Celebrity Cruises offer ‘Inside Access Behind The Scenes Ship Tour’ on seas days.

It was fascinating to see & hear how these mega boats runs, precision & organisation is key. And, I must say Celebrity were slick in everything.

In a small group, you walk down the i95 corridoor, which is the heart & motorway of the ship – everything goes on, off, up & down on the ship from here. We visited the stores, kitchens and laundry which get through tonnes of towels / linens etc per day – these guys & gals can fold 15 towels per minute! In each area, the senior staff member gives you a talk on what goes on & takes any questions.

The two most interesting for me were the bridge & the engineers room. I am not very technical, but hearing about the propellers system on this ship was fascinating. Apologies in any errors of my description! This vessel has ‘azipods’ to propel them through the water which replace the traditional propeller, shaft & rudder system. Some azipods can also turn 360 degrees which further help to manoeuvre the ship. The propeller system in the pod turns in undisturbed water & pulls the boat rather than pushes which results in more efficiency, less noise and movement on the boat as it cuts through the water.

The bridge was serene, my analogy, like a swan on top of the water. But we had seen the webbed feet below, paddling like crazy to keep the ship ticking over like clockwork.

A interesting 2 hours when travelling with a camera.