Cruising for Newbies: How to Choose the Best Room on a Cruise Ship

You're going on a cruise. Life is good... until you arrive at your cabin and find your ocean view is blocked by a giant orange lifeboat. Or you discover your state room comes with a late-night pulsing disco beat. Don't let this be you.

When you plan a cruise, after you decide on your cabin category (inside, outside, balcony, suite), you can also choose your specific room from the deck plan -- just like when you book a flight and select from the seating chart.

A good cabin will be relatively noise free, won't feel much movement, and will have the views you paid for. A bad cabin is the shipboard equivalent to getting stuck in a middle seat. To avoid the latter, it pays to study deck plans (or ask your travel agent for advice) to make sure you get the best stateroom in your category. Here are some tips to help:

This may all sound a tad negative, but rest assured that when it comes to staterooms -- as in life -- the good outnumbers the bad.