Cabins

You can read about the various types of cabins and see pictures here.

Our "suite" on Deck 8

The cabins are light and tastefully decorated, with attractive furniture and reproduction art. They are comfortable and cozy. Most LLLs and staculty live on Deck 8 in small cabins that are very nice, with tall sliding glass windows that provide fresh air and a spectacular view. At least one of us has reserved an economy single cabin on Deck 3. These are less fancy but still pretty nice. The Deck 3 cabins have a small round porthole that doesn’t open.

Sliding glass door to the sea

I treat my cabin as a retreat. Because I teach every single student on the ship, I get drawn into conversation every time I step out. This gets exhausting, so I sometimes hide out by going “home” to take a nap or work on my classes. But most people generally hang out in the public spaces and only return to their cabin at night. There are so many nice places on the ship to sit and read or chat or play board games or just watch the sea and sky.

Your cabin will be cleaned every day by a cabin steward. They’ll make your bed, clean your bathroom, replace your sheets and towels every few days, and vacuum your floors. It’s like staying in a nice hotel for four months. The stewards are beloved by the passengers. You get to know them a little and they get to know you and your daily habits so as not to disturb you while they do your room.

All the cabins have single beds that are pushed together to make a double. The beds have a Euro-style duvet rather than a top sheet. The pillows are OK but not deluxe. We bought extra pillows in our embarkation port before departure, but it’s not necessary. All cabins have private bathrooms, a closet with both shelves and hangers, and a desk & chair.  The sliding windows open onto a rail just a few inches outside, not a real balcony. There are heavy drapes that can darken the room to stop the tropical sun from cooking your cabin while you’re in class.

The “suites” have a small sitting area with a couch and table separated form the bed by a partial divider, and the suite bathrooms have a tub/shower instead of a shower stall. There is a “family suite” that has fully separate bedroom and living room with a door that closes. The living room couch in the family suite folds out to become a bed, so these suites can accommodate up to four people. Finally, there’s an “Owner’s Suite” that is even more deluxe and includes a walk-out balcony. 

Door decoration is a thing!

None of the cabins is big – we’re essentially living in small hotel rooms. Given that we live in these small spaces for 4 months, storage space is at a real premium. Big luggage is especially hard to get out of the way, so pack accordingly. Closet space is tight for a couple. There aren’t real dressers and there aren’t enough shelves for both partners to have separate little cubbies for pajamas and swimwear and shoes and undies. You will need to keep a bunch of stuff under the bed, and that’s pretty tight too. There are huge life preservers under there which take up a lot of room. 

In practice, you have maybe 6 inches of vertical space under just half of the double bed that you can use for storage. We pack for the trip with big collapsible rolling duffels. They hold a LOT of stuff and the wheels let you lug them around, but when empty they can slide under the bed in your cabin to make room. A rigid suitcase will NOT fit under your bed unless it’s really thin. For months, we’ll travel through very hot and humid weather, so I cram my warm clothes unto the nearly-empty duffel, slide it under the bed on day one and forget about it. 

For travel in host countries, you’ll want a bag for a three-night trip away from the ship, but you certainly won’t want to bring the big duffel. We use roll-aboard bags that can serve as airline carryon or slide into an overhead bin on a bus. If it’s small enough you can cram them under your bed, or you might have to wedge it into the back of your closet. You’re also going to want a daypack or fanny pack for day trips or overnights. 

door toiletries

There are a few little drawers and a medicine cabinet in the bathroom, but toiletries are another pain point with regard to storage in your cabin. Jennifer found these great over-the-door organizer thing that we hang from the bathroom door. They’re intended for shoes, but they work great for organizing medicines, shampoo, and other bathroom stuff given that there’s just not nearly enough cabinet space in there. 

The cabins have TVs with hundreds of movies selected by SAS faculty, many of which are directly related to our itinerary. A special channel displays a map that always shows the ship’s current position, speed, heading, wind speed, wave heights, ocean temperature and depth, etc. I find this fascinating, but you might not. 

 

Ship position and info always available on Channel 1of the TV in your cabin

 

Weird Quirks and Restrictions

Electrical power on the ship is precious. There are too few electrical outlets, but you MAY NOT use extension cords or multi-plugs to plug in more stuff! This is considered a safety issue and the crew that cleans your room will find them and take them away. The 220v outlets are European style that take two round prongs. You will need plug adapters to use US appliances with our flat plug blades.

Euro-converter + USB plugs all in one

Thankfully you don’t need to plug much in anyway. There’s a built-in hairdryer in the bathroom, so don’t pack one. You’ll mostly need to plug in phones, tablets, computers, or cameras which all have power bricks that don’t care about the 220v power. We use Euro-to-US adapters that also have a couple of USB ports in the bottom. These are fine for phone charging. You’ll probably want some long USB cables so you can read or use your laptop in bed without getting tangled up. You’ll want an alarm clock by the bedside table. You can get one with USB ports to charge phones too.

Parts of the ship are sometimes uncomfortably hot. In very warm tropical seas the engines can’t cool as much, and the heat really builds so the air conditioning can’t keep up. On a long sea crossing if your cabin is facing the Sun you’ll want to draw the drapes when you’re out to keep the cabin from getting too hot. We found little USB-powered fans that we can place on the bedside table and the really helped!

Keeping cool with a USB fan

The plumbing is weird. Sink and shower drains (graywater) are separate from toilet (blackwater). Blackwater drainage uses a vacuum system that basically sucks all the stuff down a tube like a jet engine. If somebody flushes a lipstick the entire corridor may not be able to flush toilets for hours until the crew finds and repairs the blockage. 

Tap water on the ship is produced from seawater through reverse osmosis. It’s safe to drink but not very tasty. You can fill water bottles from pitchers at mealtimes. There are also water stations on Deck 9 (by the pool) that use additional filtration for drinking. The tap water is fine for showering and brushing your teeth.

There’s laundry service available for $8 per bag. You fill out a sheet with all your items and tuck it into a provided bag, then place it outside your cabin door. Clean laundry is returned the next day in a new bag by your door. The laundry is kind of a harsh industrial process. Stuff gets clean but not at all gently. You probably want to wash delicates in your bathroom sink instead, so you’ll want to pack a little bit of detergent and maybe a drying line.

You NEED some of these Keens!

    Many doors on the ship are big and heavy and made of steel to stop fire and floods. They are ridiculously dangerous to bare feet! If the ship rolls and a door slams on your foot, it could cut off your toes. You MAY NOT go barefoot or even wear open-toed sandals while walking around the ship. Most voyagers wear closed-toed Keen sandals. They’re open on top and have a sturdy toe box and great treads. Absolutely no flip flops or Birkenstocks.