Which side/deck/suite do you prefer to book, and why?

[MJfromCA]

Being a Seabourn newbie, I'm curious which side (port or starboard), deck, and suite do you prefer to book if you have the choice, on either the Quest/Sojourn/Odyssey class ships or the Encore/Ovation class ships, and why. Thanks!

-- MJ

[Thecat123]

Afternoon sun on the balcony as you will be a shore during the day

Get back  in the afternoon and sit on the balcony and have a relaxing drink from your fridge

It was really noticed when we sailed through the Panama Canal as we had friends on the opposite side of the ship and their balcony was in the shade and cold in the afternoons

Edited November 20, 2021 by Thecat123

[MBP&O2/O]

By choice? Port side for me. At sea, I like watching / viewing other ships, and there is more chance of seeing other ships when they pass close by. Sun on the balcony doesn’t interest me. Too many years working  in the tropical sun has come back to bite me. 🤕

[hoosier74]

It depends on the cruise you are on and the direction you are going, particularly if you are interested in sun.  In southbound Alaska, we wanted to be on starboard to have a view but most of the time, the view as all around.  

 

Most people prefer cabins midship, but most of the super premium cabins are fore and aft.  My rule of thumb is to have cabins on all sides (right, left, top, bottom) and to NOT have a connecting door.  We don't want to be under the pool deck.  

[cruiseej]

It's hard to pick port or starboard unless your trip is in a linear direction along a coast; then you might want the side facing the coast -- although many times you'll be far enough out to sea that there's no land, or meaningful land, to see. Or if you're a morning person who likes to see the sunrise, or a person who likes to see sunsets, and your route it mostly north/south, you might prefer the side most likely to give you your desired sun view. In a port, you'd prefer to be on the side opposite of an industrial pier, not possibly on the side facing the pier at a nice cruise port in the middle of a city -- but it's generally not possible to know in advance where a ship will be moored and which way it will be facing. So all that said, if one criterion sticks out for you, and it leads to a definitive side selection, go for it; in most cases, it doesn't matter. (Also remember that on ships the size of these, it's always a quick trip up to one of the upper decks if there's sightseeing on the other side, or all around.)

[Thecat123]

The first cruise we did years ago, Alaska, I thought ocean, coast for the views so I found out we were on the ocean side of the ship so we dropped that cruise and went on the following one so we had views of the coast line. The ship sailed at night and we were too far from land to see anything. Dipped out😀

[MJfromCA]

Thank you all for your thoughts! Very interesting and helpful.

-- MJ