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GLOSSARY |
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Glossary of Cruise Terminology that will help you enjoy your trip !
 A la Carte |
Dining by ordering items listed individually on a menu |
| Aboard |
Onboard or on the ship. Used when referring to being or doing something on the ship. |
| About |
To turn the ship around. |
| Abreast |
To be alongside something - usually another ship or a dock. |
| Add-on |
An additional charge to the cruise fare that usually refers to airfare, transfers or land tours. |
| Aft |
Back of the ship. |
| Air/sea package |
A package deal that includes the cruise price, airfare and transfers between the airport and the ship |
| All hands |
All the crew members working aboard the ship |
| Amidships |
The middle section of the ship |
| Ashore |
On land. The opposite of aboard |
| Astern |
Toward the back of the ship or behind the ship |
| Balcony |
A private balcony adjacent to the ship's stateroom/cabin |
| Beam |
The width of the ship at it's widest point, usually right across the middle section of the ship |
| Bearing |
The compass direction the ship is sailing, expressed in degrees |
| Berth |
A built in bed or bunk in the cabin; or the place where the ship is docked in the port |
| Bow |
The front part of the ship |
| Bridge |
The location where the captain and crew controls the ship; where navigation and steering Occur |
| Buffet |
A meal at which passengers serve themselves from various dished displayed on a table or sideboard |
| Bulkhead |
The structural wall in the interior of the ship |
| Buoy |
A marker or float used to identify navigational landmarks or channels |
| Cabin |
A passenger room onboard the ship- sometimes called a stateroom |
| Cabin steward |
The person who cleans the cabin |
| Cast off |
The release the ship from her mooring |
| Category |
The price level of a cabin based on location, size and amenities |
| Channel |
The deepest part of a river or harbour |
| Coastal cruises |
These are 3 night cruises from Cape Town to Durban and visa versa - down the S.A coastline |
| Companionway |
A stairway inside the ship that connects deck levels |
| Course |
The ship's route from one port to the next |
| Cruise card |
Your onboard cruise card which serves as both your ID and your onboard charge card for purchases made onboard which are billed back to your cabin |
| Cruise Director |
Head of the ship's entertainment staff, often emcees events onboard |
| Cruise Scam |
refers to the offer of a cruise trip of cruise holiday package under false pretences, and such an offer is designed to deceive in order to spam people or to swindle them |
| Cruise to Nowhere |
These are 2 night cruises from Durban out to sea and back to Durban and from Cape Town out to sea and back to Cape Town. Passengers do not disembark the ship at any point - it is simply a round trip out to sea and back to the originating port. |
| Davit |
A steel structure that hoists lifeboats over the side of the ship |
| Debark |
To go ashore |
| Deck |
Each level (floor) of the ship |
| Dinner seating |
The time a passenger is assigned to a particular dining venue on the ship |
| Disembark |
To leave the ship and go ashore |
| Dock |
A large structure or excavated basin for receiving ships, equipped with gates to keep water in and out; A place to moor the ship |
| Double Occupancy |
Refers to a cabin shared by 2 people |
| Draft |
The depth of water needed to sail so that the ship doesn't touch the ocean floor (the draft is measured from the waterline to the lowest part of the ship, usually the keel) |
| Embark |
To go aboard the ship |
| First seating |
The earlier of the two meal servings (dinner seating) in the ship's main dining room - also Referred to as the main seating |
| Fleet |
A number of ships under the same ownership |
| Fore, Forward |
The area towards the bow of the ship |
| Funnel |
The ship's smokestack |
| Galley |
The ships kitchen |
| Gangway |
Ramp or stairway between the ship and the shore while the ship is docked |
| Hand |
Crew member |
| Handicapped cabins |
Cabins that have been especially designed for passengers with disabilities |
| Head |
Bathroom |
| Helm |
The ship's steering equipment located on the bridge |
| Hold |
The ship's cargo area |
| Hotel Manager |
Shipboard director of hotel operations such as housekeeping and passenger services |
| Hull |
The outside shell of the ship from the main deck down to the keel |
| Inside cabin |
A cabin/stateroom that does not have a porthole, window or balcony |
| Keel |
The chief structure of the ship hat extends lengthwise along the centre of the ship's bottom i.e.: the ship's backbone |
| Knot |
The measurement of the ship's speed. One knot is one nautical mile per hour |
| Landing |
The transfer of passengers from the ship to the shore via Zodiacs where there is no port or dock for the ship to come alongside such as for Portuguese Island and Barra Lodge |
| Latitude |
The distance North and South of the equator expressed in degrees |
| Leeward |
The side of an island or ship that is sheltered from the wind |
