Royal Caribbean's All Access Tour

On November 16, 2012, I got to do Royal Caribbean's All Access Tour on their Splendour of the Seas ship. I thought I'd tell a bit about the tour for those who don't know what it is and what you'd get to see.

The All Access tour in a nutshell a behind the scenes tour of various areas of the ship passengers don't normally get to see. It gives them a glimpse of what life is like for crew members as well as how the ship is run. The tour does have a minimum sign up number which I guess is at least 6. I know on my first cruise, we had 4 people sign up for the tour and, the ship cancelled because that wasn't enough people. Also, the ship runs the tour while the ship is at sea. This makes it possible for passengers to take in any land tours they want to do while the ship is in port. The tour lasts at least 3 hours and, there are some narrow steps that people on the tour must be able to handle. As tour enters sensitive areas of the ship, tour members were escorted by ship security the entire tour and at 1 point, they had to undergo a security check to make sure they weren't carrying anything dangerous before they were allowed in some of the sensitive areas. Cost wise, the tour can cost $150 which I found pretty steep and kept me from taking it before. To my delight, during my 2 cruises, the Splendour of the Seas offered a special where you buy 1 get 1 free. What that means is you pay the $150 and, you get to take a friend a long for free. This breaks out to $75 per person which is the same price (or close to it) you would pay for a land excursion. I thought that reasonable.

Our tour group assembled at the customer relations desk where we were issued our special All Access badges. Then, with appropriate security escort, our tour director (sadly name forgotten) led us down into the areas never seen by other passengers.

The tour began on the 2nd deck where we met Martha Grimm, one of the ship's human relations people who lead us through the crew members club and dining room. She told us about various activities that were organized for crew members and how long the crew would serve on the ship before getting to take leave and go home. She told us that no more than 2 crew members were put in a single cabin.

After visiting the we got to visit the laundry department. The ship has its own miniature dry cleaners and laundry service with big dryers and double barrel washing machines that can wash 100 kilos of laundry at a time. Also, there are pressing machines to steam out any wrinkles in various ship uniforms. The laundry department was very extensive though it would have to be considering the staggering number of sheets, towels and crews uniforms they would need to wash.

Next, we were taken to the incinerator room where we were briefed by the environmental officer Malcolm (last name forgotten). He was in charge of making sure the ship followed all the international and national regulations concerning the disposal of liquid and solid waste. The incinerator room was more than where they burned trash. They had bottle breaker with a box underneath that caught the crushed glass which would later be recycled at various ports. Also, there was a machine for compacting cardboard boxes which were also recycled. Concerning waste water, the water would be treated on board the ship to a point where it was safe to release it. The regulations concerning where it would be safe to release it could vary greatly so, the environmental officer had to have copies of different countries rules on this in his small office.

After the briefing was over with the environmental officer, we headed up to deck 4 where we got to stand on the stage of the ship's theater and see what it was looked like for the ship's performers. One of the actresses briefed us on how the productions were run. She showed us the show manager's console that controlled the lights and coordinated things with various stage hands. Then, we headed to the men's wardrobe and the women's wardrobe where we got to see their various costumes. We found out how they changed them so fast (they use a lot of velcro which enables them to get the clothes off quick) as well as having the costumes custom fitted for each performer. Lastly, she told how performers would rotate between ship's and shows and how they would be selected for various shows.

Chief Engineer Aleksandr Petrov was the main man in charge of the ship's engines as well as surprisingly the ship's fire sensors. The engines are constantly monitored by computers who instantly show how they are running on consoles one of the ship's engineers are always monitoring them. I think each 1 of the engines could generate something like 17,000 horsepower though please don't quote me on that. As I mentioned, the other job the engineers have is monitoring the fire sensors throughout the ship. If a sensor should go off, the person in the engine room will contact ship security immediately and, they'll send someone to check it out. If need be, they can activate various fire suppressor systems in the ship.

Everyone expects great food on a cruise but, not every one knows all the hard work that goes into producing such fantastic food. My tour group got to visit the ship's galley where we were briefed by the ship's Executive Chef Michael Luik. Chef Luik has cooked for the Queen of England, the President of the United States, various European Prime Ministers and celebrities such a Phil Collins and Celine Dion. Wanting a new challenge, he hired on with Royal Caribbean and certainly found it there. He runs all the restaurants on the ship as well as managing cooks from 19 different countries with considerable different levels of ability. Some are brand new cooks while others are sous chefs who run different departments in the galley such as soups or vegetables. Also, he checks all incoming food shipments to make sure it's of the best quality and manages over 10,000 different items the restaurants and dining rooms use. Lastly and surprisingly, he also monitors the disposal of food waste to make sure it doesn't do any harm to the environment.

Last up was 1 of the highlights of the tour, we got to visit the bridge of the ship. The views from the bridge were AWESOME!!!!! We got to see the radar screens and 1 of the ship's officers briefed us on how they could identify different ships on the screens as well contact the ship's if necessary. Depending on what the ship is doing, the number of officers on the bridge can vary from 2 to 6. The more difficult the task, the more each task is broken down to prevent overload on each officer and make it possible for Captain Iv Vidos to know what exactly is happening with his ship. The ship itself is very maneuverable with front side thrusters and engine pods that can rotate 180 degrees if necessary. Also, the ship has stabilizers which are deployed when the ship is in open seas which cut down on the rocking of the ship. After a briefing by 1 of the subordinate officers, Captain Vidos himself showed up and spoke to us for a bit before very kindly agreeing to allow tour members to have their picture taken with him. I thought this was really nice.

After visiting the bridge, our tour was over. We were escorted back to the Centrum area of the ship where we were released. We were told we would receive 2 gifts as mementos from the tour. Later, I found an All Access tour tote bag and a kitchen apron in my cabin. They were very nice mementos of a great tour. If you can get the same deal I was able to get on this tour, I'd heartily recommend it. It is a very interesting tour that will show you how Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines do their "magic." Happy cruising all!!!!!