Ultimate Ship Tour: Royal Princess

Review:

On our last Caribbean cruise, my husband and I took the behind the scenes tour, called The Ultimate Ship Tour, while on the Royal Princess. We were on a 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise, leaving Fort Lauderdale on January 26, 2019. Friends and relatives recommended this tour. We headed to Guest Services soon after boarding to sign up. After we signed up they only needed two more people to to make it a go. Since this tour almost always sells out we felt good about reaching that number. In the end, there were 11 on this tour.

The cost was $150.00 per person and it lasted about 3 hours. Princess does not allow cameras or picture taking while on the tour however they do send along one of their own photographers. Everyone must wear closed shoes (no sandals) and long pants (no dresses, skirts or shorts).

We each received a letter in our staterooms confirming the tour. It stated when and where we were going to meet, how long the tour would last (approximately 3 hours), the dress code, and that we needed to bring our signed waiver forms. You do need to be in fairly good shape for this tour because there are many stairs and you are on your feet for the duration of the tour. The assistant cruise director gave us the tour. The tour was on our last sea day. Here is what we saw:

Tour:

1. Princess Theater Back Stage Area: This was our first stop on the tour. We walked on stage and were shown the costume and dressing areas, the lighting and sound room, how scenery comes on and off the stage and where everything is stored. There are tryouts, selection and a rehearsal process that takes place even before the crew comes on board.
   They make the best out of a very confined area. Each dancer is responsible for keeping their costumes clean and in good shape. If a costume is in need of repair, they fix it themselves. I can’t imagine performing on a ship with the floor moving. It was amazing to see all that goes into a production show on a cruise ship.
2. Anchor Room: Oh my, the size of the chains that hold an anchor is unbelievable! The Lieutenant Commander gave us a very detailed description of his job and what they do in the anchor room. The procedure for trying down to a dock was especially impressive to me.  The anchor room is at the very bow of the ship, and near the lowest level. I’m not sure that I understood all of that the Lieutenant Commander was explaining, but I can tell you that the chains, multiple ropes/cables, and anchors are huge. This area was fascinating!
3. Galley, Food Production Areas & Refrigeration: The executive chef gave us a grand tour of his impeccably clean and efficient kitchen area. We walked around as they were preparing lunch and other foods. They make and bake their own bread and rolls every single day. Over 5,000 rolls a day! We walked into some of their very large refrigerators (the amount of food stored is mind-blowing) and saw butchers cutting meat (individual rooms for different kinds of meat and a separate one for seafood). The chef explained to us how he orders food. On long cruises when they stop in foreign ports and there is a need to restock he said this process can be very challenging. It was great seeing the inner workings of such a massive kitchen.
4. Engine Control Room / Mechanical Room: This room monitors all operations on the ship, from the propellers, to side thrusters, and even the flushing of toilets.  Large computer screens are mounted on the wall, which displays the system schematics: including the engines, the electrical, mechanical and all plumbing systems. The ship’s engineer receives an alert every time a warning goes off (most all are VERY minor warnings;-). The control room is staffed 24/7 and they are in constant communication with the bridge. I had never thought about all that needs to be monitored on such a large ship. It is mind-boggling!
5. Laundry: This is yet another mega operation! The laundry washes, presses, and folds the linens, towels, crew uniforms and laundry, including more than 20,000 towels a day. It is amazing to see how they do everything in this confined area. While some tasks are automated such as the pressing of table linens, many others are done by hand, either using pressing machines or old fashion hot irons. It really shows you how hard the ship employees work to keep things looking so great.
6. Photo Lab: All of the photos that are taken on a cruise ship by Princess photographers are printed onboard, in the Photo Lab. Photos are examined and many are enhanced (minor blemishes removed and softening of lines). Due to technological advances, the lab is changing rapidly. Princess was the first cruise line to go completely digital, and each ship operates a full photo lab with the latest in digital printing equipment. Instead of printing each photo and displaying them in the gallery, digital photos will become available online, specifically through the Medallion program which Princess is currently rolling out. Much less waste!
7. Print Shop: The majority of the materials you see and read while onboard are printed in what is actually a fairly small room on the ship. Therefore, each menu, each Patter and each flier is designed, proofread and printed onboard daily. It was amazing to see the efficiency of this important department.
8. Bridge: The third captain gave us an extensive tour of the bridge. He could not have been better. The ship can be controlled not only from the conning position (front center of the ship) but from either of the bridge wings, which are located on the side of the bridge. Pulling into a port the captain controls the ship from one of the bridge wings. In addition, the ship’s state-of-the-art navigational equipment and all of the safety systems onboard were explained to us. The dramatic front-of-ship and side views from the bridge’s wraparound windows are as amazing as you would expect. A senior officer, a junior officer, and two lookouts or helmsmen man the Bridge 24/7. We did meet the captain, Nick Nash and had a group photo taken with him. The bridge was amazing.
9. Medical Center: Unfortunately there were two passengers in the medical facility so we were unable to tour this area. That was a little disappointed but we all understood.
10. Sparkling wine and cookies: We ended the tour in one of the bars, with complimentary sparkling wine, soda, bottled water, and cookies.

In addition, there was some Princess swag for going on the tour. We each received a Princess robe (caution if you are flying home, they are bulky and heavy), a Princess apron, a personalized notepad, a wood 8 x 10″ photo frame and photos taken by the cruise photographer. We left behind the frames as we knew we would not use them.

Opinion:

My recommendation? My husband and I both liked it but neither of us loved the tour. But it was interesting and maybe if we did it on another ship, on another day it might have been better. It is pricey but we learned a lot. Would I do it again? That depends …. if I got a great deal on my cruise, had some extra OBC for that cruise, and if I was looking for something to do on a sea day – a strong maybe. If you have never taken one, and if you have the funds then yes, go for it. You will walk away with a new perspective on all that goes into running a cruise ship. Note: I would have loved to visit the brig (jail);-).

• If you have a cruise already booked and are wondering what to take in your embarkation day carry-on please check out my post: https://eatreadcruise.com/embarkation-day-carry-on-essentials/