selecting a cabin.
how to pick your best cabin! after finally choosing the cruise to book, one of your next important orders of business is to pick your cabin. but, before you do anything else... !! ** find the deck plans of the your ship **
(image source: Anthem of the Seas www.cruisedeckplans.com/)
(image source: NCL Gem, category BA mid-ship balcony layout)
i assume if you've finalized which cruise to book, then you know what kind of cabin you're booking. inside? oceanview? balcony? suite? that's the major budget decision.
you'll need to be ready when you go to book your cruise...
cabins are organized by category, deck, and location.
1) choose the type of cabin you want.
inside - interior cabins, no windows.
oceanview - window only, some big (picture window; a large square), some small (port hole).
balcony - sliding glass doors lead out to a small balcony.
suite - all kinds of larger, fancier cabins.
2) within that type of cabin, you'll see a slew of categories. even a room you think is the same thing as another, might actually be in different categories. different categories can vary in price from as little as about $10 to hundreds and hundreds. so not all balconies are created equal, for example. there could be tens of different balcony categories for a cabin you might think is the same as another balcony.
here is what categories differentiate on: size and location. and this where you come prepared... with your deck plans!
always check the exact cabin number you choose, what it's near, and what's on the deck above and below it. for example, if you pick a balcony on deck 6, but it's near the all the kids' activities... do you care? do you have kids? is this convenient? or what is the theatre is on deck 7 above your room? shows are just happening at night, there are rehearsals, and many other activities going in there. do you want that all happening above your head?
so this is what i mean by always checking the deck plans and deciding what's important to you. and what the best cabin would be for you.
there are a lot of opinions on what "the best" really means. and everyone will have their two cents to give you. but what's important to *you* rules above all else, and that will determine what "the best" really means to you.
then there are those that literally don't care. and for that, there are what's called guaranteed cabins. for a discounted price, the cruise line will assign you a cabin that they choose, so you ultimately skip the entire decision-making process above. sometimes the price can be worth it, but it's a double-edge sword: it can be great, or you can be stuck in the worst.
happy booking! happy cruising!
-- R.