How to Choose a Good Cabin & Avoid a Bad One

Tips on Getting a Good Cabin Location

If you get seasick easily, your most stable options are midship and not too high. Imagine the ship on a teeter-totter with the waves moving it up and down—where is the center fulcrum that will move the least? Great cabin choice! What areas will the wind hit hardest? High points really take the wind roughly so not a great choice for the motion-sensitive.

We view the ship as our home and the cabin as our bedroom, so unless we get a great deal or are in an especially “balcony rich” area like the Alaskan Inside Package, we save money on our cabin. We usually only sleep there.

Pros and cons for each cabin type:

• Inside: These interior cabins have no windows. They are dark and quiet so I usually sleep great, but they are usually smaller with no couch. Of course you have no ability to feel the weather or see the sea except on the deck cam channel of your TV.

• Window: We never book window cabins because the TV shows a bridge view to see the weather and you can’t feel it through the window. But some people love natural light. If it were about the same cost as an inside cabin and had more space or a couch then maybe I’d consider it.

  Some ships have fake digital-display “virtual windows” on some inside cabins. If you want a window, be sure you know the difference.

• Balcony: We do love a balcony room—especially in a “nature watch” area like Alaska or a warmer location like the Caribbean where we can leave the door open at night with A/C off and enjoy the balmy weather and the sound of the sea against the ship. However, in very humid and hot places, your room may stay uncomfortably warm even with the door closed and A/C on, or the sheets and your clothes may always feel damp. In wind, you may have a lot of whistling and rattling around the door cracks and balcony dividers, or the sound of your neighbor’s furniture banging. In some ship locations, you may experience the ship’s exhaust fumes, the smoking deck, or a smoking neighbor who doesn’t follow the rules. You do hear a lot more neighbor sounds from nearby balconies and sometimes music from outdoor bands/parties. But you have your very own glorious outside space.

• Suites: I wouldn’t know much about these, sadly. It seems like mostly pros if you can afford them.

• Mini-suites: Princess is the only line I’m aware of that has these but basically it’s a slightly bigger balcony that has a rare and coveted BATH TUB for just a little more than the cost of a balcony cabin—these get snapped up fast!

• Spa Cabins: Aside from a few spa balconies that are larger and have chaise lounges (on MSC at least), spa cabins are similar to their standard counterparts but come with a pass to the Thermal area and often amenities like bathrobe, spa toiletries and a location near the spa.

Avoiding Bad Cabins

• no connecting doors (the sound comes through)

• surrounded by other cabins

• try for at least 3 decks from the main theater and dance clubs (I learned this the hard way on my last cruise where 2 decks above the top of the theater sounded like next door, even during daytime rehearsals)

• if balcony, unobstructed, and check ship shape/curves to see how they affect view

• not right next to an elevator or stairs (lots of talking late at night)

• not next to storage closets if I can identify them (often things knocking around in there in rough weather)

• be careful next to unknown crew areas—could be their bar

• look at maps and reviews (watch for cabins to avoid)

• low decks at the back of the ship can vibrate more and on some ships you hear docking; low decks at the front may be annoying when the anchor is deployed early in the morning at tender ports.

• try to avoid docking doors if identifiable due to the noises of the ramps sliding across when you come into port

• avoid being right by the gym—weights get used very early in the morning

• avoid being near/under the buffet, main dining rooms, kitchens, and pool areas

• high cabins and extreme front feel more movement so I avoid these particularly in hurricane zones during hurricane season

  Where to Find Deck Plans

• On the cruise line’s website for your ship they have deck plans as well as pictures of cabin types.

• cruisedeckplans.com and cruisemapper.com both have an extensive array of ship deck plans which i consult while booking. They have cabin information and even videos, as well as tools and articles to help you pick the best cabin.

• Search YouTube for ship and cabin tours of the ship you are considering. Google your exact cabin number with ship name—you might get lucky and find a vlog, blog or website review of that very cabin! But compare pictures on more than one site—not all are accurate.

Extra Special Cabins

• Look for shortcut doors/stairs at the back end of your deck that may lead directly to the pool area (especially the adult pool)—a very nice feature on some ships and often there is an extra bathroom outside the door which may come in handy.

• On some ships there are extreme front cabins with a door out to a fairly private “public” deck at the end of the hall

• A view of the wake from a back-facing cabin is priceless—especially if you’re on a corner with a wrap-around balcony.

• Spa rooms (extra amenities and great locations) and especially spa balconies—large on some ships, with lounge chairs.

• On the deck plan look for places where the ship shape curves in and out and imagine your view—some of these can be more limited, some more expansive.

• “Ship Within a Ship” cabins with exclusive areas like restaurants, bars, deck, pool etc. Ex: Yacht Club, Haven