cruise ship stateroom floor plans

Welcome to CruiseStateroom.com

Thousands of cabin pictures, interactive deck plans, learn more about us.

Founded in 2001 by Dominique Vaccaro, a passionate cruise ship and old liner enthusiast since his childhood. He was concerned that only a few web sites provided a helpful and practical search for obtaining and visualization of cruise ship deck plans and staterooms available. Those that did, usually offered very little interactivity to find the configuration and location of a stateroom. One would get lost and perhaps bored by the opening of dozens of windows searching for information.

That is why this site came into existence. To help visitors, first time or even experienced cruise customers and travel agents search and find, through an easy to use and complete interface, the stateroom that would be best for their tastes, means or requests.

• We have over 307,052 Stateroom Photos
• We have over 27,060 Stateroom Videos
• We have deck plans for 242 Cruise Ships

You can find cruise ship deck plans all over the internet. But our deck plans are truly interactive. As you view them you can mouse over pictures, pop ups and category information.

Cruise Ships

We do offer awesome cruise ships.

Click on a ship below to go to that page.

Adventure of the Seas

Allure of the seas, anthem of the seas, azamara journey, azamara onward, azamara pursuit, azamara quest, brilliance of the seas, brilliant lady, caribbean princess, carnival breeze, carnival celebration, carnival conquest, carnival dream, carnival elation, carnival firenze, carnival freedom, carnival glory, carnival horizon, carnival jubilee, carnival legend, carnival liberty, carnival luminosa, carnival magic, carnival mardi gras, carnival miracle, carnival panorama, carnival paradise, carnival pride, carnival radiance, carnival spirit, carnival splendor, carnival sunrise, carnival sunshine, carnival valor, carnival venezia, carnival vista, celebrity apex, celebrity ascent, celebrity beyond, celebrity constellation, celebrity eclipse, celebrity edge, celebrity equinox, celebrity flora, celebrity infinity, celebrity millennium, celebrity reflection, celebrity silhouette, celebrity solstice, celebrity summit, celebrity xcel, celebrity xpedition, celebrity xperience, celebrity xploration, coral princess, costa deliziosa, costa diadema, costa fascinosa, costa favolosa, costa firenze, costa fortuna, costa pacifica, costa serena, costa smeralda, costa toscana, crown princess, crystal serenity, crystal symphony, diamond princess, discovery princess, disney dream, disney fantasy, disney magic, disney treasure, disney wish, disney wonder, emerald princess, enchanted princess, enchantment of the seas, explorer of the seas, freedom of the seas, grand princess, grandeur of the seas, harmony of the seas, icon of the seas, independence of the seas, island princess, jewel of the seas, liberty of the seas, majestic princess, mariner of the seas, msc armonia, msc bellissima, msc euribia, msc fantasia, msc grandiosa, msc magnifica, msc meraviglia, msc orchestra, msc preziosa, msc seascape, msc seashore, msc seaside, msc seaview, msc sinfonia, msc splendida, msc virtuosa, msc world america, msc world europa, navigator of the seas, nieuw amsterdam, nieuw statendam, norwegian aqua, norwegian bliss, norwegian breakaway, norwegian dawn, norwegian encore, norwegian epic, norwegian escape, norwegian gem, norwegian getaway, norwegian jade, norwegian jewel, norwegian joy, norwegian pearl, norwegian prima, norwegian sky, norwegian spirit, norwegian star, norwegian sun, norwegian viva, oasis of the seas, oceania allura, oceania marina, oceania riviera, oceania vista, odyssey of the seas, ovation of the seas, pacific adventure, pacific encounter, pacific explorer, paul gauguin, pride of america, quantum of the seas, queen elizabeth, queen victoria, radiance of the seas, regal princess, resilient lady, rhapsody of the seas, royal clipper, royal princess iii, ruby princess, sapphire princess, scarlet lady, seabourn encore, seabourn odyssey, seabourn ovation, seabourn pursuit, seabourn quest, seabourn sojourn, seabourn venture, serenade of the seas, seven seas explorer, seven seas grandeur, seven seas mariner, seven seas navigator, seven seas splendor, seven seas voyager, silver cloud, silver dawn, silver endeavour, silver moon, silver muse, silver nova, silver origin, silver shadow, silver spirit, silver whisper, silver wind, sky princess, spectrum of the seas, star breeze, star clipper, star legend, star of the seas, star princess, sun princess, symphony of the seas, utopia of the seas, valiant lady, viking jupiter, viking mars, viking neptune, viking octantis, viking orion, viking polaris, viking saturn, viking star, viking vela, viking venus, vision of the seas, voyager of the seas, wind spirit, wonder of the seas, we pay 50 cents each for stateroom photos.

Upload your stateroom photos and if we use them we will pay you 50 cents for each one we use.

• CruiseMapper

Cruise cabins and suites

Cruise ship rooms, floor plans, photos.

CruiseMapper's cabin and suites section allows you to explore cruise staterooms by ship. Each page provides extensive information on all passengers accommodations on a particular vessel, including floor plans, room types and categories (grades used upon booking), cabin sizes, deck location. Also provided is an extensive review of all ticket price inclusive en-suite amenities, along with furniture details and additional / bonus perks (if available).  

Here you will find brief descriptions by category of all stateroom types that can be found on cruise ship deck plans . You will find more information and many useful tips on staterooms at our best and worst cabins article. Here you can search for a particular ship (via the above search bar) or you can skip the introduction (explanations) and go down directly to our list of large passenger ships' cabin pages .

Cruise staterooms booking rates are usually based on deck location. Lower-deck accommodations are the cheapest. Midship rooms cost more. Balcony staterooms and Suites located aft or forward are the most expensive. Most cruise companies (especially those with large-sized vessels in the fleets) divide the main cabin types into subcategories. These grades are marked with numbers (like for balcony cabins - B1, B2, B3, B4) and are displayed on the deck layouts with different colors.

Cruise ship suites

Cruise suite accommodations are premium grades cabins. They are usually larger in comparison to balcony staterooms and feature more amenities. As a rule, suites have a full-size bathtub, larger shower, bigger closets and balcony (some have 2 private balconies). Amenities include coffee makers, premium sound systems, large-size TVs, complimentary butler service.

Loft Suites (aka Duplex Suites)

Loft Suites are "duplex suites" (on two levels) and available on the world's largest passenger ships of Royal Caribbean's Oasis-class and Quantum-class. The following layout is of Harmony of the Seas and its largest accommodation - the Royal Loft Suite.

Grand Suite

Twin beds in this type of cabin can be joined in a king bed. Grand Suites have also a double sofa bed and large private balcony, sitting area with 2-armchairs and a coffee table, desk, dressing area with vanity, walk-in closet, safe box, TV, phone, refrigerator, mini-bar, private bath with whirlpool tub and shower, patio chair and table, balcony lounge chair, pillow menu, bathrobes, hairdryer. See below the magnificent Oceania Marina ship's Owner Suite plan.

Captain Suite

Captains Suite accommodations have a huge 220 ft2 (20,5 m2) separate bedroom, while the living area is sized 290 ft2 (27 m2). There are 2 upper beds and a sofa bed, private bathroom with whirlpool hot tub and glass shower, safe, TV and phone, mini-bar, bathrobes, hairdryer.

A table and 3 patio chairs are on the balcony.

Owners Suite

Owner's Suites are some of the most luxurious accommodations at sea. They usually feature two separate bedrooms, private balcony (with luxury lounge furniture, even dining area and hot tub), living room (with sofa bed), luxury bathroom (with whirlpool bathtub and separate shower), second bathroom (WC), dining room, dressing area. Some Owner's Suites (like NCL's) can accommodate up to 10 passengers when connected to an adjacent Suite.

Ocean Suite

OS stands for "Ocean Suite" and category SS is "Spa Suite", recently changed to Junior Suite. These cabins have: twin beds that convert to king, sitting area with armchair and coffee table, sofa, dressing area with vanity, large balcony, wall safe, 2 big closets, mini-bar, refrigerator, private whirlpool bath with tub and shower, television and phone, balcony lounge chair, patio chair and table, pillow menu, bathrobes, hairdryer.

2-Bedroom Mozart Suite (largest stateroom on a riverboat)

World's largest accommodation found on a riverboat is Riverside Mozart 's French Balcony Suite. The vessel has two such accommodations, each sized 885 ft2 / 82 m2. Must be noted, that the stateroom is combined with an adjacent French Balcony cabin.

Penthouse Suite

Penthouse Suites have a twin beds configuration (beds can convert to queen). The other features are a large balcony, dressing area with vanity, sitting area with armchair and coffee table, wall safe, mini bar, private bath with whirlpool tub and shower, television and phone, refrigerator, bathrobes and hairdryer. Some cabins are without whirlpool tub, sofa or coffee table.

Balcony staterooms

Most balcony cruise ship cabins feature floor-ceiling sliding glass doors leading to a private step-out veranda. The balcony also is furnished with a table and pair of chairs/loungers. Standard balconies are separated by dividers. As sizes, balcony cabins on cruise ships vary, with those on Princess and NCl ships being among the smallest compared to other big-ship lines. In our cruise deck plans, we also list room sizes and the size of the balcony. Balcony – Apart from the balcony they can offer You twin beds that can be converted to King-size bed. Balconies also provide sitting area with chair and coffee table and private bath with shower, as well as closet/wardrobe, electronic safe box, mini bar, television and phone, sofa, bathrobes, hairdryer. Most verandas are between 30-60 ft2 ( approx 3-6 m2). Below are shown the layouts of the Anthem ship's Deluxe and Accessible balcony cabins.

Premium Balcony

Premium Balcony cabins also have twin beds that convert to King-size, their wraparound balcony enfolds the stateroom. Balcony's windows are often floor-ceiling and wall-to-wall.

Cove Balcony Staterooms

Cove balconies, unlike Balconies, have two patio chairs and a table. The rest of the stuff is identical. First of all-balcony, and again twin beds that convert to king, sofa, private bath with shower, safe, closet, mini bar, television and phone, sitting area with chair and coffee table, bathrobes and hairdryer.

Cove Balcony rooms are CCL-Carnival's specialty, available on some of the "Fun Ships", and are interesting because they are located on lower decks (thus closer to waterline).

Oceanview staterooms

Oceanview cabins: as sizes are similar to Interior staterooms on cruise ships, but each of them has a Porthole or normal window (both types do not open). Their window sizes also vary by line and ship. On some ocean ships and some luxury river ships, such staterooms feature floor-ceiling windows. Oceanview rooms' window sizes are usually 4x3 ft (1,2x0,9 m). As furniture, Oceanview cruise cabins have twin beds that convert to King-size, sofa, TV and phone, sitting area, safe, mini bar, private bath with shower, and also a washroom with sink and a junior tub, bathrobes and a hairdryer and of course a picture window. You should take a look at the cruise ship deck plans again as Cabins of 5A category have two porthole windows. Unlike deluxe, there is no washroom with sink and junior tub. Below are the layouts of Ovation of the Seas Oceanview cabins (categories standard, large, and superior).

Deluxe Oceanview

These cabins have no balconies but still can offer a marvelous view through their picture window as well as twin beds that convert to King-size. However, beds in Category 6N can't be joined (to King) and sleeps max 5 people.

Other amenities include sofabed, TV, phone, seating, safe, mini-bar, a bathroom with shower, a washroom (with junior tub), bathrobes, hairdryer.

Scenic Oceanview

The interior is the same - twin beds convertible to King-size, picture window, sofa, TV, phone, seating, safe, mini-bar, bath with shower, washroom with sink and junior tub, bathrobes, hairdryer.

The difference is that Scenic Oceanviews are larger.

Inside staterooms

Inside cruise ship cabins' best feature is their price - you book them with the line's cheapest rates available. These cruise accommodations don't offer window views. Still, on some of the newest cruise ships of Royal Caribbean and Disney, there are categories Interior staterooms with a "virtual window", which is a large LED screen displaying outside cam views. The screen doesn't have TV functions.

