When it comes to your cruise, your cabin is a big deal. There’s no other single spot on the ship you’ll spend more time. That’s why you want to know everything you can about your cabin before you lay down that first night, before you arrive at the port, and before you even book your trip.
Here’s what you’ll want to know before it’s too late…
There’s a WILD Difference Between Some Rooms
I’ll start with something that you’ll want to know before you book a cruise, and it’s not something the cruise lines make real clear.
Now most cabins on the ship are pretty similar. Sure, there is a difference between the balcony and the interior cabin, but you can tell they are all part of the same family. But these days, the top-end of the cabins may as well be called mini-mansions. There’s a big difference between regular rooms and the highest-end offerings.
I’m talking about multi-story staterooms. Or cabins with their own piano. Or even a private hot-tub and yes, you can get one with your own exercise bike.
It’s enough to make the nicest regular cabin feel a bit sparse when you see how the other half lives.
Rooms Are Surprisingly Small for the Most Part
Let’s talk about those typical cabins, after all, the massive suites are eye-catching, but it’s not what most of us are going to be staying in.
If you’ve never sailed before, then what’s going to surprise you is the size of the room. Solo cabins are by far the smallest if your ship has them. They tend to be about 100 square feet, but have everything you need, just in a compact space.
Interior and oceanview balconies are a little larger and are built for sleeping two or more people. They come in around 140 square feet usually. Even the balcony cabins are in the 160-200 square foot range, with a little extra space outside.
Now it can honestly be a little bit of a shock the first time, but with upwards of 2,000 cabins on a modern ship, space is at a premium. And while they tend to be smaller than a typical hotel room, it still turns out just fine for your vacation.
The Big Difference Between New and Old Rooms
I’m going to get into more of the smaller details and little hidden features of your cabin in just a moment, but I want to cover one more thing that applies broadly to cabins you’ll want to know before you book.
Cruises have literally thousands of people sailing on them every day of the year. Over the course of years, literally millions are sailing on an individual ship.
For that much traffic, it’s kind of amazing how well cabins are kept up, but over time you will notice more and more aging. And in general, cabins aren’t refreshed the same way the rest of a ship is during a drydock.
All that is to say if you sail an older ship, be prepared for more dated decor in the room and more wear and tear. Everything should function, but look closer and you’ll see spots that could use some “TLC.”
If having a pristine and modern cabin is important to you, book new ships. If not, you can often find cheaper deals on older ones.
Hidden Cabin Lights to Help You See
Ok, let’s dive into some of the specific things you’ll want to know about your cabin. I’m going to start here with something that’s a bit controversial in the rooms you’ll want to know.
For years, I’ve told people to pack a night light for the cabin, especially if you’re in an interior cabin. Get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and you can’t see anything.
These days, it’s not as important because the cruise lines are putting in some lighting. I’ve been on ships where the bathroom light still has a faint glow when off to help you see where you’re going. Some ships have a motion-activated light that turns out near the bathroom.
So why is it controversial? For some, the lights can be too bright in the middle of the night, and disturb others trying to sleep.
Secret Sleeping Spaces Most Don’t Know
One of my favorite things about cruise cabins is how clever they are with space. Case in point: Your cabin can likely sleep up to four people comfortably, but most people have zero idea.
First, the main bed is designed to sleep two people. So where does everyone else sleep?
Does your room have a sofa? In many cabins, there is a couch with removable cushions. Take away the back cushion, add a sheet, blanket, and pillow, and you’ve got an instant bed.
More common, however, is for beds that drop down from the ceiling. You might notice a large area in the ceiling with a small lock and wonder what it is. When unlocked, this is actually a bed that drops down (a ladder can be found under the regular bed). If it’s not needed anymore, the bed goes back up to offer more space in the room.
Don’t Expect Much on the Tube
It may seem weird to talk about TV in your cabin. After all, who goes on a cruise to watch the tube? But I’ll be the first to admit that I love sometimes just hanging out in a cool cabin watching some TV while I may or may not think about taking a nap in the middle of a hot day.
Well, you should know before you board that the TV on the cruise just stinks. Every cabin will have one, but I’m not entirely sure why. There’s typically about 20 channels on there and it seems like half of them are cruise-line specific, with channels showing information about destinations or new ships.
The real channels that you get are pretty sparse. There’s usually a cartoon channel for kids, some news channels, HGTV, and maybe a sports channel or two.
