Extend your cruise knowledge with our cruise glossary

Aft: Towards or in the rear (stern) of the ship

Anytime dining: Princess Cruises' flexible evening dining option that allows passenger to select from a variety of onboard restaurants during their cruise, as opposed to their "Traditional Fixed Seating" program

Atrium : An interior, multi deck, open area of a ship. Typically, atriums are centrally located near lifts, shops, cafes and guest services. Shipboard atriums can extended anywhere from two to ten decks or more.

Balcony cabin: any cabin accommodation with a private, exterior balcony

Berth: The dock or pier where you embark or disembark from the ship

Bow : Toward or in front (fore) of the ship

Bridge: The navigation and command center of the ship

Cabin: Your room

Captain's cocktail party : On selected cruises the Captain will "host" a shipboard cocktail party. All guest are invited and cocktails are usually complimentary

Category: Cabins are categorised by type (i.e. Inside, Outside, Balcony, Mini Suite, Suite)

Course: The direction the ship is headed in, typically expressed in compass degrees

Cruises card : Credit card-size personal I.D document, generally given to each cruise passenger for their use in charging shipboard purchases, entering your cabin, and embarking and debarking the ship

Cruise director: The Cruises Director is in charge of all onboard entertainment and social events.

Debarkation : Exiting the ship

Dress code : Even the most casual of cruises lines supports an onboard dress codes. Although the overall trend is drifting towards a slightly more relaxed, casual dress code

Dry dock: A sealed docking facility from which water is pumped in and out, enabling maintenance and repairs to be performed on a ship's hull and keel

Embarkation : Entering or boarding the ship

Family Stateroom: Specific accommodations vary, but family staterooms usually provide for 4-6 passengers in lower bed configurations (i.e. no bunk beds

Fly cruise: Where by you take a flight to and from the ship (i.e. Fly to Barbados, Cruise and then Fly back from Barbados)

Forward: Toward the fore or bow (front) of the ship

First Sitting : the earlier of the two evening meal times in the ships dining room – usually around 6.30pm

Free-style Cruising: Norwegian Cruise Line's term used to describe their onboard program whereby passengers have freedom to choose where and when they dine, and a wider variety of entertainment and activity offer

Galley: the ships kitchen

Gangway: A ramp or steps by which passengers enter or leave the ship

Gentlemen Host: A cruise-sponsored program whereby well-travelled, mature gentleman are employed on board to serve as dance partners, conversationalist, and shore excursions escorts for single women

Gratuities: The passenger's personal expression of thanks (tips) for the service received on board – Gratuities are generally added to your on board account

GRT: Gross registered tonnage, i.e., a measurement of 100 cubic feet of enclosed revenue-eaming space within the ship – Generally referred to as the ships 'size'

Guarantee: Generally an offer where by you can book a Cabin on a Guaranteed basis – meaning you are booking a cabin grade but not getting to know your cabin number until you embark your ship

Guest Lecturer: an individual who speaks on a particular hobby, skill, activity that he or she is considered an expert.

Homeport: The port on which a ship is based (i.e. Arcadia sails from her Homeport of Southampton)

Inside Cabin: A cabin having no windows or portholes to

Itinerary: The rout the ship will travel, detailing arrival and departure times and ports visited

Keel: the ships "backbone" extending underneath from bow to stern

Knot: a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile

Lifeboat: Small boats carried on the ship and used in case of emergency.

Lower bed: A single bed placed at the standard height from the floor

M.S: Abbreviation of "Motor Ship"

Maiden Voyage: the first sailing of a ship with passengers on board

Midships: In or toward the middle of the ship

Mini suite: A larger passenger cabin that offers separate sleeping and sitting areas

Muster drill: the process by which passengers, by law, are acquainted with ships safety regulations

Muster Station: The location where groups of passengers are asked to report in the vent of an emergency at sea (or, as during a muster drill). Usually, muster stations are either interior public rooms or open deck or promenade spaces familiar to passengers. Every passenger is assigned a muster station

Nautical mile: 6,080.2 feet, versus a land mile of 5,280

On Board Account / Shipboard Account: Account that is opened for you at the beginning of a cruise, you will normally register a credit card so your account can be settled at the end of your cruise.  All purchase on board, shore excursions, gratuities etc are added to your on board account.  Most ships operate this kind of 'cashless' system

Open Seating: Where by passengers can eat when, where and with whom they wish.  An alternative to the traditional fixed dining

Outside Cabins: A cabin having a window or porthole offering an exterior view

Panamax: The Panama Canal permits ships no wider than approximately 110. Ships that are under this maximum size are often referred to as "Panamax" ships.

Portholes: Circular "windows" in the side of the ship

Port side: The left or port side of the ship as you face forward

Promenade: Usually the open walkway that runs almost the entire length of each side of the cruise ship. Some promenade decks encircle the ship.

Purser: In charge of On Board Accounts

Registry: The country with a ship is registered.  The ship and its crew are obliged to comply with their Registry laws

Repositioning: Typically, when a ship moves from one cruise area to another i.e. from the Mediterranean in the summer to the Caribbean in the winter

S.S: Abbreviation for "Steam Ship"

Second Sitting: the later of the two evening meal times in the ships dining room – usually around 8.30pm

Shore excursions: Off-the-ship tours at ports of call for which extra charges usually apply

Single Occupancy: Sole occupancy of a cabin, which is designed to accommodate two or more passengers

Space ratio: A measurement of cubic space per passengers. GRT divided by number of passengers, equals Space ration

Stabilizers: A fin like device extending beneath the ships waterline from both sides of the ship to the front, making the ship more stable

Starboard: The right side of the ship as you face forward.

Tender: A small vessel, sometimes the ships lifeboat, used to ferry passengers ashore whilst the ship is anchored at sea.

Transfers: Usually a coach transfer from the Airport to ship, and visa versa

Upper bed: A single size bed higher from the floor than usual (similar to a bunk bed) often recessed into the ceiling or wall during the day

Upper and Lower Berths: Bunk Beds

Wait list: Not a guarantee, but the cruise line's endeavor to obtain accommodation for passengers on a first-come-first served basis when all cabins are presently sold