On some Carnival ships, there are Inside cabins with a "French Balcony" (with opening glass doors). Also, some "interior staterooms" are actually Oceanview (with a non-opening window), but since their views are obstructed, they are booked as Interior. On Royal Caribbean ships, some Inside cabins have a window looking out to the ship's interior promenade (street)

Inside cruise cabins are fitted with twin beds (convertible to King or Queen), private bathroom (shower), sitting area. Next are shown the layouts of Interior rooms on Harmony OTS .

Small Interior Stateroom (as the name implies) is the least spacious standard cabin category on cruise ships. These cabins have two beds – (upper and lower), private bath (WC/shower), a small sitting area.

Single cabins (Studios)

Single occupancy staterooms could be either Inside or Balcony. Some river cruise lines even offer single suites (booking with single occupancy rates). The most famous liner having plenty of single cabins (designed specifically for solo travelers) is Norwegian Epic .

This huge vessel has a total of 128 "Studios".

Next are shown layouts of Quantum OTS single-occupancy cabins (balcony and interior).

Connecting cabins (for large families)

The next layout shows RCI's "Family Connected Junior Suite" plan ( Quantum OTS ). Ship's main cabin grades (Balcony, Oceanview, Inside) are all combined here into a 10-person "Family Suite". The layout also shows the exact positioning of furniture, 3 baths (1 with hot tub), large seating area, 2 double-sofabeds, 2 connecting balconies.

How to choose cabins on cruise ships?

If you are planning a cruise, booking a cabin is certainly as important as picking up the cruise line (brand) or the boat. Before you take that decision, consider some issues related to your own personality and the other people traveling with you.

• The first important thing you have to be honest with your conscious is whether you can get seasick .
• Secondly, what type of person you are and what exactly do you intend to do onboard? Are you a party type or you just would like to spend several calm days at sea, away from the office jungle on land. Would you enjoy the pool with its all opportunities for contacts or you would rather have a rest lying at a balcony?
• No matter the stateroom type, it could still be noisy or make you seasick. The more central and lower position your cabin has, the more stable it is.
• In case you and the rest of the family members / friends are thin or you just don't intend to spend too much time in the cabin, you can pick a small one. Usually, staterooms are able to house no more than 4 people. Two passengers pay full fares and the other receive discounted rates.
• If you need stateroom for 4+ passengers, connecting cabins are the best option, and it will cost you less than a suite. Bathtub-fitted cabins are not so many per vessel. All cruise deck plans show such information (bathtub, sofabed, double bed, bunk beds, etc).

Noise issues - which cabins on the ship to avoid?

If you are a party type and louder sounds are not bothering, everything would be OK. If you organize a family voyage, however, you should look for a cabin away from the noisiest areas in the cruise ship deck plans. The first thing to look for in the cruise ship plan is the engine room location. Along with the noises, there are also vibrations.

Staterooms under discos, sport playgrounds, gym centers are usually very noisy. Cabins under Lido Deck (aka Pool Deck) are also among those to avoid. The buffet restaurant on this deck generates noises from moving tables and chairs and tableware. Staircases are also very noisy.

Take a good look at the cruise ship deck plan - room location is crucial!

Cabin's deck location is of great importance. Lower and more central-positioned accommodations are more stable. However, "cool cabins" are usually on higher decks, which means spending more money won't necessarily save you from seasickness.

Stern cabins (aft) have the largest balconies. Forward suites provide the same view as from the Navigation Bridge (wheelhouse). Some cabins are with limited / obstructed seaview due to lifeboats or other equipment.

Guarantee staterooms - take your chance!

If you are not set on selecting something particular and location is not a priority, you should not investigate the cruise ship deck plan so cautiously. The so-called ''guarantee'' cabin grades can turn to be among the best booking options. The "guarantee stateroom" booking allows you to pick up a category, not a cabin. In case the category is sold out you'll be proposed a higher category lodging. The first cabins to be booked are both the cheapest and the most expensive ones, be aware when you choose to test your luck. However, it could be a bit risky so it's more reasonable to get back to the cruise ship deck plans.

Shipboard facilities

If want to cruise with your children you'd better book a stateroom close to kids entertainment facilities. Cruise ship deck plans can once again help you to choose from the many opportunities created to meet passengers' requirements. Spa cabins are recently available for instance. Passengers get free access to the steam room and other connected facilities. These cabins are of course close to the SPA and you can move between in your bathrobe only.

NCL's The Haven and MSC's Yacht Club accommodations are located within an exclusive complex and offer ''ship within ship'' amenities and services. Passengers (who can afford them) enjoy private sundecks with swimming pools and jacuzzis and exclusive facilities like restaurants, bar lounges, gyms and spas.

Prefabricated cruise ship cabin

On May 24, 2016, a new "Lightweight Composite Cabin" design was unveiled in Southampton, England. The innovation was funded by the UK Government. Involved in the cabin's designing, engineering, manufacturing and furbishing were the companies Carnival UK ( Carnival Corporation 's subsidiary), Gurit Ltd (global composite materials supplier), Lloyd's Register Group Ltd (technical / business services, maritime classification company), PE Composites Ltd (composite designer / manufacturer), Trimline Ltd (marine interior refurbishment specialist) and the University of Southampton.

The new modular cabin prototype is half the weight of a typical cruise room. It also fully complies with the FTP Code's requirements (International Code for the Application of Fire Test Procedures). Reducing the ship's topdecks weight is an important issue for naval architects as the trend for building large-capacity cruise vessels continues. The new (prefabricated) module's halved weight opens up opportunities for adding more passenger rooms to newbuild ships, without adding to the ship's DWT weight.

Note: The following list of cruise lines cabins (per ship) includes only CruiseMapper's largest companies' fleets and only ocean-going vessels. For all other vessels (including small-fleet shipping companies , cruiseferries and riverboats ) use the search box at page top .

List of cruise ships with deck plans

Carnival cruise line.

• Carnival Breeze
• Carnival Celebration
• Carnival Conquest
• Carnival Dream
• Carnival Elation
• Carnival Firenze
• Carnival Freedom
• Carnival Glory
• Carnival Horizon
• Carnival Jubilee
• Carnival Legend
• Carnival Liberty
• Carnival Luminosa
• Carnival Magic
• Carnival Mardi Gras
• Carnival Miracle
• Carnival Panorama
• Carnival Paradise
• Carnival Pride
• Carnival Radiance
• Carnival Spirit
• Carnival Splendor
• Carnival Sunrise
• Carnival Sunshine
• Carnival Valor
• Carnival Venezia
• Carnival Vista

Princess Cruises

• Caribbean Princess
• Coral Princess
• Crown Princess
• Diamond Princess
• Discovery Princess
• Emerald Princess
• Enchanted Princess
• Grand Princess
• Island Princess
• Majestic Princess
• Regal Princess
• Royal Princess
• Ruby Princess
• Sapphire Princess
• Sky Princess
• Star Princess
• Sun Princess

Disney Cruise Line

• Disney Destiny
• Disney Dream
• Disney Fantasy
• Disney Magic
• Disney Treasure
• Disney Wish
• Disney Wonder
• Queen Elizabeth
• Queen Mary 2
• Queen Victoria

AIDA Cruises

Viking cruises.

• Viking Jupiter
• Viking Mars
• Viking Neptune
• Viking Octantis
• Viking Orion
• Viking Polaris
• Viking Saturn
• Viking Star
• Viking Vela
• Viking Venus
• Viking Vesta
• Zhao Shang Yi Dun-Viking Sun

Royal Caribbean

• Adventure Of The Seas
• Allure Of The Seas
• Anthem of the Seas
• Brilliance Of The Seas
• Enchantment Of The Seas
• Explorer Of The Seas
• Freedom Of The Seas
• Grandeur Of The Seas
• Harmony Of The Seas
• Icon Of The Seas
• Independence Of The Seas
• Jewel Of The Seas
• Liberty Of The Seas
• Mariner Of The Seas
• Navigator Of The Seas
• Oasis Of The Seas
• Odyssey Of The Seas
• Ovation Of The Seas
• Quantum Of The Seas
• Radiance Of The Seas
• Rhapsody Of The Seas
• Serenade Of The Seas
• Spectrum Of The Seas
• Star Of The Seas
• Symphony Of The Seas
• Utopia Of The Seas
• Vision Of The Seas
• Voyager Of The Seas
• Wonder Of The Seas

Holland America

• ms Koningsdam
• ms Nieuw Amsterdam
• ms Nieuw Statendam
• ms Oosterdam
• ms Rotterdam
• ms Volendam
• ms Westerdam
• ms Zuiderdam

P&O Cruises

• Pacific Adventure
• Pacific Encounter
• Pacific Explorer

Costa Cruises

• Costa Deliziosa
• Costa Diadema
• Costa Fascinosa
• Costa Favolosa
• Costa Fortuna
• Costa Pacifica
• Costa Serena
• Costa Smeralda
• Costa Toscana

Azamara Cruises

• Azamara Journey
• Azamara Onward
• Azamara Pursuit
• Azamara Quest

Regent Seven Seas Cruises

• Seven Seas Explorer
• Seven Seas Grandeur
• Seven Seas Mariner
• Seven Seas Navigator
• Seven Seas Splendor
• Seven Seas Voyager

Norwegian Cruise Line

• Norwegian Bliss
• Norwegian Breakaway
• Norwegian Dawn
• Norwegian Encore
• Norwegian Epic
• Norwegian Escape
• Norwegian Gem
• Norwegian Getaway
• Norwegian Jade
• Norwegian Jewel
• Norwegian Joy
• Norwegian Pearl
• Norwegian Prima
• Norwegian Sky
• Norwegian Spirit
• Norwegian Star
• Norwegian Sun
• Norwegian Viva
• Pride of America

Celebrity Cruises

• Celebrity Apex
• Celebrity Ascent
• Celebrity Beyond
• Celebrity Constellation
• Celebrity Eclipse
• Celebrity Edge
• Celebrity Equinox
• Celebrity Flora
• Celebrity Infinity
• Celebrity Millennium
• Celebrity Reflection
• Celebrity Silhouette
• Celebrity Solstice
• Celebrity Summit
• Celebrity Xcel
• Celebrity Xpedition
• Celebrity Xploration

Marella Cruises

• Marella Discovery
• Marella Discovery 2
• Marella Explorer
• Marella Explorer 2
• Marella Voyager

MSC Cruises

• MSC Armonia
• MSC Bellissima
• MSC Euribia
• MSC Fantasia
• MSC Grandiosa
• MSC Magnifica
• MSC Meraviglia
• MSC Orchestra
• MSC Preziosa
• MSC Seascape
• MSC Seashore
• MSC Seaside
• MSC Seaview
• MSC Sinfonia
• MSC Splendida
• MSC Virtuosa
• MSC World America
• MSC World Asia
• MSC World Europa

Oceania Cruises

• Oceania Allura
• Oceania Insignia
• Oceania Marina
• Oceania Nautica
• Oceania Regatta
• Oceania Riviera
• Oceania Sirena
• Oceania Vista

Silversea Cruises

• Silver Cloud
• Silver Dawn
• Silver Endeavour
• Silver Galapagos
• Silver Moon
• Silver Muse
• Silver Nova
• Silver Origin
• Silver Shadow
• Silver Spirit
• Silver Whisper
• Silver Wind

Seabourn Cruises

• Seabourn Encore
• Seabourn Odyssey
• Seabourn Ovation
• Seabourn Pursuit
• Seabourn Quest
• Seabourn Sojourn
• Seabourn Venture

Royal Princess ® Deck Plan

Find your stateroom Find

There are no passenger staterooms available on this deck.

There are no public areas available on this deck.

