Port or Starboard, do you care?

[talkorpi]

Always book starboard for whatever reason.  I guess it's because my brain usually defaults to the right when looking at things for the first time?  Not really sure.  Don't have a particular reason for picking starboard but we just always have.

[soulsistah007]

Port. Looking at deck plans and reading left to right, I just get stuck on the left side. Plus, I like even numbers.

[May1cruiser]

If in a balcony, think about which side will have the sunset and sunrise. Usually wake up early on first half then want to see sunset coming home. So, for most Caribbean cruises, stay on port side for sunrise heading south and then sunset when heading home-north. 

 

Port side.

 

Ship tends to alternate which side when mooring, so there is usually no safe bet with this.

 

 

[Saint Greg]

There are some really interesting answers in this thread.

[cruisingguy007]

Starboard but would have no problem on a port side either, starboard just helps me keep my bearings better for some reason, seems to work out best (view wise) on cruises I'm likely to take and it's the smoking side. 

[farjar]

We recently took a 16 day cruise Seattle to Miami.  Since we had a balcony cabin we chose the starboard side so our cabin was darker in the mornings and had the sunsets for about 2/3's of the trip.  Sometimes it doesn't matter to us but this time it did.

[pe4all]

I pick whichever side is non-smoking side.  My only exceptions are if I know we are cruising past a specific landmark I wanted to see such as the Statue of Liberty going out of NY (we pass it too early coming back into NY) , or the Na'apali coast in Hawaii.  

[Mic101680]

No preference with which side of the ship, but I do usually try to book in the middle portion of the ship whenever possible - to try to feel less rocking whenever we go through rougher water.

[hurricane0226]

9 hours ago, dbrucern said:

Starboard because that is the usual side they tie off on when they pull into a port

I have noticed that also.

[DAllenTCY]

I like to be on the side where I can see the sunset...as many times as possible.

 

 

 

David

[Jenner9]

Interesting topic. I was wondering which side usually faces the port when docking. Is there any rhyme or reason to it? I am sailing Horizon to Southern Caribbean in August if that matters.

[Joebucks]

Take any topic. People will choose sides, and defend it to the death. Most of the stuff you don't see on one side, won't be visible going the opposite way.

[kelkel2]

I’m not particular to one side or the other but I guess I seem to book port more often.  We’re Port on the MG but we had to go with the location of the 4 person cabin category we wanted. 

[ninjacat123]

7 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

There are some really interesting answers in this thread.

What do you mean?

[Saint Greg]

10 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

What do you mean?

liking even numbers. Brain defaults to the right. Just because. etc.

[BarbieGee]

I usually think in terms of which side will have a sunrise view and which side will have a sunset view. Which side do I want going towards our destination - I like a sunset view; and which side will have a sunrise view when returning home. 🌅

[christyran1228]

We've only booked starboard once, and our suite balcony was not far from a smoking area.  An expensive mistake ... not a lot of fresh, sea air to be had on our balcony, to put it mildly.  Lol

[TravelGirlinDallas]

On 11/10/2022 at 8:34 AM, dbrucern said:

Starboard because that is the usual side they tie off on when they pull into a port

Same for us, mostly starboard. We have done aft and we have a forward balcony cabin booked next year on Princess, but I don't think I've ever done port.

[bambam]

Another thing to think about...sunrise or sunsets?

 

Look at your departure port and are you heading south or north?

 

If heading south, and you are on port side, you’ll get sunrise every morning, and no sunsets...until you start heading back home.  The opposite is true for starboard.

 

If you take port, you’ll get that last night sunset.

 

its really your personal preference, no significant advantage either side, but always check one deck up and one deck below when booking...ya don’t want to book a cabin above or below a bar or music venue...

[Anyislandwilldo]

Doesn't matter to me.  I just love to sit on the balcony and look out at the sea.

 

[Jamman54]

We seem to book more on the port side, no rhyme or reason. Maybe we like even numbers. 😁

[Veinless]

I like it in the rear. 

[ColeThornton]

1 minute ago, Veinless said:

I like it in the rear. 

 

More information than we needed to know.   lol

[Island Dog]

17 minutes ago, Veinless said:

I like it in the rear. 

Aft, aft......

[bluesea4me]

On 11/10/2022 at 10:59 AM, ObstructedView2 said:

Port 👍

 

 

Off topic question.....which ship was this on?

✌

Side note....whichever side has the best cabin location....been on both...just happy to be on a cruise!

Edited November 12, 2022 by bluesea4me
added info