Adding to its comprehensive catalogue of onboard activities, Cunard is now offering Behind the Scenes Tours for curious guests onboard its ocean liners, Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria. 

Led by Cunard senior officers, the tours offer guests unprecedented access to the ships’ private areas, such as the Medical Centre, Engine Control Room, Butcher’s Shop and the Mooring Deck.

Topics range from environmental matters, such as recycling cooking oil, to the logistics of stocking more than 5000 lines of consumable products.

“Similar to a feat of magic, our seamless ocean travel experience results from a delicate balance between what’s seen and not seen,” said Cunard President Peter Shanks. “Our Behind the Scenes Tours offer guests an intimate glimpse of what goes into the way we run our ships to ensure their comfort, safety and satisfaction.”

During the 222-step tour, guests learn first-hand of the many provisions required to manage Cunard’s liners. Tour stops include:

• The Bridge – At the widest part of the ship, the captain and navigational officers greet guests and give a tutorial of all the dials, buttons, radars and navigational charts that help them safely helm Cunard’s Queens.
• Royal Court Theatre – Guests peruse more than 3000 costumes in the costume store, and light and sound engineers give hands-on lessons in operating the stage equipment.
• Galley and Provisions – Guests catch a glimpse of the complex logistics of moving provisions around the world in containers and picking them up in different ports mid-voyage, to accommodate 11 tonnes per day. The tour includes stops at the food stores, butcher, freezers and the galley.
• Mooring Deck – Guests learn the purpose of the anchor winches, windlasses and other critical machinery on the most forward part of the ship.
• Medical Centre – Guests tour Cunard’s floating hospital and meet the exceptional medical staff that keeps everyone on board healthy and well.
• Burma Road – Guests tour the only main crew passageway to run the entire length of the ship and get a behind the scenes look at where the crew and officers socialise after work.
• Waste Handling Room – Guests observe Cunard’s round-the-clock waste handling operation, and learn the differences between five waste sorting streams: hazardous, recyclable, suitable for incineration, food waste and suitable for donation.

Cunard’s Behind the Scenes Tours last three and a half hours and cost US$120 per person. Currently, one tour with a maximum of 16 guests is available per voyage and can be booked on board through the Tours Office.