My advice? If you like to watch TV, I’d suggest downloading Netflix shows ahead of time. That way you always have something to watch.
What to Know About Your Cabin Shower
There’s arguably no better little luxury than taking a nice hot shower on vacation. And your cruise cabin is almost perfect for that… note that I said almost.
First, let’s talk about the good. Every ship I’ve ever sailed has had fantastic water pressure. As long as you don’t like your shower pressure set on “sting,” you’ll be happy.
And then there is unlimited hot water, and it does get plenty hot. I’ve heard stories of people saying during busy times the ship will run out of hot water, but it’s not something I’ve ever experienced in 30-plus cruises.
So what’s the issue? Well, unless you’re in a fancy cabin, the showers are small. I’m a pretty average sized guy and when I bend over to wash my feet, cheeks are hitting the glass. I can’t imagine being a woman trying to shave legs in there or being a bigger person.
Get over the size of the shower, however, and the rest is pretty good.
Impossible Not to Disturb Your Cabinmate
My wife and I stick to two different schedules, and if that sounds like you and your spouse, then you should know cruise cabins are a tough place for it.
Here’s the deal, given the size, there’s nothing really subtle about being awake in the cabin. So if I get up early and my wife wants to sleep in, there’s an issue. Get up and take a shower? The doors and latches are LOUD in a quiet cabin, and any bit of light will light everything up.
It’s the same thing if you simply decide to leave the room to let someone sleep. The door is loud and clunky and the hallway light is going to spill into the room.
Frankly, unless you just hang out in bed, it’s going to be tough to get up early (or come in late) without waking others in the cabin.
Revealed: What’s Under the Mattress
If you’re going to spend more time in your room compared to anywhere else, it only makes sense that the one spot you’ll spend the most time is on the actual bed. So what’s under those sheets?
First, many people are surprised that the bed you see in the room is actually two beds. You can have separate beds or have them joined, based on your preference. There’s simply a huge zipper between the mattresses to put them together or take apart.
In our experience the mattress is comfortable enough if you don’t mind a firm bed. What is an issue is mattress wear. Often you will find the middle of the mattress (where people position themselves at night) to be more compressed than the edges. So you end up sleeping in a small bowl.
Bottom line: You likely won’t go home wishing you could bring the cabin bed back with you, however, you also likely won’t tossing and turning all night. The beds serve their purpose to hold up day after day without being too extravagant.
What Nobody Tells Your About the Balcony
The cruise balcony. For some people, it’s a must-have. But there’s not a soul alive that wouldn’t tell you it’s at least nice to have.
There are things you should know. First, unless you’re going with those high-end rooms, it’s going to be small. Maybe 40 square feet. Still, having outdoor access is really nice.
What might surprise many people is that for all the hype and the money spent on balconies, you likely won’t use them that much. On a short cruise, you spend so much time out and about that there’s usually not much downtime to just sit on the balcony.
Longer cruises you’ll use them more, but if you ever look at a ship when it’s coming into dock — one of the best times to be on the balcony to watch what’s going on — just a small fraction of them are being used.
In my experience, it seems like most people step out to take a look for a few minutes and then head back inside.
Cabins Aren’t Ready Until the Afternoon
When it comes to getting to the port, it seems everyone wants to arrive as soon as they can. I get it, you want to start your vacation and since you’ve paid for it, why not get as much time as you can on the ship?
The only issue is that your cabin, it won’t be ready until later in the afternoon, usually around 2 p.m. Before that, the hallways are closed off as the crew is busy preparing literally thousands of rooms for guests.
So during that time, you’re a bit of a man without a country. Anything you brought on board, you need to carry with you. If you want to hit the pool, wear your swimsuit when you board unless you like changing in a bathroom stall. And unless you want to lug bags around, be sure to check your larger luggage with the porters.
Pack it Away if You Don’t Want the Steward to See
Finally, I’m going to leave you with one that hopefully saves you some embarrassment in the cabin.
We’re all adults here, so if you’re on a cruise, there’s a good chance you are going to be romantic with your significant other and maybe y’all brought a little something to spice things up.
Or maybe you snuck on something not allowed on the ship like some bottles of alcohol or gummies.
Hey, I’m not here to judge, just to let you know that your cabin steward will be in to tidy up the room when you leave to go out into port or to eat dinner. That’s to say if you have something out that you don’t want the crew to see, be sure to tidy up the room before you leave.
