What are Port and Starboard?

For landlubbers unfamiliar with boats (or flying airplanes or space travel), the terms port and starboard refer to the left side of the ship and right side of the ship, respectively, when looking towards the front of the ship (the bow of the ship). These nautical terms will be helpful for navigating the ship during your cruise and especially important in an emergency situation so that you know how to follow the instructions of crew members.

A drawing of a cruise ship with the nose at the top of the picture. It explains port, starboard, bow, and stern so that people can understand the nautical terms of a cruise ship. — A diagram I put together of how to understand the nautical terms for a cruise ship. The bottom of the picture is the back of the boat.

Why don’t they just use left and right? At first glance, it seems as annoying as actors insisting that stage right is the same direction as house left. However, left and right are subjective to how you’re viewing the boat (or stage). Every time you turn, left and right change based on your orientation. The left side of a ship changes as you spin around. Port and Starboard are permanent.

There are also corresponding lights for port and starboard on the sides of the ship. There will be red lights on the port side of the ship and green lights on the starboard side of the ship. You’ll notice the same thing with airplanes. This is especially helpful at night because you can tell if a vessel in front of you is coming towards you or going away from you based on the lights. It’s not, as I thought when I was a little kid, that ships and planes are decorated for Christmas.

Also, the front of the boat is called the bow, and the back is called the stern. Being near the front is fore or forward, and being near the stern is called aft—with midship being in the middle. There’s a bunch of other terms, but you don’t need to know what a poop deck is to enjoy a cruise ship.

An easy way to remember if you’re struggling is that port and starboard are in alphabetical order from left to right.

Why are they named Port and Starboard?

According to NOAA https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/port-starboard.html, before boats started using rudders for direction, the direction was controlled by oar on the right side of the stern (back of the boat). The Old English words for steer (steor) and boat (bord) were combined to make starboard (so it has nothing to do with seeing stars). In other words, the starboard was the steering side of the boat. Using the right-hand side for steering made sense because most crew members would have been right-handed.

Originally, the port side was called larboard because lar meant loading, and port was the docking and loading side of a boat. Since starboard and larboard sounded too much alike (like siblings with rhyming names who can never tell who’s getting yelled at), they changed larboard to port. So Port side did originally mean the side a boat docked and loaded on.

Do Cruise Ships Dock Port or Starboard?

In modern times, cruise ships can dock on either side of a quay (the concrete pier cruise ships dock on). They can pull in or back into ship docks. It all depends on the size of the ship and the regulations at that particular port.

The stern of the Disney Magic docked next to a Carnival Cruise ship in Progreso, Mexico. The ship unloaded on the starboard side, which is facing the Carnival ship. — While we were in Progreso, Mexico, the Disney Magic docked backwards and unloaded on the starboard side, but the port side would have better views unless you like staring directly into another ship.

Many quays are perpendicular to the island or mainland. Therefore, the docking side doesn’t technically mean you’ll be looking at the destination. It’s just as likely that you’ll be staring at another ship or along the coast.

We usually sail Disney Cruise Line (in case you couldn’t tell), and we’ve gone out both sides of the boat, used tender boats, faced other cruise ships, and viewed the port of call all from the same stateroom.

At Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay (pronounced “key”) for instance, Disney Cruises almost always back into the pier in our experience. Then, they unload on the port side. However, you have a view of the beaches and structures on the starboard side. For that reason, I recommend staying on the starboard side because you look down into the clear waters and see the exciting activities. Once, we saw a family of dolphins playing in the water just below our stateroom. This is something we would never have seen if we were just looking down at the crew unloading things on the quay (also pronounced “key,” nautical lingo is fun).

A daughter and father in life vests on a water tricycle at Castaway Cay, Disney's private island. In the background, you can see the Disney Fantasy's starboard side. — You would only see my daughter and I on this water tricycle (or any of the developed Castaway Cay) if you were on the starboard side of the Disney Fantasy (but it unloads here on the port side).

If it’s really important to you to see the ocean or the port of call from your stateroom, I recommend looking at the port on Google maps or images. Then, see how your particular ship has docked in the past. Most people don’t spend much time in their staterooms during ports of call, so it may not matter anyway what the best view is.

However, there may be other reasons you want to stay port of starboard side.

Is Port or Starboard Best When Picking a Stateroom?

While it can be a toss up as to what you’ll see when you dock at your ports of call on a cruise ship, there are other reasons to consider which side of the ship you’re staying on. The main reason to be picky is what you’ll see while you’re moving.

If you’re going on an Alaskan cruise beginning somewhere like Vancouver or the Northwest US, you’ll get the best views of the Alaskan coast the whole first part of the trip if you’re in a starboard cabin. You’ll only see the coast on the way back if you’re staying on the port side. However, the boat will rotate inside coves in many of the ports of call, allowing guests on any side of the ship get a nice view.

There are great views to be had in Alaska ports, but you’d only be able to see the mountain from the Disney Wonder’s port side (the side not shown).

Even more important might be one-way trips like a Panama Canal repositioning cruise. If you’re leaving Florida, going through the Panama Canal, and on up the west coast of Mexico and California, you’ll on see land (if there’s land to be seen) if your room is on the starboard side. The opposite is obviously true if you’re heading back to Florida from the Panama Canal. Of course, if you’d rather look at endless open ocean, plan accordingly for that as well.

If you want to see the beautiful Mediterranean coast, you’ll want to plan accordingly by checking the itinerary to figure out which way the boat faces. You don’t want to miss the entire Italian coast while you're on Mediterranean cruises.

On many Disney Eastern Caribbean cruises, the itineraries move clockwise or counterclockwise around Cuba. If you want to keep an eye on them for Cold War reasons, choose accordingly.

Finally, if your cruise spends a majority of time going north or south, you can also pay attention to whether you want to see an beautiful sunset or sunrise from your window or verandah, and plan accordingly.

A girl in a red dress looks out a cruise verandah balcony. You can see the sun on the water and two sailboats. She's on starboard side going south because the sun is about to set. — We’re on the starboard side docked, facing south (our cabin is facing west). If my daughter stays here long enough, she’ll see the sunset.

And if all else fails, go stand on the deck or in a lounge facing the direction you want to see. And if you want any view at all, avoid interior cabins.

Port vs. Starboard Conclusion and Further Reading

It may not matter whether you choose starboard or port side staterooms for your next cruise. Check your directional itinerary, deck plans, and particular ports of call in order to decide which side has better views or more scenic views. However, either way will get you an ocean view. Most cruise lines are going to work hard to make sure that lots of guests get great views regardless of their cabin choice. It may all come down to personal preference or what’s near a particular cabin.

Hopefully this article helped you make a more informed choice for the next time you decide to be a cruise passenger. If nothing else, you better understand nautical language.

Do you already have a preference for port vs starboard? Let me know in the comments.