Why We Left NCL?

[BaseballMomof4]

Baseballmom,

 

You are obviously annoyed by all the things that you listed above. How would you feel if those people told you "too bad, learn to live with it"? Non-smokers can be very annoyed by 2nd hand smoke. That's just a fact of life. You say that you "enjoy a smoke", but there are so many other things in life to enjoy. Why "choose" something that annoys other people? That, in and of itself is a huge reason to not smoke. Let alone the health issues.

 

Maybe the next cabin has a child with athsma and they are affected by the smoke? If on your balcony, only three cigarettes get smoked each day, as you say, then that's not so bad. But most smokers need more than three cigarettes. Some people report that they can't use their balcony at all because they get smoked out.

 

BTW, I would also be annoyed by all the inconsiderate things that you listed above. Just like everybody else.

 

Those are all things I have been told "too bad, deal with it" on cruises. The difference is I am not rude to those people, I don't "call them out" and I don't try to get them banned from a ship. I just write it off as one of those things you have deal with and recognize that while it is my vacation, it is theirs as well and they are not on the ship to please me any more than I am on the ship to please them.

[jdarch]

Last year my husband and I splurged and got an aft facing balcony cabin on the Dawn. The ship is in port 2 1/2 days. We were so excited about this trip and our room. But we couldn't sit on our balcony because the guy next door smoked like a chimney.

 

I was very angry about it because we did not infringe on his rights while he was on vacation yet he infringed on ours.

 

Plus every morning we woke up to the smell of smoke coming through the AC system.

 

It is not what I think I should have to put up with and it is a big thing to a non smoker.

 

It is our only complaint ever when we cruise.

Tracy

 

The ac thing happened to us too...on one of our cruises on the dawn we had smoke come in through our ac and there was nothing they could do about it...

[snoozycruisee]

It amazes me that the US have such liberal smoking laws. We have work safe laws in place here and smoky places are deemd unhealthy. I thought smoking on balconies would also be a safety issue as fire is the greatest risk/hazard at sea. It only needs a few careless passengers to throw buts over-land on another balcony etc. That is another reason that many cruiselines ban smoking on balconies as it is a safety issue. Maybe the cruise lines need the booths used in China/Europe -where the smoker sits inside the booth and the smoke is contained therefor not effecting others.

 

Viola - This may be the answer. Imagine Mini-Booths being added to a small % of Balcony Staterooms. Then allow Smoking on a Balcony in these "Balcony Box" Cabins only :D. I like it !!

[time2cruise1]

Viola - This may be the answer. Imagine Mini-Booths being added to a small % of Balcony Staterooms. Then allow Smoking on a Balcony in these "Balcony Box" Cabins only :D. I like it !!

 

It's like letting passengers go back to smoking in their cabins so they don't upset sensitive neighbors on the balcony. ;)

[armwinder]

Originally Posted by snoozycruisee

Viola - This may be the answer. Imagine Mini-Booths being added to a small % of Balcony Staterooms. Then allow Smoking on a Balcony in these "Balcony Box" Cabins only :D. I like it !!

 

 

I like it too;

It may also work in assisting them to quit, I read somewhere that if a smoker attempted a task they did not enjoy (i.e. clean up dog doo or cats fur balls) instead of having a cigarette it would train their minds to associate smoking with an unpleasant event. Likewise sitting in a small box may not be pleasant for them. On the other hand allowing smoking on a balcony could trigger an automatic reflex for them to smoke.

[che5904]

It may also work in assisting them to quit,

 

Not sure where you get the idea that smokers need "assistance" to quit. There are many so called assistance to those that do wish to quit. I'd have to say guess the others don't want to.

[Rounder]

Not sure where you get the idea that smokers need "assistance" to quit. There are many so called assistance to those that do wish to quit. I'd have to say guess the others don't want to.

 

well put, as a smoker, i agree. i really don't need any assistance, i can mess thing's up all by myself :eek: For us, we chose Norwegian, because they allow smoking on the balcony's. Had an awesome time on the Sun back in Jan/12. Me think's some non-smokers are just Blowing Smoke Ha Ha :(, but have been wrong before !

 

off topic for a second, Che, did you change your picture of your cute little puppy? on my screen, it show's up like a photo negative.

[johnmpcny]

I would bet if your smokers you book the balcony so you can smoke. This makes the numbers and chances of a smoker being near your balcony much higher than the 20% of smokers in general.

 

So lets say you use the 20% smokers in the general pop. you could very well find 50% or more of the balcony cabins have smokers on them.

 

I detest it but understand they paid money and are following the current rules. So we do not book balcony rooms, we book inside...

