Smoking onboard

[ab21au]

I think the Cancer Club is quite catchy.

 

I think this is more appropriate, it may make smokers think!!! The Smokers Lounge will only attract more to SB.

[markham]

Smokers are already attracted to Seabourn for the same reasons we are. It IS the best in class, all things considered, and has been so for years now.

 

The marketing game is as simple or as complicated as you might choose to make it. One might think that Seabourn knows best regarding its smoking lounges which are, for sure, the largest of any cruise ship!

 

My question is simply: does that sell? I expect not. The Observation Bars on the 3 ships pretty much clear out when a few smokers show up at or after 20:00, thereby denying the remaining 450 or so guests usage of the space. This does not make sense to me- although I would be interested to hear supportive theories as to why it may.

 

Further, for how long will Seabourn ignore land-based legislation in the US, Canada, and Europe, Brazil and Russia, to name a few jurisdictions where smoking is banned in indoor bars? The entire industry adjusted with only Seabourn, of all the Carnival brands, allowing smoking in indoor spaces (apart from specially designed and designated smoker's lounges that presumably are 24/7 available) and on verandas.

 

Let's wait and see what happens to Odyssey, Sojourn and Quest in the next few months before the Encore is delivered. That's only 8 months from now.

 

Happy sailing!

Edited March 14, 2016 by markham

[tv24]

Markham: I love you and your crusade. And I mean that in a good way. I hope it works. We gotta keep up the fight!

[monroe2]

I think the Cancer Club is quite catchy.

 

Sounds appropriate. I just feel sorry for the staff. We have a choice to let the smokers sit in their diseased state, the staff don't.

 

I'm sure they don't appreciate having to work in that sort of atmosphere but they can't say no.

[rols]

The Observation Bars on the 3 ships pretty much clear out when a few smokers show up at or after 20:00, thereby denying the remaining 450 or so guests usage of the space. This does not make sense to me- although I would be interested to hear supportive theories as to why it may.

 

That would be a solid argument if the Observation Bar was a working, revenue generating bar at 2000 hours each day, like the bars on most ships. However it's not, everything is inclusive and if there are 200 people packed in there choking on the Feuilette or 1 person having a cigarette and drinking water, it makes no bottom-line difference to Seabourn, at that point. Chits are not being signed and no extra revenue is generated. In fact it's cheaper, less cocktail sandwiches and people topping up before dinner.

 

So the rationale moves to the broader question of whether Seabourn makes or loses money from having places on the ship where people can smoke, including one really rather nice bar, attracting smokers shunned from other lines vs those who won't travel the line because they don't dare risk the smoke. At this point Seabourn appears to have decided that they make more than they lose.

 

Eventually enough will vote with dollars and say that smoking was the reason they did so that Seabourn will decide banning smoking makes them more money than allowing it. May it come soon.

[2SailingNomads]

Sounds appropriate. I just feel sorry for the staff. We have a choice to let the smokers sit in their diseased state, the staff don't.

 

I'm sure they don't appreciate having to work in that sort of atmosphere but they can't say no.

 

More than a few of the crew themselves smoke, not that they should have to be subjected to second hand smoke but I have on multiple occasions had to smell smoke on various waiters.

[jenidallas]

More than a few of the crew themselves smoke, not that they should have to be subjected to second hand smoke but I have on multiple occasions had to smell smoke on various waiters.

 

Very true - I've brought that point up before. The ships will never be completely smoke-free (none are) due to the high proportion of crew members who smoke!

[markham]

No one is saying Seabourn needs to be smoke free. It's about complying with industry practice as legislated in the world's advanced, industrialized countries:

 

No smoking in indoor areas - unless they are specifically designed for smokers - in order to protect the welfare i.e. health of the general public, the overwhelming majority of whom avoid carcinogenic smokers' fumes in their daily, shoreside lives.

 

Until such time as Seabourn retrofits its 3 ships with smoking rooms for the indoors smoking habits/pleasure of their (very few) smoking passengers, it is reasonable to expect the nonsmoking passenger-base to question what Seabourn is doing with the Observation Bars after 20:00 when on each ship it becomes the Smoker's Lounge, the largest so designated smoker's lounges on any and all cruise ships.

 

It's amazing to me that we are discussing this craziness in 2016.

 

Happy sailing!

 

Ps- for the avoidance of doubt, there ARE designated smoking areas on Seabourn ships which are OUTSIDE areas.

[rafinmd]

I hope this won't be off topic but if either neighbors are smoking on the veranda next door or you don't have one, what public outdoors areas does Seabourn have to sit with a nice view?

 

Roy

[bradtarga34]

A decent air extraction system would certainly help, there doesn't seem to be anything special in place to even try and deal with the removal of the ciggy smoke...

[markham]

Roy,

 

Outside areas for smokers are:

 

1- Sky Bar, starboard side*

 

2- Deck 7, rear of the ships outside Seabourn Square, starboard side

 

3- Deck 5, rear of the ships outside The Club, starboard side

 

And while smoking is currently permitted on verandas, I hope that it will be forbidden soon. No one wants to pay for a veranda and have its use spoiled by a smoker on either side, except maybe other smokers, right?

 

* smoking is allowed at the Sky Bar itself on the starboard side of the counter. Which means a nonsmoker, unlucky enough to sit at the middle of the bar, could be within centimeters of unwanted smoke. What is the sense of that? I hope Seabourn makes the entire bar counter a non-smoking area.

 

Happy sailing!

