A new travel quiz from Australia's Traveller poses a deceptively simple question: which side of a ship is 'port'? If you hesitated, you're in good company — but on a cruise, the answer can genuinely come in handy.
For the record: port is the left side of a ship when you're facing the bow (the front), and starboard is the right. The etymology is a nice bit of trivia for your next dinner-table conversation. In the days of sail, vessels were steered by an oar mounted on the right — the 'steering board', which eventually became 'starboard'. That meant ships had to dock on their left side, where the 'port' could be found, so cargo and passengers could come aboard without snapping the steering oar.
Why does this matter for a holiday? Cruise lines don't always spell out which side of the ship your cabin is on, and industry parlance can slip into listings and announcements. A cabin described as 'port side' faces left heading out of port — which, depending on your itinerary, might be exactly the side with the sunset views or the coastline scenery. On scenic sailings like Norway's fjords or Alaska's Inside Passage, keen cruisers routinely debate whether to book port or starboard to guarantee the best view from their balcony. Knowing your terms means you can ask the right questions before you book, not after you've unpacked.
The terminology pops up elsewhere too. Shore excursion meeting points, tender operations and safety briefings all lean on port and starboard, and a moment of confusion at the gangway is nobody's idea of a relaxing embarkation day. A quick trick if you forget: 'port' and 'left' both have four letters. Or remember the old pairing 'port wine is red, and so is the port navigation light' — ships carry a red light on the left and a green one on the right.
The quiz format is classic Traveller — testing travellers on everything from airport codes to cruise jargon — but the underlying point stands: a little nautical vocabulary goes a long way at sea. Whether you're a first-time cruiser picking a cabin or a regular who still mutters 'left... or right?' when the captain announces a change of course, it's worth a few minutes of revision before your next sailing.
Anyone planning an ocean or river cruise should add this to the pre-trip checklist alongside travel insurance and shore excursion bookings. It costs nothing, takes seconds to learn, and you'll sound like an old salt by day two.
Quiz via Traveller (Sydney Morning Herald).
