There is something missing aboard the Carnival Paradise. It is not, however, a gut-busting midnight buffet, cooling tropical libations served on the pool deck or ubiquitous bingo games and limbo contests.
Clearly, there is something in the air aboard the Paradise.
Or maybe not.
The ship was introduced by Carnival Cruise Lines in December 1998 as the world’s first smoke-free cruise ship. The smoky haze that typically taunts the nostrils and burns the eyes of non-smoking cruisers on other ships is not on the Paradise’s itinerary. Smoking has been taboo from Day One, beginning with the crew that constructed the ship in a Finnish shipyard.
To the non-smoker, Paradise is truly a breath of fresh air.
When my traveling companion told me he had signed up for a seven-day Paradise cruise, I quickly agreed to join him, dreaming of island hopping in the crisp, clear ocean air. Having abandoned my own pack-a-day habit 15 years ago, I am always the first to pipe up in a restaurant, “Non-smoking section, please. ” So the idea of a non-smoking cruise was particularly appealing.
While aboard the ship , we would also celebrate the quinceaneras of my friend’s niece. For 15-year-old Hispanic girls, the quinceaneras is a coming of age celebration that rivals the splendor of a wedding. The celebration would include 35 debutantes and the proud, doting families who would introduce the girls to society as young women.
Inevitably, some family members boarding the Paradise for the quinceaneras were smokers who had to choose between dependency or devotion.
“I got stuck,” explained Alexander Vina of Miami as he relaxed on the beach during a port call at Grand Cayman. A Kool cigarette dangled between his fingers, and a newly opened pack was tucked along his side at arm’s length.
“It was my sister’s 15th.”
Vina, 25, hesitated momentarily as he inhaled, sucking back the smoke, soothing the past 48 hours of his deprivation.
“It was hard on Wednesday for about an hour,” he said. “I mean, lots of deep breathing, Nicorette and `don’t talk to me.’ “
Had he thought of sneaking a smoke on the ship?
He insisted without hesitation, “Never! No, my mother would kill me, and I wouldn’t disappoint my sister that way.”
But stories were already spreading throughout the ship. For their smoking transgressions, seven passengers had been asked in Grand Cayman to leave the ship and not return. Carnival clearly was stringently enforcing the smoking policy, which not only prohibits smoking but the “possession of smoking materials as well. Both offenses carry stiff penalties for passenger and crew alike.
Passengers caught smoking or with smoking materials are asked to leave the ship at its next port. The sudden trip home comes at the passenger’s expense, and there is no refund for the cruise. Add to that a $250 fine for cleanup and damages if the smoker is caught in the act.
Crew members caught smoking are fired on the spot, whether they are caught smoking on the ship or in a port.
One of the passengers asked to leave the ship at Grand Cayman was Gloria Hernandez of Miami, the mother of a quinceaneras.
Returning to the cabin with her family one evening, Hernandez could not open the cabin door with her card key. She called housekeeping for help.
Instead, the chief of security and general manager appeared to explain that the lock had been recoded after a room steward spotted a pack of cigarettes on the dresser.
“I never smoked on board, and I was never accused of smoking,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez said the Carnival representatives told her they knew she hadn’t smoked on board because sensitive smoke detectors, present in each stateroom, room would have given her away.
Still, even after protests and tears from family members, Hernandez was escorted off the Paradise the next morning.
“My daughter was hysterical. They were all hysterical,” she said.
“[Carnival crew members] followed us to the cab. They detained my family for 10 minutes to make sure they weren’t sneaking me back on.”
Hernandez said she did not know possessing cigarettes on board violated the Paradise’s rules, adding that Carnival did not effectively convey that message to passengers. She has hired an attorney and intends to sue the cruise line.
“It is not in the literature,” Hernandez said. “There are no signs.
“It’s a small part of a large contract in the ticket. [The possession rule] should be in the cabin and in the gangway, alongside the international no smoking sign.
“If it has impact on your vacation that you have planned for a year, and that vacation is going to be ruined, they should do everything they can to make sure you are aware. They ruined my vacation.”
“They ruined all of our vacations,” added her husband.
Carnival spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz said, “We feel it’s pretty clear, and people should read something before they sign it. They are sent the contract in advance. They are not given it at the gangway. It is stated in the ticket contract and in the tear-out,” which a passenger must sign after reading.
“We draw people’s attention to the smoking clause on the front of the ticket, and we ask them to read it,” de la Cruz said. “We have to be very strict. When people have paid to be here and there isn’t strict enforcement, we undermine the integrity of the ship.
“The reason for the policy is this: We may see a cigarette butt, see ashes or smell smoke. That individual may deny it. And we get into a he-said, she-said situation.”
Banning all smoking materials gives Carnival greater authority to enforce the policy.
Since the Paradise’s maiden voyage, 14 passengers have been asked to leave the ship and one employee has been fired. Several other employees have asked to be transferred to a smoking vessel.
Thousands of other passengers have enjoyed the smoke-free environment without issue. The majority of passengers traveling on the Paradise are non-smokers, according to Carnival, and they appreciate the smoke-free environment.
“It’s great. I’m very sensitive to smoke,” said fellow passenger Brian Rothman, 32, of Cincinnati. “I can smell smoke on the highway with my windows closed. It’s nice to go in the casino and not smell smoke.”
Others aboard the Paradise openly proclaimed disdain for smoking. Bob Guernsui, 49, paraded around wearing a T-shirt that stated: “If you’re smoking around me, you better be on fire. Chewers, please spit on each other, not on me or the floor. Tobacco-free and proud.”
Guernsui, an assistant principal from Indiana, even organized an anti-smoking campaign at his school in an effort to deter students from smoking. Guernsui was aboard the Paradise merely to relax, not to organize a war march against the smoking public. Like me, he was a reformed smoker.
“The worst kind,” he admitted.
IF YOU GO
– THE DETAILS
Carnival Cruise Line’s Paradise sails alternate eastern and western Caribbean cruises on Sundays from Miami. Eastern ports of call include San Juan, St. Thomas, Virgin Gorda and Tortola; western ports are Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios.
Brochure rates, based on double occupancy, start at $719 for an inside cabin, $1,139 for an outside cabin. For more information, contact a travel agent or Carnival Cruise Line, 800-227-6482, or check Carnival’s Web site at www.carnival.com.