 

I do not go to the casino's because of the smoke or anything near it. Even walking by the area makes my clothes smell. But no I am not for 100% no smoking just better control of it. NCl if they track it has the ability to query historical data of % smokers on each of their cruises so this is really not that hard. (I am database guy they can nail this + or - 2%)

 

NCL does pretty good job but setting aside blocks of balcony cabins towards the back of the ship for smokers would be a help. Yet we will then hear how the aft balcony's or my favorite cabin area is now filled with smokers and I can no longer book one and so on.

[time2cruise1]

Originally Posted by snoozycruisee

Viola - This may be the answer. Imagine Mini-Booths being added to a small % of Balcony Staterooms. Then allow Smoking on a Balcony in these "Balcony Box" Cabins only :D. I like it !!

 

 

I like it too;

It may also work in assisting them to quit, I read somewhere that if a smoker attempted a task they did not enjoy (i.e. clean up dog doo or cats fur balls) instead of having a cigarette it would train their minds to associate smoking with an unpleasant event. Likewise sitting in a small box may not be pleasant for them. On the other hand allowing smoking on a balcony could trigger an automatic reflex for them to smoke.

 

They might be a better option for the select non smokers to use that need protection from the occasional whiff of smoke. :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - Jim

[che5904]

off topic for a second, Che, did you change your picture of your cute little puppy? on my screen, it show's up like a photo negative.

 

hahaha yeah, I was just playing with my special effects on photos. She'll be back soon. :) I'm away for the weekend with a crappy internet signal so I can't do much with pictures.

[mommyto2girls]

This whole topic is so flammable..the cruise lines like to make money, they know their demographic. They are not giving up the smoking crowd so quickly. Even with the changes made this past January you can still smoke on balconies on:

Carnival

Costa

Cunard

Disney

Hal

NCL

Rccl

Cunard as in the Queen Mary and QE 2 allow smoking in the cabins so does Crystal.

We still have choices as smokers and you still have choices as non smokers.

 

None of you know me so do not judge what I do or what my so called addiction or habits are. Really it is enough already. Some of you need to get on another soapbox.

[podgeandrodge]

If we find that smoke from the adjacent balcony is causing a problem, I may "ask" our neighbors if they can avoid smoking when we are outside.

 

Or you could stay inside when they are smoking and go outside when they're not - probably 50 minutes of each hour? - or are you just unlucky and get the chain smokers who live on the balcony 24/7 and smoke 12 an hour?

 

Please everyone stop littering this thread with anti smoking ("helpful advice") posts - that's not what the thread is about. Go spread the good word elsewhere where it's being asked for. (And it doesn't work anyway - we all know you have to want to stop yourself for it to work)

 

When I was a smoker I personally chose to smoke on the balcony when the neighbours were not on their balconies as I felt conscious that they mightn't like it. Equally if I was on the balcony smoking my "one an hour" I enjoyed it and would have expected that they could stay in their cabin for those few minutes if it bothered them.

 

Now I'm an ex smoker I don't really like a neighbours smoke on their balcony wafting by so I go back inside. 5 minutes later problem over.

 

Most people are doing lot's of other stuff most of the time on a cruise. You'd swear from reading the posts on here that everyone is living on their balcony all day long.

 

Most of what's on here is just hysterical anti smoking bias. 2nd hand smoke in the open air is bad for you? - give us a break! :)

[Rounder]

Or you could stay inside when they are smoking and go outside when they're not - probably 50 minutes of each hour? - or are you just unlucky and get the chain smokers who live on the balcony 24/7 and smoke 12 an hour?

 

Please everyone stop littering this thread with anti smoking ("helpful advice") posts - that's not what the thread is about. Go spread the good word elsewhere where it's being asked for. (And it doesn't work anyway - we all know you have to want to stop yourself for it to work)

 

When I was a smoker I personally chose to smoke on the balcony when the neighbours were not on their balconies as I felt conscious that they mightn't like it. Equally if I was on the balcony smoking my "one an hour" I enjoyed it and would have expected that they could stay in their cabin for those few minutes if it bothered them.

 

Now I'm an ex smoker I don't really like a neighbours smoke on their balcony wafting by so I go back inside. 5 minutes later problem over.

 

Most people are doing lot's of other stuff most of the time on a cruise. You'd swear from reading the posts on here that everyone is living on their balcony all day long.

 

Most of what's on here is just hysterical anti smoking bias. 2nd hand smoke in the open air is bad for you? - give us a break! :)

 

Thank you very much :cool: finally a level head. As i smoker i firmly believe that all non-smoker's have the right to a smoke free enviroment, absolutely ! Please exercise your right's and cruise on another line :( The OP did the right thing in chosing a line that doesn't allow smoking on their next cruise. Then maybe all can be happy;) Wow what a thought!

