Balcony Smoking ending !

[Chunky2219]

I have to confess to some history here, that has shaped my views on the subject. In spite of having apparently driven ToadOfToadHall off into the twilight zone of rambling thoughts where he can accuse me of being full of hate, it absolutely isn't the case. But here's how it is.

 

One of my earliest memories was the daily sound of my father sitting on the side of the bed in the room next door, first thing in the morning, coughing up his guts. Maybe his first heart attack at 47 can be attributed to something else, but certainly not the chronic emphysema that blighted his last 20 years or so, after he'd quit cold turkey, mid 50s. He sat and slept beside an oxygen cylinder for 15 years and barely managed between his scheduled doses of the nebulizer.

 

My mother was luckier, she lasted 10 years longer before the lung cancer got her. Not so my elder sister, who having never smoked died last month of something highly correlated with smoking, which I can only assume was second hand. Much like my own childhood experience, to which I attribute my streaming, runny eyes whenever I get near tobacco smoke.

 

This sounds like a sob story, it's not. But I'm not paying big lumps of money for a cruise to have some selfish oaf on the next balcony blowing smoke my way. I'm one of the majority, just a little more vocal than some. If the smoking population have been so selfish and unsociable as to find that their activities are being ever more constained and curtailed then boo hoo. If we weren't subjected to it, no-one would complain.

 

Toad hasn't posted for a couple of pages but I'm sure he'll be back to explain why smoke isn't a problem for anyone and we should all be subjected to aversion therapy until we find the stink completely acceptable.

 

Rant over.

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[AnnieC]

But I'm not paying big lumps of money for a cruise to have some selfish oaf on the next balcony blowing smoke my way.

 

Having been on at least one Cunard cruise, you already have.

 

Annie (non-smoker, but one who takes exception to gratuitous rudeness)

[brigittetom]

Spobird....They managed to solve the problem for the crew, they gave them a smoking area with a bar. Seems as if they could have come up with a solution for passengers if they cared to. I truly think that they have taken the easy path and will have no benefits coming to them for trying to accommodate offended smokers. They are not concerned about loyalty to Cunard because they will still fill their ships and can cross off at least one complaint that they constantly deal with.

 

They had no concerns about banning cigarettes from Churchills even though smokers now had no indoor venue and were expected to go to their balconys. So far no one has dared to offend the cigar smokers because that's great revenue but I'm sure the complaints will keep coming because it would be expecting too much for the offended to just use the other entry for the Commodore Club.

 

As far as smokers reeking of smoke.....really, what else can you expect when you cram them all into tiny places.

 

We were also with you on the Norway trip. 26 days of pure pleasure. :)

[ToadOfToadHall]

Toad hasn't posted for a couple of pages but I'm sure he'll be back to explain why smoke isn't a problem for anyone and we should all be subjected to aversion therapy until we find the stink completely acceptable.

 

What I have said quite clearly is that I don't believe someone sitting on a balcony, several feet away from you, in the middle of the sea, with the wind blowing, wont have any affect on anyone's health. Indeed, you wont even be able to smell it.

 

It is, as I have also said, completely different to being in a room full of smokers where the air is think with the stuff. No one is making you do that

 

Chunky, it seems quite clear to me you are completely misunderstanding my comments to justify your feelings towards smokers. Do you really think you are going to be affected by the situation of people smoking on their balcony in the middle of the sea ?

 

And since you mention "aversion therapy" I would say it's the other way around; you have become obsessed to the point of paranoia.

[spobird]

Spobird....They managed to solve the problem for the crew, they gave them a smoking area with a bar. Seems as if they could have come up with a solution for passengers if they cared to. I truly think that they have taken the easy path and will have no benefits coming to them for trying to accommodate offended smokers. They are not concerned about loyalty to Cunard because they will still fill their ships and can cross off at least one complaint that they constantly deal with.

 

They had no concerns about banning cigarettes from Churchills even though smokers now had no indoor venue and were expected to go to their balconys. So far no one has dared to offend the cigar smokers because that's great revenue but I'm sure the complaints will keep coming because it would be expecting too much for the offended to just use the other entry for the Commodore Club.

 

As far as smokers reeking of smoke.....really, what else can you expect when you cram them all into tiny places.

