One of the most important decisions when booking a sailing cruise is which cruise cabin to reserve. Your choice of cruise ship staterooms can make or break your vacation.
To make the best choice, the first thing you’ll want to do is find the layout of the vessel – either online or in a brochure. There you’ll see an overview of the ship’s decks, the location of the cruise ship’s staterooms along with diagrams of the interior floor plans.
There will also be a list of the different categories of cruise cabins. On a very large cruise line ship there can be over 20 categories.
The quality and cost of your cruise cabin are determined by three things – its location, size, and type.
How you will feel about your cruise will mostly be determined by the location of your cruise cabin.
Higher Deck Cruise Cabins
Pros
Cons
Lower Deck Cruise Cabins
Pros
Cons
Bow Cruise Cabins
Pros
Cons
Aft Cruise Cabins
Pros
Cons
Midship Cruise Cabins
Pros
Cons
If you book a midship cabin make sure you’re not near the lifeboats or tenders because they’ll block your view. The tenders are quite loud when they’re being raised and lowered.
Look at what’s above, below, and next to your cabin. Generally, you want to be surrounded by other staterooms.
No matter the deck you’re on, or if you’re fore or aft – or somewhere in between – unless you like staying up through the night there are some locations you definitely want to avoid.
Do not book a cruise cabin that’s near (or under):
And if you want privacy, stay away from an ocean view stateroom on a promenade deck. Passers-by always look into these cruise cabins.