Should I book an interior cabin, an outside cabin, a balcony or a suite?

How to select the right cabin?

There are two decisions to make:

Do you want an interior, outside, balcony, mini suite, or a suite?
Where on the ship should it be located? Midship? Higher or lower deck?

Let me tell you about my personal preferences and selection criteria. I love to go for a balcony cabin or a suite, but often I choose an interior cabin because they are priced much lower. For special occasions, my wife and I usually go for a nice balcony, mini-suite, or suite. The best cabin we ever had was a wrap-around balcony suite on Holland America, a cabin in the aft. I had two lounge chairs, two chairs with ottomans and a table and on the side two smaller chairs with a small table. And we could have danced Tango on the balcony, so much space left even with all the furniture. Needless to say, we spent most of our time on the balcony. Last year we picked an interior cabin as there was a great special offer for the first segment of the World Cruise on our favorite ship, Queen Mary 2 - 23 days from New York to Capetown. A balcony would have been out of our budget for this cruise, so we took the interior. It still was a trip of a lifetime as a ship designed for many days on sea, like the QM2, offers generous public areas as there are only sea days on transatlantic crossings and many on world cruises.

We talked about the kind of cabin, but where should it be located?

Generally speaking, the cabins mid-ship have less movement of the ship and they are quieter as the propellers are in the aft (back) and the anchor is in the stern (front). But please note that some of the nicest cabins, like the extended balcony or wrap-around balcony cabins are located in the aft and offer a great view. We once had such a cabin and my wife and I loved it.

You can reach Cruise Planner Christian Bellingrath at 813-992-0502 or by e-mail at

All information is believed to be reliable, but not guaranteed. Prices and itineries are subject to change without notice and the cruise lines reserve the right to reinstate fuel surcharges.