Reading A Deck Plan
A ship's deck plan, generally found at the back of the cruise line
brochure, is basically a floor plan. It illustrates each deck separately,
as if seen from above. Primarily, the schematic shows only public
spaces and cabins on each deck.
Staterooms are shown as empty rectangles, with cabin numbers
indicated. Each stateroom is colored according to its corresponding
price category. Other than public rooms and cabins, the remainder of
the ship is shown in white and is usually unidentified.
Cruise Ship Staterooms
There's actually a lot to consider when it comes to choosing a cruise
ship cabin or stateroom. More than just price, you need to think about
location, amenities and how big the ship is. It can take quite a bit of
experience to know where the best spot is, and it really does vary from
ship to ship. Join me as we take a look at a breakdown of the various
stateroom categories that are available, and even categories within
categories!
1. READING A DECK PLAN
A ship plans usually consist of two elements: The Deck Plan – (ship’s
floor plan) and A cross section of the ship, with each layer shown
(only those decks that are public are indicated) Sometimes
accompanying the deck plan are floor plants of various kinds of
staterooms.
Here are few things you need to know about ship’s plans.
Cruise ship deck plans are similar to house plans. After studying the
deck plan for a few minutes, the symbols indicating elevators, stairs,
restaurants and sports facilities become clear. Deck plans indicate all
of the areas that passengers may want to be near or far away from,
depending on their individual preferences.
A deck plan is laid out so that the bow (the front of the ship) is at the
top of the page, the starboard (the right side of the ship) is on the
right, the port (the left side of the ship) is on the left, and the aft or
stern is at the bottom. There is usually a diagram showing the cross-
section of the ship to assist in determining the location of each deck.
Most ships are laid out in a similar way. The majority of passenger
cabins are on the lower decks. The main or lobby deck is where the
purser's and other business offices are located. The boat deck or
equivalent is where some of the cabins are located and the lifeboats
are stowed.
This deck often has obscured views from some of the cabins.
The uppermost decks are usually open and feature sunning spaces
and sports facilities. Some cruise ships name or number the decks. All
cruise ships provide ample diagrams on-board to assist passengers.
Deck Plants are important – Unlike at hotels, guests can often select
the exact staterooms they want when the cruise is booked.
• In Brochure, color coding makes a deck plan easy to read. –
Colors help indicate which price categories apply to which
staterooms. (Stateroom categories is the prices that are certain kind
or level of staterooms represents.) Other references resources usually
reproduce deck plans in black and white, however.
• Usually, the higher the deck is on the ship, the higher the category
and price. Suites and larger staterooms are generally located on the
highest decks. However, there are many exceptions.
• Deck Plans often note certain special stateroom circumstances.
Examples include obstructed views from the window (a lifeboat may
be in the way) staterooms specially equipped for the physically
challenged, or those that can accommodate three or four passengers.
• Deck plans are also posted aboard ship. They are usually located
in the elevator/staircase areas. These deck plans help guests orient
themselves onboard. (For the record, The Front of The Ship is called
a BOW or FORWARD, the back is called STERN or AFT. Facing
forward, the left side is labeled the PORT SIDE, the right side
is STARBOARD SIDE
1.1. MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS
A ship’s registry usually has nothing to do with where the line is
headquartered. The name of the country where the ship is registered
is usually painted on the exterior of the vessel’s stern and the ship
flies the country’s flag. This is called FLAG OF CONVENIENCE.
· On some ships, smoking is permitted almost everywhere
onboard. On most it’s limited to certain officially designated places.
One or two ships are smoke free.
· Where do ships go when they retire? Some are turned to scrap
metals. Others are parked at ports with the hope that someone will
buy, refurbish, and return them to active cruising.
· Each year the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
conducts two unannounced inspections of any cruise vessel that carries
100 or more passengers and that calls US Ports. The inspectors look
for potentially hazardous conditions, such as improperly stored food,
poor food preparation and display procedures, and the like. The CDC
gives each ship score (85 or below out of 100 is considered failing)
and publishes the results via print circulars and on its Web Site. A
cruise line whose ships fails an inspection is given the opportunity to
rectify shortcomings.