 

We were also with you on the Norway trip. 26 days of pure pleasure. :)

 

How nice that you were in Norway too! I wish I had met some of you folks then. It truly was a wonderful trip, but would have been even better had we made more new friends like you.

 

Yes, you'd think they could have come up with an equally good solution for passengers. Presumably their calculation is that they cannot afford to lose good staff ( or perhaps cannot legally have to fire them because they smoke - I don't know? ) but that they can afford to lose some customers. I hope we can prove them wrong in this. They need to see that we have gone far enough, have accepted enough curtailment without complaint, but that we are not willing to go any farther.

 

I am going to see if there is any reasonable adjustment to this new policy. To make it more comfortable to smoke. As someone who has non-smoking related health problems it will be quite impossible for me to trek to and stand in the outdoor areas currently designated. For me it's not just a matter of objection, it's a matter of impossibility. And if no kind of adjustment is made then we will of course will be cancelling the trip we have booked for 2014. And all future trips. Which would have been about four a year. On this site alone at least three others have said something similar. How many who are not on these site will also cancel and not travel on Cunard again?

[Chunky2219]

What I have said quite clearly is that I don't believe someone sitting on a balcony, several feet away from you, in the middle of the sea, with the wind blowing, wont have any affect on anyone's health. Indeed, you wont even be able to smell it.

 

It is, as I have also said, completely different to being in a room full of smokers where the air is think with the stuff. No one is making you do that

 

Chunky, it seems quite clear to me you are completely misunderstanding my comments to justify your feelings towards smokers. Do you really think you are going to be affected by the situation of people smoking on their balcony in the middle of the sea ?

 

And since you mention "aversion therapy" I would say it's the other way around; you have become obsessed to the point of paranoia.

 

Well, if you are a qualified clinical psychologist I accept you diagnosis and will seek treatment.

 

If not, then you're just someone chucking out insults based on opinions you are trying to present as facts. It's weak. Wishful thinking and repetition don't make your views any more true than they were five pages ago.

 

Mercifully, I can bask in the warm, smug feeling of being on the winning side. There's no going back from here and life's going to get progressively better. Progress might be slow, but it's in the right direction, so you might as well get used to it.

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[ToadOfToadHall]

You sound just like a friend of mine. He's allergic to cats. If he comes into contact with a cat his eyes are in a right state. But, he has to be in close contact, maybe rubbing his eyes after touching said cat, or being in contact with fur.

 

But now he crosses the road if he sees a cat because, in his head, the same reaction is going to happen. It wont and never will - but he believes it.

[brigittetom]

[quote name=Chunky2219;39595646Progress might be slow' date=' but it's in the right direction, so you might as well get used to it.

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Geeeeez, How much more progress are you planning on. Smokers are already banned from smoking in all buildings, parks, beaches, public transportation, some sidewalks, all restaurants and pubs, cruise ships, and anywhere else where there are people. What more do you want??????

[Germancruiser]

As a loyal Celebrity cruiser I remember so well the same discusion as here on the Cunard board A lot of people stated they would stop cruising with them. Since that 5 or even more years have passed- and their ships are still fully booked- so I think avoiding a cruise line for its smoking ban does not effect the line at all! X did not loose customer´s they gained for their strict policiy. Same will happen to Cunard- I am pretty sure of that. It is not really a problem to go the designed smoking area to have cig. I agree with the poster who mentioned that avoiding a cruise line for it´s smoking policy would be really to let the addiction steer your whole live.

Michael

[brigittetom]

I agree with you Michael, this isn't going to affect Cunard at all, only some passengers. Smokers are not all the same either. Reading Spobirds post.....clearly Cunard will no longer work for her. Me personally, I'm not planning to be spending the big bucks to be treated as a second class citizen. Smoking doesn't run my life, but not to be able to enjoy a social cocktail with an occasional cigarette is infringing on my vacation enjoyment as much as my cigarette is infringing on non smokers enjoyment.

 

We moved on from Celebrity and found something that suited us even better and will do so again. We always have the option to accept their new policy so nothing's lost. :)

[scifisteve]

Me personally, I'm not planning to be spending the big bucks to be treated as a second class citizen.

