Tips from the professionals, cruise like a travel expert

A basic mistake made by cruise novices is Ignoring the sun when booking a cabin. If you've booked a cabin with a balcony, precisely because you want to enjoy sitting in the sunshine, you need to know where the sun will actually be!

If your direction of travel is North-South, one side of the ship gets morning sun, the other the afternoon sun. As an example, when crossing the North Atlantic in spring or autumn, the sun rise and sets on the south side of the ship, so if you want sun from early morning to late afternoon, book a cabin facing south, choosing the port (left) side going east to west and the starboard (right) side west to east. If you prefer shadows, book the opposite side. An agent should always be able to give you this information – if sun-side cabins are fully booked, try asking for a discount on a shady one – it can’t hurt to try!