New Carnival Smoking Policy

[Bernardo62]

Carnival needs to stick to their rules..... Make an example of someone to show Carnival is not a push over cruise line!!!

I think I would pay Carnival to see or hear it happens!!!

[coevan]

4 hours ago, rukkian said:

It is not up to you to prove it.  You simply call and say somebody is smoking, I think it may be xxxx cabin.  They have cameras on pretty much every balcony and can see what is going on, if they want to find somebody doing it, they will.

 

 

 

No they don't, it would be illegal and invasive.

[grandmarnnurse]

23 hours ago, Kankakee Kid said:

Starting December 1st. Anyone smoking in their cabin or on their balcony will be charged $500 on the Sign and Sail and all cabin members kicked off the ship at the first port. Wow!!! About time. Guests are encouraged to report balcony smokers to guest services. 

Agree! It’s about time! Hopefully the next step will be to make ships totally smoke free, as most public places are. Second hand smoke is deadly. 

[coevan]

The Paradise failed attempt at having a non smoking ship was 15 years ago and the percentage of smokers has decreased drastically

[chengkp75]

4 minutes ago, coevan said:

 

 

 

No they don't, it would be illegal and invasive.

It might be illegal and invasive in the US, but on the ship your rights as a US citizen are somewhat diluted.  And believe me when I say that there is a camera mounted underneath every cruise ship bridge wing, that is capable of pan, tilt, and zoom, and that will show nearly every balcony to some extent, not necessarily full coverage, but enough to see what is going on on a balcony for the most part.

[grandmarnnurse]

11 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

Why not.  I would immediately report them.  Rules is rules.

 

DON

I would too! 

[grandmarnnurse]

3 minutes ago, coevan said:

The Paradise failed attempt at having a non smoking ship was 15 years ago and the percentage of smokers has decreased drastically

I really think people’s education on the dangers of smoking has improved over the years, and a smoke free cruise today would be very welcome. In the meantime, I’m very pleased with Carnival’s decision to prevent smoking in non designated areas. If only they could ban it from the casino, that would be a big help. 

[rukkian]

57 minutes ago, coevan said:

 

 

 

No they don't, it would be illegal and invasive.

Actually they do.  They can see every balcony, and that is one of the main reason people caution about certain activities on your balcony, and that you should keep your curtains closed at times.

[chengkp75]

45 minutes ago, grandmarnnurse said:

I really think people’s education on the dangers of smoking has improved over the years, and a smoke free cruise today would be very welcome. In the meantime, I’m very pleased with Carnival’s decision to prevent smoking in non designated areas. If only they could ban it from the casino, that would be a big help. 

But to be totally smoke free, you have to have non-smoking crew, and the countries where the vast majority of the crew come from have 40% or more of their population smoke.  That is one major reason the Carnival experiment failed, was getting non-smoking crew to sail the ship.  And while only about 1 in 10 smoke in the US, that percentage is higher overseas, and Carnival is dealing with a multi-cultural demographic.

[LuckyStar]

20 hours ago, homer2005 said:

As a non smoker, I would never report someone smoking on their balcony.

 

Oh, my, I would.  I personally could care less whether someone smokes and I can tolerate the smell if I have to BUT the safety issues on a boat are what would motivate me.  You got a lot of people in a relatively tight space so getting that many people off of a boat should it catch fire is a huge task.  It isn't like you can run to the yard like in a house or office fire.  

[chengkp75]

51 minutes ago, LuckyStar said:

 

Oh, my, I would.  I personally could care less whether someone smokes and I can tolerate the smell if I have to BUT the safety issues on a boat are what would motivate me.  You got a lot of people in a relatively tight space so getting that many people off of a boat should it catch fire is a huge task.  It isn't like you can run to the yard like in a house or office fire.  

See post #37 regarding safety and smoking.  I've never, in 43 years at sea, had a fire started by a cigarette on any ship I've been on, or heard about.

[rukkian]

1 minute ago, chengkp75 said:

See post #37 regarding safety and smoking.  I've never, in 43 years at sea, had a fire started by a cigarette on any ship I've been on, or heard about.

Anecdotal evidence does not prove anything.  Just because there has not been a fire when you were onboard does not mean it is not a risk.  Some may go overboard on the actual danger from cigarettes, but that does not mean there is no risk.

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

But to be totally smoke free, you have to have non-smoking crew, and the countries where the vast majority of the crew come from have 40% or more of their population smoke.  That is one major reason the Carnival experiment failed, was getting non-smoking crew to sail the ship.  And while only about 1 in 10 smoke in the US, that percentage is higher overseas, and Carnival is dealing with a multi-cultural demographic.

Interesting perspective.

[chengkp75]

13 minutes ago, rukkian said:

Anecdotal evidence does not prove anything.  Just because there has not been a fire when you were onboard does not mean it is not a risk.  Some may go overboard on the actual danger from cigarettes, but that does not mean there is no risk.

Please give me an example where there has been a cruise ship fire in the last two decades caused by a cigarette.  Of course there is a risk, but as with all things, insurance underwriters (and maritime underwriters can be very conservative) will require things to mitigate the risk as much as possible.  The use of sprinklers and smoke detectors in cabins, and low-combustible furnishings on balconies have reduced the risk to almost nil.

Edited November 20, 2018 by chengkp75

[rukkian]

Just now, chengkp75 said:

Please give me an example where there has been a cruise ship fire in the last two decades caused by a cigarette.  Of course there is a risk, but as with all things, insurance underwriters (and maritime underwriters can be very conservative) will require things to mitigate the risk as much as possible.  The use of sprinklers and smoke detectors in cabins, and low-combustible furnishings on balconies have reduced the risk to almost nil.