 

 

Maybe you should spend little bucks and get an inside cabin, then being treated like a Second Class Citizen would be an upgrade :D

[capnpugwash]

Maybe you should spend little bucks and get an inside cabin, then being treated like a Second Class Citizen would be an upgrade :D

 

Where is the like button? :D:D:D

[Yoshikitty]

Smoking doesn't run my life, but not to be able to enjoy a social cocktail with an occasional cigarette is infringing on my vacation enjoyment as much as my cigarette is infringing on non smokers enjoyment.

 

 

brigittetom. I am not saying that you are one of them - if you are not, you're the vast minority:

 

If someone gives me the "I am a social smoker" with the "cigarette with a coffee, beer or cocktail" talk, I prefer people who simply admid that they can't get away from smoking and need their fix. Casual smokers are the absolute exception - look at all the people who are not able to finish a dinner with friends and smoke outside of the restaurant.

Why don't you have your cocktail on deck 7 or 8 aft and meet up with other smokers that are there 24/7 for a social cigarette with a cocktail in hand?

 

Now all the "treat me like a beggar" "Cuinard does not want my business staff" exagerations (which are common when it comes to a smoker discussion): Cunard banned the smoking on balconies - not more or less - it's not the end of the world.....

 

If people "believe" that their cigarette smoke on the balcony on an open sea can't be smelled or inhaled - they are simply wrong.

[spobird]

As a loyal Celebrity cruiser I remember so well the same discusion as here on the Cunard board A lot of people stated they would stop cruising with them. Since that 5 or even more years have passed- and their ships are still fully booked- so I think avoiding a cruise line for its smoking ban does not effect the line at all! X did not loose customer´s they gained for their strict policiy. Same will happen to Cunard- I am pretty sure of that. It is not really a problem to go the designed smoking area to have cig. I agree with the poster who mentioned that avoiding a cruise line for it´s smoking policy would be really to let the addiction steer your whole live.

Michael

 

You are probably right that this will not adversely affect Cunard's bottom line that much. But maybe more than it did Celebrity because Cunard WAS a little different. They still ( sort of ) did straightforward transatlantic crossings on the QM2. Their demographic also seemed to be a bit older than other cruise lines. So unless they become exactly like all the others ( which does seem to be the way they are going I admit ) they may well lose on transatlantic at least. How many people who want a CRUISE - especially families - are going to spend their money ( especially for the grills ) to spend 7 or 8 days at sea, dressing for dinner and doing little else? They will have to call in at more ports, provide more children's entertainment, make the dress code lower and lower, and the prices even cheaper and cheaper, make more and more cut backs etc.etc. And if they do that they may lose even some non-smoking older clients, especially in the grills. And if British Airways are anything to go by it is the club and first class passengers that keep them going. Just filling up the economy section is not enough.

 

But it may work for Cunard to just fill up with economy prices and cabins - I don't know enough about the economics of cruising to say. If it works good luck to them. There is nothing wrong with it per se but it is not what some of us enjoyed ( yes, probably a minority ).

 

And if the tone of these boards is anything to go by, where in general the anti-smokers have been far less compromising, far more intolerant and just plain rude and they are the people who are going to fill up the cabins it is yet another disincentive for me - and maybe others - to travel on Cunard.

[cunardaddict]

Obviously the message still did not get through to the smokers:

 

Nobody is as rude as any smoker.

What in your opinion would a smoker be tolerating in this context?

 

But I have yet not read any comment on the most important security aspect of smok8ng on the ships balconies - the risk of causing a fire by throwing a cigarette or cigar over board. As you may remember, it was this year when a cruise ship caught a serious fire because of this.

 

And please, dear smokers, do not even dare to state thar you never threw a cigarette somewhere. It has to be a lie.

[CABINET]

I would like it even more if smoking was banned in G32. As an asthmatic I would like to spend time there but the smoke stubbornly refuses to stay where it is exhaled :mad:.

[Whitemarsh]

Obviously the message still did not get through to the smokers:

 

Nobody is as rude as any smoker.

What in your opinion would a smoker be tolerating in this context?

 

But I have yet not read any comment on the most important security aspect of smok8ng on the ships balconies - the risk of causing a fire by throwing a cigarette or cigar over board. As you may remember, it was this year when a cruise ship caught a serious fire because of this.

