Behind the scenes of Britain’s favourite cruise ship

I was lucky enough to recently experience a short break cruise on the newly refurbished Independence of the Seas.
You will see from my last post what I thought about the ship.
Whilst we were on board we did a behind the scenes tour which can be booked and added to your on board account for $89.00.
We started with a visit to the main dining room where we told how things are run and were shown the captains table.
People often request to be seated with the captain but it is by invitation only.

We had to go through security before being allowed to visit the engine room, the bridge and the galley

Everyone wants to see the bridge and it was great to see but for me the highlight was the galley.
The executive chef met us on arrival and was a great character which made it fun.

It was so interesting to see how everything works and how the team all pull together and look out for each other.
They had different staffing levels depending on how long their service was.
Someone takes the new recruits under their wing on their first contract to make sure they are ok as i am sure they must all feel very homesick sometimes.
I was surprised by the size of the galley as it wasn’t as big as I had expected especially for such a large ship.
It is amazing to see how quickly they work and the sheer amount of food that is cooked freshly on board.
We were told they can bake anywhere between 20-30,000 bread rolls each day plus all of the other freshly cooked bread and pastries that are produced on board.

We also visited the refuge and recycling area. It was interesting to see how they deal with this and the strict procedures they have in place.

It was nice to see how things work but i’m not sure it is worth $89.00pp and don’t think it is something i would so if i was travelling independently.
I think an individual tour the the bridge or the galley would be a much better option.