Costa, Smoking Policy and Solo Travellers

[Frequent Flyer]

Hi all - I'm about to book a South American Cruise on Cost February 2014 leaving out of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

 

Two questions before I put my money down..

 

I've read that Costa's smoking policy is decades behind. Has this changed recently? Has smoking been banned in the dining areas completely? What about the pool areas?

 

And - what is the usual client profile on Costa? Will an independent single woman in her 50's be seriously out of place - especially one with no Spanish or Portuguese skills?

 

Looking forward to your comments. :D

[kasi1979]

Smoking in the dining rooms and the buffet has been banned for years, on outside decks and in the bars there´s one side of the bar dedicated to smokers.

[AnonymousCruiser69]

based on the way you phrased your smoking question, I don't think costa would be a good choice for you.

[Dancer Bob]

There's a huge amount of misinformation about Costa. In Europe, there's still lots of smoking in Turkey and Greece, but Italy, France and Spain- I see more smoking in Forida. So the Europeans on board will be no more likely to smoke than North Americans.

On Crystal Serenity recently, you could walk through the smoking areas if you weren't carefull. And the cruise after, there was apparently a large group of Japanese who smoked very heavily. On Adventure of the Seas from San Juan in January, the casino was entirely smoking, pretty vile and you had to go out of your way to avoid it. I wonder what I would have been told if I asked about those two ships.

You are right to be concerned about being the only English-speaking single if that's important to you. In Europe, there are usually only 100-200 English speakers, and I'm often the only single.

I don't know about South America, especially how many passengers are local, but I suspect any problems will be the same on any cruise there. A group I travel with from Toronto was considering it this year, but it didn't happen. One reason was visas- it was going to be a pain, and that's with a consulate in Toronto. Unless you can find someone who's done that itinerary recently- I assume your travel agent hasn't- treat any information as a "maybe".

[Frequent Flyer]

Bob - one of the good things is that I've been to Brazil 3 times in the past 2 years and have a still-valid tourist visa. I love the country and wanted to try something a bit different this time.

 

I'm also an ESL teacher and love languages, but seem to never have mastered Spanish/Italian/Portuguese. I can read most of what I get on a menu and won't be bothered by the signage. It just may be a bit lonely if there's no one else to speak with and share adventures!

 

So - it looks like the smoking policy is a bit fluid and may be region- dependant and passenger base dependant (something we've all witnessed!). All of us non-smokers have learned to avoid the casinos on cruise ships....

 

I understand COSTA staff speak some English - something I'm used to. the better question is what is the client profile?

 

I'm booking through an internet agency and won't be using a TA to answer all my questions.

[AmoMondo]

Haven't dome a Outh American itinerary on Vosta but have sailed with them 3 times as a solo female in her fifties. Just returned from the lastnyesterday and whilst there were not many Englosh speakers onboard, they did have us seated in the same section at dinner. We had 2 couples and 3 solo females at our table - all Bfiish.

 

If it's important to you to have other solo passengers to speak to, this cruise ,

May not be for you. I've done a couple repo ones form that region with MSC and we had a fair number of solos because they don't charge a single sup

Lament on repo cruises. However on a round trip cruise in S America, I don't think there will be many English speakers never mind solo ones.

[hoytlakes]

ok, just back from costa pacifica western med cruise. am an american women who does not smoke. i was forwarned about the smoking so was prepared. it is obvious people smoke. you will smell it everwhere but may not see it. i smelled it on my balconly, in the bars, and most places. in each bar one side is roped off/separated for the smokers. i did not notice it in 'My Way' restaurant thankfully. we just ignored it, but could smell it on people. i still don't understand what is so hard about banning it all together. it is just not acceptable any longer. i don't know if all cruise lines are as liberal with the stinky habit or not. we could put up w/ the smelly peeps as long as we could quickly move away from them. as for being single on the ship i don't feel that will matter in the least. you will not stand out in any way.

[Dancer Bob]

You must speak enough English to communicate to work on Costa, it's the international language same as aviation. I once had an English-language hostess who spoke almost no Italian. On the ship, information in English should be fine, you sound like you know more about the locals than I do.

[G.M.T.]

Haven't dome a Outh American itinerary on Vosta but have sailed with them 3 times as a solo female in her fifties. Just returned from the lastnyesterday and whilst there were not many Englosh speakers onboard, they did have us seated in the same section at dinner. We had 2 couples and 3 solo females at our table - all Bfiish.

 

 

WOW! Reading the first paragraph, you can still see that the All Inclusive Drinks Package and typing, do not go hand in hand even after being at home for 24 hours.:rolleyes:

 

Mairi, welcome home.

