Feb 14 Regatta & Smoking

[eltigre71]

Good morning all. I just wanted to ask your opinion on the smoking and Oceania. I have a client who is set to go on the 2/14/06 Regatta sailing and concerened about how strict they are now with smoking. Would anyone here cancel a cruise if they think they would be taken off the ship due to smoking? I know that many clients smoke in the privacy of ones cabin but from all reports, Oceania is not letting the smallest complaint go without warning. Just wanted everyone's .02 cents on the issue. Thanks again

 

 

John

[PurpleCow]

I can weigh in here a bit. I'm not a smoker, but I played one on the Insignia last summer. As far as I could see the smokers kept to the two small designated areas on the pool deck and in the Horizons lounge. I know that one smoker received a warning letter about smoking in his cabin. To the best of my knowledge he ceased and desisted.

[ClaudiaF]

John,

Well this is a "hot" topic ( pun intended) on this board.

I assume that you are a travel agent as you mentioned , you have a client... etc.... and to tell you the truth if you are telling him/her that they can "maybe" get away with smoking in their cabin or on their balcony or anywhere on the ships that it is not allowed you are doing your clients a HUGE disservice.

The ship is basically a no smoking EXCEPT in designated areas ship over and out. That is the rule. If these people feel that they can not abide by the ship law then you should cancel them and book them on a ship that doesn't have these rules.

Thank you.

[shoshona2]

Well, Claudia, my words exactly, but written and expressed so well by you.

 

I was so glad to hear that some people were warned on a recent Oceania cruise, they if they persisted on smoking in their cabin or on their veranda, they would be put ashore at the first port.

 

Sheila

[drwong]

Smoking is hardly "in the privacy of one's own cabin," particularly if the next occupants of the cabin must deal with the residual odor of tar and nicotine in the fabrics, the bedcovers, the furniture upholstery, the closet linings, and the draperies. To deliberately violate a well-understood and well-advertised smoking policy is extremely inconsiderate - not just to the successive cabin occupants but also to the housekeeping staff who must try to clean up the mess after the smokers have long since gone.

 

I concur with Claudia - they should either rebook, or smoke to their hearts' delight (and to their lungs' detriment) in the areas that have been specially set aside for them.

[cruiseyguy]

Written warnings about smoking aren't an Oceania peculiarity; during a Crystal Baltic cruise I sailed on a couple of years ago a tablemate received a letter asking him to stop smoking cigars in his stateroom.

[ClaudiaF]

Many ships have the no smoking in cabin rules.. and some are more "lenient" about the smoking areas.. but there is NO excuse to think that someone is "above" all the rest of the ships pax ..

rules are rules and I certainly hope that I don't get these people next to me on my next cruise..they would be writing about the treatment, letters and possibile thrown off ship, mid cruise on these boards on their return..lol

[esther e]

You know, with all the cruises we've been on I've never noticed if a smoker was in our cabin previously. Hotels have smoking/non-smoking rooms, and if we are put in a ns room, my nose immediately detects the odor of smokers. How do they manage to make cruise cabins not have that tell-tale smell?

Esther

[shoshona2]

Luckily Esther you must not have as sensitive a nose as I do. We have taken over 22 cruises and on a Celebrity cruise two years ago, I entered the room and thought I was going to be sick. The person or persons before us must have smoked a carton of cigarettes a day. I took off the dust ruffle and spread and put it outside on the veranda. We gave our cabin attendant $20.00 and asked him to take care of my awful situation. There was not another cabin available in our category. When we returned from dinner, there was a brand new bedspread and dust ruffle on the bed and he replaced the plastic tube from the hair dryer in the bathroom with a new one. It had absorbed all the smoke and smelled like an ashtray. They sprayed the sofa and we had the door open to the veranda for a long time before we sailed.

The cabin was much better after that. We then switched to the Oceania and will be on our third cruise with them this March. We are so happy that Oceania has a no-smoking policy in the cabins.

 

Sheila

[ClaudiaF]

Since "Bruin Steve" mentioned the hotel prices as per person.. I started to read the very, teensie tiny print in back of 2006 brochure..re: smoking..it says that guests who choose to disregard the smoking policies will be charged cleaning fees...good idea!:D

[sancarlos]

I was on a Regatta Oceania Cruise in July. I am a smoker and I understood there was no smoking in any of the rooms or the balconies and since I booked the cruise knowing this I complied with the rules. There are two areas for smoking on the ship and my non smoking friends were joining me there as we had such a good time with the "smokers" and really become acquainted with them all. One couple did get a notice of eviction from the staff, the person swore he had never had a cig in his room or balcony. We decided that it was a wake-up call from the staff so it would be discussed among the smokers. I think by the end of the cruise I had made more friends that anyone else, because it was a place to congregate. I wouldn't hesitate to take another Oceania cruise because of their smoking policy.

[sfbear]

One couple did get a notice of eviction from the staff, the person swore he had never had a cig in his room or balcony. We decided that it was a wake-up call from the staff so it would be discussed among the smokers.

 

What was the final outcome? I am assuming that nobody was evicted. What did the passenger have to do to convince whomever that smoking did not happen in the stateroom. Among the unfortunate circumstances which are part of smoking is that clothes carry the tobacco smell. Was this the problem perhaps? Just curious since I travel with a smoker who, while never smoking in the stateroom, balcony, or inside our home for that matter, still carrys the smell in his clothes. This will be our second Oceania Cruise. Just curioius.