Accessible route maps (PDF)

*Deck plans are subject to change at any time. Photos, floor plan diagrams, and amenities represent typical arrangements and may vary by ship and stateroom. Certain staterooms may vary in size, decor and configuration. Square footage varies based on stateroom category and deck location. Stateroom views are considered unobstructed unless noted otherwise. Obstructions do not include certain nautical items like handrails, dividers or ship hardware. For balcony staterooms, the view is determined from the perspective of the balcony railing. Balconies may have either solid steel or toughened glass railings. Upper berth and bed ladder capacities are 250lbs. Staterooms that can accommodate rollaways have two lower berths, one upper berth and can accommodate a fourth berth as a rollaway bed upon request at time of reservation. There are a limited number of rollaway beds per ship, per voyage. Use of rollaway beds restricts cabin space. Contact Princess Cruises for more information.

(Wheelchair-accessible)

Harmony of the Seas Decks and Cabins

• Click here for ALL
• Promenade View Interior
• Family Interior
• Boardwalk and Park View
• Ultra Spacious Oceanview
• Spacious Balcony
• Boardwalk and Park Balcony
• Family Balcony
• Junior Suite
• Grand Suite - 1 Bedroom
• Grand Suite - 2 Bedroom
• Owners Suite
• Crown Loft Suite
• Aqua Theater Suite - 1 Bedroom
• Aqua Theater Suite - 2 Bedroom
• Star Loft Suite
• Royal Loft Suite
• Four-Bedroom Family Suite
• Ship info and tracking
• Cabins Check

Harmony of the Seas cruise ship weighs 227k tons and has 2745 staterooms for up to 6314 passengers served by 2394 crew . There are 17 passenger decks, 11 with cabins. You can expect a space ratio of 36 tons per passenger on this ship. On this page are the current deck plans for Harmony of the Seas showing deck plan layouts, public venues and all types of cabins including pictures and videos.

Harmony of the Seas

Last Drydock: Apr 2021

LIVE SHIP TRACKING

STATEROOM CABINS COMPLETE LIST BELOW

FOUR-BEDROOM FAMILY SUITE

Floor Diagram Presidential Suite

Sleeps up to: 14 1 Cabins Cabin: 1142 sqft (107 m 2 ) Balcony: 476 sqft (45 m 2 )

Click for    

More Info [+/-]

Deck locations, stateroom cabin features, stateroom cabin perks, royal loft suite.

Floor Diagram Royal Loft Suite

Sleeps up to: 6 1 Cabins Cabin: 1524 sqft (143 m 2 ) Balcony: 843 sqft (79 m 2 )

More diagrams of this cabin type

STAR LOFT SUITE

Floor Diagram Sky Loft Suite

Sleeps up to: 4 2 Cabins Cabin: 722 sqft (68 m 2 ) Balcony: 410 sqft (39 m 2 )

AQUA THEATER SUITE - 2 BEDROOM

Floor Diagram Two Bedroom Aqua Suite

Sleeps up to: 8 6 Cabins Cabin: 739 sqft (69 m 2 ) Balcony: 695 sqft (65 m 2 ) * Size may vary, see details below.

Important Size Information

AQUA THEATER SUITE - 1 BEDROOM

Floor Diagram One Bedroom Aqua Suite

Sleeps up to: 4 6 Cabins Cabin: 562 sqft (53 m 2 ) Balcony: 589 sqft (55 m 2 ) * Size may vary, see details below.

CROWN LOFT SUITE

Floor Diagram Crown Loft Suite

Sleeps up to: 4 29 Cabins Cabin: 545 sqft (51 m 2 ) Balcony: 114 sqft (11 m 2 )

 Accessible Info [+/-]

OWNERS SUITE

Floor Diagram Owners Suite

Sleeps up to: 3 10 Cabins Cabin: 556 sqft (52 m 2 ) Balcony: 243 sqft (23 m 2 )

GRAND SUITE - 2 BEDROOM

Floor Diagram Royal Family Suite

Sleeps up to: 8 4 Cabins Cabin: 580 sqft (55 m 2 ) Balcony: 238 sqft (22 m 2 ) * Size may vary, see details below.

GRAND SUITE - 1 BEDROOM

Floor Diagram Grand Suite

Sleeps up to: 3 42 Cabins Cabin: 371 sqft (35 m 2 ) Balcony: 105 sqft (10 m 2 )

JUNIOR SUITE

Floor Diagram Junior Suite

Sleeps up to: 4 86 Cabins Cabin: 287 sqft (27 m 2 ) Balcony: 80 sqft (8 m 2 )

FAMILY BALCONY

Floor Diagram Family Balcony

Sleeps up to: 6 7 Cabins Cabin: 271 sqft (25 m 2 ) Balcony: 82 sqft (8 m 2 )

BOARDWALK AND PARK BALCONY

Floor Diagram Boardwalk and Central Park Balcony

Sleeps up to: 4 477 Cabins Cabin: 182 sqft (17 m 2 ) Balcony: 52 sqft (5 m 2 )

SPACIOUS BALCONY

Floor Diagram Superior Balcony Stateroom

Sleeps up to: 4 1288 Cabins Cabin: 182 sqft (17 m 2 ) Balcony: 50 sqft (5 m 2 ) * Size may vary, see details below.

ULTRA SPACIOUS OCEANVIEW

Floor Diagram Family Oceanview

Sleeps up to: 6 8 Cabins Cabin: 271 sqft (25 m 2 )

BOARDWALK AND PARK VIEW

Floor Diagram Central Park View

Sleeps up to: 3 78 Cabins Cabin: 199 sqft (19 m 2 ) * Size may vary, see details below.

Floor Diagram Oceanview

Sleeps up to: 4 180 Cabins Cabin: 179 sqft (17 m 2 ) * Size may vary, see details below.

FAMILY INTERIOR

Floor Diagram Family Interior

Sleeps up to: 6 4 Cabins Cabin: 260 sqft (24 m 2 )

PROMENADE VIEW INTERIOR

Floor Diagram Atrium Promenade View

Sleeps up to: 4 18 Cabins Cabin: 194 sqft (18 m 2 )

Floor Diagram Interior

Sleeps up to: 4 498 Cabins Cabin: 172 sqft (16 m 2 ) * Size may vary, see details below.

Harmony of the Seas Deck Page Menu

Click deck pictures to go to individual cruise deck plan pages where you can see all the public areas, venues and stateroom cabins categories for each deck.

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Royal Caribbean

Adventure Of The Seas Overview   |  Deck Plans    |  Cabins

Brilliance Of The Seas  Overview   |  Deck Plans    |  Cabins

Freedom of the Seas Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

Grandeur of the Seas Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

Liberty of the Seas Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

Rhapsody of the Seas Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

Serenade of the Seas Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

Spectrum of the Seas Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

Utopia of the Seas Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

Explorer of the Seas Overview  |  Deck Plans   |   Cabins

Mariner of the Seas Overview  |  Deck Plans   |   Cabins

Navigator of the Seas Overview  |  Deck Plans   |   Cabins

Oasis of the Seas Overview  |  Deck Plans   |   Cabins

Odyssey of the Seas Overview  |  Deck Plans   |   Cabins

Quantum of the Seas Overview  |  Deck Plans   |   Cabins

Anthem of the Seas Overview  |  Deck Plans   |   Cabins

Enchantment of the Seas Overview  |  Deck Plans   |   Cabins

Harmony of the Seas Overview  |  Deck Plans   |   Cabins

Jewel of the Seas Overview  |  Deck Plans   |   Cabins

Ovation of the Seas Overview  |  Deck Plans   |   Cabins

Carnival Cruise

Carnival Breeze  Overview   |  Deck Plans    |  Cabins

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Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Bliss  Overview   |  Deck Plans    |  Cabins

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Pride of America Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

Norwegian Sun Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

Norwegian Jade Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

Norwegian Dawn Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

Norwegian Encore Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

Norwegian Epic Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

Norwegian Escape Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

Norwegian Gem Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

Norwegian Getaway Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

Norwegian Jewel Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

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Norwegian Pearl Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

Norwegian Prima Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

Norwegian Sky Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

Norwegian Spirit Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

Norwegian Star Overview  |  Deck Plans   |  Cabins

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Celebrity Eclipse Deck Plans

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Eclipse® Deck Plans

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Applicable to sailings beginning on May 20, 2023

Moonlight Sonata Restaurant

The magnificent and luxurious main dining room of Celebrity Eclipse®. With a two-story glass wine tower and dazzling chandeliers, this quintessential dining area has a decidedly Hollywood aura. Serving savory World & Continental cuisine, complete with Celebrity's famed European-style service.

Passport Bar

Escape to the comforting environment of the decidedly casual Passport Bar. Inspired by the relaxed living space of large, oceangoing yachts, the Passport bar is an ideal place to take a break, plan your next excursion, or share stories with others.

Eclipse Theatre

The grand Eclipse Theater is the premier live performance venue aboard Celebrity Eclipse®. While accommodating a generous audience, it retains a comfortable, intimate atmosphere, bringing you production shows, beautiful musical arrangements, and sidesplitting comedy.

Globally inspired and cutting-edge dining, exclusively reserved for guests of The Retreat®.

The Grand Foyer

Our stunning foyer greets you with a spectacular onyx staircase, marble floors and the first panoramic ocean-view glass elevators at sea.

Connect to the world in ways you never imagined and embark on an excursion perfectly tailored to your interests. Whether you're looking for a private, customizable experience, a carefully curated guided tour with a small group, or an unforgettable trip to iconic local landmarks, we have the right option to discover any destination, granting in-depth knowledge, expertise, and a truly extraordinary experience.

Cellar Masters

Inspired by the vineyards of Napa Valley, Cellar Masters brings to life the experience of a global wine tour while you learn about and taste a large variety of wines from around the world. A welcoming and unique on board environment, you'll discover new wines, receive recommendations and enrich your knowledge of the world of wine.

Dance the night away in a vibrant nightclub designed for those ready to kick back and get down. Quasar is a modern nightclub like no other you will experience on the open seas. With a retro touch, it will feel like the perfect spot for adults of all ages, luring you in with its electrifying pulse.

Feeling lucky? Combining the ambience of Monte Carlo and the energy of Las Vegas, Fortunes Casino is a perfect spot to participate in a game of chance or comfortably view all of the action at our ticket in/ticket out slot machines and table games.

Martini Bar

On the totally cool, ice-topped bar, our talented bartenders put on a high-energy show preparing an intriguing menu of classic and contemporary martinis. Sit back in the contemporary plush high-back chairs while listening to up-tempo tunes and enjoy a collection of classic and rare vodkas and a portfolio of fine caviars.

An intriguing alcove off The Martini Bar, Crush is a cool, classy setting featuring an ice-filled table center. Chat the night away with an intimate group or a small party while experiencing exquisite Caviar and Vodka pairings.

The Theatre is the premier live performance venue aboard Celebrity Eclipse®. While accommodating a generous audience, it retains a comfortable, intimate atmosphere, bringing you production shows, beautiful musical arrangements, and sidesplitting comedy.

Celebrity Central

For lively, diverse entertainment, the versatile Celebrity Central is the perfect destination. Catch a late night comedy show, an engaging presentation from one of our Beyond the Podium Speakers, or a great movie in a comfortable, casual atmosphere.

Shops on the Boulevard

Beautiful walkways lead you from sophisticated boutiques to fine jewelry stores that hold stylish clothing, precious gems, cosmetics, fragrances and more. Window shop, attend a fashion show or select gifts for friends and family. Then, indulge yourself as you encounter the ideal memento of your truly extraordinary cruise experience.

Photo Gallery

With our quick service, your favorite photos and portraits can be viewed in the Photo Gallery the following day. Don’t miss out on our photo package cruise deals so you’ll always have some of your happiest times to experience again and again.

As an AquaClass® guest, you can enjoy Blu, your own exclusive restaurant for breakfast and dinner. If the concept of "spa restaurant" causes you or your significant other to think you'll never see a steak or a rich dessert on the menu, that is definitely not the case. The cuisine at Blu is simply an imaginative way of preparing popular dishes without fussiness or pretense. Tender steak is served with a flavorful truffle vinaigrette instead of a heavy béarnaise. We call it "clean cuisine."