 

And please, dear smokers, do not even dare to state thar you never threw a cigarette somewhere. It has to be a lie.

 

What a load of rubbish. :)

 

"Nobody is as rude as any smoker" - I can think of one person that might just qualify.

 

Smoking is currently allowed on the balconies so any smoker is quite within their rights to puff away as much as they want between now and when the ban comes in.

 

And what's all this about people throwing their cigarette butts overboard? Is it the smoking equivalent of the laundry wars - a seagoing urban myth? Did you clutch your pearls when hundreds of butts came hurtling towards you as you took a turn around the deck? :eek:

[spobird]

Obviously the message still did not get through to the smokers:

 

Nobody is as rude as any smoker.

 

We get the message that that's your opinion. But that is all it is - just your opinion. It is not something that it is possible to be factual about.

 

In my opinion people who get drunk and talk loudly late at night on their balconies are actually more rude than smokers on balconies because the loud noise cannot be avoided at all - even by shutting the door. And it damages my health and well being by stopping me getting sleep. I am sure you will not agree as you clearly don't accept that anything other than smoking could be considered to be as rude, disturbing to other passengers or harmful to their health. But to be honest I really couldn't care less whether you agree.

[balf]

 

In my opinion people who get drunk and talk loudly late at night on their balconies are actually more rude than smokers on balconies because the loud noise cannot be avoided at all - /QUOTE]

 

Nice to see you still with us spobird.

 

Yes they certainly can be very rude, but even more so are smokers who get drunk and talk loudly because there is the added smoke element with them.

 

Question, do smokers get drunk and talk loudly more than non smokers?

 

Maybe there is a university somewhere with nothing better to do that could do the research.

 

David.

[balf]

What are the options for disgruntled smokers.

 

1) give up smoking.

 

2) give up cruising.

 

3) accept the situation and continue to cruise with Cunard.

 

4) protest and try to get the decision changed.

 

5) use another cruise line.

 

6) ignore the ban and carry on as before.

 

I must say that if I was addicted to nicotine as well as Cunard it would be a difficult decision. Thankfully I am not.

 

David.

[Whitemarsh]

What are the options for disgruntled smokers.

 

1) give up smoking.

 

2) give up cruising.

 

3) accept the situation and continue to cruise with Cunard.

 

4) protest and try to get the decision changed.

 

5) use another cruise line.

 

6) ignore the ban and carry on as before.

 

I must say that if I was addicted to nicotine as well as Cunard it would be a difficult decision. Thankfully I am not.

 

David.

 

You forgot an option:

 

7) Book a wonderful voyage on MV Queen Elizabeth's 2014 World Cruise - the last World Cruise where smoking is allowed on the balconies - and puff away to your hearts content on your lovely balcony.

[balf]

You forgot an option:

 

7) Book a wonderful voyage on MV Queen Elizabeth's 2014 World Cruise - the last World Cruise where smoking is allowed on the balconies - and puff away to your hearts content on your lovely balcony.

 

Indeed yes, one last lovely balcony puff as you cruise into the sunset.

 

I like that.

 

David.

[Whitemarsh]

Indeed yes, one last lovely balcony puff as you I cruise into the sunset.

 

I like that.

 

David.

 

You I?

[balf]

You I?

 

You I, what does that mean?

 

David.

[spobird]

 

In my opinion people who get drunk and talk loudly late at night on their balconies are actually more rude than smokers on balconies because the loud noise cannot be avoided at all - /QUOTE]

 

Nice to see you still with us spobird.

 

Yes they certainly can be very rude, but even more so are smokers who get drunk and talk loudly because there is the added smoke element with them.

 

Question, do smokers get drunk and talk loudly more than non smokers?

 

Maybe there is a university somewhere with nothing better to do that could do the research.

 

David.

 

The question is ridiculous and quite pointless. And typical of anti-smokers. Must go one better, must win in terms of getting what they want and having the last word. There is never any question of anything being as bad as or even equivalent to smoking. You just add on that it's even worse if you smoke as well. So if a drunk beats his wife it's worse if he is smoker as well. Because if he doesn't actually kill her by beating her he will anyway in the end by making her be a passive smoker and that would of course, be worse.

 

And please, I am not with you in any sense other than that I am writing on these threads. And not even that after this post.