No clue...

[landj4always]

While I have cruised once before I have no clue which side is port and which side is starboard{sp}. This cruise is being planned to every last detail and I need to know which side of the ship to book on so I will have the full moon visible from my balcony. We are going to book Freedom Dec 7 2008 and know the full moon will be out at this time. But not sure from RCL deck plan which side I need to book. Would anybody happen to know from their picture they show when booking room is ship situated on page aft on bottom of page or other way around. This is very important to me and would appreciate any help. Thanks ahead of time.

[timandchantel]

Port is the left and starboard is right. The aft of the ship is on the bottom of the page. Generally speaking, a lot of people prefer the "hump rooms" those are mid ship because you can see both aft and forward. We have an aft room this time and chose it because it has a bigger balcony. Does that help?

[Sue L]

Port and left are both four letters which is an easy way to remember. This is while standing on the ship and facing the bow (front). On the floor plans the bow (front) is on top and the aft (back) is on the bottom. You can always go up to one of the decks to look at the moon if it is not visible from your room. That position will be constantly changing as you go from port to port.

[SheriNtexas]

While I have cruised once before I have no clue which side is port and which side is starboard{sp}. This cruise is being planned to every last detail and I need to know which side of the ship to book on so I will have the full moon visible from my balcony. We are going to book Freedom Dec 7 2008 and know the full moon will be out at this time. But not sure from RCL deck plan which side I need to book. Would anybody happen to know from their picture they show when booking room is ship situated on page aft on bottom of page or other way around. This is very important to me and would appreciate any help. Thanks ahead of time.

 

 

Just remember that "port" and "left" both have 4 letters!:)

[landj4always]

Thanks all for the help, off to book now.

[Jay Bee]

This cruise is being planned to every last detail and I need to know which side of the ship to book on so I will have the full moon visible from my balcony. .

 

You probably want to view the moon in the evening (as opposed to pre-dawn) so you'll be looking for it in the east. Study the itinerary map for the ship, figure out which direction it is going closest to the date of the full moon. If it's going south, get a port cabin; if north, starboard. East or west, go hump.

[NJGRANNY]

I was taught to remember Port is left by saying "there is no port wine left." This was when I was 16 years old and I haven't forgotten yet. :) :) :)

[TEXASMUNK]

when looking at a brochure, the pointed end is the bow!

[ccxnola]

If you are looking at the RCCL web site, there is no pointy end on the Deck Plans (to indicate the bow) but you can assume (and be correct) that the bow (pointy end - which is the way you will be going most of the time) is at the TOP of the page!! :D

BUT...on the southbound travel, the bow is to the south and thus the PORT side is looking to the EAST,

AND on northbound travel, the bow is pointed north and the portside is facing WEST.

 

Oh, and if it's a Panama Canal transit, don't count on anything as the actual direction of travel is often not what you would expect it to be!! Ships traveling through the canal from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean travel in a northwest direction while ships traveling from the Atlantic to the Pacific head southeast!. That's right - if you travel thru the Panama Canal from the West Coast of the US to the Florida ports, the Panama Canal transit is actually in a direction toward Seattle!!

[Pumbaamd]

CXX NOLA,

And you know all this being from South Dakota?

Rick and Deirdra

[TPKeller]

Freedom does the Western Caribbean around Cuba itinerary. Your cruise leaves on Sunday December 7, 2008 and heads for Labadee. The moon will be rising in front of the ship in the early afternoon.

 

You leave Labadee heading west on the 9th, putting the moonrise off your port aft quarter, more or less, a little later in the afternoon. The next three days, the moon rises later and later until the 12th, which is the actual full moon day, it rises around 5:50pm. That day, however, you leave Cozumel headed back for Miami, so that would put the moonrise pretty much directly off your starboard beam.

 

As noted by an earlier poster, the ship moves around. Any time your ship starts and then returns to the same port, you pretty much have to either go in a circle, or a line out then line back. So you would get all views at some point.

 

I used the information provided by http://www.sunrisesunset.com/ for this post, and I picked Havana as the city of reference, since it's right in the middle of the itinerary. If you wanted to spend the time, you could hunt down the locations for each of your ports of call and find the exact times each day.

 

Theron

[ccxnola]

Folks from SD have a NEED to know a lot of stuff!! Plus, when you are there in the winter, there is not a lot else to do but read, mess about on the Internet and get into lots of FUN at home - when you can!! :D

 

And folks in the Mardi Gras city don't care either way - it's a PARTY almost every day - except when you need to get to work on the Katrina Recovery work!! Oh - and find time to go on a cruise!!

[Happy ks]

Port is left and starboard right only when you are facing forward. When you are facing aft, it is the opposite, port will be on your right, starboard left.

 

That is why they don't call the ship the right or the left side, because it changes. But, port is always port, starboard is always starboard.

 

So, the view of the sunrise/sunset and the moon from your cabin balcony will also depend on the direction you will be sailing. It will reverse on the way back ;)

 

In the OP's case, an at balcony would work the best for the view they want :)