Smoking on Carnival

[babies12]

If you do not enjoy this thread move on to another.

 

That's exactlyt what I'm doing, it's called "The Balcony Club"! Much better to read about that than read about the constant same old ramblings about smoking ;)

[G'ma]

We are non-smokers and are taking our first cruise. We understand that we will have to deal with some smoking but it is unfortunate that CCL has not updated its policies to match the rest of the world. Smokers have a choice to smoke or not when wanting to participate in a event or go to an area of the ship that is non-smoking. The habits of non-smokers do not affect smokers and prevent them from going to certain bars, etc. The majority are non-smokers and this needs to be reflect more in their policies.

 

But I am sure we will enjoy our cruise regardless.

 

You don't have to be subjected to smoking at all. There are many cruise lines where smoking is completely prohibited or severely restricted to a few out of the way outdoor places.

 

You chose Carnival, so don't complain.

[D-Roc]

You don't have to be subjected to smoking at all. There are many cruise lines where smoking is completely prohibited or severely restricted to a few out of the way outdoor places.

 

You chose Carnival' date=' so don't complain.[/quote']

 

Not complaining. Just voicing an opinion.

[klmorg]

That's exactlyt what I'm doing, it's called "The Balcony Club"! Much better to read about that than read about the constant same old ramblings about smoking ;)

 

LOL... and the Balcony Club threads usually go POOF very quickly! As a proud member myself...:o

[mcwebber]

It's the Mile High Club. But for cruise ship balconies. I think the rest is self-explanatory.

Just use a safety rope.

[Cruzaholic41]

For people who have traveled carnival before how big of a nuisance has it been for you? I am more concerned about the rooms and lounges. If we find out that our room smells of tobacco smoke, would they entertain a request to put us in another room? Has anybody tried this before? We are travelling with a baby and I'd like to avoid any exposure to smoke.

 

I am responding only to you, and posting my personal experience.

 

I have not smelled smoke in my rooms. Well, once or twice, while rolling over in bed, or plopping down on the couch, I thought I smelled it. But for the most part, no.

 

That said, I have witnessed more smokers on CCL than most other cruise lines, second only to my cruise on Costa. The lounges that do allow smoking get pretty bad, and smoke can almost always be smelled on balconies.

[mcwebber]

Like hotels' date=' restaurants and other places of business, cruise lines have a budget for maintenance and repairs. It's not just smokers who do damage to ships, bub.

[/quote']

If you think that non-smokers cause as much damage and expense to the cruise ships, you're delusional.

 

http://www.maib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/Star%20Princess.pdf

"The fire started on an external stateroom balcony sited on deck 10 in the centre of main

vertical zone 3, on the vessel’s port side. It was probably caused by a discarded cigarette end

heating combustible materials on a balcony, which smouldered for about 20 minutes before

flames developed."

 

"The first heat

detectors to activate were in staterooms C316 and C318, and items on the balcony of

stateroom C316 at the time included two large cotton towels provided by the ship and

draped over the plastic chairs, a bathing suit, and a pair of water shoes, all of which had

been on the balcony for several hours. The passengers in C318 were smokers, and the

last occasion a cigarette was smoked on the balcony was shortly after midnight."

 

"During the course of this investigation, the MAIB was made aware of six fires on

the balconies of cruise ships during which either plastic chairs or beach towels had

caught alight. A cigarette end started one fire; the cause of the remaining five was not

known. Following the fire on board Star Princess, one passenger reported that during

the voyage, a discarded cigarette end had landed on one of the plastic chairs on his

balcony, and had left a burn mark. Several other passengers reported that discarded

cigarette ends had also landed on their balconies."

 

2.3.2 Cause of ignition

There was no evidence that accelerants were used to intentionally set the fire, and

the only electrical fittings on the balconies were the enclosed light fittings above the

balcony doors. The damage to the light fittings on the balconies of C316 and C318 was

consistent with exposure to an external heat source; there was no evidence of arcing

or failure. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, it is considered that the most

likely source of ignition was a discarded cigarette end.