Impeccable service, classic design, world-class cuisine and comfortable sophistication are celebrated to the utmost in Murano. Experience tableside lobster presentation, an expansive selection of artisanal cheeses from around the world, or the extensive American and French wine list. Charming and timeless, Murano transports you, through palate and décor, to a modern and sophisticated level of dining.

Tuscan Grille

An outgoing waitstaff ensures tableside service that's personal as well as professional. And the food? Take the traditional style and artisanal flair of Italy, add contemporary influences, and serve the cuisine in abundance. It's all part of the expansive character of Tuscan Grille.

Le Petit Chef at Qsine

The world-renown artists of Skullmapping have reached a true pinnacle of their custom 3D table animation art form. This dining experience is beautifully choreographed with an elegant menu created by our Michelin Star Chef.

Sushi on Five

Try our modern luxury take on traditional Japanese fare. Take the opportunity to try our premium, super-premium, and specialty sakes—selected by our sake sommelier. Ask for fresh wasabi, if you dare. It's rare to find the real thing.

Café al Bacio and Gelateria

The warm atmosphere, comfortable furniture and the sweet scent of the Gelateria's freshly baked waffle cones create an instant emotional connection. Café al Bacio is a great place to relax, any time of day. Many guests like to stop by in the evening for one of the specialty dessert cocktails, and chat about a great meal that they had or a wonderful show they just enjoyed. There's always something to talk about at Café al Bacio.

Ensemble Lounge

An elegant gateway to our restaurants, Ensemble Lounge is the ideal setting for an aperitif en route to an extraordinary specialty dining experience, or a digestif afterward. Live entertainment from world-class musicians and a "dressed for dinner" crowd make this elegant space an integral prequel or sequel to dining.

Michael's Club

Exclusive lounge for guests of The Retreat. Enjoy complimentary beverages, gourmet bites, and a stylish place to unwind in style, along with the services of a dedicated concierge.

Art Gallery

Refined culture at sea is what you will experience in our inspiring and thought-provoking Art Gallery on board. Stop in on your way to dinner and it just might spark up an enriching table conversation; swing by after dinner and have a touch of sophistication for dessert. You may even find yourself buying an irresistible one-of-a-kind souvenir to bring back from your trip.

The grand Eclipse Theatre is the premier venue for live performances aboard Celebrity Eclipse®. While accommodating a generous audience, it retains a comfortable, intimate atmosphere, bringing you production shows, beautiful musical arrangements, and sidesplitting comedy.

World Class Bar

Welcome to our “fine drinking” experience, where the ritual of making cocktails is just as exciting as drinking them. Using the freshest ingredients and the finest spirits, our expert mixologists aim to satisfy the palates of both curious newcomers and connoisseurs alike.

Galleria Boutique

An array of boutiques on board offers everything you love to shop for on land.

Travel meets conservation at the Team Earth venue on Celebrity Eclipse®, where guests can raise their own eco-awareness while also learning how Celebrity's ships operate, and how their advanced systems help conserve the environment.

The Library

Escape into a good book or browse through some of your favorite magazines in our spacious and peaceful library; two floors of quiet contemplation and vast knowledge are at your fingertips.

Your destination for health, beauty and extraordinary relaxation, The Spa soothes both body and mind. Facilities include a Solarium, Persian Garden, private treatment rooms, Relaxation Room, and Fitness Center.

The Spa Café features an eclectic blend of offerings that are both flavorful and good for you.

The Fitness Center

In our fitness center you can meet with a personal trainer, take a fitness class, try our resistance swimming pool or challenge yourself on our state-of-the-art exercise equipment.

Persian Garden

Accompanied by the calming strains of new age music, enjoy the warmth of a relaxing steam or treat your skin to the solitude found in a private sauna. Complimentary for AquaClass® guests.

Find true poolside serenity at the Solarium. Featuring a gorgeous pool, sparkling waterfalls, thickly padded lounge chairs, and an adults-only policy, tranquility is always just a few steps away.

Sip on refreshing cocktails as you unwind poolside, losing yourself in the live music and gentle sea breezes.

Have fun in the water playing pool volleyball with ship officers, take part in interactive pool games, enjoy live music, and much more.

Chill out with a flurry of fresh frozen cocktails, located poolside to help you keep your cool. Hand-made, frozen cocktails blended with the freshest ingredients. Several of the cocktails are also available in non-alcoholic versions.

Sky Observation Lounge

A quiet refuge by day for gazing over the sea with a cocktail at hand. At night, the space comes to life with live music and dancing.

Sky Conference Center

Host your meetings in serenity and style in our state-of-the-art facility, with the ability to accommodate up to 200 guests. This modern and functional conference center affords you all of the amenities of the office alongside gorgeous views of blue skies and calming sea.

The perfect place to grab a quick bite, like burgers and other specialties grilled to order, while relaxing out on the Pool Deck.

Oceanview Café and Bar

This café's décor and offerings reflect that of an international marketplace. With a menu influenced by multiple cultures, the cuisine takes diners on a voyage around the world. Stations available in the marketplace include: made-to-order pasta, stir-fry, pizza and sushi, a full salad bar, and a variety of appetizer entrées and desserts. Open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night.

Enjoy delicious drinks while you relax in the sun.

Younger cruisers can cut loose and kick back the way they want in our hip VIP area geared specifically for teens. From teen-oriented explorations to the dance club and coffee lounge designed with them in mind, X Club is sure to be a hit with all of our teenage guests.

Fun Factory

Welcome to the first and only fully customizable Camp at Sea program. Our schedule of activities changes on every sailing based on the interests of our junior cruisers.

ShipMates offers plenty of games to play and activities to take part in specifically for children age 3-5.

Hot Glass Class

Don't just appreciate art, experience it. Witness the incredible, gorgeous art of glassblowing with intimate live demonstrations. Watch and learn from professional glassblowers in this one-of-a-kind exhibition on Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Equinox, and Celebrity Eclipse.

Capture your most precious memories on-board Celebrity with an exclusive session in our Private Studio. Portraits are professionally shot in a private setting and delivered in an artistic format.

The Lawn Club

A freshly manicured lawn on the highest deck. Enjoy casual outdoor activities in a decidedly Country Club atmosphere, and let the grass between your toes take you places no cruise has gone before.

Spectacular views and a casual atmosphere make this a relaxing ritual every evening. Watch the sun set on the water accompanied by pop and folk tunes from a live guitarist.

Camp at Sea

Solstice Deck

When you arrive at the highest point on the ship, you won't be disappointed. Whether you're looking for the ideal spot to do some early morning yoga, stretch out on a canopied lounge bed, or for the best view of the beautiful starry sky to cap off another magical evening aboard, The Solstice Deck is where your search ends and the relaxation begins.

Deck Plans for Sailings Beginning on May 20, 2023

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Disney Wish Staterooms

Designed with families in mind, disney cruise line staterooms aboard the disney wish are among the foremost in the industry. each stateroom is equipped with innovations that ensure the ultimate in comfort and relaxation for guests of all ages. from an imaginative inside retreat to an abundantly appointed suite, all of our world-class accommodations feature artwork and subtle decorative touches that celebrate iconic animated films and characters, letting you and your loved ones stay connected to the magic of disney storytelling while traveling the high seas in high style., selecting your stateroom, wheelchair-accessible & communication staterooms.

I've stayed in 3 types of rooms on cruises, and the cheapest was never worth it. Here's what to book instead.

• I'm a frequent cruise traveler who's stayed in a variety of onboard accommodations.
• The least expensive rooms have no view and are usually cramped, especially if shared by a family.
• Splurging on a higher-category cabin on my last cruise was the best decision I made.

Automatically booking the cheapest room on a cruise ship without doing proper research first can ruin a trip. 

As someone who's been going on cruises for over 10 years, I've learned that the price tag for these vacations can vary based on a number of factors — from cruise line to trip duration to room category.

Staying in the most standard-level cabin seems like an obvious way to keep costs down. But after trying out three different room categories, both with and without my kids, I've found that a ship's least expensive option is almost never worth it.

Based on my experience in three different cruise-room categories, here are the ones I recommend skipping and the ones I recommend splurging on.

Interior staterooms are limited in space and privacy

The standard (and least expensive) room on any cruise ship is typically called an inside or interior stateroom.

These cabins often sleep three to four people and are located in the middle of the ship, with no exterior view of the vessel's surroundings. 

I've stayed in interior staterooms on a Carnival Cruise Line ship and a Disney Cruise Line ship . Aside from different decor styles and a few small touches, this room category is fairly standard across the board. 

When I'm on a cruise, I like to wake up and open my curtains to look at the ocean or the port where the ship is docked , which isn't an option in these inward-looking cabins.

Apart from having no view, interior staterooms are very small. The exact square footage varies but, for reference, the Disn ey Fantasy cruise ship's interior stateroom is 169 square feet and a Royal Caribbean ship's version is around the same size at 164 square feet .

To put those numbers into perspective, standard hotel rooms in the US are, on average, around 330 square feet , almost double the size of the entry-level cruise accommodation.

I want to be able to maneuver around without tripping over luggage, accent furniture, or my own family members. And because of the lack of space in interior staterooms, that's a challenge.

This category is definitely the most economical option, making it ideal for travelers on a budget .

However, if families, especially ones traveling with teens, can swing an alternative, they should steer clear of cramming into an interior stateroom and opt for a category with more space and privacy.

Ocean-view staterooms provide slightly more space but can still feel cramped

The next category up is usually an ocean-view stateroom.

With an outward-facing window, ocean-view staterooms are a solid mid-tier option for travelers who want more space than an interior stateroom offers but don't want to spend extra for a balcony room.

Their exact size and capacity range from ship to ship, but Disney Fantasy's ocean-view staterooms are 204 square feet , and Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas' version is 179 square feet .

Many of these accommodations fit up to five people. If you have more than four family members (yes, infants who are six months and older are part of the headcount), making the jump from an interior stateroom to an ocean-view stateroom is absolutely worth the extra money.

Some cruise lines sell ocean-view rooms as the entry-level category for families of five or more travelers , simply because many interior staterooms can only accommodate a maximum of four guests.

My top pick is balcony staterooms, which offer privacy and plenty of space 

Balcony staterooms, also known as veranda staterooms, are usually the largest accommodation option you can get without concierge service or extras.

I recommend this category to all travelers setting sail in the future for one reason: the private balcony.

You can open your curtains and enjoy the sights outside, similar to the experience of staying in an ocean-view stateroom. But in this room type, you can step out onto a balcony and take in the sounds and smells, too. 

The rooms' sizes and capacities depend on the ship, but balcony staterooms are usually larger than ocean-view staterooms and tend to sleep up to five guests . Even if the rooms' living spaces aren't substantially bigger, they have the added space of the veranda. 

Including the terrace, balcony staterooms on the Disney Fantasy are 246 square feet and are between 214 square feet to 279 square feet on Princess Cruises' fleet.

When my family stayed in a balcony stateroom on a seven-night cruise, we made great use of the outdoor space. On a shorter cruise, where the balcony itself might not get as much use, I would still book this category for my family.

The upgrade was completely worth the price increase, especially because we were traveling with two sets of grandparents .

To make the most of the balcony staterooms, we even turned our individual verandas into one large terrace by having our steward remove the partitions between rooms. 

This story was originally published on May 25, 2022, and most recently updated on February 5, 2024.

'The ship can move': Why you should watch next solar eclipses from a cruise ship

Cheers broke out on Holland America Line’s Koningsdam ship when the total solar eclipse began on Monday.

Off the coast of Mazatlan, Mexico, passengers were perched on loungers, reclining on beach towels and lining the railings of Deck 14 with cameras on tripods at the ready. When the sliver of fiery orange that remained of the sun disappeared, a black circle ringed by white light took its place. Passengers applauded the moment they'd been awaiting since the ship departed from San Diego on Friday.

The sunny, 72-degree weather – quintessential cruise weather – gave way to chilly wind and late morning’s best impression of sunset. The horizon line glowed orange in the dusky sky.

