Port or Starboard cabin

[nsloan]

We are sailing on Millenium Venice to Barcelona Sept 7 2005. I have two questions?

 

Are there any significant preferences for one side of the ship or the other. We have verandah cabins?

 

Does anyone know if there are window washing trolleys on the panorama deck and where they are parked?

[lougee1043]

whichever one you pick make sure that you make friends aboard with someone on the other side of the ship and offer your verandah to them based on sights--im sure they will reciprocate and you are covered

[PoohUnderstands]

Look at the map of your itinerary and which way the arrows go. This is especially helpful in the Med. area. Look at what countries you will see and how close the lines go and then you can decide port or starboard side. I am going on a similar cruise but on another line(horrors) and it is Barcelona-Barcelona, with stops in Monte Carlo, Naples, Florence, Rome, 2 nights in Venice, Corfu, and 3 days at sea. I will definitely be booking a portside cabin! Also ask your TA; if they don't know personally or from someone else, they can find out. That is why I like to go see me TA after a cruise to give her all the ins and outs of a particular itinerary or cruise line so she has more info. to help others.

[nsloan]

Thank you for your response. I have checked with my TA's and received conflicting opinions. Basicly it seems that their general rule of thumb is the port side. Since most of the time we do not sail within sight of land on this itinerary the question seems to be which side of the ship faces the port when docked. I thought, perhaps that someone who has actually sailed the itinerary might be able to provide some imput.

[adegner]

nsloan,

 

I was on the Venice to Barcelona run on Millie last fall. We had a starboard side cabin, and sometimes the "sights" were on the other side of the ship. But it varied. Leaving Venice (for example) the view of San Marcos square is on the port side, but we just went up on deck and watched the city float by. It was beautiful! When we came into Rome, it was too early to see anything and Civitivecchia (sp?) isn't very pretty anyway. On the other hand, Naples is extremely beautiful, but the ship comes into the dock forward first, so it doesn't matter which side you are on. Will you be going to Ville Franche? That is such an nice port. You will have to tender there, but the view of the little seaside village it fantastic.

 

I'm sure you will enjoy it!!!

[kitty9]

The only time port or starboard makes any difference is if you're doing an Alaska cruise. For those the rule is starboard sailing north and port sailing south if you want to be facing land while cruising. For the Caribbean, Med or any other place, there's absolutely no difference because you have no way of telling how the captain will pull the ship into a port. The direction depends on many things including tides, arrival time and number of ships in the port. On one itinerary it might be better to be on the port, and then the next week those who chose starboard might have a better position.

 

adegner, where in Waukesha???? I just moved here 7 weeks ago.

[idssms]

Been cruising for years and each time I cruise I ask someone to explain the diff between Star and Portside.

 

Guess what? I dont have a clue. I think aft is rear, bow is front.

 

Is there a simple way to figure this stuff out.. Like somekind of word association. I would love to dazzle my wife the next time with these terms down pat.

 

A prize for the right answer.

 

idssms

[davehau]

idssms:

 

For port and starboard, the old way to remember these is the relative length of the words: port = left, starboard = right - just as left is shorter than right, port is shorter than starboard. Of course, these refer to when you are facing forward on the vessel.

 

Aft and Forward are directional terms, with aft being towards the rear of the boat, and forward towards the front. So you can go aft, or refer to something as forward of your current spot on the ship.

 

Bow and Stern are parts of the ship, the bow being the front of the ship, and the stern the very back.

 

Dave

 

PS: If you really want to impress the missus, start studying a few words a day from one of the nautical terminology sites, such as this one . Or, of course, take a boating course at the local community college or recreation center :)

[degarr]

Been cruising for years and each time I cruise I ask someone to explain the diff between Star and Portside.

 

Guess what? I dont have a clue. I think aft is rear, bow is front.

 

Is there a simple way to figure this stuff out.. Like somekind of word association. I would love to dazzle my wife the next time with these terms down pat.

 

A prize for the right answer.

 

idssms

 

2 ones that I learned as a Sea Scout

Port and Left both have 4 letters and also if you are confused about red / green lights on a boat port or starboard left or right, I was tought "there is a little bit of port left in the bottle".

Port Left, Port is a red color

[HeatherInFlorida]

As long as I've been cruising (25 years) I've been told that port side is better and I've always chosen it. And I've always been glad I did. Generally you'll end up with the better view.

 

If you notice, the port side cabins tend to go before the starboard.

[idssms]

Dave:

 

You D'man. Thanks Pal.

 

The prize now.

 

First, are you by chance sailing on the Millennium on the May 1st Transatlantic?

 

If so, I am personally inviting you to a cruise lecture with Ernest Borgnine!! lol

 

 

No seriously,, come down and join the wife and I for drinks in the Penthouse Suite. I will always remember port and starboad, left and right respectively based on the number of letters in the words... Great. I am on my way. See, an old dog can still learn new tricks.

 

Florida Man aka Don aka idssms