Royal Carribean / Carnival / ships / smoking / SoCal

Hi all.

Just got back from a 5-day Carnival Triumph cruise from NOLA to Progreso and Cozumel. My wife and I had a great time, but the ship and its facilities, entertainment, and food were really second class compared to our first cruise a year ago on Mariner of the Seas. The Triumph had a really bad layout, forcing us to go through rooms to get anywhere. This made the fact that there are many more areas where smoking is allowed much worse. I don't think we could get anywhere on the ship without walking within a few feed of cigarettes. The sporting/athletic facilities were also really pathetic compared to Mariner: no ice rink, no climbing wall, no basketball, no ping-pong. There was only one real Vegas-style show. The other nights were just audience participation. The food wasn't very good most nights, although the drinks were very good.

So, as soon as we got back, we started looking into future cruises on Royal Caribbean and it looks like they're totally leaving Southern California! They only show two cruises in all of 2011, and one is a repositioning away from San Diego. What's the deal? Anyone have info? Is this permanent?

Thanks!

David