Cruise ships can help take guests to the path of totality for eclipses, allowing passengers to get a prime viewing spot and make a vacation of it.

What is a total solar eclipse?

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon completely blocks the face of the sun as it moves between the sun and Earth.

While the sun is about 400 times bigger than the moon, the moon is roughly 400 times closer to Earth. “In the past, the moon was much closer, and in the future, the moon will be much further away,” said Adam Burgasser, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, San Diego, and director of the Cool Star Lab, who served as an onboard expert during the cruise. “And so we're in a special time, which, of course, lasts for billions of years, where it's set up just right to block out the sun.”

Total solar eclipses take place about every 18 months on average, but the last one visible from the U.S. was in 2017 .

The phenomenon creates a multi-sensory experience, with a cold front moving in ahead of the eclipse. “You block the sun, and it gets cold,” said Burgasser. “It’s actually just that simple. And it's slow enough that the atmosphere can react.”

Plants and animals respond, too: Birds often begin to chirp, plants may close up, and nocturnal will come out. “It’s kind of an all-around-you experience where it's not just the fact that the sun has been blocked that’s so fascinating, but just the effect it has on the entire environment.” Those effects weren’t easily discernible on Koningsdam, though, which was about 150 miles from shore.

Nicole Chaput, a 57-year-old passenger from Calgary in Canada, said partial and total eclipses are “totally different.”

“I heard someone describe it as being partly pregnant,” she said. “You can’t do it. There’s no comparison.”

What makes a cruise a good place to see an eclipse?

Bad weather can wreck even the best-laid viewing plans. If a city in the path of totality has overcast skies, it can be tough to quickly move to an alternate site.

“If you're on a cruise ship and a little bit farther to the east or a little bit farther to the west along the path, there's clear sky, the ship can move,” said Dan Jarrell, who was on the cruise with his wife, Kay, and friends. The Washington, D.C.-area resident has seen solar eclipses with friends during two other sailings, including on Holland America’s Veendam in 1998.

“If you're on land and there's not a road there, you’d better have a tank,” Jarrell said.

That’s where a cruise ship comes in handy. “Having the ability to map out based on what the current weather is where you can catch the eclipse, and having a range over the course of the ocean where you could chase that a little bit is certainly helpful,” Burgasser added.

Capt. Ane Smit, Master aboard Holland America’s Zaandam for the viewing, said the ship can move at a maximum of 20 knots, so the crew needs to scout out the conditions with enough time to move as needed.

“If it's not good enough, we really need to start finding another spot because we are not the quickest vehicle, of course, to be driving around, but we have the luxury of being able to go in any direction without any restriction,” he said. “It’s a pretty wide highway that we have.”

The view of the horizon also allows passengers to “see that shadow coming in and leaving more so than you can in a topographical area,” said Burgasser. Being in the ocean away from city lights is also helpful for seeing stars and other parts of the sky usually only visible at night.

The cruise line also made the practicalities of watching an eclipse easier: eclipse glasses were distributed to guests’ staterooms and Burgasser guided guests through the event via the ship’s speaker system, before and after totality.

More eclipse cruises on the horizon

If you missed your chance to see it this time or want another go, Holland America has more eclipse-viewing opportunities on the books.

“Guests have reacted positively to our 2024 eclipse cruises and with the next full eclipse in 2026 we plan to have three sailings in Europe that will align with the path of the eclipse,” Paul Grigsby, the line's Vice President of Deployment & Itinerary Planning, said in an email. Details have not yet been released.

Other cruise lines offer similar opportunities as well. Princess Cruises' Emerald Princess was near Koningsdam on Monday.

Chaput, the Canadian passenger, said she’s been “chasing” total solar eclipses since seeing her first one in 1991. Monday’s eclipse marked her seventh viewing and second on a cruise ship.

“I think it’s just such an amazing natural phenomenon,” she said. “It’s seeing science in action.”

Contributing: Josh Rivera, USA TODAY

The reporter on this story received access to this sailing from Holland America Line. USA TODAY maintains editorial control of content.  

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at [email protected]

Crying Myself to Sleep on the Biggest Cruise Ship Ever

Seven agonizing nights aboard the Icon of the Seas

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Updated at 2:44 p.m. ET on April 6, 2024.

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MY FIRST GLIMPSE of Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, from the window of an approaching Miami cab, brings on a feeling of vertigo, nausea, amazement, and distress. I shut my eyes in defense, as my brain tells my optic nerve to try again.

The ship makes no sense, vertically or horizontally. It makes no sense on sea, or on land, or in outer space. It looks like a hodgepodge of domes and minarets, tubes and canopies, like Istanbul had it been designed by idiots. Vibrant, oversignifying colors are stacked upon other such colors, decks perched over still more decks; the only comfort is a row of lifeboats ringing its perimeter. There is no imposed order, no cogent thought, and, for those who do not harbor a totalitarian sense of gigantomania, no visual mercy. This is the biggest cruise ship ever built, and I have been tasked with witnessing its inaugural voyage.

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“Author embarks on their first cruise-ship voyage” has been a staple of American essay writing for almost three decades, beginning with David Foster Wallace’s “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again,” which was first published in 1996 under the title “Shipping Out.” Since then, many admirable writers have widened and diversified the genre. Usually the essayist commissioned to take to the sea is in their first or second flush of youth and is ready to sharpen their wit against the hull of the offending vessel. I am 51, old and tired, having seen much of the world as a former travel journalist, and mostly what I do in both life and prose is shrug while muttering to my imaginary dachshund, “This too shall pass.” But the Icon of the Seas will not countenance a shrug. The Icon of the Seas is the Linda Loman of cruise ships, exclaiming that attention must be paid. And here I am in late January with my one piece of luggage and useless gray winter jacket and passport, zipping through the Port of Miami en route to the gangway that will separate me from the bulk of North America for more than seven days, ready to pay it in full.

The aforementioned gangway opens up directly onto a thriving mall (I will soon learn it is imperiously called the “Royal Promenade”), presently filled with yapping passengers beneath a ceiling studded with balloons ready to drop. Crew members from every part of the global South, as well as a few Balkans, are shepherding us along while pressing flutes of champagne into our hands. By a humming Starbucks, I drink as many of these as I can and prepare to find my cabin. I show my blue Suite Sky SeaPass Card (more on this later, much more) to a smiling woman from the Philippines, and she tells me to go “aft.” Which is where, now? As someone who has rarely sailed on a vessel grander than the Staten Island Ferry, I am confused. It turns out that the aft is the stern of the ship, or, for those of us who don’t know what a stern or an aft are, its ass. The nose of the ship, responsible for separating the waves before it, is also called a bow, and is marked for passengers as the FWD , or forward. The part of the contemporary sailing vessel where the malls are clustered is called the midship. I trust that you have enjoyed this nautical lesson.

I ascend via elevator to my suite on Deck 11. This is where I encounter my first terrible surprise. My suite windows and balcony do not face the ocean. Instead, they look out onto another shopping mall. This mall is the one that’s called Central Park, perhaps in homage to the Olmsted-designed bit of greenery in the middle of my hometown. Although on land I would be delighted to own a suite with Central Park views, here I am deeply depressed. To sail on a ship and not wake up to a vast blue carpet of ocean? Unthinkable.

Allow me a brief preamble here. The story you are reading was commissioned at a moment when most staterooms on the Icon were sold out. In fact, so enthralled by the prospect of this voyage were hard-core mariners that the ship’s entire inventory of guest rooms (the Icon can accommodate up to 7,600 passengers, but its inaugural journey was reduced to 5,000 or so for a less crowded experience) was almost immediately sold out. Hence, this publication was faced with the shocking prospect of paying nearly $19,000 to procure for this solitary passenger an entire suite—not including drinking expenses—all for the privilege of bringing you this article. But the suite in question doesn’t even have a view of the ocean! I sit down hard on my soft bed. Nineteen thousand dollars for this .

The viewless suite does have its pluses. In addition to all the Malin+Goetz products in my dual bathrooms, I am granted use of a dedicated Suite Deck lounge; access to Coastal Kitchen, a superior restaurant for Suites passengers; complimentary VOOM SM Surf & Stream (“the fastest Internet at Sea”) “for one device per person for the whole cruise duration”; a pair of bathrobes (one of which comes prestained with what looks like a large expectoration by the greenest lizard on Earth); and use of the Grove Suite Sun, an area on Decks 18 and 19 with food and deck chairs reserved exclusively for Suite passengers. I also get reserved seating for a performance of The Wizard of Oz , an ice-skating tribute to the periodic table, and similar provocations. The very color of my Suite Sky SeaPass Card, an oceanic blue as opposed to the cloying royal purple of the standard non-Suite passenger, will soon provoke envy and admiration. But as high as my status may be, there are those on board who have much higher status still, and I will soon learn to bow before them.

In preparation for sailing, I have “priced in,” as they say on Wall Street, the possibility that I may come from a somewhat different monde than many of the other cruisers. Without falling into stereotypes or preconceptions, I prepare myself for a friendly outspokenness on the part of my fellow seafarers that may not comply with modern DEI standards. I believe in meeting people halfway, and so the day before flying down to Miami, I visited what remains of Little Italy to purchase a popular T-shirt that reads DADDY’S LITTLE MEATBALL across the breast in the colors of the Italian flag. My wife recommended that I bring one of my many T-shirts featuring Snoopy and the Peanuts gang, as all Americans love the beagle and his friends. But I naively thought that my meatball T-shirt would be more suitable for conversation-starting. “Oh, and who is your ‘daddy’?” some might ask upon seeing it. “And how long have you been his ‘little meatball’?” And so on.

I put on my meatball T-shirt and head for one of the dining rooms to get a late lunch. In the elevator, I stick out my chest for all to read the funny legend upon it, but soon I realize that despite its burnished tricolor letters, no one takes note. More to the point, no one takes note of me. Despite my attempts at bridge building, the very sight of me (small, ethnic, without a cap bearing the name of a football team) elicits no reaction from other passengers. Most often, they will small-talk over me as if I don’t exist. This brings to mind the travails of David Foster Wallace , who felt so ostracized by his fellow passengers that he retreated to his cabin for much of his voyage. And Wallace was raised primarily in the Midwest and was a much larger, more American-looking meatball than I am. If he couldn’t talk to these people, how will I? What if I leave this ship without making any friends at all, despite my T-shirt? I am a social creature, and the prospect of seven days alone and apart is saddening. Wallace’s stateroom, at least, had a view of the ocean, a kind of cheap eternity.

Worse awaits me in the dining room. This is a large, multichandeliered room where I attended my safety training (I was shown how to put on a flotation vest; it is a very simple procedure). But the maître d’ politely refuses me entry in an English that seems to verge on another language. “I’m sorry, this is only for pendejos ,” he seems to be saying. I push back politely and he repeats himself. Pendejos ? Piranhas? There’s some kind of P-word to which I am not attuned. Meanwhile elderly passengers stream right past, powered by their limbs, walkers, and electric wheelchairs. “It is only pendejo dining today, sir.” “But I have a suite!” I say, already starting to catch on to the ship’s class system. He examines my card again. “But you are not a pendejo ,” he confirms. I am wearing a DADDY’S LITTLE MEATBALL T-shirt, I want to say to him. I am the essence of pendejo .

Eventually, I give up and head to the plebeian buffet on Deck 15, which has an aquatic-styled name I have now forgotten. Before gaining entry to this endless cornucopia of reheated food, one passes a washing station of many sinks and soap dispensers, and perhaps the most intriguing character on the entire ship. He is Mr. Washy Washy—or, according to his name tag, Nielbert of the Philippines—and he is dressed as a taco (on other occasions, I’ll see him dressed as a burger). Mr. Washy Washy performs an eponymous song in spirited, indeed flamboyant English: “Washy, washy, wash your hands, WASHY WASHY!” The dangers of norovirus and COVID on a cruise ship this size (a giant fellow ship was stricken with the former right after my voyage) makes Mr. Washy Washy an essential member of the crew. The problem lies with the food at the end of Washy’s rainbow. The buffet is groaning with what sounds like sophisticated dishes—marinated octopus, boiled egg with anchovy, chorizo, lobster claws—but every animal tastes tragically the same, as if there was only one creature available at the market, a “cruisipus” bred specifically for Royal Caribbean dining. The “vegetables” are no better. I pick up a tomato slice and look right through it. It tastes like cellophane. I sit alone, apart from the couples and parents with gaggles of children, as “We Are Family” echoes across the buffet space.