| Life Boat |
One of the small boats carried by the ship for use if the ship must be abandoned |
| Life Jacket |
A buoyant device for saving a person from drowning by keeping the body afloat. |
| Lines |
The ropes used to tie up the ship while it is at the dock |
| Longitude |
The distance East or West of prime meridian expressed in degrees |
| Lower beds |
Beds located at ground level in the cabin - not bunk beds which are recessed into the wall |
| Lower berths convertible |
Cabins onboard Sinfonia all have 2 lower beds - convertible to double. This means that a specific cabin number does not need to be requested in order to have double bed in the cabin. Housekeeping with made the beds up as a Double or 2 singles as required. |
| Maiden Call |
The first port of call on a ship's maiden voyage |
| Maiden Voyage |
The vey first voyage of a new ship |
| Master |
The person who is in charge of the ship, the captain |
| Mini Suite |
The smallest, most affordable suite on the ship, often with just a curtain diving the living and sleeping areas |
| Moor |
The hold the ship in place with lines at a berth |
| Muster |
To assemble all passengers and crew |
| Muster station |
A meeting place onboard the ship that usually refers to the area where one would go to get into the lifeboats in case of an emergency |
| Nautical mile |
A unit of measurement equal to one-sixtieth of a degree of the earth circumference |
| Ocean view cabin |
An outside cabin/stateroom with a porthole or window |
| Onboard |
Located on the ship, carried or used on the vessel |
| Open seating |
A meal seating in which tables are not assigned |
| Outside Cabin |
A stateroom/cabin with a porthole, window also referred to as ocean view |
| Passageway |
A hallway inside the ship |
| Passenger to crew ratio |
The total number of passenger divided by the total number of crew members |
| Pitch |
The forward and backward rise and fall of the ship as it moves |
| Port |
The left side of the ship when facing forward; also the harbour where the ship docks |
| Port of call |
A port at which the ship anchors, moors, and the passengers are allowed to disembark |
| Porthole |
A round window on a ship |
| Positioning cruise |
A one-way itinerary that brings a ship from one region to another at the change of the cruise season |
| Private transfer |
Transportation from the airport to the port and visa versa that is not scheduled and must be requested and booked individually |
| Promenade |
An open deck that encircles a ship, often used for walking or jogging |
| Pullman |
A bunk bed that either folds away against the cabin wall or into the ceiling during the day, And is folded down at night to accommodate the additional passengers in the cabin |
| Purser |
The officer onboard who serves as a financial or administrative manager for guest services |
| Quad |
A cabin that accommodated 4 passengers |
| Roll |
The side to side movement of the ship |
| Screw |
The ship's propeller |
| Second seating |
The later of the two meal servings (dinner sittings) in the ship's main dining room - also referred to as the late seating |
| Separate Lower beds |
Not all cabins onboard Melody can be converted to Double beds. Some are Separate lower beds and are fixed. For this reason it is important at the time of booking to advise the bedding configuration required in the cabin to be booked. |
| Shore excursion |
A tour guided activity in which guests participate whilst ashore |
| Shuttle transfer |
Transportation from the airport to the port and visa versa. Works on a rotation basis so as the one minibus/coach fills up and leaves so the other arrives to load passengers and transport them. |
| Single Supplement |
An extra charge solo travellers pay to have just one person in a cabin |
| Sister Ships |
Ships built of the same design- sometimes referred to as ships owned and operated by the same cruise line |
| Sofa bed |
A sofa/couch that is folded out to make up an additional bed in the evening |
| Stabilizer |
A retractable arm located below the waterline mid-ship, which can be extended to help reduce the ship's roll in rougher sea conditions |
| Starboard |
The right side of the ship when facing forward |
| Stateroom |
A cabin |
| Stern |
The back end of the ship |
| Suite |
The largest class of stateroom/cabin, features separate living and sleeping areas |
| Tender |
A small boat used to transport passengers from the ship to the shore. Tenders are used when the harbour is not deep enough for the ship to dock. |
| Triple |
A cabin that will accommodate 3 passengers |
| Underway |
The act of sailing |
| Upgrade |
A change in cabin assignment to a better category |
| Upper berth |
A bed similar to a bunk bed, often folded and recessed into the wall |
| Wedding bed |
This is a fixed double bed onboard Melody |
| Zodiac |
A type of speed boat used to transport passengers from the ship to the shore. Zodiacs are used where there is no port and the ship has to throw anchor offshore and transfer passengers to the shore in this way |
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