Description of the different areas on a cruise ship

If you have never been on a cruise ship before and are planning on taking a cruise, or maybe you have cruised before but are still a bit mystified as to what all those different names really mean, here's the uncoded version.

Have you ever been on a cruise line website and seen the name Deck or Deck plan, it's very simple, it's compares to floors in a hotel. Decks usually have names like, fiesta deck, main deck, sun deck etc, this just helps to direct the passenger to which floor or deck they want to go to. Decks also have numbers along with the names, most start from 2 and some go as high as 15 or 16, depends on the size of the ship. Here is an example - Deck 2, Fiesta. This is very helpful it lets the passengers know that Fiesta deck is on the 2nd deck.

There is more, there are two sides to each ship, the left side which is usually called the Port side, and the right side known as Starboard. As a rule ships dock with the port side facing land, but this is not always the case, it depens on the port they are docked at. Cabins on one side is usually even numbers, and on the other odd numbers, so now your cabin is on Deck 2 Fiesta 1010 - confused yet, it gets better. The ships have a front, back and middle which are usually referred to as forward, aft, and mid-ship. Now your cabin is on Deck 2, Fiesta, Aft This way you can easily find your cabin, when you first board the ship, and will not have to walk from one end of the deck to the other.

Most ships have Inside cabins and these, as the name implies have no windows or portholes and are located within the ship. They are usually between the two sides, with the Inside cabins facing the right side, numbered with the cabins on Starboard side, and those facing the left side, with the cabins on the Port side, and they also use the forward, aft and mid-ship designations.

Cabins, I have mentioned this word a few times, it is a room that the passenger will be occupying while on the cruise, their accommodations. These accommodations are sometimes referred to as staterooms, and they come in many different types, referred to as Categories.

Categories come with Letters , numbers and sometimes both, example Inside CAT. N. CAT is an abreviation for category. These letters are also used to designate the price range of the cabins, when used with the cabin number it shows, where they are located on the deck and which deck they are on. In the higher price range of cabins, some Cruise companies use letters and numbers with the category. This is usually with Balcony Cabins, Mini-suites and Suites, example of a balcony cabin it can be CAT A2, or in some instances CAT AB, each cruise

That bring me to what those words mean. I have explained an Inside cabin, Outside or in some cases Oceanview cabins is easy, it is a cabin with a window or porthole that has a view of the ocean. Here again these categories are designated with letters and sometimes both letters and numbers, which indicates, the price range and location of the cabins. In all cases the lowest category usually has the lowest price. In the case of outside categories, they are usually the ones with an obstructed view. What is an obstructed view, you might well ask, it really means just what it says, there is something partially blocking the view outside the window.

Moving on up, is the Balcony/Verandah cabins. These are outside cabins with sliding glass doors to a balcony which is accessed from that cabin only. The size of these cabins and balconys comes in different sizes, the lower the price in this category, the smaller the cabin and balcony.. Mini suites are a step above the balcony cabins in size, but basically the same otherwise.company has their own way of categorizing their price codes for their cabins.

Then there are the Suites, these are usually the most expensive accommodations on a ship, and again vary from one cruise line to another. Usually suites are larger than the other accommodations, and in some cases has more than one or two bedrooms with seperate living area and sometimes, more than one balcony.

Once youj have booked your cruise and are now looking at your confirmation and itinerary, here are a few tips.

Embarkation, this is the time that passengers can start to board the ship, usually about 12:00noon, there is also a final time shown when passengers must be onboard and is usually about an hour before the ship sails, This applies, not only when passengers first board the ship at the start of the cruise, but also applies when they leave the ship in different ports to go ashore, the time they have to be back on board.

Ports, these are the places that ships stop at, during the cruise, to allow passengers to go ashore. It also refers to where the passenger first board the ship and where they leave it, such as Embark in Miami, disembark in Miami ( if this is a roundtrip from Miami), roundtrip meaning, leaving and returning to the same port.

Disembarkation, when you leave the ship, either at one of the ports along the way for sightseeing, or when you are leaving at the end of the cruise.

Another expression you will see on your documents; which by the way just means the identification papers you will be given so that you can go on the cruise; is Shore Excursions. These are trips to visit different places of interest in the port the ship is docked at, sold by the cruise lines, supervised by them and usually have an additional cost.

While on the cruise, you will hear the word "Steward" many times, this is a reference to the people who take care of your daily needs while on the ship. There is a cabin steward who takes care of cleaning your cabin, keeping it stocked with the necessary amenities, and seeing to any special requests you have, and there is the Dining room steward, who takes your meal order and takes care of any dietary requests you might have.

Another expression you might see when checking out a cruise is Air/Sea, this will more than likely be on your documents, it refers to the flight you can purchase, from the cruise company, to fly from the airport nearest to your place of residence, to the airport closest to where you will be boarding the ship for your cruise, and the same in reverse at the end of the cruise. In connection with this is :transfers", how you will get between the airport and the ship, whether you purchase the "transfers" from the cruise line or arrange for it independently.

Lastly is the "itinerary" which shows, when the ship leaves from, what places it stops at, what day and for how long. Included also is the time of arrival on the last day at the port, where passengers will be leaving the ship. This is particularly important as it allows passengers to plan getting to an from the ship, and if they are planning their own trips, in the ports they visit, it gives the time frame they have to spend ashore.

When next you plan a cruise, use this hub to be able to choose the type of accommodation you want, then when you get your boarding pass, you will understand exactly where your stateroom/cabin is located and be able to find it by checking where the deck it is on is located. Using this information should make your cruise more enjoyable, as it gives you all tghe pertinent facts you need.