Cruise Lines to Prohibit Smoking ????

[kitty9]

On another well-known cruise board, there is an article by the founder of that board that states the recent fire aboard the Star Princess may cause cruise lines to change their smoking policies on ships to prohibit smoking in cabins and on balconies. According to the article on C-----Mates, Oceania, who already has one of the strictest no smoking policies, will now completely enforce the no smoking rule. Before, if a passenger was caught smoking in their cabin or on their balcony, they were sent a polite letter telling them that smoking was against the rules. Now, if a passenger is caught smoking in a non-smoking area, they will be thrown off the ship, with no warnings given. The article also stated that insurance concerns might be the one thing that causes a stricter no smoking policy on all cruise ships.

 

Another point of the article was: it did appear to be a carelessly thrown cigarette that started the fire according to a Princess official the author spoke to for the article. According to officials, exterior paint of a ship is highly flammable and acts as an accelerant. That, among other things, caused the fire to spread so rapidly.

[hdawson]

Don't believe everything you read on the web. There has been no authority that has reported smoking as the cause.

All the anti-smoking crowd has jumped on this as fact because a crew member said maybe a cigerette. I have very strong doubts.

[teedee]

I agree with hdawson. So far there is no proof the fire was caused by a cigarette. I'm a non smoker & would be happy to see cigarette smoking on board more restricted, but I can't see it happening. The cruise lines don't want to alienate such a large segment of their passengers.

 

Terri

[mctrekkie]

Once the investigation is completed, then we'll know what caused the fire.

[TEXASMUNK]

tend to run with a story. I would have to agree that the decision to limit/restrict smoking on board would be wise if the cause was a cigarette.

 

But, what if it was a flaw in design in the electrical system, the cruise lines go non-smoking and another fire breaks out?

 

The investigation will be thorough before any decisions are made.

[dkjretired]

this was reported also on this board last week. The article appears to be from the 24th of March and we had discussed this on three threads last week. As others have reported, no definite cause has been given officially and the Oceania report simply states they are going to enforce a policy they already had in place. Nothing new at this point.

[frchteaze]

I'm really confused as to how a fire that broke out in the middle of night on someone's balcony is so easily attributed to smoking. I'm seriously posing the following questions looking for answers, not just trying to start a debate here.

 

One, if a crew member saw someone toss out a cigarette "carelessly" on their balcony, why didn't that member report the fire faster?

 

Two, if everything is as badly burned as reports suggest, how would they know it was a cigarette that caused it? I would think (I could be wrong here) that the cigarette and all remaining evidence of it would have disintegrated in the fire.

[ocngypz]

No legal authority or Princess has released a statement as to the cause of the fire.

[Charles4515]

No legal authority or Princess has released a statement as to the cause of the fire.

 

That is true. Nothing official. However there is a high probability that the cause of the fire is known. It doesn't usually take long to figure out the cause of a fire. The official report will take a while to be released because they must report on all aspects, how the cruise responded, etc.

 

Whether it was a cigarette or not, and it probably was, cruise lines should prohibit smoking because second hand smoke is toxic. Just read that smoking is now prohibited in restaurants and bars in Bermuda. Hooray Bermuda!!!

[ghgeckos]

Was it a cigerette? I don't know that answer. But is it possible, yes. When we were on the star on the Dolphin deck we would routinely go out on our balcony( it jutted out) and find people's discarded cigerettes and even found a match that someone carelessly threw overboard from a higher deck. My DH is a fireman and has seen many a fire caused by a carelessly tossed cigerette.

[rubrrick]

Oceania is a specialty niche cruise line, with smaller ships and excellent service. The no smoking policy started when the line was Renaissance Cruises. I am sure that the major lines have watched Oceania to see how it is impacted. Oceania is quite a bit more expensive than the mass market lines with fewer cabins to fill, and lends itself to the no smoking crowd.

 

Rick

[Sky Sweet]

Smokers and education

 

Adults with 16 or more years of education had the lowest smoking prevalence (11.3 percent). Adults with 9 to 11 years of education had higher smoking prevalence (36.8 percent) compared to adults with fewer or more years of education.

 

Smokers by socio-economic status

 

Smoking prevalence was higher among adults living below the poverty level (32.3 percent) than those living at or above the poverty level (23.5 percent).

[thomasale]

and based on what sky Sweet has stated it would have less impact on Oceania than on the Mass Market lines

[Sky Sweet]

and based on what sky Sweet has stated it would have less impact on Oceania than on the Mass Market lines

 

Hi Thomasale :)

 

That is the point I was trying to make.

[hdawson]

I don't think any company really wants to eleminate 25% of their potential customer base from sailing with them. And close to 35% of Europeans and folks from the fareast who also smoke. How in the world could you attract group cruises and incentive sales? Cruiselines are a business and responsibility is to the shareholders. Maybe some would be happier at a

non-smoking all-inclusive resort.

[suzeyQ]

It doesn't make good business sense for them to prohibit smoking but I do think it wouldnt be a bad idea to make a few more of the common areas non-smoking (like the casino - I know ... I'm dreaming). They've come a long way with prohibiting smoking in the dining room and theatre but it would be nice if at least a few more of the bars and public areas could have the same rules.

