My wife and I recently had our first experience of cruising, and we chose Carnival for it. The just-launched Carnival Splendor left nothing to be desired facilities-wise, especially to somebody who could not make any comparisons with other vessels of whichever line. But there were two things that certainly rankled.

With Carnival (and other cruise lines) making so much money in Europe, why should passengers have to pay everything in US dollars when the cruise was totally in Europe? The favourable rate of exchange does not come into this. I look on this as a matter of principle, not to say disdain for the thousands of passengers buttering Carnival's bread. Granted that there were passengers from all over the world who still had to convert their money to dollars, but it would not have hurt them to convert to euros, since convert they must.

And why should Sea Miles be made available exclusively to Americans? They certainly hold no edge over so many thousands of Europeans (and citizens of other countries) who cruise regularly because they have the time and the money for it.

If anything, most cruising Americans put less money into Carnival's coffers than others do, because cruise prices in the US are notoriously cheaper than those offered in Europe. I promised myself to write this letter to The Times in the very first days of our cruise. It would have been futile to take the matter up with any employee, because they are just employees. I sincerely hope the local agents for Carnival Cruise Lines (and other lines) will take this up and bring it to the principals' notice.