I have read here of Galley tours while onboard, but I was wondering if tours of the engine room and other areas of the ship are offered on HAL?
You want to make an old mechanic happy, just take me to the engine room. I would probably have more fun there than the casino.
Sailing on the Zaandam to Hawaii Nov 26... yee haw!!!
Because of security and safety issues, tours of engineering spaces are generally not permitted anymore, although I am sure they do occur. In other words, they won't have general tours for the passengers but you perhaps could wangle a tour if you chatted up an engineering officer who was in an amiable mood. But I wouldn't get my hopes up.
I was on a tour of the engine room that included a number of the private areas below decks on the SS Rotterdam (among the last steam ships) by a young engineering officer trying to impress the daughter of a friend - she made sure we were all invited. Of course, that was a few years ago!
Two years ago we were on the Oosterdam and because of the terrorist attacks they no longer let people into the engine room or the navigation area. This year we were on the Ryndam and same thing went there. They say they are no longer allowed, by Homeland Security, to take the public into these areas.