Should I pick right or left side for balcony?

Hi

I have an opportunity to book a balcony for my next cruise. I’m doing Easter Caribbean and I was wondering if it’s better to book on the port or starboard side

Thank your

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It really doesn't make any difference, first, we never know which way a ship will come into Port and I generally will go to the side I need to take any photos as we come in usually on the upper Pool Deck as it provides me with a wider view then from our balcony.

It really doesn't make any difference, first, we never know which way a ship will come into Port and I generally will go to the side I need to take any photos as we come in usually on the upper Pool Deck as it provides me with a wider view then from our balcony.

Agree with Desert Cruizers post. We prefer a mid section (hump) stateroom and have no preference on whether we get one on the starboard or port side.

Seldom really matters, but I have a near inbuilt preference for Port, no idea why I just do.

Agree that it doesn't usually matter all that much, but I mostly go for Starboard. Not sure why, but we cruise a lot and I think I see the dock more often on the Starboard side than the Port side. This is not the rule, might be all in my head, but I like Starboard.

When I look straight out the water is going from left to right, maybe I like that.

If you have a choice, I recommend a balcony cabin on the stern. The views of the wake and the views as you leave port are spectacular.

Balcony

In all our cruises we have only one Port Balcony . Our choice has always been Starboard. Something we can't explain. Just enjoy. Happy cruising:D.

Just waiting to cruise,

kruise kat:), kruise runner:cool:

I've only been on 3 cruises and one coming up in May but being the geek I am and bored one day, I began to wonder which side of the ship had our cabin had been on (plus which way the bed faced in the room). Come to find out 3 (future one included) were port and 1 starboard. Didn't plan it that way, maybe something subliminal happened :-)

Doesn't bother me left or right

Depends on whether you’re right or left handed and if you’re crossing the equator; -/

I suppose it depends on whether you want the wind to hit your right cheek or your left cheek. ;-) Seriously, it doesn't really matter. That being said, I have always, for some bizarre unintentional reason, been on the port side of the ship.

Seldom really matters, but I have a near inbuilt preference for Port, no idea why I just do.

I find I am the same way, I don't know if it's because my first cruise I was on the Port side.

I wonder it it just helps me when getting off elevators or taking the stairs I just look for the Port side. :D

My next cruise i'm on starboard and I wonder how it might affect me getting around. I'm sure I will be fine but who knows.

I had an aft once and while the view was awesome, the long walk to the cabin was tiring after a bit. I shouldn't complain, at least I was on a cruise.

This might not help any but there is a reason why they call the left side the PORT side, just sayin.

J.

Seldom really matters, but I have a near inbuilt preference for Port, no idea why I just do.

We usually book a port side balcony as well...although we've done a starboard side one as well.

In the end, there is not much difference, especially since you rarely know in advance if ships get ported forward or backed in (which would impact the view while docked).

It only matters when you consider which direction the ship is sailing when you are likely to be on the balcony. For example if you are on a Transatlantic sailing from Europe to the USA and you want the sun on your balcony, then you would want a balcony on the port side if you like no sun, then the starboard. This would also be true on other cruises where the ship sails in one direction mostly. Other than than which side in any given port is pretty much random.

JC

I can tell you that once you sail on a ship in which you have a balcony cabin and that balcony faces FORWARD it is hard to "go back" to either port or starboard.

We did a Norwegian Fjords trip and the balcony mattered slightly. For example - the sevensisters were passed early in the morning (530am) and were on the port side of the ship, then passed again later on the way out (4pm) and were on the starboard side. So if you wanted to see this waterfall from your balcony and were not an early riser it would be a minor inconvienece to either wake early or go upstairs.

We also looked at the typical parking of the ship in each port and chose the side of the ship facing away from the docked side for most of the ports. Made for better pictures.

It's harder to guess where you will land in the Caribbean but you may be able to look at pictures from past sailings and see if there is any consistency to how a particular captain parks the ship.

But overall (other than which way the water flows.... left to right or right to left) it probably won't make as much of a difference as cabin location, balcony size, bed location...

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Well generally the ship comes into port forward....then 50/50 chance it will turn around to dock. ;)

We love starboard side balconies on ships based at Port Canaveral, Ft. Lauderdale, and Tampa sailings. If you like a full view of the sunset with your glass of wine in hand as you sail away...you are rewarded with that beautiful sunset from that side. :hearteyes:

On fall trans-Atlantics we go for port side for the sun every day. Otherwise, it makes no difference so we see what's available looking at the deck plans as we book and just shoot for something about three or four doors away from the nearest elevator lobby - to minimize both noise and walk down the corridor.

This might not help any but there is a reason why they call the left side the PORT side, just sayin.

J.

If you're "just sayin" that the ship always docks on the port side, you are incorrect

Depends on whether you’re right or left handed and if you’re crossing the equator; -/

Very funny, made me chuckle! Now I have all new criteria when selecting a cabin!

i prefere starboard side

We always prefer starboard, then our last cruise was 2 weeks southern carribean and we only lad land on our side 2 stops, so really wouldn't go by that. We always pick seats on the plane on the same side too. Lol

Have you ever considered an aft stateroom? Great views when you leave port. Aft balconies are usually much larger than the ones on the starboard or port side.

This might not help any but there is a reason why they call the left side the PORT side, just sayin.

J.

True, but it has nothing to do with how a cruise ship pulls into a Port Of Call.

The actual origin of the term "port" is speculated to be because the left side of centuries old merchant sailing ships had a loading or entry port. The right side had a steering board that hung over the side of the ship (before the invention of rudders) which is where the term starboard comes from. So if the steering board hung over the right side, the boat would need to dock on its left side, or put into port on its left side.

Today's modern ships can pull up and tie up to a dock in any given Port of Call on either side.