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Poof! European cruise goes up in smoke
Too many smokers aboard a Costa Cruise leaves traveler gagging for air
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Texas residents Shirley Campbell and Cynthia Jeffries had planned to spend several weeks cruising Europe’s most popular sites. The friends dubbed it the trip of a lifetime and booked two back-to-back cruises. The first cruise was on Royal Caribbean’s Splendour of the Seas from Venice that visited the Greek Isles and the other was on on Costa Cruises’ Costa Concordia for a week-long journey of the Western Mediterranean.
The Royal Caribbean cruise went without a hitch, so it came as a big disappointment when the pair boarded the Costa Concordia and smelled abundant cigarette smoke.
Up in smoke
The friends thought the smell might go away. But as the ship left port they noted the public areas had become noticeably smokier and the smell of cigarettes had unfortunately migrated to their stateroom. “In the lounges and corridors, passengers were smoking wherever the chose,” said Campbell. The pair went for pre-dinner cocktails and could not find a lounge that was non-smoking. “Clouds of smoke were hanging in the air,” added Campbell. They went to the dining room only to be accosted by smoking diners. When they returned to their stateroom the cigarette odor had increased.
Having had enough, Campbell and Jeffries visited the Purser’s Desk to complain of the smoking problems and asked to be moved to another stateroom. The crew at the desk apologized for the smoke problems and said there were no rooms left as the ship was full. When they complained about the smoke problems in public areas the crew member shrugged his shoulders and noted there were more smokers than usual on this particular sailing.
After a night of little sleep, Campbell awoke to find that she was having an allergic reaction to the cigarette smoke. She had broken out in hives, and had severe nasal and chest congestion. She went to the infirmary, and was examined by the ship’s doctor who confirmed that Campbell’s symptoms were due to the smoke. The doctor recommended that she disembark at the next port, Savona.
Campbell and Jeffries left the ship and headed to Rome where their return flight home was scheduled. Unfortunately, American Airlines was sold out and could not accommodate the pair before their scheduled flights. The friends ended up spending six nights in Rome at a cost of several thousand dollars.
When the pair returned home they wrote to Costa and demanded a refund on the cruise and for their incurred expenses. “Based on the fact that Costa did not adhere to company policy regarding smoking, which subsequently required us to disembark, we feel it only fair that Costa reimburse us the full cost of our cruise and for expenses incurred, a total of $4,067.31,” said Campbell.
Costa responds
I contacted Costa Cruises on Campbell and Jeffries’ behalf. I spoke with Dana Dominici, director of public relations for Costa Cruises North America. She noted that guest satisfaction is of the highest priority at Costa.
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Dominici said in reviewing Ms. Campbell’s file it showed that various crew members tried to work to correct the problems. “Two housekeeping team members noted that traces of smoke were not apparent after visiting her stateroom twice. Moreover, there were no reports of smoking in non-designated areas by crew or guests as noted in Ms. Campbell’s letter. Smoking is explicitly prohibited in dining rooms and limited to only designated areas within public areas and lounges,” said Dominici.
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In regards to Campbell’s visit to the infirmary Dominici notes that her reaction was due to a “pre-existing condition” that Campbell had not disclosed. The pre-existing medical condition is a severe reaction to cigarette smoke. What’s worse is that Campbell did not have any travel insurance. Dominici noted that if Campbell had Costa’s Guest Protection Plan it would have covered her trip interruption.
I was disappointed to hear that Campbell and Jeffries’ travel agent did not recommend the pair get travel insurance especially since they were senior citizens. The agent probably was not informed of Campbell’s allergy to cigarette smoke.
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