 

The time lapsed from the smell of burning first being reported to the OOW at 0250,

and the manual call point being activated at 0309.20, indicates that the fire probably

smouldered for about 20 minutes before flames developed. This was consistent with

the fire being started by a discarded lighted cigarette end landing on combustible

materials."

 

SECTION 3 - CONCLUSIONS

3.1 FINDINGS

The following safety issues have been identified as a result of this investigation. They

are not listed in any order of priority.

1. During the course of this investigation, the MAIB was made aware of six fires on the

balconies of cruise ships during which either plastic chairs or beach towels had caught

alight. [2.2]

2. The fire started on the balconies in the vicinity of staterooms C316 and C318, on deck

10, and was probably ignited by a cigarette end discarded elsewhere. [2.3.1, 2.3.2]

 

There's plenty more about the cigarette being the cause of the fire in that report. You can delude yourself about it all you want. I recommend smoking something other than tobacco to help with that effort.

[Elmer McCurdy]

The amount of smoke a person will be exposed to is directly proportional to the amount of smokers around them, and the number of cigarettes those smokers smoke.

 

It's impossible to predict if a person will encounter a lot of smoke on any given cruise without knowing how many people smoke and how much those smokers smoke.

[Wanna_Cruise]

You have a point Elmer. I too have seen non-smokers brow beat others instead of researching the policy for themselves, or worse, instead of accepting the policy as we smokers must. My point was, waiters, crew, guest services, or hotels or other venues don't mind informing a smoker of the smoking policy when they overstep. It should work both ways since smoking is such a volitile issue.

[Elmer McCurdy]

You have a point Elmer. I too have seen non-smokers brow beat others instead of researching the policy for themselves, or worse, instead of accepting the policy as we smokers must. My point was, waiters, crew, guest services, or hotels or other venues don't mind informing a smoker of the smoking policy when they overstep. It should work both ways since smoking is such a volitile issue.

 

In a perfect world, right? I actually have heard hotel staff correct people complaining about balcony smokers.

 

Because it's such a volatile subject (and smokers are always in the wrong), it doesn't work both ways. Smokers are always wrong even though it's perfectly legal for us to smoke tobacco products.

 

The thing that kills me the most though is that so many of these vehement non-smokers contribute to the bottom line of tobacco companies. I wonder how many of them have fully researched their 401ks and IRAs to figure out if their mutual funds are invested in Altria, or have bought into bonds for tobacco settlements. I'm sure most of them shop at stores that sell tobacco products.

[Minouli]

On my trip on the Valor last year, I worried about smelling too much smoke also. Our room did not smell of smoke, nor did most of the ship. It was a family trip and we didn't frequent any of the bars or lounges. Only when passing the casino to get to or from various other venues did we smell smoke.

That being said, we are planning a cruise over Xmas 2012, and while I would love to splurge for a balcony to avoid crowded decks, it would burn me to be next to a smoker and not be able to use it at will. I despise cigarette smoke, and I also would not expose my kids to it if avoidable.



And no, I will not be putting them in a plastic bubble (real intelligent, by the way).

[RDC1]

You know what that link doesn't say? That even if you can smell the smoke you are doing your body irreparable damage. If I can have my body return to normal heart and lung functions within six months of quiting a pack a day habit, I imagine you can have normal heart and lung functions within hours of being around second-hand smoke for a couple of minutes.

 

Not quite sure what information you are basing this on. There is all kinds of medical information that indicates that while a considerable level of clearing does take place and improvement occurs in the incidence of some diseases a person that has smoked and has stopped is at a much higher risk for developing some diseases (non-small cell lung cancer), for example, then someone that has never smoked. Stopping is better then continuing to smoke, but not nearly as good as never having smoked.

 

There are some interesting, recent studies that look at even look at occupants of apartments having higher blood levels of some toxins, when the previous occupants have smoked, even when the apartments have been cleaned prior to occupancy. Just from surface contact.

