In this video you're going to discover 11 different cabin types for 11
different types of travelers, one of which is likely to be you.
I'm Gary Bembridge of Tips For Travellers. In previous videos I've spoken about "10
types of cabins to avoid" and also "how to get an upgrade on a cruise". In this video
I want to talk to you about 11 perfect types of cabins for 11 different types
of travellers. First of all what is the perfect cabin, especially if you're
worried about noise or other interruptions? This is probably the best
and biggest tip that I can give anybody looking for a cabin. When you find a
cabin, no matter what grade it is, whether you're interested in an inside cabin,
ocean view cabin, balcony cabin or even a suite, the best cabin to choose (which is
going to give you the least amount of disruption and the least amount of noise) is
a cabin that is surrounded by cabins on all sides. So you have cabins above you,
you have cabins below, you you have cabins on either side (ideally with no
inter connecting door) and either opposite you you have cabins or you have
something that is going to be very very quiet. Those are perfect for everybody
because you are going to have the least amount of interruptions. It's going to be
the quietest option on board. So, the perfect thing to do if you want a great
quiet cabin is to go for a cabin that is surrounded by cabins on all sides. The
second type of cabin is for people who are quite the opposite! They're party
people and they're going to be out as much as they possibly can. So even if you are
a party person, and are only going to spend five or six hours a night
having sleep in your cabin, it is still the one place that you're going to spend
more time than anywhere else when you're on a cruise. The cabin is still the place
that you're going to spend the most amount of time. And so
I would strongly suggest that you go for an inside cabin. The great
thing about those cabins is they're dark, because they have no windows and you have
no light coming in. So it's perfect for people who want to go to bed really
early in the morning and want to sleep late, because they want to be out and
party. So an inside cabin is a great idea. The third thing to do is what if
you want a cheap cabin? The perfect cabin for you, whether it's an inside
cabin or ocean view cabin or a balcony cabin or suite, you still want the cheapest
at every level. The thing to do is to not choose a specific cabin but go
for what's known as a "guaranteed cabin". Now, what that basically means is it's
the cheapest price that you can get for whatever level you're going for, and the
cruise line allocates a cabin to you. So what they do is, once people have gone
and chosen specific cabins (because they want to be in a specific cabin),
whatever's left over people who have booked a guaranteed cabin get allocated one of
the cabins by the cruise lines. It is the cheapest way to get whatever grade
of cabin that you want. Now clearly the cheapest cabin of all is to go for a
guaranteed inside cabin. If your main objective is to get the cheapest cabin
possible book a guaranteed inside cabin. My next tip is if you're concerned
about getting seasick, the most important thing to do is choose a cabin which is
in the middle of the ship and as low down as possible. The reason for that
is when a ship moves, if there are rough seas, is it pivots. It pivots on an
axis like this, and so in the center low down is where you have the least amount
of movement. If you are worried about getting seasick, the
middle of the ship and as low down as possible. What if you're a solo
traveler? The thing to watch out for is cabins are designed for two people to
occupy, so if you're occupying that as a solo traveler you're going to be charged
a surcharge - which could be anything between 50% to 100%. So it becomes very
expensive. The great news is that most cruise lines are starting to have
cabins specifically for solo travelers, which is fantastic because you can avoid
all those surcharges. There are many many ships that do that but some of the
most innovative of all are for example on Norwegian Cruise Line, where they've
created a whole area for solo travelers. It has a specific key pass. It has a
lounge area and all the cabins in that area are for solo travelers. But pretty
much all cruise lines have them, whether it is Royal Caribbean,
Fred Olsen, Cunard - all these cruise lines are starting to introduce
solo cabins. What about families? Now there are two suggestions that I have.
First of all let's talk about families traveling with really young kids. Kids
that need to be in the same cabin as you. The thing to do is to
cruise on cruise lines that have specific
created family cabins. Most of the big ships whether it's Norwegian or Royal
Caribbean, Disney obviously, so there's a lot of cruise lines that cater
for families. They've created family suites or family cabins so these are
cabins that are designed and have configurations where mum and
dad or parents can sleep and space for kids. A lot of them now have specific
cabins which are designed and are big enough and have beds that you don't need to
pull out at night. For families any cruise lines that is basically advertising
for families, take a look at those if your kids need to be in the same cabin.
