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113 Stories|227 Ships|22 Cruise Lines

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Stories tagged #port side

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Review1mo ago

MSC Cruises · MSC Seashore · Deck 11, Cabin 11310

#sunset #great view #infinity balcony

Port-side Deck 11 — the Mediterranean sunset position

If your MSC Seashore itinerary is in the Mediterranean heading south along the Italian coast, port-side cabins on Deck 11 get the sunset every single evening. Cabin 11310 had a perfect unobstructed view of the Amalfi coast at sunset on our second night and I have never taken more photos in my life. The cabin is a standard balcony with the MSC infinity concept — glass extension over the water. The room is well-maintained and modern. One issue specific to this cabin: the balcony divider between us and the next cabin has a small gap at the bottom that allows sound to travel. We could hear our neighbors' conversations clearly. Not a dealbreaker for us but worth noting for privacy-conscious travelers.

— Amalfi Gazer

Story1mo ago

Carnival Cruise Line · Carnival Celebration · Deck 9, Cabin 9330

#wildlife #funny #balcony

The stingray that watched us eat breakfast

Docked in Grand Cayman. Eating breakfast on our balcony, port side facing the tender dock. A massive stingray — easily five feet across — was circling in the water directly below our balcony. It stayed for over an hour, just gliding in slow circles. My partner started dropping small pieces of croissant into the water, which I told him was almost certainly not allowed. The stingray did not eat the croissant. A seagull did. The stingray continued its serene circles, unbothered by the seagull, unbothered by us, unbothered by existence. We named it Raymond. Ray for short. We watched Raymond until the tender boats started running and he glided away. Sometimes I think about Raymond's perfect, peaceful life and I am envious.

— Raymond's Friend

Review1mo ago

Royal Caribbean · Harmony of the Seas · Deck 12, Cabin 12510

#afternoon sun #balcony #port side

Deck 12 port side — the afternoon sun situation

If you book a port-side balcony on Deck 12 and your itinerary goes south in the Caribbean, you will have direct afternoon sun blasting your balcony from about 1pm to 5pm. This sounds nice in theory. In practice the balcony furniture gets hot enough to need a towel under you. The glass divider magnifies it. We loved it the first day and hated it by day three. Brought towels from the pool to cover everything and it became manageable. The room itself is excellent — standard Harmony balcony, well-maintained, no issues. Just know your sun exposure before you book port versus starboard. Starboard would have been better for our route.

— Sunburned Lookout

Story1mo ago

MSC Cruises · MSC Seashore · Deck 7, Cabin 7104

#dolphins #wildlife #port side

We watched a pod of dolphins for 40 minutes from this balcony

Nothing dramatic, nothing spicy. Just wanted to share that on our third morning at sea, somewhere in the Atlantic heading toward Lisbon, a massive pod of dolphins appeared off the port side and kept pace with the ship. Cabin 7104 faces port. We were on the balcony drinking espresso (MSC has great coffee machines in cabins) and had front-row seats for the whole thing. Counted at least 30 dolphins. Other balcony guests started appearing. Someone further aft started clapping. It lasted 40 minutes until they peeled off. Best thing that happened on the whole cruise.