med cruise or will there be a replacement?:(

[txflyer]

On the Diamond in January, one of the organizers of our Cruise Critic roll call was very outgoing and began the process of schmoozing the Captain and CD a couple of weeks prior to sailing. I think the rest of us were skeptical, but he delivered, with the Captain and CD at our meet-n-greet. He continued the schmoozing with the Captain and got a Bridge tour toward the end of the cruise. Unfortunately, it was a last minute thing and only a handful were able to attend.

 

I think he even posted a thread about how to get the Captain and CD involved in the meet-n-greet ..>>jack

[Tina G]

Sometimes the cruise director will tape a visit to the engine room, and it is shown on the Princess channel on your stateroom TV. Ask your cruise director early in the cruise. Most people don't pay attention to the schedule on the Princess channel, since it is mostly shopping guides and glorified commercials for Princess.