Types of Cruise Cabins - from Inside to Suites

When deciding to book a cruise, you must think about the type of room that you want to book. The style of cruise ship cabins range from inexpensive interior rooms to more expensive suites. From my experiences, I found cruise cabins to be more spacious than I had imagined. I was thinking I would be stuck in a room where there was no room to stand and only space to sleep and shower. My room was so large that we actually gathered together a few nights (at one point we even had 8 or 9 friends and family) in our interior cabin. As cruise cabins are obviously smaller than hotel rooms, it didnot seem to bother me and the other passangers I was with.

There are four main types of cruise cabins to choose from, beginning with the least expensive an ending with the most expensive: Interior Cabins, Ocean View Cabins, Balcony Cabins, and Suites.

Interior Cabins



Interior cabins do not have windows or views of the ocean. They get very dark when the door is closed. If you suffer from claustrophobia, and interior cabin may not be a perfect match for your needs. But if you plan on spending a minimal amount of time in your cabin, a majority of the time up on deck, and your cabin to mainly sleep and refreshen, interior cabins are the lease expensive and a cost-saving option.

Ocean View Cabins


Ocean view cabins have windows allowing the cruiser to view the ocean from the side of their ship with the convenience of not leaving their cabin. The cabin does not get as dark and allows light to come through. Ocean view allows you to see when you are getting close to land or see the land itself. These rooms though usually are not allowed to be opened and is priced only a few hundred more dollars a person more than interior cabins.

Balcony Cabins


Rather than just viewing the ocean outside of the ship, a balcony cabins allows you to be outside and feel the breeze off the water, smell the sea, and even hear the waves clashing against the ship. Balcony rooms are a lot more expensive than just a regular interior room, but it also gives you privacy of the ocean in the convenience of your own cabin. The balcony's are usually just enough room for two chairs and small table, but an excellent option if you want to privately view the ocean (just be aware of your surrounding neighbors with balcony's as well).

Suites


Suites are the largest style of cruise cabins with spacious room to walk around and also includes a spacious seating area and larger balcony (sometimes two doors to get out to the long balcony). Suites are also the most expensive types of cabins allowing many cruisers to sleep comfortably (from 4 to 8 passengers). Suites also consist of more than one spacious room. If you have the funds and are planning to spend a lot of time privately in your room (aka maybe a honeymoon) then a suite is a suitable cabin choice. But if you are not looking to spend a lot of time in your cabin, this may be not worth the costs and you should consider spending your money on excursions and other events on the cruise instead.

*Pictures provided by Carnival (http://www.carnival.com/)*