Cabin guides, ship by ship

Cruise ship cabins to avoid

Find the guide for your ship before you choose a room. Each one follows the current deck plan and explains the categories, positions and patterns worth a closer look.

Most cruise ship cabins to avoid lists recycle four rules: never book under the pool deck, stay away from elevators, avoid the front and skip connecting rooms. Those shortcuts miss what actually changes from ship to ship.

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All published cabin guides

85 published ship guides

Recent cabin guides
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Browse by problem

What can change the cabin

Choose the pattern that worries you. The answer shows what it means, how to identify it on a current deck plan and who is most likely to care.

The pattern

Noise from above is about the exact venue

A pool chair, food cart and nightclub do not create the same sound or keep the same hours. The useful warning names what sits overhead and when it operates instead of condemning an entire deck.

How to spot it before booking

Stack the cabin against the current deck above, then trace its exact fore-and-aft position to the venue, galley, pool edge or service route.

Who it bothers

Light sleepers, families with early bedtimes and anyone who needs quiet mornings.

How a warning gets published

A warning earns its place before it reaches a guide.

The process starts with the current ship, then separates a physical fact from a traveller preference.

Step 01

Read the current deck plan

The plan for the sailing date comes first. Refits, renamed venues and transferred ships can make an older plan misleading.

Step 02

Check the physical relationship

The guide names what is above, below, beside or across from the cabin, then checks category notes and current imagery.

Step 03

Separate fact from fit

An obstruction or connecting door can be established. Whether it ruins a trip depends on the fare, routine and traveller.

Line-established facts are stated as facts. Passenger reports and judgement calls are labelled honestly. Read the full editorial policy.

Common questions

What “avoid” actually means

A warning is a prompt to inspect a tradeoff, not a claim that every marked room is bad.

Are cabins near elevators always noisy?

No. The lobby and passing conversations usually matter more than the elevator machinery. A room around the corner or several doors away can be both convenient and quiet.

Is a cabin under the pool deck always bad?

No. The exact space overhead decides the risk. A quiet stretch of deck, a galley service route and an area where loungers are moved can behave very differently.

Can an obstructed-view cabin still be a good choice?

Yes. It can be excellent value when the obstruction is clearly identified, visible in current photographs and reflected in the fare.

Do these guides identify every bad cabin number?

No. The research establishes categories, positions and repeatable patterns. It does not pretend that every room number has been individually verified on every sailing.

Just off a sailing

Tell us what the deck plan could not.

A recent cabin report can confirm a physical feature, correct an outdated assumption or show which warning mattered less than expected. Include the ship, sailing date, category and what you noticed.

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