LETTERS - Letter to the Editor

Cruise Travel, Jan, 2001

You Don't Live In A Closet, Or Do You?

In response to the letter, "Small Cabins, Small Matter" (Cruise Travel, December 2000)--it does matter! Why would I want to take a cruise with my husband and live in a closet for a week or two? The reason people say, "We're never in our cabin anyway," is because that "cubicle" is an extremely undesirable place to nap, order room service, read a book, watch TV, or do the hundreds of other things people do in their living areas.

Simply stated no one wants to be locked up in a 150-sq.-ft. cubicle for more than five minutes. I challenge any reader who says, "A closet is okay," to book a veranda mini-suite for their next cruise. Then come back and tell Cruise Travel readers that you didn't spend any time in your room!

Regina Lucas, Pittsburgh, PA

Classic Liner Aids Disabled

Reference the October 2000 Cruise Travel and the Ship of the Month article written by M. T. Schwartzman on Norwegian Cruise Line's Norway: It was an outstanding piece, but I would like to elaborate on it.

According to my stats, the ship has nine elevators, not 11. And the ship has 11 cabins for the handicapped, which should have been mentioned. My wife Carolyn and I have sailed on the SS Norway twice (Carolyn is a wheelchair user with an L-2 injury level). Our cabin was P-31. That cabin had a ramp from the hallway to the cabin and a ramp from the cabin to the bathroom. The bathroom had a shower/tub combo. There are even wheelchair-accessible bathrooms in the common area of the ship. Plus NCL's private island has specially made wheelchairs for the wheelchair user that go in the sand.

Darryl Sigel, Pittsburgh, PA

Prefers A Classic Cruise Experience

Having taken several cruises on the Norway (and booked for another), I would like to respond to letters in the December 2000 Cruise Travel about Norwegian Cruise Line's "Freestyle Cruising" concept.

I have mixed thoughts about "Freestyle." I will miss having our usual waiter and same table; however, I look forward to different dining hours. I will miss the "dress up" nights, as we do not have many occasions in this modern age to dress up. I am totally against a cruise line dictating what or how much tipping should be; I think that should be at the discretion of each passenger. When we leave a tip in the dining room or in our cabin, we know where that tip is going and how much service we get for the tip we leave.

Having taken most of our cruises on the old Rotterdam (our favorite ship) before she was sold, we weren't sure what ship would be our next choice. However, we found the Norway was a good choice for our needs. Although older, she is a beautiful ship, and we have enjoyed our Norway cruises, especially our waiters, having the same one on several cruises. We also enjoy Cruise Travel and look forward to each edition, especially the letters, and enjoyed the Ship of the Month on the Norway (October 2000).

Mrs. Robert Doten, Dunedin, FL

Is Carry-Out Cruise Cuisine Next?

We must respond to the letter from Dave Quillin in Cruise Travel, December 2000, regarding "Freestyle Cruising" and the removal of all standards for dress and dining on some of the cruise lines. We find that our cruises are our last refuge from the plague of slovenliness that has spread through our society. It might come as a shock that some of us look forward to the opportunity to dress for dinner and experience an elegance that is not possible at home. When the waiters are better dressed than the passengers, we are in trouble. We find formal evenings to be a particular treat.

During our last 40 cruises, because of the assigned table and dinner hour, we have made many new friends among our tablemates. We were able to get to know them in depth, not superficially. Not one of them has shown up in sweats and T-shirts, nor complained about the dress code.

To many passengers "informal" means casual, and "casual" means grungy. Without some guidelines and standards some passengers will dress as for the Burger King drive-through. There are always those who think the world revolves around them. If they find these standards too restrictive, they have the freedom to choose another type of vacation, instead of trying to impose their lack of taste and refinement on the rest of us.

Mr. & Mrs. K. C. Whitehead Granite Bay, CA

Craves Choices On His Cruises

I will be cruising on one of Norwegian Cruise Line's ships in 2001 and look forward to its "Freestyle" dining. It was great reading the pro and con letters regarding this concept in the December 2000 Cruise Travel.

After reading the letters, I turned to Cruise News and read that Princess will begin to customize its dining, taking a middle road and offering both options, assigned- and open-seating, with its "Personal Choice Dining" program.

There have been choices on most cruises that I have taken. Every night there is a different dress code, which should satisfy everyone. The lines do not demand tuxedos, since they state a dark suit is also appropriate. During the cruises I have taken, there have also been casual nights. On one particular cruise, however, it appeared the "dressers" had complained, since an announcement was made that passengers must follow the dress codes. Isn't a cruise taken to relax?