Tips for Proper Fitting of Passenger and Cabin

Contrary to what was shown on television’s “The Love Boat,” all cruise-ship cabins are not spacious and grandly decorated.

People shopping among the lowest-priced accommodations, especially on older ships, shouldn’t think in terms of hotel rooms, even Motel 6. Two of the nicest terms that anyone could use to describe these rooms are “compact” and “cozy.”

Even the photographs published in some brochures, while they don’t exactly distort the truth, are usually taken with a wide-angle lens by a photographer crouched in the shower or braced in the doorway to make the cabin look as large as possible.

This is not to say that passengers will suffer in these smaller rooms. It depends on what their requirements are. Travel agents and well-meaning friends offer: “You won’t spend that much time in your cabin.” But passengers do have to go to their cabins once in a while, so they might as well like them.

The key to prospective passengers choosing the right cabin is in their knowing what they want, and, if it’s the bottom price level, what can be tolerated. Choice of cabin, after choosing the ship and cruise itself, is the most important decision a passenger will have to make.

Cruise prices are determined by cabin category, which in turn is based on deck location (whether the cabin is an inside without windows or an outside with windows or porthole), if it’s in the center, forward or rear of the vessel, and sometimes--but not always--by the size of the cabin.

While all cabins contain a bed or berth for each passenger, and a private bathroom with shower, not all have two lower berths and very few offer bathtubs.

Brochures should be read carefully, and travel agents should be asked for a detailed list of the amenities in cabins. People will find that along with the type and price of cabin, brochures also describe beds and baths.

Most new ships are built on a modular plan, with all standard cabins the same size and configuration, often with two beds that can be separated or combined into one queen-sized bed, depending on the passenger’s request. Over the years, the decor has become more hotel-like and less nautical.

Some cabins also include what are called third and fourth berths (pull-down berths enclosed in the walls above the regular beds). These work well for children or supple young people, but should not be used by older travelers who might have trouble climbing up and down the ladder (similar to the old Pullman berths on trains).

Although newspaper ads for cruise ships heavily promote the lowest-priced cabins, a look at the ship’s deck plan may show that the ship has only a few of these, lessening the chances of getting the cruise cheaply.

An inside cabin without windows or portholes is cheaper than an outside cabin, of course, but people who are claustrophobic will probably want to spend a little extra money to see daylight. On the other hand, we know people who always insist on an inside cabin because they sleep like logs when no light comes in.

Outside cabins will usually have windows on the higher decks, portholes on the lower ones. Inside cabins may have drawn curtains with a blank wall or a fluorescent tube behind them to give the illusion of windows.

And a good brochure will show photographs or a diagram of the various cabins. Commodore Cruise Line, for example, shows photographs of the cabins with two people in each one, giving a good idea of available space. Crystal Cruises shows a diagram of the room with furniture in place and the square footage of each printed at the side. Chandris’ Celebrity Cruises provides several pages of large color photos of cabin types.

With this sort of information, people can mentally unpack and walk around in the cabins to see if they are suitable.

Promenade deck cabins, often among the more expensive, get people walking or jogging past their windows. Even those cabin windows with material that makes them opaque during the daytime can turn into a TV screen at night when lights are switched on.

As prices increase, cabin amenities get grander--private verandas, sitting area, separate living room, mini-refrigerator, TV and VCR and a whirlpool bathtub.

Once the type of cabin is chosen, people should peruse the ship’s deck plan. A careful study will show which cabin location might be preferred or, more importantly, those locations that will not be desirable.

Light sleepers should avoid cabins near show lounges, discos, casinos or movie theaters. A cabin near the elevator is convenient for the elderly or disabled passengers who want to avoid long treks down the corridor, but for early-to-bed types, the late-night traffic noise near the elevator may be undesirable. Cabins with connecting doors also allow noise seepage.

Newer ships, among them Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s gigantic Sovereign of the Seas, have such good sound insulation that much less noise seeps through the walls between cabins.

Upper deck locations are more expensive than lower ones, but the most comfortable ride is usually near the ship’s center of gravity, amidships (center) on a middle or lower deck.

On older ships, those cabins that are squeezed into the narrow areas toward the ship’s bow or front end are among the least comfortable because of motion on the seas.

Surprisingly, some of the older ships may have larger cabins for the money than some of the newer vessels.

Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line have fairly small standard cabins, while ships such as Admiral’s Emerald Seas, Chandris Fantasy’s Britanis, Costa’s Daphne and Danae, among the vintage vessels, and the newest ships from Princess Cruises, especially Star Princess, Crown Princess and Regal Princess, have larger-than-average cabins.

Fastidious and demanding passengers should not expect spaciousness and luxurious decor at rock-bottom prices.

They’ll be better off buying medium-range accommodations on budget ships or the minimum-price categories on more expensive ships. For those who are young and gregarious, who want a low-priced cruise holiday, an inside cabin with four berths can seem like heaven.

Most cabin prices are based on “per person, double occupancy” rates, which means persons traveling alone who want a private cabin may have to pay a surcharge.

Some ships offer “guaranteed roommate” plans that match up singles with other people of the same sex and, usually, in the same age group. If not, the lines will let them sail alone in the cabins at the per person-double occupancy rate.

Some ships--notably Cunard’s Sagafjord, Vistafjord and QE2, Holland America’s Rotterdam, Commodore’s Enchanted Seas and Enchanted Isles, Paquet’s Mermoz and Ivaran’s Americana, a passenger-cargo ship--offer single cabins.