 

Ron

[chrispb]

ok, just back from costa pacifica western med cruise. am an american women who does not smoke. i was forwarned about the smoking so was prepared. it is obvious people smoke. you will smell it everwhere but may not see it. i smelled it on my balconly, in the bars, and most places. in each bar one side is roped off/separated for the smokers. i did not notice it in 'My Way' restaurant thankfully. we just ignored it, but could smell it on people. i still don't understand what is so hard about banning it all together. it is just not acceptable any longer. i don't know if all cruise lines are as liberal with the stinky habit or not. we could put up w/ the smelly peeps as long as we could quickly move away from them. as for being single on the ship i don't feel that will matter in the least. you will not stand out in any way.

 

Most smokers have moved from other lines to Costa because they are more liberal with their smoking policy. Non-smokers have plenty of other choices regarding cruiselines and even on Costa it is fairly easy to avoid excess smoke. Smokers have very little choice - non-smokers have plenty.

[UKBayern]

On our Costa cruise, we only came across smokers on 1 evening in 1 particular bar. For the rest I did not see them, and did not smell them. Contrary to popular belief the large majority of Europeans do not smoke, especially North-, Western-, and Eastern-Europeans do not smoke very much.

 

We noticed on our cruise that all staff spoke excellent english. English speakers will be places on one table together, and most Europeans are taught english in school, so you will have no problem communicating.

[hoytlakes]

just want to say that Costa does have non smoking areas and smoking areas. it's doable. however, if you hate hate hate smoke smell you may want another cruise line. You will smell it in the main lobby bar (where the elevators are), out on the deck of that side, up in the other huge bar (Rapsody) l. Even with the division you will smell it. You will smell it out on your balconly if anyone next to, above, or below lights up. You won't necessarily see it. We just delt w/ it and knew going into this cruise it would be smoky smelling. You can smell it on people when they sit next to you or enter the elevator. For us it was ok for a wk. But some peeps may not think so.

[ellie1145]

There's a huge amount of misinformation about Costa. In Europe, there's still lots of smoking in Turkey and Greece, but Italy, France and Spain- I see more smoking in Forida. So the Europeans on board will be no more likely to smoke than North Americans.

".

 

Our experience of Europeans on board Mediterranean cruises has been quite the opposite. Italian, Spanish and French guests DEFINITELY smoke far more than anywhere we have seen in Florida. It was the one thing we really disliked about our cruise from Venice (not Costa but RCI) They smoked everywhere, even where they shouldn't. No experience of Costa but if there will be a larger number of Europeans they will certainly smoke.

 

On land there is certainly a smoking culture amongst Europeans so why would they not smoke on a ship which has more relaxed rules about smoking?

 

If it is an issue with you then consider it seriously.

[Dancer Bob]

Interesting. I did a pre-cruise in Mestre (land side of Venice) and in more than 24 hours saw exactly three people smoking.

[chrispb]

Smokers are still very much alive in Spain, Italy, France, Greece & Turkey. They also tend to ignore the EU smoking rules.

[AnonymousCruiser69]

Interesting. I did a pre-cruise in Mestre (land side of Venice) and in more than 24 hours saw exactly three people smoking.

 

they were all tourists. no natives live in venice anymore :eek:

[Dancer Bob]

Partly correct. Mestre is where the natives who can't afford to live in Venice proper live. I've stayed in Mestre several times, I only mentioned the once because that's the only time I paid special attention to the (lack of) smoking.

[AmoMondo]

WOW! Reading the first paragraph, you can still see that the All Inclusive Drinks Package and typing, do not go hand in hand even after being at home for 24 hours.:rolleyes:

 

Mairi, welcome home.

 

Ron

 

I blame being shattered from overnight flight, my IPad and the shock to my system of a 30 degree temperature shift to cope with:)

 

Then again, maybe I should just slow down and proof read before hitting Submit Reply!

[ombrelle]

Partly correct. Mestre is where the natives who can't afford to live in Venice proper live. I've stayed in Mestre several times, I only mentioned the once because that's the only time I paid special attention to the (lack of) smoking.

 

Actually, the reason that the natives do not live in Venice is not because they can't afford it, it's the opposite, it's because they CAN afford to leave.

Venice is a beautiful city for us tourists to visit But to live there year round has become unbearable . It is cold, damp, and the stink of the rotting foundations and the canal itself ( in the summer ) is unbearable.

Let me elaborate on what I have just said.

