Nautical Dictionary

Abovedeck � upstairs.
Adrift � floating without power (see Sea-Lawyer).
Afloat � where you are when the ship is not in a port-of-call.
Aft � the back half of the ship (see astern).
Ahoy - sailor talk for "Hey Good Buddy!".
Amidships � halfway between the pointy end and the other end.
Anchor � a big fishhook shaped thing used to wake you up every morning (especially
    if your room is in the pointy end).
Anchorage � where the Captain parks the ship, not attached to the shore.
Ashore � where you are when the ship is in a port-of-call.
Astern � backwards, away from the pointy end (see aft).
Aye-Aye - sailor talk for "Yessir!" (comes from "Yes sir, we see �eye-to-eye� on that.
    I understand you completely.").
Barge � all other ships.
Belowdeck � downstairs.
Berth � a bed; also where the ship ties up.
Best cruise - your last cruise and your next cruise.
Bilge � the part of the hull below the waterline, inside the ship.
Boat � the tenders and lifeboats. Boats don�t carry boats; ships carry boats.
Bow � the pointy end of the ship.
Breeze - Hurricane.
Bridge � the Captain�s "office". Where the ship is driven from.
Bulkhead � the wall.
Cabin � where you sleep; also called a stateroom.
Caboodle - your belongings (what you pack in your kit).
Captain � THE BOSS.
Cargo � baggage (what you will feel like after breakfast in bed, continental breakfast on
    your balcony, three main meals, two buffets, morning pastries, afternoon tea, a couple
	   BBQs, 24 hour room service and a few snacks per day for a week).
Course � the direction the ship is headed in.	   
Crew � everyone who helps sail the ship � except the Captain.
Deck � the floor.
Disembark � to get off the ship.	 
Dispensary � medical clinic, where medications are "dispensed" from (see Infirmary).
Dock � a pier or jetty, attached to the shore, where the Captain "parks" the ship. 
Draft � how much of the hull is below the waterline.
Embark � to get on the ship.
Emerald Flash - an intense burst of green light which appears for a split second when
    the morning sun breaks the horizon and the evening sun sets!
Feeding Frenzy - What happens when a keel-hauled sea-lawyer is thrown overboard.  Also,
    the first midnight buffet!
Foghorn - a signaling device used to warn others of danger or extreme distress.  Also,
    what your spouse sounds like asleep, what you sound like when the galley runs out of
	   lobster, and what you both sound like when the Purser presents you with your final
	   super-charge bill at the end of the cruise!!!
Forward (Ford) � toward the pointy end.
Freeboard � the part of the hull that is above the waterline.
Galley � the kitchen (and one of the most amazing examples of creativity, choreography,
    and time management you will ever experience).
Ganga - 3-5 in The Big House. 
Gangway � a stairwell, also what is heard shouted in the passageways when the
    buffet is served!
Gangplank � the ramp you use to get on and off the ship.
Guest � you, at the start of the cruise (see Passenger).
Gull - see Seagull.
Gunwale (Gun-L) � the rail or upper edge of the deck where it meets the hull.
Hatch � a door (may be vertical or horizontal).
Hatchway � the frame a hatch fits into (think of a doorway).
Head � a bathroom.
Hold - a really big room with the main hatch (door) set in the ceiling (overhead).
    Used for storing cargo.
Hull � the outer shell of the ship.
Infirmary � medical clinic where the "infirm" are. (see Dispensary.).
Inside cabin � a cabin without an outside view.
Keelhauling - a particularly nasty form of discipline at sea.  Usually reserved
    for those who insult the Captain, or use cell phones while on vacation!
Kit - your luggage.
Leeward (Lou-word) � away from the wind.
Lifeboat � what the RMS Titanic didn�t have enough of.
Life Raft � collapsible lifeboat (usually stored in oval shaped, white containers
    on the deck).
Line � rope.
Locker � closet.
Mist - fog.
Muster - to assemble the passengers and/or crew.
Nautical mile - 6,080.2 feet.
Officers � supervisors, managers, department heads and directors (junior bosses).
Outside cabin � a cabin with an oceanview.
Overboard � oops!
Overhead � the ceiling.
Passageway � a hall
Passenger � you, at the start of the cruise (see Guest).
Pitch � the up and down motion of the ship (teeter-totter).
Port � the left side (remember "port" � 4 letters / "left" � 4 letters)
    (when you're facing the front).
Portal - an opening.
Port-of-call � the places the ship visits.
Portholes - those little round windows in the wall.
Punch-Button - a game children play on the elevators (see Overboard).
Purser � the chief accountant on the ship (see Foghorn).
Rain - liquid sunshine.
Roll � the sideways tip of the ship from left to right to left to
    right to left to right to left to the ...
Scupper � a hole in the gunwale, which allows water to run off the deck.
Seagull - a rat with wings.
Sea-Lawyer � a "problem passenger or crew member" (see Overboard)(see Keelhauling).
SOLAS - Safety Of Life At Sea.  A set of international rules and laws to protect people,
    ships, companies, countries and the environment.
Squall - brief rain shower.
Stack � the chimney thing.
Staff � the folks who handle the passenger service and survive on your tips.
Starboard � the other (right) side (when you're facing the front).
Stabilizers � wing like things that extend out from the hull and significantly reduce roll.
Stern � the end farthest from the pointy end..
Stow � put stuff away.
Suite � everyone else�s room.
Tender � a lifeboat that serves double duty by ferrying passengers ashore at ports-of-call.
Thrusters � fan like things, under the waterline, that move the ship sideways.
Underway � moving.
Wake � the disturbed part of the water behind the ship�s path.
Waterline � the part of the hull where the water stops.
Weather - a storm.
Weatherdeck - outer deck (exposed to the weather).
Windward � toward the wind.
Yaw � the swing of the ship from left to right, horizontally.

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