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Cruise glossary

Cruise words in plain English. New to cruising? Start with our beginner guides.

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Aft: The back of the ship. The opposite of forward.
All-inclusive: A fare that bundles in items such as drinks, tips or Wi-Fi. What is included differs a great deal between cruise lines, so always check the list for your booking.

Balcony cabin: A cabin with a private outdoor space and a door onto it. Also called a veranda cabin.
Berth: Either a bed on board, or the place in port where a ship ties up.
Bow: The front of the ship.
Bridge: The control room from which the ship is navigated. The captain and officers on watch work here.

Cabin: A passenger bedroom on a ship. Some cruise lines call it a stateroom.
Cabin steward: The crew member who cleans your cabin and, usually, turns down your bed in the evening.

Disembarkation: Leaving the ship at the end of the cruise, or going ashore at a port.

Embarkation: Boarding the ship at the start of the cruise.
Excursion: A trip ashore from a port of call. It can be booked through the cruise line or arranged on your own.

Fly-cruise: A holiday where you fly to the ship and fly home from a different place if needed, as opposed to sailing from a UK port.
Forward: Towards the front of the ship.

Gangway: The walkway or ramp used to get on and off the ship.
Gratuities: Tips for the crew. Some lines add a daily service charge, some include tips in the fare, and a few still expect cash at the end of the voyage.
Gross tonnage (GT): A measure of a ship's total enclosed volume. It is not the ship's weight, and it is the usual way to compare how big ships are.
Guarantee cabin: A booking where you pay for a cabin category and the cruise line chooses the exact cabin later. It is often cheaper, and you may be given a less convenient position.

Homeport: The port a ship regularly starts and ends its cruises from. For many UK cruisers it is Southampton.

Inside cabin: A cabin with no window or balcony.
Itinerary: The planned route of a cruise, with the ports and the days at sea.

Keel: The main beam running along the bottom of a ship from front to back. It is the backbone of the hull, and a keel-laying ceremony traditionally marks an important stage in a ship's construction.
Knot: One nautical mile per hour, the unit ships use for speed.

Maiden voyage: A ship's first sailing with paying passengers.
Muster drill: The safety briefing every passenger must attend, held before or soon after the ship sails. It shows you where to go in an emergency.

Port: Either the left side of the ship when facing forward, or a place where ships dock.
Port of call: A stop on the itinerary where the ship docks or anchors so you can go ashore.
Posh: A popular story says the word came from "port out, starboard home" on old liner voyages. Historians have found no proof, so treat it as a tale.
Promenade deck: A deck with an outdoor walkway running around part or all of the ship.

Repositioning cruise: A one-way sailing that moves a ship from one region to another between seasons, often with many days at sea and lower fares.

Service charge: A daily amount added to your account instead of, or as well as, tipping. Some lines include it in the fare and some charge it separately.
Shore excursion: See excursion.
Stabilisers: Underwater fins that reduce the rolling of the ship in rough water.
Starboard: The right side of the ship when facing forward.
Stern: The back of the ship.
Suite: A larger cabin, often with a separate sitting area and extra benefits that vary by line.

Tender: A small boat that carries passengers between the ship and the shore when the ship cannot dock at the quay.
Tendering: Going ashore by tender. It can take longer than a gangway and may be cancelled in rough weather.
Transatlantic: A crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.
Turnaround day: The day a ship finishes one cruise and starts the next. Passengers leave in the morning and the new ones board in the afternoon.
Turnaround port: A port where a ship ends one cruise and starts another, so passengers leave and board on the same day.