Silly me :eek:

[IMWord]

Please everyone stop littering this thread with anti smoking ("helpful advice") posts - that's not what the thread is about. Go spread the good word elsewhere where it's being asked for. (And it doesn't work anyway - we all know you have to want to stop yourself for it to work)

Most of what's on here is just hysterical anti smoking bias. 2nd hand smoke in the open air is bad for you? - give us a break! :)

 

 

I agree as this thread is about a person deciding not to cruise NCL because of smokers discharging 2nd hand smoke into their space. We should stay on topic and not provide any advice, but just facts:

 

Smoking is a greater cause of death and disability that any single disease, says the World Health Organisation. :(

 

According to their figures, it is responsible for approximately 3.5 million deaths worldwide every year - or about 7% of all deaths. Tobacco smoking is a known or probable cause of approximately 25 diseases, and even the WHO says that its impact on world health is not fully assessed.

 

Heart attack and stroke

UK studies show that smokers in their 30s and 40s are five times more likely to have a heart attack than non-smokers. Tobacco contributes to the hardening of the arteries, which can then become blocked and starve the heart of bloodflow, causing the attack. Often, smokers who develop this will require complex and risky heart bypass surgery. If you smoke for a lifetime, there is a 50% chance that your eventual death will be smoking-related - half of all these deaths will be in middle age. Smoking also increases the risk of having a stroke.

 

Lung problems

Another primary health risk associated with smoking are lung cancer, which kills more than 20,000 people in the UK every year. US studies have shown that men who smoke increase their chances of dying from the disease by more than 22 times. Women who smoke increase this risk by nearly 12 times. Lung cancer is a difficult cancer to treat - long term survival rates are poor. Smoking also increases the risk of oral, uterine, liver, kidney, bladder, stomach, and cervical cancers, and leukaemia. Another health problem associated with tobacco is emphysema, which, when combined with chronic bronchitis, produces chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The lung damage which causes emphysema is irreversible, and makes it extremely difficult to breathe.

 

Future impact

By 2020, the WHO expects the worldwide death toll to reach 10 million, causing 17.7% of all deaths in developed countries. There are believed to be 1.1 billion smokers in the world, 800,000 of them in developing countries.

[che5904]

I agree as this thread is about a person deciding not to cruise NCL because of smokers discharging 2nd hand smoke into their space. We should stay on topic and not provide any advice, but just facts:

 

Smoking is a greater cause of death and disability that any single disease, says the World Health Organisation. :(

 

According to their figures, it is responsible for approximately 3.5 million deaths worldwide every year - or about 7% of all deaths. Tobacco smoking is a known or probable cause of approximately 25 diseases, and even the WHO says that its impact on world health is not fully assessed.

 

Heart attack and stroke

UK studies show that smokers in their 30s and 40s are five times more likely to have a heart attack than non-smokers. Tobacco contributes to the hardening of the arteries, which can then become blocked and starve the heart of bloodflow, causing the attack. Often, smokers who develop this will require complex and risky heart bypass surgery. If you smoke for a lifetime, there is a 50% chance that your eventual death will be smoking-related - half of all these deaths will be in middle age. Smoking also increases the risk of having a stroke.

 

Lung problems

Another primary health risk associated with smoking are lung cancer, which kills more than 20,000 people in the UK every year. US studies have shown that men who smoke increase their chances of dying from the disease by more than 22 times. Women who smoke increase this risk by nearly 12 times. Lung cancer is a difficult cancer to treat - long term survival rates are poor. Smoking also increases the risk of oral, uterine, liver, kidney, bladder, stomach, and cervical cancers, and leukaemia. Another health problem associated with tobacco is emphysema, which, when combined with chronic bronchitis, produces chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The lung damage which causes emphysema is irreversible, and makes it extremely difficult to breathe.

 

Future impact

By 2020, the WHO expects the worldwide death toll to reach 10 million, causing 17.7% of all deaths in developed countries. There are believed to be 1.1 billion smokers in the world, 800,000 of them in developing countries.

 

Really? Wow! No Kidding? Well if somebody has studied it it must be so! :rolleyes:

[DMH15]

I would bet if your smokers you book the balcony so you can smoke. This makes the numbers and chances of a smoker being near your balcony much higher than the 20% of smokers in general.

 

So lets say you use the 20% smokers in the general pop. you could very well find 50% or more of the balcony cabins have smokers on them.

 

I detest it but understand they paid money and are following the current rules. So we do not book balcony rooms, we book inside...

 

I do not go to the casino's because of the smoke or anything near it. Even walking by the area makes my clothes smell. But no I am not for 100% no smoking just better control of it. NCl if they track it has the ability to query historical data of % smokers on each of their cruises so this is really not that hard. (I am database guy they can nail this + or - 2%)

 

NCL does pretty good job but setting aside blocks of balcony cabins towards the back of the ship for smokers would be a help. Yet we will then hear how the aft balcony's or my favorite cabin area is now filled with smokers and I can no longer book one and so on.

