Following the trend to stub out cigarette smoking, Royal Caribbean International on Monday joined many other hospitality operators by increasing its smoke-free areas to include all staterooms and one lounge on each ship in its fleet. The new policy will go into effect aboard 18 of the line's 21 ships initially following the 2008 summer season. Alice Norsworthy, Royal Caribbean's senior vice president of marketing, said the new policy was implemented due to guest feedback received from online polling. Currently, smoking is prohibited in guest hallways, restaurants, entertainment venues and most of the ship's interior pubic spaces except for designated bars and lounges. Guests can still smoke on stateroom and suite balconies, something Regent Seven Seas said it would ban beginning in December.
