5 Cruise Cabins I Will Never Book Again: Lessons Learned After 50+ Sailings

Not all cruise cabins are created equal.  There are at least five types of staterooms I will be avoiding from now on.

I’ve stayed in a lot of different types of cabins on dozens of cruise ships with at least 8 different cruise lines.   

Most of them have been great.

But there were a few cabins and locations that I simply don’t even want to try again. 

While the cruise ship itself is my biggest factor in booking a cruise, I believe just as much planning should be done for the location and type of cabin.

Unfortunately, I didn’t always spend as much time as I should have on cabin location.

Most of these staterooms that I would rather not try again were the result of booking a “guaranteed” category stateroom, letting the cruise line itself choose the cabin for me, or even “winning” an upgrade bid that landed me in a less-than-desirable spot.

Sure, this saved me a few dollars, but a cruise cabin is a home away from home.  Personally, I’d rather cut corners in other areas.

Here are 5 cruise cabins I will never purposely book again.

1. Cabins Inside of a Maze

I booked a cabin on Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas a while back.  To save money, I booked an interior cabin.

But I did splurge a little.  The stateroom had one of those virtual balconies, which was just a vertically tilted TV screen with a live view of the port side of the ship.

This aspect of the cabin was fine, other than the constant stream of light from the screen that even the blackout curtains couldn’t seem to well… black out.  In the modern world of cruising, many lines now let you turn these off or dim them via the app, but that “light bleed” at the edges remains a persistent annoyance for light sleepers.

The main issue was that this cluster of interior cabins on the ship were almost hidden in a winding maze.  Every time I headed back to the cabin I felt like a mouse in a high-school science project.

With the advent of even larger mega-ships and new “neighborhood” concepts, these interior corridors can feel like they go on forever. And every time I left the cabin I once again had to turn through corridor after corridor just to find my way back to daylight.

2. Not-So Private Balconies Over Public Areas

I have written about this entire experience on Carnival Celebration before, if you’d like to read about it.

The balcony was directly over a public pool.  And I mean, directly.

Now, I know cruise ship balconies are not exactly the Fort Knox of privacy.  Neighboring passengers can glance along the railing and noise overflow is common. However, the modern trend of “Infinite Verandas” and inward-facing balconies has made this even trickier.  Some of these newer window-style balconies actually shut off your cabin’s AC the moment you open the window, and they offer virtually zero privacy if you’re docked next to another ship.

But when you feel like you’re out on the lido deck every time you walk out onto your balcony, any semblance of privacy seems to melt away.

Being just one deck above the pool meant that every conversation held in that pool flowed right into my ears.  And just standing at the railing attracted eyeballs from passengers who probably felt like I was a lifeguard of some kind.  As for me?  Not a fan.

3. Cabins Over Lounges or Under the Galley

If you don’t go to bed until 1:00AM on your cruise then this probably won’t matter much to you.  But I’ve stayed in my share of cabins that shook with the vibrations of a night club or lounge that rocked out into the wee hours of the morning.

And when your cabin is directly over or under one of these lounges, it’s just about impossible to drown out the sound, even with the loudest of white-noise machines.

However, there is a “silent” noise maker that is often even worse: staying directly under the galley (the kitchen).  While the nightclub eventually stops, a galley is active 24/7.  The sound of heavy metal carts and prep work at 3:00AM can be a brutal wake-up call.

This is why I recommend studying the deck plans of the ship.  Staying right under the lido deck can be an issue for some ships as well, as the morning ritual of dragging the loungers into place can be quite the alarm clock.

4. Low Deck Cabins

Some people like to sleep in the lower parts of the ship.  It can somewhat mitigate movement for those who get seasick easily, though with today’s advanced stabilizers, the benefit is often minimal.

But there’s one problem I had when I stayed in these lower staterooms: 

There’s nothing down there.

So, anytime I want to go anywhere on the ship, I have to go up several decks.  This means either cramming into an elevator way too often, or hitting those stairs and getting way more than my customary 10,000 steps per day.

Personally, being only one or two decks away from the lido deck or the main promenade works best for me.  I feel less cramped when I know I can be out in the fresh open air of a cruise ship in just a few seconds.

5. Cabins with Connecting Doors

Certain cabins on a cruise ship have doors that connect them.  This is great for families with multiple children.

It’s not so great for people who have loud neighbors.

I’ve booked old ships and new ships with connecting doors to the neighboring cabin, but there’s only been minimal progress in sound proofing over the years.  Rarely do I not hear the passengers next door more clearly when this door is in place.

I do love the design of newer ships like Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas that connects the two rooms via a small vestibule in the hallway rather than a door inside the room.  In cases like this, I don’t mind the connecting rooms at all because you don’t lose that wall of sound insulation.

But until that becomes the industry standard, I’ll be checking the deck plans carefully to avoid that shared door.

Bottom Line

While these cabins are not ideal for me, it doesn’t mean they won’t work for you.  Everyone has their own style of cruising.

Also, even in the very “worst” cabin on the ship, you’re on a cruise!  Not everything will go according to plan on a vacation at sea.  But don’t let that stop you from having an amazing cruise and making incredible memories.

From my 50 or so cruises, I’ve just learned what I prefer.  And I hope this article can help someone who is still trying to figure out what cabin works best for them.