I may have failed to mention that all this time, the Icon of the Seas has not left port. As the fiery mango of the subtropical setting sun makes Miami’s condo skyline even more apocalyptic, the ship shoves off beneath a perfunctory display of fireworks. After the sun sets, in the far, dark distance, another circus-lit cruise ship ruptures the waves before us. We glance at it with pity, because it is by definition a smaller ship than our own. I am on Deck 15, outside the buffet and overlooking a bunch of pools (the Icon has seven of them), drinking a frilly drink that I got from one of the bars (the Icon has 15 of them), still too shy to speak to anyone, despite Sister Sledge’s assertion that all on the ship are somehow related.

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The ship’s passage away from Ron DeSantis’s Florida provides no frisson, no sense of developing “sea legs,” as the ship is too large to register the presence of waves unless a mighty wind adds significant chop. It is time for me to register the presence of the 5,000 passengers around me, even if they refuse to register mine. My fellow travelers have prepared for this trip with personally decorated T-shirts celebrating the importance of this voyage. The simplest ones say ICON INAUGURAL ’24 on the back and the family name on the front. Others attest to an over-the-top love of cruise ships: WARNING! MAY START TALKING ABOUT CRUISING . Still others are artisanally designed and celebrate lifetimes spent married while cruising (on ships, of course). A couple possibly in their 90s are wearing shirts whose backs feature a drawing of a cruise liner, two flamingos with ostensibly male and female characteristics, and the legend “ HUSBAND AND WIFE Cruising Partners FOR LIFE WE MAY NOT HAVE IT All Together BUT TOGETHER WE HAVE IT ALL .” (The words not in all caps have been written in cursive.) A real journalist or a more intrepid conversationalist would have gone up to the couple and asked them to explain the longevity of their marriage vis-à-vis their love of cruising. But instead I head to my mall suite, take off my meatball T-shirt, and allow the first tears of the cruise to roll down my cheeks slowly enough that I briefly fall asleep amid the moisture and salt.

I WAKE UP with a hangover. Oh God. Right. I cannot believe all of that happened last night. A name floats into my cobwebbed, nauseated brain: “Ayn Rand.” Jesus Christ.

I breakfast alone at the Coastal Kitchen. The coffee tastes fine and the eggs came out of a bird. The ship rolls slightly this morning; I can feel it in my thighs and my schlong, the parts of me that are most receptive to danger.

I had a dangerous conversation last night. After the sun set and we were at least 50 miles from shore (most modern cruise ships sail at about 23 miles an hour), I lay in bed softly hiccupping, my arms stretched out exactly like Jesus on the cross, the sound of the distant waves missing from my mall-facing suite, replaced by the hum of air-conditioning and children shouting in Spanish through the vents of my two bathrooms. I decided this passivity was unacceptable. As an immigrant, I feel duty-bound to complete the tasks I am paid for, which means reaching out and trying to understand my fellow cruisers. So I put on a normal James Perse T-shirt and headed for one of the bars on the Royal Promenade—the Schooner Bar, it was called, if memory serves correctly.

I sat at the bar for a martini and two Negronis. An old man with thick, hairy forearms drank next to me, very silent and Hemingwaylike, while a dreadlocked piano player tinkled out a series of excellent Elton John covers. To my right, a young white couple—he in floral shorts, she in a light, summery miniskirt with a fearsome diamond ring, neither of them in football regalia—chatted with an elderly couple. Do it , I commanded myself. Open your mouth. Speak! Speak without being spoken to. Initiate. A sentence fragment caught my ear from the young woman, “Cherry Hill.” This is a suburb of Philadelphia in New Jersey, and I had once been there for a reading at a synagogue. “Excuse me,” I said gently to her. “Did you just mention Cherry Hill? It’s a lovely place.”

As it turned out, the couple now lived in Fort Lauderdale (the number of Floridians on the cruise surprised me, given that Southern Florida is itself a kind of cruise ship, albeit one slowly sinking), but soon they were talking with me exclusively—the man potbellied, with a chin like a hard-boiled egg; the woman as svelte as if she were one of the many Ukrainian members of the crew—the elderly couple next to them forgotten. This felt as groundbreaking as the first time I dared to address an American in his native tongue, as a child on a bus in Queens (“On my foot you are standing, Mister”).

“I don’t want to talk politics,” the man said. “But they’re going to eighty-six Biden and put Michelle in.”

I considered the contradictions of his opening conversational gambit, but decided to play along. “People like Michelle,” I said, testing the waters. The husband sneered, but the wife charitably put forward that the former first lady was “more personable” than Joe Biden. “They’re gonna eighty-six Biden,” the husband repeated. “He can’t put a sentence together.”

After I mentioned that I was a writer—though I presented myself as a writer of teleplays instead of novels and articles such as this one—the husband told me his favorite writer was Ayn Rand. “Ayn Rand, she came here with nothing,” the husband said. “I work with a lot of Cubans, so …” I wondered if I should mention what I usually do to ingratiate myself with Republicans or libertarians: the fact that my finances improved after pass-through corporations were taxed differently under Donald Trump. Instead, I ordered another drink and the couple did the same, and I told him that Rand and I were born in the same city, St. Petersburg/Leningrad, and that my family also came here with nothing. Now the bonding and drinking began in earnest, and several more rounds appeared. Until it all fell apart.

Read: Gary Shteyngart on watching Russian television for five days straight

My new friend, whom I will refer to as Ayn, called out to a buddy of his across the bar, and suddenly a young couple, both covered in tattoos, appeared next to us. “He fucking punked me,” Ayn’s frat-boy-like friend called out as he put his arm around Ayn, while his sizable partner sizzled up to Mrs. Rand. Both of them had a look I have never seen on land—their eyes projecting absence and enmity in equal measure. In the ’90s, I drank with Russian soldiers fresh from Chechnya and wandered the streets of wartime Zagreb, but I have never seen such undisguised hostility toward both me and perhaps the universe at large. I was briefly introduced to this psychopathic pair, but neither of them wanted to have anything to do with me, and the tattooed woman would not even reveal her Christian name to me (she pretended to have the same first name as Mrs. Rand). To impress his tattooed friends, Ayn made fun of the fact that as a television writer, I’d worked on the series Succession (which, it would turn out, practically nobody on the ship had watched), instead of the far more palatable, in his eyes, zombie drama of last year. And then my new friends drifted away from me into an angry private conversation—“He punked me!”—as I ordered another drink for myself, scared of the dead-eyed arrivals whose gaze never registered in the dim wattage of the Schooner Bar, whose terrifying voices and hollow laughs grated like unoiled gears against the crooning of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”

But today is a new day for me and my hangover. After breakfast, I explore the ship’s so-called neighborhoods . There’s the AquaDome, where one can find a food hall and an acrobatic sound-and-light aquatic show. Central Park has a premium steak house, a sushi joint, and a used Rolex that can be bought for $8,000 on land here proudly offered at $17,000. There’s the aforementioned Royal Promenade, where I had drunk with the Rands, and where a pair of dueling pianos duel well into the night. There’s Surfside, a kids’ neighborhood full of sugary garbage, which looks out onto the frothy trail that the behemoth leaves behind itself. Thrill Island refers to the collection of tubes that clutter the ass of the ship and offer passengers six waterslides and a surfing simulation. There’s the Hideaway, an adult zone that plays music from a vomit-slathered, Brit-filled Alicante nightclub circa 1996 and proves a big favorite with groups of young Latin American customers. And, most hurtfully, there’s the Suite Neighborhood.

I say hurtfully because as a Suite passenger I should be here, though my particular suite is far from the others. Whereas I am stuck amid the riffraff of Deck 11, this section is on the highborn Decks 16 and 17, and in passing, I peek into the spacious, tall-ceilinged staterooms from the hallway, dazzled by the glint of the waves and sun. For $75,000, one multifloor suite even comes with its own slide between floors, so that a family may enjoy this particular terror in private. There is a quiet splendor to the Suite Neighborhood. I see fewer stickers and signs and drawings than in my own neighborhood—for example, MIKE AND DIANA PROUDLY SERVED U.S. MARINE CORPS RETIRED . No one here needs to announce their branch of service or rank; they are simply Suites, and this is where they belong. Once again, despite my hard work and perseverance, I have been disallowed from the true American elite. Once again, I am “Not our class, dear.” I am reminded of watching The Love Boat on my grandmother’s Zenith, which either was given to her or we found in the trash (I get our many malfunctioning Zeniths confused) and whose tube got so hot, I would put little chunks of government cheese on a thin tissue atop it to give our welfare treat a pleasant, Reagan-era gooeyness. I could not understand English well enough then to catch the nuances of that seafaring program, but I knew that there were differences in the status of the passengers, and that sometimes those differences made them sad. Still, this ship, this plenty—every few steps, there are complimentary nachos or milkshakes or gyros on offer—was the fatty fuel of my childhood dreams. If only I had remained a child.

I walk around the outdoor decks looking for company. There is a middle-aged African American couple who always seem to be asleep in each other’s arms, probably exhausted from the late capitalism they regularly encounter on land. There is far more diversity on this ship than I expected. Many couples are a testament to Loving v. Virginia , and there is a large group of folks whose T-shirts read MELANIN AT SEA / IT’S THE MELANIN FOR ME . I smile when I see them, but then some young kids from the group makes Mr. Washy Washy do a cruel, caricatured “Burger Dance” (today he is in his burger getup), and I think, Well, so much for intersectionality .

At the infinity pool on Deck 17, I spot some elderly women who could be ethnic and from my part of the world, and so I jump in. I am proved correct! Many of them seem to be originally from Queens (“Corona was still great when it was all Italian”), though they are now spread across the tristate area. We bond over the way “Ron-kon-koma” sounds when announced in Penn Station.

“Everyone is here for a different reason,” one of them tells me. She and her ex-husband last sailed together four years ago to prove to themselves that their marriage was truly over. Her 15-year-old son lost his virginity to “an Irish young lady” while their ship was moored in Ravenna, Italy. The gaggle of old-timers competes to tell me their favorite cruising stories and tips. “A guy proposed in Central Park a couple of years ago”—many Royal Caribbean ships apparently have this ridiculous communal area—“and she ran away screaming!” “If you’re diamond-class, you get four drinks for free.” “A different kind of passenger sails out of Bayonne.” (This, perhaps, is racially coded.) “Sometimes, if you tip the bartender $5, your next drink will be free.”

“Everyone’s here for a different reason,” the woman whose marriage ended on a cruise tells me again. “Some people are here for bad reasons—the drinkers and the gamblers. Some people are here for medical reasons.” I have seen more than a few oxygen tanks and at least one woman clearly undergoing very serious chemo. Some T-shirts celebrate good news about a cancer diagnosis. This might be someone’s last cruise or week on Earth. For these women, who have spent months, if not years, at sea, cruising is a ritual as well as a life cycle: first love, last love, marriage, divorce, death.

Read: The last place on Earth any tourist should go

I have talked with these women for so long, tonight I promise myself that after a sad solitary dinner I will not try to seek out company at the bars in the mall or the adult-themed Hideaway. I have enough material to fulfill my duties to this publication. As I approach my orphaned suite, I run into the aggro young people who stole Mr. and Mrs. Rand away from me the night before. The tattooed apparitions pass me without a glance. She is singing something violent about “Stuttering Stanley” (a character in a popular horror movie, as I discover with my complimentary VOOM SM Surf & Stream Internet at Sea) and he’s loudly shouting about “all the money I’ve lost,” presumably at the casino in the bowels of the ship.

