If you are looking at taking a cruise you may be wondering what an interior cabin is and if you should book one. When cruise lines advertise cruise prices they almost always advertise the price for an interior cabin.
I’ve stayed in interior, often called inside, cabins on a number of occasions and usually recommend them to first timer cruisers on a budget.
What Are Interior Cabins on a Cruise?
An interior cabin is a cabin that is located on the inside of a cruise ship. Interior cabins don’t have windows or any outside space. Interior cabins are also called ‘inside’ cabins and they are usually the cheapest cabin grade available on a cruise.
The main reason why cruisers book inside cabins is because of the cheap price but some people also book them because they enjoy the darkness that is gained by not having any windows.
Do Inside Cabins Have Windows?
Inside cabins do not have any windows. They are located in the middle of the ship and usually have other cabins between them and the ocean, it, therefore, isn’t possible to have a window. Some solo cabins will have windows into the corridor but this is rare.
Some cruise ships on Royal Caribbean do have what is called a virtual balcony. This is basically a screen that shows what is outside of the ship. This updates in real-time.
Other than the screen these cabins are usually identical to other inside cabins but are quite a bit more expensive.
Where Are Interior Cabins Located?
Inside cabins are usually located lower down on the ship. Cruise lines like to build their ships with as many balcony cabins as possible as this is the most popular cabin grade.
Inside cabins are usually located in spaces where it isn’t possible to have a balcony or outside cabin. Older ships used to have include more ocean view cabins than balconies but modern ships contain primarily balcony cabins.
Inside cabins are often located on the lowest decks of the ship.
Are Inside Cabins on Cruise Ships Below Water?
All passenger inside cabins are above the water level and are usually located on the same deck as ocean view or balcony cabins.
When walking around a cruise ship, you’ll usually find inside cabins on one side of the corridor and balcony or ocean view cabins on the other side.
Inside cabins usually go from the front to the end of the cruise ship.
The majority of the crew on cruise ships have inside cabins which are located lower down in the ship. The crew typically have low down cabins close to other crew areas such as the crew mess.
Why do Guests Book Interior Cabins?
There are a number of reasons why guests like to book inside cabins.
Price
The first is that they are usually much cheaper than other grades of cabins booking an inside cabin compared to an ocean view, or a balcony can sometimes save you up to 40%. Personally, I would prefer to reinvest this into a drinks package or possibly even another cruise.
Darkness
Some people do enjoy the darkness that you get by booking an inside cabin as inside cabins don’t have any windows.
They are completely pitch black at night and also during the day. It is a bit strange waking up and not knowing if it is 3:00 AM or 3:00 PM but if you can get used to that and inside cabin is a great option.
If you are cruising somewhere where the sun doesn’t set or rarely sets an inside cabin can be a great option in order to help you sleep.
I recently took a cruise into the arctic circle in pursuit of the ‘midnight sun’, the sun doesn’t set in the north of Norway in summer, AT ALL! It was an incredible place to visit but very surreal.
Less Time Spent in Your Cabin
When you book an inside cabin, you have the same access to all of the facilities onboard the cruise ship.
One benefit of booking an inside cabin is that it makes you spend less time in your cabin. You have paid for everything else on the ship and if you do spend a lot of time in your cabin, you can miss out on things that are happening around the cruise ship.
An interior cabin just becomes a place where you just shower and you sleep. The better cabin grade you have the more time you’ll end up spending there.
What is in an Interior Cabin?
The Interior cabins are very clean and functional and have everything that you need.
Inside an inside cabin, you usually find at least two beds. You’ll also find a closet draws desk and sometimes a chair.
The things that you’ll find in an inside cabin or very similar to an ocean view or balcony cabin, most cruise ships will be designed with the same type of furnishings so you’ll find the same items in all of the staterooms.
You’ll usually find the same artwork, the same chairs, the same bedding, regardless of which cabin you book.
A standard interior cabin on a cruise contains the following:
- Beds
- Desk
- Chair/Sofa
- Closet/Wardrobe
- Bathroom (Shower, Toilet, and Sink)
- Minibar/Fridge
- Multiple drawers
- TV
- Phone
Some cruise lines do have solo inside cabins, but these are not as common as regular inside cabins. Not all cruise lines have solo cabins.
To learn more about cruising solo, check out this post of my personal recommendations for solo cruisers:
How Many Guests Fit in an Interior Cabin?
Many inside cabins hold up to four or possibly even five passengers. The standard set up of an interior cabin is either a double bed or twin bed.
Interior cabins will often have Pullman beds, which come down from the ceiling as shown in the video below.
Some interior cabins may also have sofa beds, but this is less common.
In the video below you’ll see that there is a door on the right hand side, this is to the next cabin and is locked unless requested to be opened by both cabins. If you are a large family consider booking two cabins with a door in-between that you can open.
I have shared an inside cabin with 3 other people before and it is okay. That said I wouldn’t recommend doing it for longer than a few days as you do end up getting in each other’s way. If you have children this is less of a problem.
Pullman beds can hold adults but they are not particularly comfortable if you are tall or like to roll around a lot when you sleep.
How do Inside Cabins Compare to Ocean View Cabins?
The square footage of an inside cabin is usually pretty similar to an ocean view or a balcony. Every inside cabin does have its own private bathroom. and they’re very well equipped despite their small size.
The below table compares inside and ocean view cabins from multiple cruise ships.
| Inside Cabin Size | Outside Cabin Size | Balcony Cabin Size | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Symphony of The Seas | 16m2 | 16m2 | 17m2 |
| MSC Fantasia | 13m2-16m2 | 17m2-20m2 | 14-18m2 |
| Caribbean Princess | 15m2-17m2 | 15m2-18m2 | 16m2 |
| P&O Aurora | 14m2 | 14m2 | 16m2 |
One of the perks of a balcony cabin is of course that you have extra private outside space but apart from that, the only real difference between an inside and an ocean view cabin is the window.
The windows in ocean view, cabins do not open and we have a full post on the differences between inside and ocean view cabins which you can check out below.
To Conclude:
Interior cabins are cabins located inside cruise ships that don’t have any windows. They are usually the cheapest cabin category to buy and almost all cruise ships have them.