6 Surprising Small-Space Design Tricks I Learned on Board a Cruise Ship

When I went on my first cruise in May—a press trip onboard Sun Princess in the Mediterranean Sea—I was expecting to be impressed by the restaurants on board, enchanted by the views off of our balcony, and excited to explore the ports we stopped at along the way. All of those things happened. But I wasn’t expecting to be inspired to redesign my small New York City apartment.

I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, it makes sense that cruise ship cabins, or staterooms, are a marvel of small space design. People spend a week or more (sometimes several weeks!) living two to a quite small space. So staterooms need to be both efficient and attractive. 

But, when I walked into the Deluxe Cabin that my husband and I were going to share, I was a little worried that it would feel tight and, as we unpacked, get messy fast. After all, it was only 235 square feet, including the balcony! 

I’m going to estimate that the interior space was about 200 square feet. That included a small bathroom with a shower, a closet, a queen-sized bed, two nightstands, a desk with a chair, a sofa, and a small coffee table. That’s a lot of stuff in a small space. I am allergic to clutter and worried that we’d feel cramped quickly. But a few clever design features made the cabin feel surprisingly comfortable and spacious.

Since we also live in a relatively petite apartment in New York City, I made note of the small space ideas that could come home with me from vacation. Some I can implement in my apartment now; others I’m going to file away for when we renovate. Here are my top takeaways.

Install Hooks by the Front Door

Just inside the front door of the cabin were two unobtrusive wall hooks. Every time we came inside from swimming, a shore excursion, or a meal, I hung my purse, light jacket, and sunhat. My husband hung his stuff as well. Yes, I could have thrown everything onto the desk or my nightstand, but having a dedicated spot for highly used items helped keep the small space from feeling cluttered.

Look Under the Bed for Extra Storage

Both my husband and I brought carry-on luggage, so there was room to wedge our small roller bags into the closet. Of course, that meant losing space for our shoes and my long dresses. Not ideal, but better than having suitcases taking up precious floorspace. But, when I met a veteran cruiser the first day, she mentioned that the beds were constructed so there was always room for suitcases underneath, whether you had a small roller bag or full-sized luggage. Genius! I transferred our suitcases from the closet and was reminded that there is a universe of storage space waiting for me at home…right under the bed. 

Hang Corner Shelves in the Bathroom

As you would expect in a cruise ship cabin, the bathroom was petite. Only one flosser or brusher at a time, please! There was no medicine cabinet (I think that would have made the mirror stick out too far from the wall), but thanks to three corner shelves, we had plenty of room for our toiletries. Using the corner was clutch; it allowed the bathroom’s designers to really maximize storage space. There was also a long shelf underneath the counter, perfect for storing spare towels and a hairdryer.

Install a Smaller Sink for More Counter Space

As you can see in the photo, bathroom counter space was limited. But one clever design choice helped provide more breathing room: installing a smaller-than-standard sink, almost like a bar sink. It was still plenty large enough to wash hands and face and brush teeth, but it returned a few inches of space to the counter, something I appreciated when I was applying makeup before dinner. Obviously, this isn’t an easy fix to implement at home. But, when we renovate our bathroom (someday!), this is a feature I’ll strongly consider.

Add Wall-Mounted USB Ports

Nothing makes a room feel quite so cluttered as bulky, boxy chargers plugged into outlets. One of my favorite discoveries in our Sun Princess cabin was that both sides of the bed featured wall-mounted USB and USB-C ports and outlets. We never needed to break out the brick chargers with wall plugs we brought, just the less obtrusive cables. And, we didn’t have to figure out where the outlet was hiding behind the nightstand…like I’ve had to do in too many hotels to count.

Be Strategic About Clothes Storage

The closet in our cabin was more like an armoire, not built into the wall. It was surprisingly roomy, but made even more so by its smart design. Instead of just being a big box with maybe a shelf or two on top, it was divided into multiple sections. There was what I think of as a “long hanging” section for dresses, with two shelves underneath, and a “short hanging” section for shirts with four shelves underneath. To the right of the enclosed closet were four more shelves and three drawers. For the relatively small square footage of the clothing storage, its capacity felt downright luxurious. But for me, the biggest takeaway was to have both “long hanging” and “short hanging” sections in a closet to make room for additional shelves—a fairly easy DIY project here on dry land.