Cabin categories can be as simple or as complicated as the cruise lines want to make them. Some, like Virgin Voyages, keep it relatively simple — Insider, Sea View, a couple of Sea Terrace and a variety of suites.
Most lines, however, use a more complicated system that takes cabin location into account. Within each broad category — Balcony cabins, for instance — there are sub-categories based on locations on the ship.
As a rule, cruise cabins cost more as one goes upward in decks and toward midship, That combination gives many pricing options and sub-categories scattered among the decks. Sticking with the Balcony example, we see a pricing hierarchy something like this:
Lowest cost — Guarantee/Guaranty cabins, where the cruise line assigns you a Balcony cabin sometime before sailing.
A little higher — Balconies on lower decks and toward the ends of the ship. This does not include popular rear-facing cabins.
A little higher still — Balcony cabins that are still far forward or aft but a few decks higher, or lower decks a little closer to midship.
You see the trend. Most lines have several groupings, each with slightly different prices. Combine those with even more groupings among Inside and Oceanview categories, and you can have a dozen or more individual cabin category choices — each with different fares.
To make up for the lack of clarity, this system allows a great deal of cabin selection by price. Many long-time cruisers know what parts of the ship they do and do not want to inhabit. They know they will normally pay more to be at the most desirable locations.
Trust that when you look at cruise advertising, lines will show their lowest-price possibilities within each category. That is not, however, how we approach our cabin allocations.
We do not price or choose obstructed view cabins. In the case of Virgin Voyages, which offers just a few Sea Terrace variations, we offer the Central Sea Terrace.
In that vein, we gear cabin selection toward the mid-range of each category for the best combination of price and location. If we can find a category that gives a major upgrade for a minor price bump, we usually grab a few of those cabins.
And finally, for those who have specific category location preferences, we can book those cabins at the best available price.
