6 Tips for Being a Good Cabin Mate
There’s no guarantee that the person you go on a cruise with is someone you know intimately. She or he may be just a friend, or a non-immediate family member who doesn’t live with you – and now you’re going to have to share a cabin with him or her!
Living in the same cabin with someone you’re not used to sharing a space with can take some getting used to. But if you follow a few simple rules of etiquette, you can ensure it’s smooth sailing. Here are a few cruise tips for being a good cabin mate.
Don’t hog the electrical sockets
Everyone nowadays travels with a coterie of electronic items. Laptop, tablet, phone, camera, portable game console: Whatever it is, it needs charging.
Unfortunately, there’s only so many electrical sockets in the cabin, and your cabin mate is going to have his or her own menagerie of items to charge. If you didn’t bring a power strip, be courteous and share access to the sockets fairly – perhaps by alternating who gets to use it.
Quiet down
Your family or partner might be used to you clomping around in the morning, but your cabin mate probably will not. Take care to be extra quiet when moving around when he or she is asleep. That not only means walking around quietly, but also taking care not to rummage loudly through your stuff and slamming the cabin door. This is especially important if you’re an early riser or stay up at strange hours of the night.
Switch off the light
Everyone has a different tactic for getting to sleep. For some people, all it takes is falling into bed. For others, they need to curl up with a good book, an activity that requires a certain amount of light.
Unfortunately, your cabin mate might not appreciate you falling asleep with the light on, or leaving it on while he or she is trying to get to bed. This might take some maneuvering. Your best bet is to bring along a portable night light that will give you just enough visibility to read, but won’t keep your friend or family member up as well.
Be honest about your tics
Everyone’s got one or two weird habits, and they’re not always ones we do consciously. They can be anything from snoring to sleepwalking to talking to oneself in your sleep. While you may not be able to control these, and there’s not anything necessarily wrong with them, it’s a good idea to prepare the person you’re sharing your cabin with by explaining, and making sure it’s okay. If it could be a problem, you can come up with a plan to resolve it.
Keep it nice and tidy
Tidiness isn’t the No. 1 priority for everyone, but regardless of how much – or little – of a neat freak your cabin mate is, you should make at least a token effort at keeping the cabin tidy. That means not leaving your clothes strewn all over the place, and certainly not taking up all the space in the bathroom with your toiletries. Having smaller packs to store essentials like the latter can be helpful. Remember, your cabin is not your room at home.
Limit your over-indulging
You’re meant to have fun and party a bit on a cruise ship. But this can also cause friction if your cabin mate is of the quieter variety. She or he may not appreciate you coming in late at night, stumbling around, dropping your keys and singing whatever you just got done belting out at karaoke. It’s a good idea to, firstly, avoid over-indulging and, secondly, discuss differences like this with your cabin mate to come up with a solution.