[ab21au]

I hope this won't be off topic but if either neighbors are smoking on the veranda next door or you don't have one, what public outdoors areas does Seabourn have to sit with a nice view?

 

Roy

 

It is nice outside from SB square. Our last cruise was in an Oceanview room and I loved sitting by the window which is quite large and watching the water go by. Quite relaxing and a different perspective being lower down and closer to the water.

[jenidallas]

It is nice outside from SB square. Our last cruise was in an Oceanview room and I loved sitting by the window which is quite large and watching the water go by. Quite relaxing and a different perspective being lower down and closer to the water.

 

Seabourn Square outside allows cigars, no?

 

It sounds like your suggestion for an oceanview may be the Seabourn solution for guaranteed smoke-free. :mad:

[rafinmd]

Sounds like the best option is deck 5 or 7 aft if there are not active smokers. Are decks 8 and 9 (doesn't sound like smoking is allowed there) viable options and is there an exterior stairway running from decks 5 to 8?

 

Roy

[ab21au]

Seabourn Square outside allows cigars, no?

 

It sounds like your suggestion for an oceanview may be the Seabourn solution for guaranteed smoke-free. :mad:

 

It seems you are correct, they are allowed outside the square on the starboard side. And with a cigar, I dare say that might as well be both sides.

[secoma4]

Smoking is allowed on Deck 9 in the area to the right (starboard) of the bar. On Deck 7 it's the area just outside the door from the Square on the same side (behind the Booking desk). While there can be a number of smokers that congregate on Deck 9, Deck 7 seems to attract solo puffers. The ones I have noticed using Deck 7 and smoking cigars have been the entertainers!

[tv24]

We found a lot of smokers outside of Seabourn Square throughout much of the day. We had to navigate around all of that to find a comfortable spot to sit outside the Square that was smoke-free.

[Nigella]

On Odyssey, Sojourn and Quest :

 

Deck 6 forward is non smoking. As is deck 11 sun terrace/The Retreat.

Pool deck (8) is also non smoking.

 

I enjoy deck 5 aft, especially on sea days. Yes, there will likely be a couple of smokers there but I sit on the opposite side and the smoke doesn't bother me at all.

 

As others have said, outside Seabourn Square (deck 7) can be problematic, especially since cigar/pipe smoking is permitted there. It's only been a problem area for me on one cruise, also during that cruise I avoided the starboard side outside at The Colonnade as cigar smoke would often drift up there from the smoking area below.

 

Like many others, I wish SB would tighten up the no smoking policy in particular with regard to balcony and Observation Bar evening smoking.

I like the Obs as an alternative to The Club, especially for after dinner conversation with new friends.

 

All of that said, in general smoking hasn't been too much of an issue for us on our SB cruises so far.

 

Interested to see where the smoking areas will be on Encore.

[jenidallas]

I've always said that while I'm anti-smoking that the smoking in Seabourn public spaces does not bother me.

 

The smoke in the Observation Bar on Quest right now is intolerable. The staff are keeping the doors closed. Push them open and the stench hits you immediately. My eyes are watering despite not spotting anyone with a currently-lit cancer stick.

 

This is God-awful and needs to be banned.

[Roxburgh]

I've always said that while I'm anti-smoking that the smoking in Seabourn public spaces does not bother me.

 

The smoke in the Observation Bar on Quest right now is intolerable. The staff are keeping the doors closed. Push them open and the stench hits you immediately. My eyes are watering despite not spotting anyone with a currently-lit cancer stick.

 

This is God-awful and needs to be banned.

 

Walked into the Observation Bar after dinner and it was horrible. Two individuals who appeared to be chain smoking. We got our drinks and headed down to our suite.

 

I intend to speak to Peppi about it tomorrow. Not sure what he can do but I understand that he is as anti-smoking as we are.

[2SailingNomads]

Sorry to hear that, unfortunately we had a similar experience a couple of years ago from LA to Sydney when there were a couple of folks who apparently could not let one go out before lighting another. Totally Limited the time we could enjoy the OB after dinner, when we enjoy the piano music.

[jenidallas]

I intend to speak to Peppi about it tomorrow. Not sure what he can do but I understand that he is as anti-smoking as we are.

 

The staff up there are unhappy about it too. I managed one drink last night before leaving.

 

We missed seeing you for trivia. Do at least swing by and say hi (team name "Don't Know, Don't Care".

[RustyRollock]

Our verandah was more or less unuseable during our Norwegian cruise on Quest a couple of years ago thanks to the chain smokers next door/upwind. The solo pipe smoker who seemed a permanent fixture on deck 7 outside the Square not only made that area very unpleasant, but also the outdoor dining area of the Colonnade upstairs as his noxious smoke drifted up. The Observation Bar had a couple of heavy smokers who managed to empty the place very quickly every evening at 8pm sharp. The least intrusive smoking area seemed to be the starboard Sky Bar.

 

Any protests - and there were plenty - to the Powers That Be fell on deaf ears, mainly because nobody was actually infringing the current smoking rules. The problem is the rules, not the smokers.

 

I've always believed that Seabourn specifically wants to attract those customers who most of the other cruise lines have made so ostracised and unwelcome.

Edited April 2, 2016 by RustyRollock

[lincslady]

jenidallas and Roxburgh - so sorry to hear this; probably feels even worse when you have so many sea days. Sadly, as said above, they are not at present infringing the rules - and I do agree that SB is trying to keep them coming, as they have problems on other lines.

 

Grrr!!

[dalliowner]

That is why we always use the Club and never go to the OB:)