Re: passengers smoking on cruise

We took a 12-day cruise from Sydney, Australia, to Auckland, New Zealand, on the Diamond Princess, Feb. 24-March 8, 2006. We were disturbed by the cruise line’s lenient no-smoking policy, which is the most lenient of any cruise ship we’ve recently been on.

The man in the cabin next door smoked from daylight to dawn. It was either a pipe or cigar. We were forced off our verandah twice. The last time, my wife had a minor asthmatic attack, so we gave up on using the verandah.

We talked to the woman in charge of staterooms. The ship, which holds 3,000, was full, so she couldn’t move us. She did talk to the people next door. Their reply was, “We’ll think it over.” Nothing changed for the rest of the trip.

On the Diamond Princess, the cocktail lounges had smoking and no-smoking areas, but we found they favored the smokers. One lounge was in the atrium area and quite popular at night; to even move through the area would gag a nonsmoker.

The ship had a special cigar lounge. It had a great location, right on the two entranceways into the main theater, so again we were gagged coming and going.

PAT GRAHAM
Colville, WA

ITN sent a copy of the above letter to Princess Cruises and was mailed a copy of their reply to the Grahams, as follows.

The Customer Relations Department is in receipt of your correspondence. . . regarding our onboard smoking policy. We appreciate the opportunity to respond.

Smoking onboard our vessels is, indeed, a sensitive issue and a subject of our ongoing evaluation. We endeavor to accommodate all passengers’ preferences in this area as equitably as possible. Therefore, in response to the heightened awareness of secondhand smoke, our dining rooms and show lounges were designated as nonsmoking areas.

We regret that, as a nonsmoker, you are displeased with our policy. We are always seeking a more equitable solution for this controversial subject, and your comments have been forwarded to appropriate senior management for review and future planning.

Mr. and Mrs. Graham, we hope you enjoyed all other aspects of your time aboard Diamond Princess. We look forward to welcoming you aboard a Princess cruise again in the near future. Until then, we send our kind regards.

MEGAN SMALL, Specialist, Passenger Relations, Princess Cruises, 24305 Town Center dr., Santa Clarita, CA 91355