What if you've got older kids? What the big issue to look
out for is most cruise lines will not allow you to register to have two kids
under the age of 18 booked in a cabin alone.
So if you've got young teenage kids
you can't book a cabin for them. This is a way around that. One of the things
that I would suggest is to book cabins which have an inter-connecting
door and book one adults with one child in one cabin each.
However of course when you move in, the parents can be in
one cabin and the kids can be in the other cabin but you have the
connecting door so you can then be as one as a family but your teenage
kids have their own space and their own cabin. Of course you don't have to
have an inter connecting door, you could just book two cabins that are close to
each other but you will have to book it as one adult and one child if they are
under the age of 18. Check with the cruise line because those regulations
differ slightly, but you can't book a cabin on most cruise lines just for
children. If you want to go luxury, there are a lot of options
in terms of Suites and luxury. If you're looking for a great cabin, take a look at
some of the cruise lines that have created ships-within-ships. So for
example on MSC Cruises they have the Yacht Club. Norwegian cruise lines has
the Haven, and these are little controlled areas where you use your
key card to get into them, and then all the facilities for those people traveling in
Suites are available. Many of them will have butler service. They'll often their
own swimming pool and deck. They might even have their own acces to the
spa area. They'll have a lounge where you have breakfast, drinks and
canapés. So if you look it to go luxury, look for cabins that are in ships within
ships. Of course there are many other options. Most cruise lines have suites.
So, if you take for example Cunard their Queen's Grill have butler service, they
have a specific lounge, there's a separate dining room.
The other thing to do, of course, if you want to go in luxury is book a cabin
on an all-suite ship. These are much more expensive to go with and include lines like
Silversea or Seabourn. What is there's a group of friends?
Three or four of you traveling together and you want to share a cabin, because it
ends up being much cheaper if there's three or four of you in a cabin. The
great thing with ships is basically you can have your cabin configured either
twin beds or double beds, so you can then have two separate beds and then you have
the sofa bed option. If you take a look at many cruise lines and look at
the plans (or talk to your agent) find out which not only have a sofa bed
but have a curtain between the bedroom area and the sofa bed area. So for
example, many of the cabins on board Cunard ships like
Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria, but I've been on many many other cruise
lines where there is a curtain - so the great thing is if you are with
a group of friends some of you can be in the bed area and you can have the
curtains closed so there is a little bit of privacy for when
you're getting dressed, changed or whatever. So look for cabins
which have that option but also have a curtain dividing the two areas. I've spoken
about party people, I've spoken about people that really like to go out and
have a great time but what about people who want to go on a cruise and they want
some little private time. On a cruise ship you could perhaps find a
nice quiet corner but if you like the idea of retreating into your cabin and
having your own little private space, what I would recommend you do is
then book a balcony cabin. The great thing about a balcony cabin is you can
then go out on your balcony and you have your little private space, little private
time. So you can enjoy all the great features, benefits and
activities on the cruise but if you just want a little quiet time, you can
then retreat to your cabin and sit out the balcony and you can still have
the sunshine ( if you're in a nice warm climate) you can have the breeze and you
can just relax you can sunbathe - but you have your own little quiet haven. So
my next tips is about accessibility. So what if you have a wheelchair or
you have limited mobility? Well this is kind of might be an obvious one, but all
cruise ships have accessible rooms - and it's really important if you're
going on a cruise to make sure that you book one of those if you do have a
wheelchair or accessible issues. They tend have them at all grades, so
inside, ocean view, Suites etc, they all have accessible cabins which
have wider doors, more floor space to move around. They also have
showers rather than baths that you can wheel into. In many of them they
have things like call buttons and cupboard space and storage space
which is accessible from wheelchair level. So do make sure that you
book an accessible cabin. That's a whole range of cabins for different types. The
most important one of all is if you are going on a cruise I strongly recommend
when you're looking at your cabin (no matter what grade it is) book a cabin
that has other cabins above you, below you, either side of you and opposite you - then this
is going to be a cabin that has least interruptions and least amount of noise.
So no matter whether you're a party animal, you'd like to retreat into a
quiet space - you are going find that it is going to give you
the greatest chance of having a great space. Of course if you book that try and
make sure that you do not have an inter- connecting door and then you basically
you will have this little great space that you can retreat to no matter what type of
Cruiser you are. I hope you enjoyed that video and if you did I'd love it if you
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