[newmexicoNita]

On another well-known cruise board, there is an article by the founder of that board that states the recent fire aboard the Star Princess may cause cruise lines to change their smoking policies on ships to prohibit smoking in cabins and on balconies. According to the article on C-----Mates, Oceania, who already has one of the strictest no smoking policies, will now completely enforce the no smoking rule. Before, if a passenger was caught smoking in their cabin or on their balcony, they were sent a polite letter telling them that smoking was against the rules. Now, if a passenger is caught smoking in a non-smoking area, they will be thrown off the ship, with no warnings given. The article also stated that insurance concerns might be the one thing that causes a stricter no smoking policy on all cruise ships.

 

Another point of the article was: it did appear to be a carelessly thrown cigarette that started the fire according to a Princess official the author spoke to for the article. According to officials, exterior paint of a ship is highly flammable and acts as an accelerant. That, among other things, caused the fire to spread so rapidly.

No smoking rule as it is now, not no smoking period. I don't think many of us care if cabins are non smoking, it's the entire ship becoming non smoking and Cmates didn't even mention that. Your header suggests there is something in the works to make smoking not allowed on ships plus this isn't a new story, but one that has been around for a few weeks. NMnita

[SkystheLimit]

Why are ship's cabins not designated as hotels rooms, i.e. non-smoking and smoking? As someone who suffers from ashtma directly caused by cigarette smoke, it is always a gamble to book a cabin not knowing if a smoker will be in the cabin the week before we cruise.

[ocngypz]

Why are ship's cabins not designated as hotels rooms, i.e. non-smoking and smoking? As someone who suffers from ashtma directly caused by cigarette smoke, it is always a gamble to book a cabin not knowing if a smoker will be in the cabin the week before we cruise.

 

A number of years ago, NCL had smoking and non smoking rooms.

 

It was a disaster.

[kitty9]

nmnita, look closely at my header. It had lots of question marks, which indicates I'm asking if there is the possibility that there could be no smoking ships. I never stated that this is a fact. It would be different if there isn't question marks, but their presence indicates I'm asking a question.

[ECCruise]

Oceania is a specialty niche cruise line, with smaller ships and excellent service. The no smoking policy started when the line was Renaissance Cruises. I am sure that the major lines have watched Oceania to see how it is impacted. Oceania is quite a bit more expensive than the mass market lines with fewer cabins to fill, and lends itself to the no smoking crowd.

 

Rick

 

Just so there is no confusion...Renaissance was a NON Smoking cruise line. Oceania is non smoking in staterooms and most public areas. There are, however, 2 areas for smokers, one inside in an area in one of the lounges and one outside in an area on the pool deck. It may be a little inconvenient for smokers on Oceania, but they can "survive." This is a big difference from a non smoking line or ship.

[Charles4515]

I don't think any company really wants to eleminate 25% of their potential customer base from sailing with them. And close to 35% of Europeans and folks from the fareast who also smoke. How in the world could you attract group cruises and incentive sales? Cruiselines are a business and responsibility is to the shareholders. Maybe some would be happier at a

non-smoking all-inclusive resort.

 

It is only a matter of time before smoking is prohibited on cruise ships. It is the way the world is going. Smoking prohibitions are mushrooming. Bermuda just passed a prohibition. So did the District of Columbia. The cruise lines won't want to lose the non-smoking customers.

[Charles4515]

A number of years ago, NCL had smoking and non smoking rooms.

 

It was a disaster.

 

The best solution is to make them all non smoking. That is the trend at many hotels. All rooms non smoking.

[dkjretired]

Oceania is a specialty niche cruise line, with smaller ships and excellent service. The no smoking policy started when the line was Renaissance Cruises. I am sure that the major lines have watched Oceania to see how it is impacted. Oceania is quite a bit more expensive than the mass market lines with fewer cabins to fill, and lends itself to the no smoking crowd.

 

Rick

 

Just to clarify, Oceania has never had any connection with Renaissance. Renaissance went out of business completely, Oceania may have purchased a couple of their ships but there is no connection whatsover.

[gillianrose]

It is only a matter of time before smoking is prohibited on cruise ships. It is the way the world is going. Smoking prohibitions are mushrooming. Bermuda just passed a prohibition. So did the District of Columbia. The cruise lines won't want to lose the non-smoking customers.

 

I hope you're right, and not just for the comfort of non-smokers. Many former smokers have credited restrictive public/private smoking policies as being the catalyst for them to finally give up smoking.

 

This non-smoker is taking a closer look at European river cruises as one temporary option until smoking is severely curtailed or forbidden on ocean cruise ships, since most European riverboat lines (even Germany's Peter Deilmann line, which allows smoking in part of their lounge) don't permit smoking in cabins or corridors, period. I've noticed there are a lot of boats where there is no indoor smoking permitted anywhere, and there is at least one boat where on-deck smoking is prohibited, too.

 

It is very troubling that smoking is permitted in cabins. I can avoid a smoky casino during my waking hours, but once I'm asleep in my cabin, I am at the mercy of any careless smoker who might set a ship on fire.

 

A Princess representative told me (unofficially, of course) that the Star Princess fire was indeed caused by a lit cigarette. I don't know for certain if this is the case for this specific fire, but even if it isn't, it isn't rocket science to figure out that "where there's smoke, there's fire."

 

How else do you light the damn things?