Word | Definition |
| Aboard | Off shore, on the ship |
| Abreast At shore | docked next to another ship. |
| Aft | The rear of the ship |
| Amidships | In/ the middle of the ship |
| Anytime Dining | A dining option which offers passenger more choice, where you can eat where and when you want, on a day-to-day basis. You can turn up at certain restaurants anytime you like and the restaurant will try and accommodate your needs. Anytime dining is available on Princess, P&O and RCI. |
| Ashore | Opoosite to being onboard, on shore |
| At Anchor | The way the ship is positioned after it has dropped anchor |
| Astern | Behind the ship, or near the rear of a ship. |
| Balcony | Also called Veranda (mostly on American ships) It is the private seating area outside of the ship, above sea level which can be accessed from your cabin. |
| Beam | Name used for the width of the ship, the widest part
Bearing The direction or the position the ship is at with regards to the desired destination. |
| Berth | The amount of parking space at the ship docks, at the pier. Also some cabins have upper berth which are like bunk beds to accommodate for more people. |
| Bingo | Casino in disguise |
| Board | To embark onto a ship |
| Boat | If a ship was to afec an emergency all the passengers will be placed in a boat. After the Titanic sank it became a legal requirment to have enough boats for all the passengers. |
| Bow | The front of the ship. |
| Bridge | This is where the Captain and his cre members work. All the navigational work of the ship is done here. |
| Brig | A place for unruly teenargers, where they are held with their parents before being thrown off from the ship at the next port. |
| Bulkhead | A wall or partition which separates cabins and compartments. |
| Butler | Mainly used for services in a suite. A butler may also have an assistant. |
| Cabin | Individual passengers room on the ship |
| Captain | The commander or master of the ship |
| Chimney | Ship's smokestack. Note: some are fake and just for appearances. |
| Crow's Nest | The highest look-out point on the ship where the crew can spot any obstackes. |
| Dealer | The employee at the casino, who runs the card games. |
| Debark | Leaving the ship usually at the end of your cruise |
| Debarkation | Leaving the ship usually at the end of your cruise |
| Departure | The time at which the ship leaves the port for the next destination. |
| Disembark | Leaving the ship either at each port or at the end of the cruise. |
| Deck | The number of floors on the ship. |
| Deck Chair | The chairs that are available for you to lounge in on the open decks. |
| Dock | Parking the ship at the pier |
| Draft | This is how far down into the water the ship's hull reaches |
| Draught | This is the depth of water a ship draws, especially when loaded. |
| Embark | This is when you board a ship, usually at the start of your cruise. |
| Embarkation | This is when you board a ship, usually at the start of your cruise. |
| Excursion | This is a side-trip at your ports of call and can be on land or sea. |
| Fathom | this is when the depth of the water is six feet. |
| Fore | This the front of the ship. (Note: Be sure to duck quickly if you hear this on the recreational deck). |
| Forward | Toward the front of the ship. |
| Funnel | Ship's smokestack. |
| Galley | these are the Kitchens onboard the ship. |
| Gangplank | This is the ramp that passesngers board on and runs from the pier into the side of a ship. |
| Gangway | Opening in the side of a ship through which it is boarded or provisioned. |
| Guarantee Cabin | This is a reserved cabin, that will be slightly cheaper than the normal price. This is guaranteed by the cruise ship to be at or better than the category you actually paid for. You do not get to choose your specific cabin or location and will not get a cabin number until you are onboard. |
| Gross Tonnage | The is the total enclosed revenue-earning space of a ship. 100 cubic feet equals one gross ton. |
| Hawseholes | This is the opening from which the ship's anchor chain extends, or a hole in the front of the ship through which a cable passes. |
| Heading | This refers to the direction in which the ship is traveling. This is usually displayed in form of a compass (N-S-E-W or 0-360 degrees). |
| Hold | Place where the uncooked edibles are stored. |
| Hull | This is the ships outer shell. This is anything that is above the main deck. |
| Inside Cabin | These are cabins that are located inside the ship with no oceanview. |
| Interior Cabin | These are cabins that are located inside the ship with no oceanview. |
| Keel | Primary structural member of the ship that extends longitudinally along the center of its bottom from the front to the back. |
| Kids Club | Programming provided for children, generally consisting of games, arts-and-crafts, and various supervised activities. |
| Knot | One nautical mile per hour. (One knot is about 15% faster than one mile per hour). |
| Larboard | The left side of the ship, also known as "port". |
| Leeward | The side of the ship opposite from the side from which the wind is blowing. |
| Length | The distance from the front of the ship to the rear of the ship. |
| List | The degree of tilt of the ship to one side or the other. |
| Maître d' | Person who shows diners to their tables and supervises the waiters in a dining room. Seldom seen Dining Room official, usually resurfacing on next to last night of cruise, whose apparent duties are soliciting tips and removing lobster tail meat from its shell. |
| Midnight Buffet | Last fill-up before bedtime. |
| Midships | In or toward the middle of the ship. |
| Muster | Before the ship sails everyone meets at the muster stations, these are the emergency exits to practive fire drill, in case of an emergency. |
| Nautical Mile | 6,080.2 feet. Slightly more than 1.15 land miles. |