Did you read what I said?  You said that since there has never been a fire while you were onboard, it means there is no risk.  That is anecdotal evidence.  It does not prove there is not risk.  If you think that having lit cigarette butts flying through the air landing on balconies (which does happen) is not a fire risk at all, you are fooling yourself at best.  There have been car fires from people flicking a cigarette out a window and having it come back in the back window and lighting something on fire, it is the same principle, it really does not matter if there has been a fire in the last 2 years or not on a cruise ship.  

 

Having things on fire thrown around is a bigger risk of fire than not having things on fire thrown around, period.

[sfaaa]

7 hours ago, FSHLOT said:

Ok, and how will you know where its originating? You going to lean over the rail and take a picture? LOL

Unless you have very short or no arms, it's not that hard to take a picture from your balcony 

[chengkp75]

7 minutes ago, rukkian said:

Did you read what I said?  You said that since there has never been a fire while you were onboard, it means there is no risk.  That is anecdotal evidence.  It does not prove there is not risk.  If you think that having lit cigarette butts flying through the air landing on balconies (which does happen) is not a fire risk at all, you are fooling yourself at best.  There have been car fires from people flicking a cigarette out a window and having it come back in the back window and lighting something on fire, it is the same principle, it really does not matter if there has been a fire in the last 2 years or not on a cruise ship.  

 

Having things on fire thrown around is a bigger risk of fire than not having things on fire thrown around, period.

I would rank the risk from using a propane torch to create creme brulee (which is highly regulated onboard), or bananas foster in the MDR as more of a risk than a smoker flicking a butt off his balcony.  And having fought several shipboard fires, I don't think I'm fooling myself about any aspect of them.

 

And, please, show me where I said, in any post here, that there is no risk from smoking.  I said that I've never experienced one, or heard of one, and that the oft trotted out Star Princess was not definitively caused by smoking.  I am pointing out that there is little risk and that should not be a prime argument for banning smoking.

[coevan]

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

It might be illegal and invasive in the US, but on the ship your rights as a US citizen are somewhat diluted.  And believe me when I say that there is a camera mounted underneath every cruise ship bridge wing, that is capable of pan, tilt, and zoom, and that will show nearly every balcony to some extent, not necessarily full coverage, but enough to see what is going on on a balcony for the most part.

 

 

I have no doubt as to your knowledge. when we did a behind the scenes tour, I saw the monitor basically showing the side of the ship. I asked the Capt if they monitor the cabins, he said no, they are there primarily for docking, not being a peeping tom. We are still proud members of the balcony club, hope they don't have videos, actually who cares

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, coevan said:

 

 

I have no doubt as to your knowledge. when we did a behind the scenes tour, I saw the monitor basically showing the side of the ship. I asked the Capt if they monitor the cabins, he said no, they are there primarily for docking, not being a peeping tom. We are still proud members of the balcony club, hope they don't have videos, actually who cares

While that is the "party line", if I had a nickle for every time I caught an engineer panning and zooming those cameras to get a better view of "hotties" and I had to write them up for it, I would have retired years ago.  And I know the bridge crew do the same, and they have seen a few examples of the "balcony club", and the cameras are recorded 24/7, but not always viewed, and destroyed or written over every few days.

[cruisinpips]

On more than one previous cruise, I have smelled the smoke, determined who was smoking, taken pictures of the offenders, reported them to security, provided pictures and met with security afterwards. I will continue to do so anytime it happens near my balcony. When you break the rules, your right to “privacy” ends where my privacy begins.

We had a lady next door tell us on one cruise that she paid for the cruise and she could smoke if she wanted to.... after security showed up in her room and I provided picture of her smoking and her ashtray, they informed her that the next time, she would be disembarked. We never smelled smoke again that cruise, and we just smiled at them in the hallway....

[lottiegreen56]

Chengkp....thanks for being the voice of reason in the thread!

[coevan]

I always enjoy reading Chegpk's post. I know you didn't see our balcony or your eyes would have been burned. 

[BoDidly]

36 minutes ago, coevan said:

I always enjoy reading Chegpk's post. I know you didn't see our balcony or your eyes would have been burned. 

So your not an exhibitionist ? 

[BlerkOne]

On 11/19/2018 at 12:30 PM, Kankakee Kid said:

Starting December 1st. Anyone smoking in their cabin or on their balcony will be charged $500 on the Sign and Sail and all cabin members kicked off the ship at the first port. Wow!!! About time. Guests are encouraged to report balcony smokers to guest services. 

 

well, sort of. And you betcha I will report. The better news is per occurrence. No longer can someone (expletive deleted) flaunt their disrespect for rules, pay a small one time fee, and continue to smoke without further penalty.

[BlerkOne]

6 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

I would rank the risk from using a propane torch to create creme brulee (which is highly regulated onboard), or bananas foster in the MDR as more of a risk than a smoker flicking a butt off his balcony.  And having fought several shipboard fires, I don't think I'm fooling myself about any aspect of them.

 

And, please, show me where I said, in any post here, that there is no risk from smoking.  I said that I've never experienced one, or heard of one, and that the oft trotted out Star Princess was not definitively caused by smoking.  I am pointing out that there is little risk and that should not be a prime argument for banning smoking.

 

Surely you would rank the odds of a galley fire being detected quicker than a balcony butt fire.

Thank you for admitting smoking has a fire risk.