 

A lot of us have stated for a long time how we love our aft cabins. So if this came to be, yes it would bum me out. Because then I (non smoker) would need to book a smoking section. I am happier the way it is. I have never had a balcony smoking problem, knock on wood. If I did I can only hope if I treat the smoker(s) with kindness and respect we could work it out.

[armwinder]

Really? Wow! No Kidding? Well if somebody has studied it it must be so! :rolleyes:

 

Our son is a smoker, you cannot reason with these kind.

[IMWord]

Really? Wow! No Kidding? Well if somebody has studied it it must be so!

 

Well, I would expect nothing less from you in response, but glad you read my comment anyways. Perhaps you have found a "study" that promotes smoking as a healthy activity adding years to smokers lives :rolleyes:. Oh well, at least I stayed on topic with my post ;)

[IMWord]

Our son is a smoker, you cannot reason with these kind.

 

So true............:(

[armwinder]

So true............:(

 

 

 

The crazy thing is he has allergies, blames it on everything but smoking, he even has alopecia. I just get “no dad it could not the smoking I am not allergic to THAT” Silly boy that is what could be making him allergic. He works in the oil sands; yes the toxic fumes bother him. Worst part is they are having a baby he can afford to smoke and like most of this type is addicted, defiance and uncaring. He has to smoke, that is all that counts.

It is consfusing as he is well educated therefore I do not understand why he would continue on this destructive path. I can understand the older folks who do not understand the risks and have little to lose, but a few years off their lives. I do feel some degree of empathy for them but no real concern. Sure the way they smell offends me, personal hygiene certainly is an issue.

I do not know how our son would react if, on a balcony with his child in arms and second hand smoke was chocking his new baby, - with some disgust I would imagine, however he is no better than others in this faction, as he “lights up” (as these kind say ) having no concern about others. Sad - we tried to bring him up to be a good responsible citizen.

[tip]

But one thing is certain. The percentage of the popluation that smokes is declining, and that trend will continue. And intolerance for second hand smoke will also increase in the future.

 

 

You are indeed correct!

[Lou33]

The respose from some smokers regarding offensive 2nd hand smoke seems to be denial:

 

The by-products of my habit/addiction really doesn't bother other people, does it? How could that be? If some people are bothered, then they shouldn't be bothered.

 

The fact is that other people "are" bothered to varying degrees. Maybe some non-smokers are more or less sensitive than others, maybe some smokers are more inconsiderate than others.

 

If smokers choose to engage in an activity that annoys other people, then that is their choice, but that "is" what happens.

[BaseballMomof4]

The respose from some smokers regarding offensive 2nd hand smoke seems to be denial:

 

The by-products of my habit/addiction really doesn't bother other people, does it? How could that be? If some people are bothered, then they shouldn't be bothered.

 

The fact is that other people "are" bothered to varying degrees. Maybe some non-smokers are more or less sensitive than others, maybe some smokers are more inconsiderate than others.

 

If smokers choose to engage in an activity that annoys other people, then that is their choice, but that "is" what happens.

 

I don't think others should not be bothered. I understand that others might be bothered and therefore do try to be considerate. Where I draw the line is at the attitude of the most vehement non-smokers that smokers should be (1) banned from ships; (2) sent to some remote corner of the ship; (3) banned from balconies; (4) have "poop smell" sent their way; (5) be forced to become a non-smoker because of a "study".

 

A LOT of behaviors on cruise ships bother me. I understand that the entire ship does not have to accommodate me and acquiesce to what I consider acceptable behavior. That seems to be the problem here. Understanding that the person that paid the same amount of money for the same accommodations as you DOES NOT have to change their behavior to accommodate you. For some being in a balcony cabin next to someone who smokes is not preferable. Well, for me being next to someone who slams their door, is a night owl, is loud or drunk is not preferable. I am not asking NCL to ban these passengers.

 

And for the record, there will always be a study that will refute another study if you choose to take the time to do the research. It is for that reason that I refuse to get involved in the "study wars" in this thread.

[njhorseman]

Please quote the study that says that the second hand smoke from one cigarette outside in the open air more than 10 feet away is going to permanently harm you. Thanks!

 

You can start by reading this report from the Surgeon General, which also references other reports.

 

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/reports/secondhandsmoke/index.html

 

Obviously no one is studying the effect of one cigarette...but on a one week cruise are you only smoking one cigarette in total for the entire week? I kind of doubt it. I can report from personal experience that the smoke of one cigarette smoked 10 feet away can trigger breathing problems for me, as I have COPD.

 

Just to keep things straight...I never argued that someone shouldn't be allowed to smoke on their balcony if the cruise line permits it, so direct the snarky challenges elsewhere.

[RareBird]

Really? Smoking drove you away?!

 

Pfftt... I hate smokers and their stinky smells, but I really dont care if I get a wiff once in a while. Not enough to stop sailing, that's for sure.