Cruise Terms You Need To Know Before Your First Cruise

Are some of the words and terms confusing as you book your first cruise? Are you cruising friends talking about their adventures and using vocabulary you are not familiar with?

Read on for all the terms you need to know before your first cruise!

Aft

The back of the ship. A great spot for photos of the wake!

Bow

The front of the ship.

Bridge

Where the Captain and crew steer the ship. This is usually a restricted access area. If you are looking at a cruise ship from the outside you can tell where the Bridge is because it sticks out over the side (to assist with parking) and usually has a ton of windows!

Cabin

The room you book on a cruise is often called your cabin. This can be inside, balcony, veranda, ocean view or any other options but all are types of cabins.

Crew

The people who make your cruise amazing! The crew do everything on a ship from preparing meals, to cleaning, to entertaining!

Deck

Deck can mean two different things on a ship. In the broader sense of the word it means the floors. You don’t go to the 8th floor, you go to deck 8. But the deck is also the open areas on the top of the ship where you find pools and sunshine.

Entertainment Crew

The Entertainment Crew are the group of people who are there to make your cruise fun. This includes your cruise director, comedy crew, trivia hosts, singers and dancers from the production shows and other live entertainers.

Embarkation

Embarkation is probably the most important word of your cruise, because if you miss embarkation you miss your cruise! All it means is the first moment of stepping on board your ship or the first day of your cruise. Embarkation is when you get on the ship.

Usually you are given a specific time window for embarkation. Your line will be shorter if you follow your embarkation window, but if you are too late in the day for embarkation, you might miss the ship!

Excursion

Excursions are extra trips you can book while you are in port. These come at an extra cost (usually) outside of the price of your cruise. Once you have booked your cruise, you can view the excursion choices. They are 100% optional and some cruisers never take excursions and some always take them. Ship-sponsored excursions are great for ambitious activities while in port because they (usually) come with a guarantee that the ship will wait on you if you are late coming back to port. They are also super convenient, but can be pricey.

Formal Night

Most cruise lines have a Formal Night (or two) on each sailing. These are an opportunity for you to dress up and enjoy a more formal atmosphere around the ship. This is a great time to take photos – either professionally by the crew or on your own.

Don’t like dressing up? You can usually dodge formal night dress requirements by eating in the buffet for dinner instead of the main dining room.

Gratuities

Gratuities are the tips for the crew. Depending on the cruise line, sometimes they are included in the cost of your cruise and sometimes they are added on per day while you are on the cruise. The gratuities are broken down so you can see what percentage goes to your cabin crew and your dining crew.

Harbor

The area where cruise ships dock is called a harbor. This can include both the area on land or the water around it.

Itinerary

Your itinerary is the list of ports your ship will stop at and what days and times that will happen. Sometimes you choose a cruise based on the itinerary (so based on where it is going) and sometimes based on the ship or who else happens to be on that particular sailing.

Lido

The Lido Deck is the deck of a cruise ship where you find pools and open deck space. Named for a popular beach area in Venice, Italy, the Lido is usually the most popular deck on a cruise ship!

Muster Drill

The Muster Drill is one of the most hated terms on a cruise ship. These days most are largely electronic and at your own pace. In person or on the app, you will be provided with information about what to do in case of emergency and will hear the sound that will alert you to proceed to your muster station. Your muster station is the area of the ship where you will be directed onto your life boat. Everyone must complete the Muster Drill before the ship is cleared to sail.

Onboard Credit

Onboard credit is money that you can spend while on board a cruise ship. You can’t take it with you off the ship. This allows you to do fun things while on board (and sometimes at port) like drinking, buying fancy coffees or snacks, specialty dining, certain activities that come with a cost and shore excursions. You can get onboard credit if the cruise line refunds certain things and sometimes you can choose to book a cruise with onboard credit.

Port

If you are facing the front, or bow, of the ship the port side is on the left. You can remember it by thinking that port has four letters and left has four letters.

Repositioning Cruise

A repositioning cruise is a cruise that begins in one location and ends in another because the cruise line is moving their ship. Most cruises begin and end in the same place, but repositioning cruises allow you to have unique ports of call and itineraries. These are relatively rare, so if one fits with your schedule it is a fun opportunity!

Specialty Dining

The main dining room is included in the price of your cruise and you can have a sit-down dinner there every night, but most cruise lines also have Specialty Dining venues where for an extra cost you can have a different or more interesting dining experiences.

Stateroom

Another name for your room or cabin on a cruise ship is your stateroom. This term originated from passenger ships sailing down the Mississippi River. They named the cabins after the different states and somehow the term stateroom stuck.

Starboard

If you are facing the front or bow of the ship, the starboard side is the right-hand side of the ship.

Tender

Sometimes instead of docking at a pier, the cruise ship will set down anchor in the middle of the harbor. When this happens you have to take a water shuttle or Tender to the shore. This often involves lines and waiting. It usually shows on your itinerary ahead of time. If you have a tender port, add at least 30 minutes to how long you expect it to take you to get on and off the ship.

Veranda

Another word for a balcony stateroom.

Wake

The trail in the water behind the ship. You view this from the Aft of the ship. You should absolutely go take photos of this during your cruise. It is one of the best viewpoints of the water! Especially at sunset!