Deck Terminology
Some cruise companies share the same ships, so the deck plans and terminology are often the same. For example, from top to bottom:
- Sun Deck
- Horizon Deck
- Vista Deck
- Riviera Deck
Other companies have their own ships, but some are newer than others and would have visible improvements in the new ones. Fortunately, We got the Emerald Sky, which was just weeks old.
Which Deck/Cabin?
It also helps to consult the floor plan to see if your cabin is near a noisy or high-traffic part of the ship, but then you are not going to spend a lot of time in it.
- Horizon deck – Rear – (Pool/Movie theatre) – R – P – S, SA – (Bar) – Front
- Middle deck – Rear – Fitness, Massage – C – B – A – Reception – Restaurant – Front
- Bottom deck – Rear – Crew Quarters, Engine Room, Laundry etc – E – D – ES (Singles) – Front
Cabin 202 has facilities for disabled guests.
The largest rooms are at the top, as you can imagine, but you could save some money by choosing a lower priced room.
For example, there is a nominal ten sq ft difference between the Balcony Suite and the Grand Balcony Suite, but you’d be struggling to find where that difference is. The latter has a curtain to delineate the balcony, while the former has a mirror on one side to suggest spaciousness.
The Vista Deck on our ship was on the same level as the dining room and the ship’s reception desk, which is also the “usual” entry/exit level. The Horizon Deck is sometimes used as the entry/exit point depending on the circumstances, such as when we have to walk through another ship. Still, it has the advantage that the excellent coffee machine is also at this level.
On the Emerald Sky, the engines are quiet, and the crew can largely exit their cabins through internal stairs and reach the two upper levels without going into passenger areas, so the Riviera Deck isn’t particularly noisy. Our cabin on the Horizon Deck had the occasional thuds from people jogging on the Sun Deck, but we were rarely in the cabin except at night, when jogging is discouraged.
You never have to carry your luggage, so don’t worry about that when choosing a cabin. The bags are stowed below your bed.
