Wished private meeting space

On two sailings of Oceania Cruises’ Nautica — to Thailand, Viet Nam and China, Jan. 19-March 5, 2007, and to Korea, China, Japan and Taiwan, March 16-31 — I have run into the same problem.

The meetings for 12-step recovery groups were held on the starboard side of the Horizon Lounge, a very large meeting, coffee, etc., area at the top front of the ship. The meetings were usually at 5 p.m., the same time high tea tended to be going in that location.

There was no privacy and, without asking each person there, it was very difficult if not impossible to determine who was there for the meeting and who was there just to view the ocean.

I spoke with the cruise director, but he was quite set on doing the meetings there. He did move the group to the outdoor grill for a few days, but, of course, that didn’t work because people were always walking by and interrupting.

All of the other ships I have been on have these meetings either in the library, the chapel or some other relatively private area, and my experience has been that they are very well attended by those folks who are involved in some kind of recovery activity.

The same thing happened on Oceania’s Regatta about six years ago on a Dover-Stockholm cruise. The line simply seems unwilling to “get with the program,” so to speak, and accommodate these people the way other cruise lines are doing.

DAVID WILLIAMS

Dallas, TX

ITN sent a copy of the above letter to Oceania Cruises (8300 NW 33rd St., Ste. 308, Miami, FL 33122) and received no reply.