Cruise ships cabins · Cabins in Cruise ships
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Cabins in Cruise ships
Cabins in Cruise ships
Your accommodations can range widely...usually determined by cost. Most cruise lines promote their ships as luxurious, and cabin (aka stateroom, not room) furnishings can range from quite "nice" to "utterly elegant". The less expensive tend to be quite a bit smaller than ordinary hotel rooms...space you may only use for a few hours each day besides to sleep anyway. But every square inch is usable, e.g., luggage fits under the bed to allow you to unpack many/all items and hang them in closets or store on shelves/in drawers for easy access.
Cabin grades/categories. On large ships, you'll find a number of cabin grades or categories within each cabin type. They involve location, size, quality of view, features, etc. Good travel/cruise agents have access to the codes for the nuances of features and shortfalls for each. Cabin costs will vary not only type but by those gradations/categories. For any cabin type, costs reflected in brochures and on web sites usually apply to the lowest grade.
Cabin types The basic types include:
Inside...the least expensive...in the interior of the ship, without a window, but with ship's air ventilation "piped-in".
Ocean view... with windows (don't open, ship's air ventilation "piped-in")...slightly more expensive. The least expensive may have partially or substantially obstructed views.
Balcony/veranda at even higher prices, with outside chairs, perhaps a table, to watch sunsets, have a room-service meal or treat, and watch passing ships and land.
Mini-suites and full suites (the latter often multi-room) with private verandas. shower/bathtubs, sitting areas, perhaps hot tubs and other amenities...to command the highest prices.
Perhaps oddly, suites and the least expensive cabins tend to sell out first.
Some cabins and all hallways have handrails for safety during occasional rough weather...not often needed. On ships built in the late 1990s or later, very few passengers will be:
Bothered by pitching and rolling of the ship...all built with highly-effective stabilizers.
Disturbed by the ship's engines or screws (propellers)...very quiet.
Disturbed by frequent public announcements...easily heard in hallways and public areas. Except for key announcements, they are usually not piped into cabins, but can be heard on a designated TV channel.
Features:
Virtually all cabins have twin beds, usually joined to create a generous queen, with side tables/drawers or shelves. (See "Sleep" below.) Suites may have king-sized beds.
- Cabins configured for families may also have a pull-down or wall-mounted bunk-bed, sleeper sofa or settee, or another twin/queen bed.
All come with a small safe. While on-board, you should lock all valuables in it (e.g., fine jewelry, passports, charge cards, cash), and leave them there unless needed, e.g., for a port visit, shopping ashore or dressing for dinner.
Expect to find a large wall-mounted mirror or two. Handy for checking your appearance, they also make the cabin seem bigger.
Small private bathrooms with showers are the minimum, with better cabins offering more space, shower/baths or larger showers. Each type will offer at least minimal toiletries typical for a motel (if you need specific ones, bring them), small cabinets and shelves for all toiletries, at least one counter and lavatory, and a toilet that operates by power suction.
All will have a phone with wake-up call capability (synchronized to ship's time).
Virtually all will have a TV, some even an attached DVD player.
All will have at least a reach-in closet with a hanging rod, some hangars and a shelf often holding your life-vests. You'll also find storage drawers elsewhere. Suites may have walk-ins, with numerous shelves.
Better rooms...uh, cabins...may have a settee, desk with chair or more.
Better ships/cabins often offer a small refrigerator, holding chilled cans and bottles for sale. If you bring your own drinks, ask the cabin steward to empty it of items for sale.
Power outlets and wattage are minimized...essential to avoid fire risk.
- The bathroom should have a low-wattage, usually 120V 60Hz outlet adequate for such as a shaver, and often a 220V outlet for the ship's hairdryer.
- If not in the bathroom, the 220V outlet may be near the bed or desk, perhaps with the ship's hair-dryer stored nearby.
- Near the bed or desk, you may find one or two low-wattage, usually 120V 60Hz outlets adequate only for such as a laptop.
- Net result: Don't bring your own iron or use your own hairdryer or anything that heats food or liquid.
Knowing these features and limits, experienced cruisers variously bring:
- An extension cord to use low-wattage 120 volt items at convenient locations, and 1-2 nite-lites.
- A small, plug-in surge arrester to prevent damage to personal electronics.
- For warm climes, a small fan. Cabin air conditioners effectively but slowly change cabin temperature, but airflow is often modest.
- Some form of air deodorizer...balcony fresh air (if you have one) quickly helps but can compromise cabin air temperature and humidity.
For passengers with mobility challenges, some cabins have wide doors, "friendly thresholds into bathrooms and showers/tubs, and other helpful provisions.
Location can affect price somewhat because parts of a ship are more desirable to some passengers, e.g.,:
To avoid the effects of ship's rolling or pitching, some may opt for a cabin on a lower deck or closer to amidship.
To sunbathe on their balcony, many choose a deck well-below any over-hanging topdeck.
Those who need quiet to sleep will chose locations away from lobbies and elevators, and with at least one deck between their cabin and any place where late-night revelers celebrate.
Those with mobility challenges may prefer to be near elevators.
Cabin water is fully potable...usually obtained by reverse-osmosis...so efficient that some large ships visiting ports with water shortages may offload potable water. Older ships may use distillation supplemented by fresh water on-loads. All ships carefully treat the water to ensure its safety. Taste in cabins may be somewhat bland or have a hint of chemicals. Elsewhere, water often receives additional filtration to assure excellent taste for use in bars, dining rooms, kitchens, and buffet self-serve drink dispensers.
If a ship offers laundromats (usually consistent across a cruise line), each usually has more than one pair of washers/dryers and one or more irons and ironing boards usable only there. You'll also find detergent and softener dispensers. Machines and dispensers usually require coins or tokens...obtained at the Pursor's desk, perhaps from a coin machine in the laundry room.
As you get interested in any cruise, ship or cabin type, go to the cruise line's web site and others (e.g., ) for more details. Again, a good travel/cruise agent can help you find the features you need or want.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Cruise ships
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Cruise ships - updated Apr 2024
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Cruise ships Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.