So these bent psychos out of a Cormac McCarthy novel are angrily inhabiting my deck. As I mewl myself to sleep, I envision a limited series for HBO or some other streamer, a kind of low-rent White Lotus , where several aggressive couples conspire to throw a shy intellectual interloper overboard. I type the scenario into my phone. As I fall asleep, I think of what the woman who recently divorced her husband and whose son became a man through the good offices of the Irish Republic told me while I was hoisting myself out of the infinity pool. “I’m here because I’m an explorer. I’m here because I’m trying something new.” What if I allowed myself to believe in her fantasy?

“YOU REALLY STARTED AT THE TOP,” they tell me. I’m at the Coastal Kitchen for my eggs and corned-beef hash, and the maître d’ has slotted me in between two couples. Fueled by coffee or perhaps intrigued by my relative youth, they strike up a conversation with me. As always, people are shocked that this is my first cruise. They contrast the Icon favorably with all the preceding liners in the Royal Caribbean fleet, usually commenting on the efficiency of the elevators that hurl us from deck to deck (as in many large corporate buildings, the elevators ask you to choose a floor and then direct you to one of many lifts). The couple to my right, from Palo Alto—he refers to his “porn mustache” and calls his wife “my cougar” because she is two years older—tell me they are “Pandemic Pinnacles.”

This is the day that my eyes will be opened. Pinnacles , it is explained to me over translucent cantaloupe, have sailed with Royal Caribbean for 700 ungodly nights. Pandemic Pinnacles took advantage of the two-for-one accrual rate of Pinnacle points during the pandemic, when sailing on a cruise ship was even more ill-advised, to catapult themselves into Pinnacle status.

Because of the importance of the inaugural voyage of the world’s largest cruise liner, more than 200 Pinnacles are on this ship, a startling number, it seems. Mrs. Palo Alto takes out a golden badge that I have seen affixed over many a breast, which reads CROWN AND ANCHOR SOCIETY along with her name. This is the coveted badge of the Pinnacle. “You should hear all the whining in Guest Services,” her husband tells me. Apparently, the Pinnacles who are not also Suites like us are all trying to use their status to get into Coastal Kitchen, our elite restaurant. Even a Pinnacle needs to be a Suite to access this level of corned-beef hash.

“We’re just baby Pinnacles,” Mrs. Palo Alto tells me, describing a kind of internal class struggle among the Pinnacle elite for ever higher status.

And now I understand what the maître d’ was saying to me on the first day of my cruise. He wasn’t saying “ pendejo .” He was saying “Pinnacle.” The dining room was for Pinnacles only, all those older people rolling in like the tide on their motorized scooters.

And now I understand something else: This whole thing is a cult. And like most cults, it can’t help but mirror the endless American fight for status. Like Keith Raniere’s NXIVM, where different-colored sashes were given out to connote rank among Raniere’s branded acolytes, this is an endless competition among Pinnacles, Suites, Diamond-Plusers, and facing-the-mall, no-balcony purple SeaPass Card peasants, not to mention the many distinctions within each category. The more you cruise, the higher your status. No wonder a section of the Royal Promenade is devoted to getting passengers to book their next cruise during the one they should be enjoying now. No wonder desperate Royal Caribbean offers (“FINAL HOURS”) crowded my email account weeks before I set sail. No wonder the ship’s jewelry store, the Royal Bling, is selling a $100,000 golden chalice that will entitle its owner to drink free on Royal Caribbean cruises for life. (One passenger was already gaming out whether her 28-year-old son was young enough to “just about earn out” on the chalice or if that ship had sailed.) No wonder this ship was sold out months before departure , and we had to pay $19,000 for a horrid suite away from the Suite Neighborhood. No wonder the most mythical hero of Royal Caribbean lore is someone named Super Mario, who has cruised so often, he now has his own working desk on many ships. This whole experience is part cult, part nautical pyramid scheme.

From the June 2014 issue: Ship of wonks

“The toilets are amazing,” the Palo Altos are telling me. “One flush and you’re done.” “They don’t understand how energy-efficient these ships are,” the husband of the other couple is telling me. “They got the LNG”—liquefied natural gas, which is supposed to make the Icon a boon to the environment (a concept widely disputed and sometimes ridiculed by environmentalists).

But I’m thinking along a different line of attack as I spear my last pallid slice of melon. For my streaming limited series, a Pinnacle would have to get killed by either an outright peasant or a Suite without an ocean view. I tell my breakfast companions my idea.

“Oh, for sure a Pinnacle would have to be killed,” Mr. Palo Alto, the Pandemic Pinnacle, says, touching his porn mustache thoughtfully as his wife nods.

“THAT’S RIGHT, IT’S your time, buddy!” Hubert, my fun-loving Panamanian cabin attendant, shouts as I step out of my suite in a robe. “Take it easy, buddy!”

I have come up with a new dressing strategy. Instead of trying to impress with my choice of T-shirts, I have decided to start wearing a robe, as one does at a resort property on land, with a proper spa and hammam. The response among my fellow cruisers has been ecstatic. “Look at you in the robe!” Mr. Rand cries out as we pass each other by the Thrill Island aqua park. “You’re living the cruise life! You know, you really drank me under the table that night.” I laugh as we part ways, but my soul cries out, Please spend more time with me, Mr. and Mrs. Rand; I so need the company .

In my white robe, I am a stately presence, a refugee from a better limited series, a one-man crossover episode. (Only Suites are granted these robes to begin with.) Today, I will try many of the activities these ships have on offer to provide their clientele with a sense of never-ceasing motion. Because I am already at Thrill Island, I decide to climb the staircase to what looks like a mast on an old-fashioned ship (terrified, because I am afraid of heights) to try a ride called “Storm Chasers,” which is part of the “Category 6” water park, named in honor of one of the storms that may someday do away with the Port of Miami entirely. Storm Chasers consists of falling from the “mast” down a long, twisting neon tube filled with water, like being the camera inside your own colonoscopy, as you hold on to the handles of a mat, hoping not to die. The tube then flops you down headfirst into a trough of water, a Royal Caribbean baptism. It both knocks my breath out and makes me sad.

In keeping with the aquatic theme, I attend a show at the AquaDome. To the sound of “Live and Let Die,” a man in a harness gyrates to and fro in the sultry air. I saw something very similar in the back rooms of the famed Berghain club in early-aughts Berlin. Soon another harnessed man is gyrating next to the first. Ja , I think to myself, I know how this ends. Now will come the fisting , natürlich . But the show soon devolves into the usual Marvel-film-grade nonsense, with too much light and sound signifying nichts . If any fisting is happening, it is probably in the Suite Neighborhood, inside a cabin marked with an upside-down pineapple, which I understand means a couple are ready to swing, and I will see none of it.

I go to the ice show, which is a kind of homage—if that’s possible—to the periodic table, done with the style and pomp and masterful precision that would please the likes of Kim Jong Un, if only he could afford Royal Caribbean talent. At one point, the dancers skate to the theme song of Succession . “See that!” I want to say to my fellow Suites—at “cultural” events, we have a special section reserved for us away from the commoners—“ Succession ! It’s even better than the zombie show! Open your minds!”

Finally, I visit a comedy revue in an enormous and too brightly lit version of an “intimate,” per Royal Caribbean literature, “Manhattan comedy club.” Many of the jokes are about the cruising life. “I’ve lived on ships for 20 years,” one of the middle-aged comedians says. “I can only see so many Filipino homosexuals dressed as a taco.” He pauses while the audience laughs. “I am so fired tonight,” he says. He segues into a Trump impression and then Biden falling asleep at the microphone, which gets the most laughs. “Anyone here from Fort Leonard Wood?” another comedian asks. Half the crowd seems to cheer. As I fall asleep that night, I realize another connection I have failed to make, and one that may explain some of the diversity on this vessel—many of its passengers have served in the military.

As a coddled passenger with a suite, I feel like I am starting to understand what it means to have a rank and be constantly reminded of it. There are many espresso makers , I think as I look across the expanse of my officer-grade quarters before closing my eyes, but this one is mine .

A shocking sight greets me beyond the pools of Deck 17 as I saunter over to the Coastal Kitchen for my morning intake of slightly sour Americanos. A tiny city beneath a series of perfectly pressed green mountains. Land! We have docked for a brief respite in Basseterre, the capital of St. Kitts and Nevis. I wolf down my egg scramble to be one of the first passengers off the ship. Once past the gangway, I barely refrain from kissing the ground. I rush into the sights and sounds of this scruffy island city, sampling incredible conch curry and buckets of non-Starbucks coffee. How wonderful it is to be where God intended humans to be: on land. After all, I am neither a fish nor a mall rat. This is my natural environment. Basseterre may not be Havana, but there are signs of human ingenuity and desire everywhere you look. The Black Table Grill Has been Relocated to Soho Village, Market Street, Directly Behind of, Gary’s Fruits and Flower Shop. Signed. THE PORK MAN reads a sign stuck to a wall. Now, that is how you write a sign. A real sign, not the come-ons for overpriced Rolexes that blink across the screens of the Royal Promenade.

“Hey, tie your shoestring!” a pair of laughing ladies shout to me across the street.

“Thank you!” I shout back. Shoestring! “Thank you very much.”

A man in Independence Square Park comes by and asks if I want to play with his monkey. I haven’t heard that pickup line since the Penn Station of the 1980s. But then he pulls a real monkey out of a bag. The monkey is wearing a diaper and looks insane. Wonderful , I think, just wonderful! There is so much life here. I email my editor asking if I can remain on St. Kitts and allow the Icon to sail off into the horizon without me. I have even priced a flight home at less than $300, and I have enough material from the first four days on the cruise to write the entire story. “It would be funny …” my editor replies. “Now get on the boat.”

As I slink back to the ship after my brief jailbreak, the locals stand under umbrellas to gaze at and photograph the boat that towers over their small capital city. The limousines of the prime minister and his lackeys are parked beside the gangway. St. Kitts, I’ve been told, is one of the few islands that would allow a ship of this size to dock.

“We hear about all the waterslides,” a sweet young server in one of the cafés told me. “We wish we could go on the ship, but we have to work.”

“I want to stay on your island,” I replied. “I love it here.”

But she didn’t understand how I could possibly mean that.

“WASHY, WASHY, so you don’t get stinky, stinky!” kids are singing outside the AquaDome, while their adult minders look on in disapproval, perhaps worried that Mr. Washy Washy is grooming them into a life of gayness. I heard a southern couple skip the buffet entirely out of fear of Mr. Washy Washy.

Meanwhile, I have found a new watering hole for myself, the Swim & Tonic, the biggest swim-up bar on any cruise ship in the world. Drinking next to full-size, nearly naked Americans takes away one’s own self-consciousness. The men have curvaceous mom bodies. The women are equally un-shy about their sprawling physiques.

Today I’ve befriended a bald man with many children who tells me that all of the little trinkets that Royal Caribbean has left us in our staterooms and suites are worth a fortune on eBay. “Eighty dollars for the water bottle, 60 for the lanyard,” the man says. “This is a cult.”

“Tell me about it,” I say. There is, however, a clientele for whom this cruise makes perfect sense. For a large middle-class family (he works in “supply chains”), seven days in a lower-tier cabin—which starts at $1,800 a person—allow the parents to drop off their children in Surfside, where I imagine many young Filipina crew members will take care of them, while the parents are free to get drunk at a swim-up bar and maybe even get intimate in their cabin. Cruise ships have become, for a certain kind of hardworking family, a form of subsidized child care.

There is another man I would like to befriend at the Swim & Tonic, a tall, bald fellow who is perpetually inebriated and who wears a necklace studded with little rubber duckies in sunglasses, which, I am told, is a sort of secret handshake for cruise aficionados. Tomorrow, I will spend more time with him, but first the ship docks at St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Charlotte Amalie, the capital, is more charming in name than in presence, but I still all but jump off the ship to score a juicy oxtail and plantains at the well-known Petite Pump Room, overlooking the harbor. From one of the highest points in the small city, the Icon of the Seas appears bigger than the surrounding hills.

