Even if most cabins appear identical in a given cruise ship’s brochure, not all cabins are created equal. Before plunking down good money for a bad cabin, focus an eagle eye on that deck plan at the back of the book.Here’s how a deck plan can help with your research.
Cabins situated above or below a ship’s disco (Carnival Destiny) will have you rocking in bed long after you retire. Ditto for cabins above a casino (Carnival Triumph). It’s even a good idea to avoid cabins a deck below a theater’s stage.
Unless you enjoy the incessant “ping” of an elevator, book cabins away from elevator banks.
Cabins near laundromats could have you tossing in bed like a load of wash.
Unidentified white spaces on deck plans can signal busing stations, where room stewards store carts–and tons of noisy ice cubes!
On older ships, some cabins with a “view” wind up facing a bright orange lifeboat.
When checking the deck plan, also consider itinerary. If your cruise ship anchors in ports (rather than docks), avoid cabins with a triple whammy–those near lifeboats, the gangway or the anchor (usually fore, but ask your agent.) These mechanisms make horrific noises–and usually at ungodly hours.
If all this makes you wonder “what’s left?,” a deck plan also can land you a windfall: On Holland America’s Statendam and sister ships, those teeny rectangles denoting balconies reveal that cabins B205 and B220 have longer verandas than all the rest in the same category–for the same price!