| Occupancy | The number of paying passengers a ship can carry. Does not include 3rd and 4th passengers occupying fold-away beds in an otherwise 2-person cabin. If these are totally occupied, a ship can claim to be over 100% capacity. |
| Ocean Air Shrinkage (OAS) | Atmospheric condition at sea which causes all your clothing to lose one or two sizes between the start and end of the cruise. The longer the cruise, the more OAS will occur. Consider bringing elastic-waisted clothing to counteract OAS. |
| Ocean Liners | Ocean Liners are ships designed to transport people to different seaports along long-distance maritime routes. Ocean liners are specifically designed for transportation and rough water. Also ocean liners are able to achieve a greater speed than a cruise ship. Cunard has currently ahs two ocean liner, Queen Mary 2 and Quen Victoria. Also Cunard ocean liners have long pointed bows so they can cut through rough waters especially when crossing the Transatlantic. |
| Ocean View Cabin | At the very least, you have a porthole with a partial view of the water. At best, you have large windows and/or a veranda. |
| Outside Cabin | Usually a cabin with a porthole, window, or veranda. |
| Patter | Daily program which lists all the news and events of the day. It is usually delievered every evening to your cabin. |
| Penthouse Suite | The largest passenger cabin. Sometimes referred to as an Owner's Suite. |
| Pilot | A local from shore who is responsible in helping the Captain in bringing the ship into and out of the port of call. |
| Pitch | The rise and fall of the front of the ship while at sea. |
| Port | |
| Porterage | Porters or workers who take your luggage from the pier to your cabin. |
| Porthole | A small window. |
| Port of Call | The various destinatiosn you will be visiting on your voyage |
| POSH | Port Outbound, Starboard Home. When traveling to America from the England (or between England and India) the wealthy would want the Port side going, and the Starboard side coming back to ensure sun in the cabin for warmth (or the cooler side with the better view, as the case may be). |
| Private Balcony | A balcony that is attached to your cabin. You get only get to it from your own cabin |
| Promenade | A ship's "shopping mall". |
| Prow | The front of the ship. |
| Purser | Official on a ship who is responsible for papers and accounts and also for the welfare of passengers. |
| Registry | Country in which the ship is registered. |
| Roll | The side-to-side sway of a ship while at sea. |
| Scuttle | What happens to a ship when irons and candles are brought onboard and the ship catches on fire. |
| Seating | Which dinner seeting you will be having for the duration of your cruise. There are usually two type- First and Second seating. |
| Ship | What you are cruising on or in. |
| Shipboard Charge Account | Delivered to your cabin at the end of your cruise, detailing exactly how much you have spent on drinks etc. onboard |
| Shipboard Credit (SBC) | Monies credited to your onboard charge account, generally as an incentive for booking a cruise or as compensation for a missed port or unsatisfactory situation. |
| Southern Caribbean | |
| Stabilizer | Are a hydraulic activated underwater fins to help mimise the ship movements. |
| Stack | Ship's smokestack. |
| Stampede | Resulting action which occurs when the doors to the dining room or showroom open. |
| Starboard | The right-hand side of the ship. |
| Stateroom | the American name for a cabin |
| Stay & Cruise | Ideal for people who like to stay in one destination but also enjoy cruising, now you can do both. Cruise Lines like Island and Ocean Village offer 7 night hotel stay in one destination and the cruise for destinations like the Caribbean and Mediterranean. |
| Steerage | The cabins which are below the water line |
| Stem | The absolute end point of the ship. |
| Stern | The absolute end point of the ship. |
| Steward | The person who services the cabin to ensure that it is clean and that towels and bedsheets are chanegd regularly. May also have an assistant. |
| Stewart | This is the person who cleans your cabin. |
| Suite | A larger Ocean view cabin, usually available at a higher fare. |
| Superstructure | The parts of the ship that are above the main deck. |
| Tender | This is a smaller ship/boat that is used for transfers of passenegers to the shore and back again when the ship is anchored offshore. |
| Tender Tickets | This is a priority system that is used to to determine when passengers may exit a ship. |
| Traditional Dining | Also called Club Dining or Fixed Seating, it is offered on most Cruise Lines free of charge where you eat in the same restaurant at the same table for the duration of your cruise. |
| Travel Insurance | Insurance that pays for a variety of conditions which interrupt your cruise holiday. |
| Trough | Buffet |
| Upper Berth | A lower level bunk bed that is fir into the wall. |
| Veranda | This is a private or balcony for the exclusive use by passengers occupying that specific cabin. |
| Voyage | A voyage is the term used for a long journey, not necessarily for pleasure, on a ship. The term is not used as much today as people tend to travel on a ship for a cruise holiday. |
| Waiter | This is the person that services a table and will usually have an assistant. |
| Wake | The track left behind the ship as it moves through the water. |
| Waterline | This is the point on the exterior of a ship to which the water rises. Note: there is a line marked on the outside of a ship that corresponds with the water's surface when the ship is afloat. |
| Weigh Anchor | To raise the anchor. |
| Western Caribbean | This includes any of the following ports: Nassau, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, and continental Latin American countries of Mexico, Honduras, Belize, Costa Rica, Panama. |
| Windward | This is the side of the ship that the wind is blowing into. |
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