I usually tan very evenly, but something about the discombobulation of life at sea makes me forget the regular application of sunscreen. As I walk down the streets of Charlotte Amalie in my fluorescent Icon of the Seas cap, an old Rastafarian stares me down. “Redneck,” he hisses.

“No,” I want to tell him, as I bring a hand up to my red neck, “that’s not who I am at all. On my island, Mannahatta, as Whitman would have it, I am an interesting person living within an engaging artistic milieu. I do not wish to use the Caribbean as a dumping ground for the cruise-ship industry. I love the work of Derek Walcott. You don’t understand. I am not a redneck. And if I am, they did this to me.” They meaning Royal Caribbean? Its passengers? The Rands?

“They did this to me!”

Back on the Icon, some older matrons are muttering about a run-in with passengers from the Celebrity cruise ship docked next to us, the Celebrity Apex. Although Celebrity Cruises is also owned by Royal Caribbean, I am made to understand that there is a deep fratricidal beef between passengers of the two lines. “We met a woman from the Apex,” one matron says, “and she says it was a small ship and there was nothing to do. Her face was as tight as a 19-year-old’s, she had so much surgery.” With those words, and beneath a cloudy sky, humidity shrouding our weathered faces and red necks, we set sail once again, hopefully in the direction of home.

THERE ARE BARELY 48 HOURS LEFT to the cruise, and the Icon of the Seas’ passengers are salty. They know how to work the elevators. They know the Washy Washy song by heart. They understand that the chicken gyro at “Feta Mediterranean,” in the AquaDome Market, is the least problematic form of chicken on the ship.

The passengers have shed their INAUGURAL CRUISE T-shirts and are now starting to evince political opinions. There are caps pledging to make America great again and T-shirts that celebrate words sometimes attributed to Patrick Henry: “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people; it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.” With their preponderance of FAMILY FLAG FAITH FRIENDS FIREARMS T-shirts, the tables by the crepe station sometimes resemble the Capitol Rotunda on January 6. The Real Anthony Fauci , by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appears to be a popular form of literature, especially among young men with very complicated versions of the American flag on their T-shirts. Other opinions blend the personal and the political. “Someone needs to kill Washy guy, right?” a well-dressed man in the elevator tells me, his gray eyes radiating nothing. “Just beat him to death. Am I right?” I overhear the male member of a young couple whisper, “There goes that freak” as I saunter by in my white spa robe, and I decide to retire it for the rest of the cruise.

I visit the Royal Bling to see up close the $100,000 golden chalice that entitles you to free drinks on Royal Caribbean forever. The pleasant Serbian saleslady explains that the chalice is actually gold-plated and covered in white zirconia instead of diamonds, as it would otherwise cost $1 million. “If you already have everything,” she explains, “this is one more thing you can get.”

I believe that anyone who works for Royal Caribbean should be entitled to immediate American citizenship. They already speak English better than most of the passengers and, per the Serbian lady’s sales pitch above, better understand what America is as well. Crew members like my Panamanian cabin attendant seem to work 24 hours a day. A waiter from New Delhi tells me that his contract is six months and three weeks long. After a cruise ends, he says, “in a few hours, we start again for the next cruise.” At the end of the half a year at sea, he is allowed a two-to-three-month stay at home with his family. As of 2019, the median income for crew members was somewhere in the vicinity of $20,000, according to a major business publication. Royal Caribbean would not share the current median salary for its crew members, but I am certain that it amounts to a fraction of the cost of a Royal Bling gold-plated, zirconia-studded chalice.

And because most of the Icon’s hyper-sanitized spaces are just a frittata away from being a Delta lounge, one forgets that there are actual sailors on this ship, charged with the herculean task of docking it in port. “Having driven 100,000-ton aircraft carriers throughout my career,” retired Admiral James G. Stavridis, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, writes to me, “I’m not sure I would even know where to begin with trying to control a sea monster like this one nearly three times the size.” (I first met Stavridis while touring Army bases in Germany more than a decade ago.)

Today, I decide to head to the hot tub near Swim & Tonic, where some of the ship’s drunkest reprobates seem to gather (the other tubs are filled with families and couples). The talk here, like everywhere else on the ship, concerns football, a sport about which I know nothing. It is apparent that four teams have recently competed in some kind of finals for the year, and that two of them will now face off in the championship. Often when people on the Icon speak, I will try to repeat the last thing they said with a laugh or a nod of disbelief. “Yes, 20-yard line! Ha!” “Oh my God, of course, scrimmage.”

Soon we are joined in the hot tub by the late-middle-age drunk guy with the duck necklace. He is wearing a bucket hat with the legend HAWKEYES , which, I soon gather, is yet another football team. “All right, who turned me in?” Duck Necklace says as he plops into the tub beside us. “I get a call in the morning,” he says. “It’s security. Can you come down to the dining room by 10 a.m.? You need to stay away from the members of this religious family.” Apparently, the gregarious Duck Necklace had photobombed the wrong people. There are several families who present as evangelical Christians or practicing Muslims on the ship. One man, evidently, was not happy that Duck Necklace had made contact with his relatives. “It’s because of religious stuff; he was offended. I put my arm around 20 people a day.”

Everyone laughs. “They asked me three times if I needed medication,” he says of the security people who apparently interrogated him in full view of others having breakfast.

Another hot-tub denizen suggests that he should have asked for fentanyl. After a few more drinks, Duck Necklace begins to muse about what it would be like to fall off the ship. “I’m 62 and I’m ready to go,” he says. “I just don’t want a shark to eat me. I’m a huge God guy. I’m a Bible guy. There’s some Mayan theory squaring science stuff with religion. There is so much more to life on Earth.” We all nod into our Red Stripes.

“I never get off the ship when we dock,” he says. He tells us he lost $6,000 in the casino the other day. Later, I look him up, and it appears that on land, he’s a financial adviser in a crisp gray suit, probably a pillar of his North Chicago community.

THE OCEAN IS TEEMING with fascinating life, but on the surface it has little to teach us. The waves come and go. The horizon remains ever far away.

I am constantly told by my fellow passengers that “everybody here has a story.” Yes, I want to reply, but everybody everywhere has a story. You, the reader of this essay, have a story, and yet you’re not inclined to jump on a cruise ship and, like Duck Necklace, tell your story to others at great pitch and volume. Maybe what they’re saying is that everybody on this ship wants to have a bigger, more coherent, more interesting story than the one they’ve been given. Maybe that’s why there’s so much signage on the doors around me attesting to marriages spent on the sea. Maybe that’s why the Royal Caribbean newsletter slipped under my door tells me that “this isn’t a vacation day spent—it’s bragging rights earned.” Maybe that’s why I’m so lonely.

Today is a big day for Icon passengers. Today the ship docks at Royal Caribbean’s own Bahamian island, the Perfect Day at CocoCay. (This appears to be the actual name of the island.) A comedian at the nightclub opined on what his perfect day at CocoCay would look like—receiving oral sex while learning that his ex-wife had been killed in a car crash (big laughter). But the reality of the island is far less humorous than that.

One of the ethnic tristate ladies in the infinity pool told me that she loved CocoCay because it had exactly the same things that could be found on the ship itself. This proves to be correct. It is like the Icon, but with sand. The same tired burgers, the same colorful tubes conveying children and water from Point A to B. The same swim-up bar at its Hideaway ($140 for admittance, no children allowed; Royal Caribbean must be printing money off its clientele). “There was almost a fight at The Wizard of Oz ,” I overhear an elderly woman tell her companion on a chaise lounge. Apparently one of the passengers began recording Royal Caribbean’s intellectual property and “three guys came after him.”

I walk down a pathway to the center of the island, where a sign reads DO NOT ENTER: YOU HAVE REACHED THE BOUNDARY OF ADVENTURE . I hear an animal scampering in the bushes. A Royal Caribbean worker in an enormous golf cart soon chases me down and takes me back to the Hideaway, where I run into Mrs. Rand in a bikini. She becomes livid telling me about an altercation she had the other day with a woman over a towel and a deck chair. We Suites have special towel privileges; we do not have to hand over our SeaPass Card to score a towel. But the Rands are not Suites. “People are so entitled here,” Mrs. Rand says. “It’s like the airport with all its classes.” “You see,” I want to say, “this is where your husband’s love of Ayn Rand runs into the cruelties and arbitrary indignities of unbridled capitalism.” Instead we make plans to meet for a final drink in the Schooner Bar tonight (the Rands will stand me up).

Back on the ship, I try to do laps, but the pool (the largest on any cruise ship, naturally) is fully trashed with the detritus of American life: candy wrappers, a slowly dissolving tortilla chip, napkins. I take an extra-long shower in my suite, then walk around the perimeter of the ship on a kind of exercise track, past all the alluring lifeboats in their yellow-and-white livery. Maybe there is a dystopian angle to the HBO series that I will surely end up pitching, one with shades of WALL-E or Snowpiercer . In a collapsed world, a Royal Caribbean–like cruise liner sails from port to port, collecting new shipmates and supplies in exchange for the precious energy it has on board. (The actual Icon features a new technology that converts passengers’ poop into enough energy to power the waterslides . In the series, this shitty technology would be greatly expanded.) A very young woman (18? 19?), smart and lonely, who has only known life on the ship, walks along the same track as I do now, contemplating jumping off into the surf left by its wake. I picture reusing Duck Necklace’s words in the opening shot of the pilot. The girl is walking around the track, her eyes on the horizon; maybe she’s highborn—a Suite—and we hear the voice-over: “I’m 19 and I’m ready to go. I just don’t want a shark to eat me.”

Before the cruise is finished, I talk to Mr. Washy Washy, or Nielbert of the Philippines. He is a sweet, gentle man, and I thank him for the earworm of a song he has given me and for keeping us safe from the dreaded norovirus. “This is very important to me, getting people to wash their hands,” he tells me in his burger getup. He has dreams, as an artist and a performer, but they are limited in scope. One day he wants to dress up as a piece of bacon for the morning shift.

THE MAIDEN VOYAGE OF THE TITANIC (the Icon of the Seas is five times as large as that doomed vessel) at least offered its passengers an exciting ending to their cruise, but when I wake up on the eighth day, all I see are the gray ghosts that populate Miami’s condo skyline. Throughout my voyage, my writer friends wrote in to commiserate with me. Sloane Crosley, who once covered a three-day spa mini-cruise for Vogue , tells me she felt “so very alone … I found it very untethering.” Gideon Lewis-Kraus writes in an Instagram comment: “When Gary is done I think it’s time this genre was taken out back and shot.” And he is right. To badly paraphrase Adorno: After this, no more cruise stories. It is unfair to put a thinking person on a cruise ship. Writers typically have difficult childhoods, and it is cruel to remind them of the inherent loneliness that drove them to writing in the first place. It is also unseemly to write about the kind of people who go on cruises. Our country does not provide the education and upbringing that allow its citizens an interior life. For the creative class to point fingers at the large, breasty gentlemen adrift in tortilla-chip-laden pools of water is to gather a sour harvest of low-hanging fruit.

A day or two before I got off the ship, I decided to make use of my balcony, which I had avoided because I thought the view would only depress me further. What I found shocked me. My suite did not look out on Central Park after all. This entire time, I had been living in the ship’s Disneyland, Surfside, the neighborhood full of screaming toddlers consuming milkshakes and candy. And as I leaned out over my balcony, I beheld a slight vista of the sea and surf that I thought I had been missing. It had been there all along. The sea was frothy and infinite and blue-green beneath the span of a seagull’s wing. And though it had been trod hard by the world’s largest cruise ship, it remained.

This article appears in the May 2024 print edition with the headline “A Meatball at Sea.” When you buy a book using a link on this page, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic.

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