Which side?

[4myboyz]

So I am wondering which side of the ship is better? And why? what are the terms for that? I know aft is back:D We have booked towards the aft on the left if looking forward. I noticed alot more rooms on that side of the ship are available then the right side? Wondering why?

Its a cruise to the MR if that matters

[paul929207]

Facing the front of the ship. the right side is starboard and the left side is the port.

 

As to which is better, it depends on your reason for selecting a side. We get a balcony and like to sit on it late afternoon and early evening (usually have 2nd seating). We do not like the sun in our eyes. So I get a cabin that faces east as much as possible.

[cb at sea]

It really won't matter...the ship doesn't dock in the same direction every time, anyway. If what you want to see isn't visible from your balcony, the open, upper decks are there for your viewing pleasure.

Pick your cabin, not so much by "side" of the ship, but by where you think you'll spend the majority of your time...makes life easier if you don't have to use elevators every single time you come and go!!!

[yayvacation!]

We have had an aft, a starboard and this cruise we went with a port side! The ship won't dock on the same side in every island, so we picked by room category and balcony size. Either way you face on a cruise ship your going to be happy!!! :D

[harryfat1]

The side of the ship is not an issue as much as location within the deck itself. If you are motion sensitive, you would probably prefer mid ship instead of the bow or the aft.

 

For sailing in MR, it really doesn’t matter since you are doing roundtrip north and south bound. You will get basically 50/50 of sunrise/sunset one side versus the other side when you go down/up. Unless you get really anal to count ho many hours of sunshine on sea days north or south bound, don’t know if anyone gets to that detail level.

 

As an FYI – easy way to remember starboard versus port side is left has 4 letters, same as port.

[aohkay]

Our suite was on the Port side.

 

We just got back from a 12 day Western Med cruise. Out of 12 ports, 9 of them faced the port or some other sight that was equally interesting.

 

I hadn't even thought to research this before we sailed. We lucked out with all the built in FREE entertainment. :D

 

So, perhaps which side of the ship your cabin could matter. Depends on what you use your balcony for, as well as itinerary.

[We-R-Off]

we have booked balcony midship portside on Century to Cozumel (5 day).I'm not very good directionally, is this a good side to get the afternoon sun or is it 50/50 as we'll get it on the return voyage.

[Dame@sea]

Well, according to Bristish Slang the word posh (as in Posh Spice or a fancy hotel) mean Port Out Starboard Home. When the Brits were traveling to India, the port side was cooler on the way down and the starboard was cooler on the way home, so they charged more for those cabins. If I could, I would book two cabins so that I can choose the best view.:)

[suezyq50]

If I could, I would book two cabins so that I can choose the best view.:)

There you go. We don't look at sides as much as aft. Middle is nice, but haven't really seen a big difference.

[4myboyz]

Our suite was on the Port side.

 

We just got back from a 12 day Western Med cruise. Out of 12 ports, 9 of them faced the port or some other sight that was equally interesting.

 

I hadn't even thought to research this before we sailed. We lucked out with all the built in FREE entertainment. :D

 

So, perhaps which side of the ship your cabin could matter. Depends on what you use your balcony for, as well as itinerary.

 

Thats really what I was thinking of. When in port Is it better to be looking out at the water, or at the port and all the people. Does anyone know what side the ship docks on in the port? I guess it doesn't really matter since we wont spend much time in our room come port time. On sea days I figured what I dont see going down I will see coming back:D

[LarryL]

I think, depending on the direction of travel and the layout of the port, the side of the ship facing the dock can vary. If you use google earth you can sometimes see how ships are docked and the layout. Sometimes, but not always, you can make an educated guess which side the ship will dock. If you are a people watcher this could be valuable. But as you stated, you probably don't expect to spend that much time in the cabin while in port. I like to pick the side of the ship that gets the sunrise during sea days. On a recent Southern Caribbean cruise we selected the starboard side becase our sea days were heading north from Aruba. On our upcoming TA from Barcelona we selected portside because we will get the sun all day during the crossing. Of course, if given a choice, mine would always be Aft.

[KarenandBruceG]

When at sea, the water looks very much the same no matter which side of the ship you're on LOL.

 

The other poster's point is well taken in that the ship will not always dock the same way in it's ports of call. Which reminds me of something the cruise director on the Celebrity Horizon said back in 2001. A passenger was dissatisfied with the view from the balcony. The complaint was that the balcony overlooked a parking garage. He told the passenger, "Give me just two hours and I will personally see to it that the parking garage is removed."

 

:D

[aohkay]

Thats really what I was thinking of. When in port Is it better to be looking out at the water, or at the port and all the people. Does anyone know what side the ship docks on in the port? I guess it doesn't really matter since we wont spend much time in our room come port time. On sea days I figured what I dont see going down I will see coming back:D

 

Not sure if you have any ports that you have to "tender", but the 2 ports we "tendered", gave us a wonderful ocean-view of the other luxury yachts that were moored. I'm a people-watcher, so when we were docked, I had a ball watching the comings and goings. The best of both worlds!

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[LarryL]

I guess another fun thought is that your view can be obstructed by a ship docked right next to you. Nothing like opening your curtains only to find someone staring right at you. Note to you new cruisers. Keep your curtains drawn going into port unless you like providing a dozen or so cabins on the adjacent ship a good view of how you sleep or other early morning activities.:eek:

[harryfat1]

Thats really what I was thinking of. When in port Is it better to be looking out at the water, or at the port and all the people. Does anyone know what side the ship docks on in the port? I guess it doesn't really matter since we wont spend much time in our room come port time. On sea days I figured what I dont see going down I will see coming back:D

 

Assuming you are doing the typical 7 day MR run, you will have one tender day at Cabo.

 

Typically the ship goes into the harbor with the bow facing the beach area and the arches on the left (port side). But it also depends on if there are other ships in port that day and timing of which ships arrives first. Such that if you want the view of the arches from your balcony, but another ship is anchored to the left, all you will see are the balconies cabins of the other ship. But if you have aft facing balconies at Cabo, you are looking out to the Pacific Ocean until the ship rotates sideway.

 

As others have posted, it’s a crap shoot to say if the ship will be docked on the port or starboard side. Have seen both.

 

For my money, on your MR run, Mazatlan port isn’t that picturesque, so doesn’t matter what side.