Venice was always on my bucket list, wanted a balcony on one of the canals etc. Last year we were able to do just that, spent 7 days in Venice, with the balcony on the canal etc. A dream vacation, and it was don't misunderstand me. My husband has family in Italy, and 2 of his sisters, with 1 brother- in -law joined us there, so we could be together.

One evening, on our balcony, having a drink, one of my sister- in -law said.

" Too bad that Venice has come to this, a deserted city." I asked what she meant, since it looked pretty inhabited to me. She replied, " It's all a show for the tourists." Couldn't understand, so she proved it to me.

Across from our balcony, there was these big 'palazzos' nice beautiful shutters on the windows, with flower boxes full with geraniums, picture perfect. She said just look across, what do you see? Can't you see that no one lives there? I couldn't believe my ears, I told her that lights were on in the evenings, and would see women opening the windows and dusting etc. She said yes, they go there just to clean, take care of the plants etc. just like the maids do for hotels, it's a job, probably paid by your hotel here, so you can pay for your nice view. Shock is to put it mild . I started to keep watch night and day! IT WAS TRUE!:eek:

In the gondola one day, being with the Italians, the gondoliere, speaking in Italian , confirmed what my sister- in -law said. All the natives who can afford it, prefer not to stay in Venice, just commute to come to work for a tourist city. SAD. :(

[lisiamc]

Smokers are still very much alive in Spain, Italy, France, Greece & Turkey. They also tend to ignore the EU smoking rules.

 

We had many European smokers on our Med cruise. They seemed very happy to be able to smoke in indoor public places again, and did LOTS of it. They were pretty good about staying in the areas where smoking was allowed, however.

[Dunroamin]

This (the subject of smoking on Costa cruises) came up on another thread as we were considering going on a bargain offer but as someone said there is smoking in a lot of areas on board the Costa cruises, I phoned the agent to ask. He was surprised and contacted Costa who said "for safety sake, smoking is only allowed on the decks", which basically is completely untrue if the former comments are to be believed.

 

Anyway we cancelled because I have allergies and cannot tolerate smoky atmospheres and I considered it would be completely uncomfortable being in confined atmospheres with smokers a few feet away. It irritates my sinuses and I just start sneezing and can't stop.

 

I think that if there are rules about where you can smoke, they are being ignored by Costa management and to me that is unacceptable considering EU laws, so we are looking for another deal.

[G.M.T.]

Taken from Costa UK Web site:

 

Smokers

Smoking is strictly forbidden in the theatres, restaurants and buffets (indoor areas), corridors, halls, lifts and stairwells. There are areas reserved for smokers in the lounges. Pipes and cigars may only be smoked in designated areas. In order to avoid creating fire hazards, please remember to extinguish cigarettes in the ashtrays provided and never throw lit cigarettes overboard.

[Blondie008]

This (the subject of smoking on Costa cruises) came up on another thread as we were considering going on a bargain offer but as someone said there is smoking in a lot of areas on board the Costa cruises, I phoned the agent to ask. He was surprised and contacted Costa who said "for safety sake, smoking is only allowed on the decks", which basically is completely untrue if the former comments are to be believed.

 

Anyway we cancelled because I have allergies and cannot tolerate smoky atmospheres and I considered it would be completely uncomfortable being in confined atmospheres with smokers a few feet away. It irritates my sinuses and I just start sneezing and can't stop.

 

I think that if there are rules about where you can smoke, they are being ignored by Costa management and to me that is unacceptable considering EU laws, so we are looking for another deal.

 

When I read statements like this I kind of wish I was a smoker again :p

[AnonymousCruiser69]

This (the subject of smoking on Costa cruises) came up on another thread as we were considering going on a bargain offer but as someone said there is smoking in a lot of areas on board the Costa cruises, I phoned the agent to ask. He was surprised and contacted Costa who said "for safety sake, smoking is only allowed on the decks", which basically is completely untrue if the former comments are to be believed.

 

Anyway we cancelled because I have allergies and cannot tolerate smoky atmospheres and I considered it would be completely uncomfortable being in confined atmospheres with smokers a few feet away. It irritates my sinuses and I just start sneezing and can't stop.

 

I think that if there are rules about where you can smoke, they are being ignored by Costa management and to me that is unacceptable considering EU laws, so we are looking for another deal.

 

if you want it to be just like home, stay home. costa's policies are clearly stated. there is no smoking problem on costa, only people who don't like costa's policy.

[aquasat]

We came just back from the costa fortuna.

There are people smoking in parts of the bars, but the ships ventilation does work very well. We avoided two parts of the ship, the casino and the cigar bar.

We are a family of four and I hate smoking.

For me the smoking policy did not influence our experience.