 

Do a search on Pubmed for peer reviewed, published papers in this area.

[mcwebber]

The thing that kills me the most though is that so many of these vehement non-smokers contribute to the bottom line of tobacco companies. I wonder how many of them have fully researched their 401ks and IRAs to figure out if their mutual funds are invested in Altria, or have bought into bonds for tobacco settlements. I'm sure most of them shop at stores that sell tobacco products.

 

None of which has anything to do with their personal health and safety.

[raggedyann6]

I think it depends on what part of the country you are in. California outlaws smoking in a wide variety of public area. In Hawaii smoking is not allowed even on the beaches. Many hotels I stay in now are smoke free. You sign a contract that if you smoke in the room you CC will be charged $250 or more. I remember the days when you could light up where ever you wanted to on an airplane. Not any more and in some airports smoking is not allowed. It will eventually come to cruise ships. It has a lots to do on how health conscience people are. As you know that varies greatly from region to region in the US. So I do not believe because a person smokes that I should have to be around it or have my health affected. Smoke knows no boundaries. It is an addictive behavior. Cruise ships are way behind the times as the previous OP stated.

 

I noticed when I was on the Paradise out of LB,CA there were a lot less people smoking on the ship than when I was on the Triumph out of New Orleans. Could it be more passengers going out of CA are from the west coast and they smoke less than the southerners who may cruise more from New Orleans? Oh boy I bet I am going to get somebody all upset by making a generalization about smokers and what states they live in, it is just my humble observation. Also there seemed to be almost twice as much food consumed on the cruise out of New Orleans than Long Beach. OK I am sorry if I upset any of you!!! For the record I had more fun on the cruise out of New Orleans smoke or no smoke. Humm...Could smokers and big eaters be more fun??

For the mom that wanted to know about smoke on the Splendor I am going in late March I will let you know what I observed. The cabins on the 2 Carnival ships I have been on did NOT smell of smoke at all.

[Elmer McCurdy]

None of which has anything to do with their personal health and safety.

 

So you have no problem with people smoking, just as long as they do it as far from you as possible ;)

[Elmer McCurdy]

Not quite sure what information you are basing this on. There is all kinds of medical information that indicates that while a considerable level of clearing does take place and improvement occurs in the incidence of some diseases a person that has smoked and has stopped is at a much higher risk for developing some diseases (non-small cell lung cancer), for example, then someone that has never smoked. Stopping is better then continuing to smoke, but not nearly as good as never having smoked.

 

There are some interesting, recent studies that look at even look at occupants of apartments having higher blood levels of some toxins, when the previous occupants have smoked, even when the apartments have been cleaned prior to occupancy. Just from surface contact.

 

Do a search on Pubmed for peer reviewed, published papers in this area.

 

I'm still looking for a study that says you're all gonna get a horrible, terrible disease from being around a smoker for less than 30 minutes.

 

Haven't found it yet.

[mcwebber]

So you have no problem with people smoking, just as long as they do it as far from you as possible ;)

 

Why would I care if it doesn't affect me? I would prefer my friends not smoke. Two of them died in the past 4 months from smoking related illness, but they have to want to quit.

[mcwebber]

I'm still looking for a study that says you're all gonna get a horrible, terrible disease from being around a smoker for less than 30 minutes.

 

Haven't found it yet.

 

It's hard to see the effects of second-hand smoke with your eyes closed.

[Elmer McCurdy]

It's hard to see the effects of second-hand smoke with your eyes closed.

 

My eyes are hardly closed, my friend. I'm not denying that second-hand smoke has ill effects. I just want to know what exactly those ill effects are when the exposure is so minimal. And for a normal person, not a person with respitory issues. It's difficult information to find. The short-term effects of nasal and eye irritation are well known, but it's difficult to measure any effects on the lung and heart. This, of course, if concerning a healthy adult with no respitory issues.