Smoking on the High Seas
September 24, 2007 by Cruise Arizona
Filed under Planning
If you are in the mood to get flamed online, just go to any cruise message board and start a thread about smoking on cruise ships advocating strongly either the pro-smoking position or the non-smoking position. There will be plenty of respondents who will strongly, maybe even belligerently, disagree with your position. However, despite it being a testy subject, many cruise lines are now adopting more restrictive smoking polices and in some cases they are starting to lose money because of the new policies.
A few years ago Carnival experimented with an all nonsmoking ship, but they had trouble filling it without deep discounts. Why would a non-smoking ship have such a problem staying full when there are so many people who would even be willing to pay a premium to avoid it? Mostly because an all non-smoking policy eliminated group sales. Imagine if you were planning a family reunion, you couldn’t book a non-smoking ship if your Uncle Ted smokes. The same situation would be true for an incentive tri, or social group planning a trip together. A few people in the group are bound to be smokers, so they would have to choose a different ship.
Instead of this all non-smoking trend, the cruise lines have tried to create a compromise by having dedicated smoking areas and non-smoking areas. On most ships the theaters and dining rooms are non-smoking. However, most of the time, patrons have been allowed to smoke in the lounges, open decks, staterooms and balconies. After the Star Princess fire, which killed one passenger last year, the cruise lines are trying to redefine the acceptable smoking areas in order to ensure passenger safety. Regent Seven Seas recently changed their smoking policy to prohibit smoking in cabins and on balconies, and according to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, the move is costing the company millions of dollars in cancellations. I truly feel that passenger safety should come first, and if smoking in one’s room or balcony poses a more substantial threat to that safety of the passengers, then it should be banned. The thought as to why in room and balcony smoking is dangerous is the possibility of the smoker falling asleep while smoking and the chance of a stray butt lighting a balcony on fire.
I am a non-smoker and usually cruise Celebrity. Their policy is to allow smoking in most of the lounges only on the port side of the ship. Generally this policy has worked well for me because I am generally only bothered by the smell and do not have reactions other than maybe watery eyes or runny nose.. When I stay on the starboard side I usually don’t notice the smoke. However, the casinos were so smoky I just wanted to avoid them (not all bad, I save money that way too) and if I accidentally walked down the port side of the ship, it was rather stinky. The current policy restricts smoking in the most important areas for me – the Dining Room and the Theater. However, it would be fine for me if they wanted to make it even more restrictive like they have on their sister line Azamara. On their ships, there are only two designated public smoking areas, one indoors and one outdoors, and smoking is prohibited in staterooms, suites and balconies. Here in Arizona, they have passed a law prohibiting indoor smoking in all indoor public areas. All the bars here in the state have had to set up outdoor smoking porches for their patrons. If I still went to bars, I think I would really appreciate the non-smoking atmosphere. I have noticed that restaurants that had smoking in their adjacent bars, are now much cleaner smelling now. In college, I used to get a scratchy irritated throat after going out with friends. I thought it was the consumption of beer that caused this problem, but after having the same problem even when I was the designated driver, and not drinking, I determined that it was the indoor smoke that caused the irritation. Who wants to feel like that on a cruise, when you are on vacation?
Its hard for me to say how I would feel about these new policies if I was a smoker, but the trend around the world has been to ban indoor smoking in public places and it only makes sense that for safety and comfort of all passengers, that the cruise lines would follow suit.
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Cruising has become a vacation choice that will be crossed off of our list! My husband NEVER smokes indoors, and we have enjoyed “balcony” cruising, which allows him to have his last cigarette before retiring for the night, on the balcony just outside our stateroom. The idea of going somewhere else on the ship late at night, just before going to bed does not work, nor does it work first thing in the morning. I have never smoked, and wish he didn’t, but see how he has tried to not bother anyone with his “habit”. It’s too bad that there couldn’t be a a smoking balcony level (no smoking in the rooms) to accommodate others like him and their non smoking spouses who will now opt out of cruising.
Stay tuned Lexi, there are still quite a few cruise lines that allow balcony smoking. We are working on a chart that shows who still allows it an who doesn’t. It should be posted in the next week.
Anti-smoking is not new. It has a long, sickly history. The two prominent anti-smoking ‘crusades’ of the 20th century were in the US and Nazi Germany. Anti-smoking is allowed to proliferate when societies are not faring well psychologically, socially, and morally. In this degenerate circumstance, ‘not smoking’ is fraudulently elevated (substituted) as a marker of ‘rectitude’. For more detail on the anti-smoking mentality, see e.g. www.rampant-antismoking.com.
Smokers should boycott cruise lines that adopt (usually under anti-smoking pressure) aggressive non-smoking policies. Smokers are not second-class citizens: Only the deranged anti-smoking mentality believes so. It is the anti-smoking mentality that needs to be closely scrutinized and rebuked. It has already been allowed to propagate a plethora of false, and usually inflammatory, claims. In its wake, it typically leaves mental dysfunction (irrational belief/fear/hatred) and social division.
Well John,
As a non-smoker at prefer a smoke free environment, and that in no way makes me irrational.
I would suggest Pullmantar for your next cruise.
“Well John,
As a non-smoker at prefer a smoke free environment, and that in no way makes me irrational.
I would suggest Pullmantar for your next cruise.â€
Well, Cruise Arizona
You’re correct. That you prefer a smokefree environment does not make you irrational of itself. How far one would go to ensure a smokefree environment might indicate irrationality. How one reacts to ambient smoke might indicate irrationality. I certainly did not accuse you (Cruise Arizona) of being an irrational, rabid anti-smoker. However, your additional statement regarding with whom I should cruise is less than insightful. I hadn’t realized that you had become the arbiter of with whom smokers (if I am one) should cruise. And it looks as though you have only one cruise line to offer even though there are still a number of cruise lines that still cater to one extent or another for those that smoke. To this extent, your comment appears to be arrogantly dismissive (I hope I’m mistaken). How did it get this way? Why has exposure to ambient tobacco smoke become such a critical issue – including for cruise lines? I should also indicate that I am quite familiar with the current smoking policies of most of the cruise lines.
I take it that you did not read the indicated link (maybe you did). It was offered to highlight that there is far more to the ‘smoke’ issue than most are aware of, and certainly more than just a matter of preferences. There have been numerous falsehoods propagated in the intentional denormalization of smokers into a second-class, not-to-be-counted, citizenry. These falsehoods promote irrational belief/fear/hatred and social division, as they have done in past antismoking ‘crusades’. Non-smokers, particularly, have been psychologically assaulted by the propaganda. Many do not even realize it: That’s the nature of mental manipulation. Hopefully those that smoke and non-smokers can come to a more balanced perspective regarding the issue. This is not possible until we comprehend at least some of the contorted steps taken by officialdom and lobby groups in getting us to where we currently find ourselves. Unfortunately, many are not willing to think through the issues.
Concerning safety, is it realized that one accepts a level of risk just stepping onto a ship – even a smokefree ship? Yet, thankfully, nautical accidents and mechanical mishaps are rare, although they can occur and can be horribly disastrous. Indeed, there can be smoking mishaps (e.g., fire). These would probably be even more rare. But, why has the latter been manufactured into a mountain of problem requiring extermination?
Notwithstanding your personal preferences, there are those, smokers and non-smokers alike, that might be interested in facts.
Regards.
Well there is an old saying around the internet about cruise boards and it goes something like this “If you want to start heated debate, that brings out the most passionate responses choose from the following topics: Smoking, Dress Codes and Alcohol Smuggling.” These debates will never be resolved on internet chat rooms, but perhaps the continued dialogue will contribute better understanding.