Behind The Scenes

Backstage tours let you discover what it takes to make a cruise ship work.

- Sherri Eisenb​​​​​​​eg

For cruisers fascinated by how ships function as small cities traveling across the oceans, behind-the-scenes tours can be a fascinating look into either the large scale of a mega ship (Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas, for example, goes through 60,000 eggs per week! Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 serves 11 tons of food per day!) or the feats that are accomplished with very little (Scenic Cruises’ Scenic Spirit serves four-course dinners for 68 passengers out of a galley the size of a small broom closet).

Here are a few of the most in-depth tours of large ships, which tend to be organized with the most extensive areas to show. Some grant you a broad look behind the scenes, and others focus just on the culinary operations, but whichever you choose, be sure to wear comfortable shoes — while you’ll never leave the ship, you’ll still cover a lot of ground.

Princess Cruises