Should Celebrity Ban Smoking on its Ships for Safety?

[heartofamerica]

I definitely would like to see all cruise lines ban smoking in the cabins and restrict it to specific areas of the ship. It has been proven that smoking is harmful to the human body and it is also a health hazard to all of us who have no choice but to breath the second hand smoke.

Those studies about the ill effects of second hand smoke also involved someone being exposed to second hand smoke, in an enclosed area, for a considerable amount of time....flight attendants in an enclosed aircraft with recirculated air, children in homes of smokers who smoked indoors. I can't think of one study that showed the health hazard (asthmatics excluded) of someone exposed to second hand smoke by walking thru a cruis ship casino.

[julieanne]

Yes, smoking should be banned ...and come to think of it ,drinking also,because statistics show that many fires are started by druken smokers. I also believe sex shold be banned since we all know that many people smoke after having sex. I also believe beds should be banned since some people use them for sex which leads to smoking in them afterwards. Come to think of it ,if we banned cruisers from cruising,there would be no one to smoke and start fires.As an added benefit with no one on cruises ,there would no longer be the dreaded chair hog problem,dress code violations, or tipping quandries.

OMG! I have never laughed so hard! That's it! I am telling my DH they're banning the beds on our cruise!:D

[julieanne]

Yes, you can smoke cigarettes in the cigar lounge! Althoug I plan on hopefully putting down the habit before the next one in a few weeks, my hubby and I always went to the cigar lounge after dinner. We had a wonderful attendant in there who played chess with some of the older gentleman and always made pleasant conversation. Great way to end our evening witha nightcap!

[julieanne]

Ok, yes, right now I smoke. I am a considerate smoker. In the outside areas, we stay on our smoking side, as well in the lounges. We have had non-smokers sit on our designated side and complain. Yes, we smokers know it's not healthy and most of us do not like to be inconsiderate of non-smokers. My question is: what happened to Carnival's Pride? For the amount of people who complain on the boards, nobody managed to keep that ship non-smoking! There was a Renaissance ship that was also non-smoking....needless to say, they went bankrupt. Consideration works both ways. I truly understand the casino as it is a small area. Perhaps they should make two on every ship as one half smoking and the other not, never works! As for the throwing of butts off balconies, that is just stupid. We always took our ashtray back inside, made sure it was extinguished. I truly believe that most of the people in these cabins leave their ashtrays outside and the wind actually blows most of the debris off the balcony along with the butts.......

[GottaLuvCruising]

My question is: what happened to Carnival's Pride? For the amount of people who complain on the boards, nobody managed to keep that ship non-smoking! There was a Renaissance ship that was also non-smoking....needless to say, they went bankrupt.

 

It was the Carnival Paradise that was non-smoking. There wasn't nearly enough variety in the itineraries and there were very few balconies. If both of those circumstances had changed, I could have sailed only the Paradise forever.

 

Renaissance went bankrupt because they tried to cut out travel agents and restrict commissions! Any cruise line that thinks they can stay in business without the cooperation of travel professionals will have the same experience.

[mastersleeperfinder]

The Cruiselines could care less about about the health risks of a nonsmoker occassionally breathing in a few clouds of second hand smoke. The only thing the ship is interested about is increasing it's bottomline numbers each year. A smoking ban aboard cruiseships will never be enforced because the cruise companies know that nonsmokers are typically non drinkers and non gamblers as well which would substantially decrease the ship's profit margin. Take a look at what happened to the Carnival Paradise. It was once a smoke free ship (during the first 4 years of its operations) but the ban was rescinded shortly after once Carnival saw the profits generated on the Paradise was only a fraction of the profits generated on comparable smoking ships. Frankly, I don't mind the smoke as long as its not in my face at the dinner table or inside the theaters.

[fjb3cpa]

Safety - no, not really a concern, however

 

General welfare of the passengers - yes

 

I thought I was fairly tolerant of cigaret smoke overall, but with smoking banned almost universally in indoor areas now, the smoke on the Zenith two weeks ago really threw me for a loop. It was difficult to even enter the RendezVouz lounge to cut through to the other areas of the vessel due to the suffocating wall of smoke as one entered the room. I can think of nowhere back on dry land where smoking is permitted indoors any more, and I look forward to the day when cruise lines see the light and restrict smoking to outdoor areas only.

 

Jim

[agabbymama]

My God !

 

Get yourselves a plastic bubble, you are going to need it. Do any of you eat, drink, breathe the air, use soaps, cooking oil, toothpaste, deodorant, or anything else that is made or harvested today?????? EVERY SINGLE THING on this planet is harmful to humans!!!!!! GET REAL! We are all going to die. You are marching to it from the time you are born. And yes, I am a smoker. My traveling companion has asthma, so I do not smoke in the cabin, however I do pay for a balcony to be able to smoke. And yes, I do not go to restaurants because of no smoking, bowling alleys when they went non-smoking, and I fly as little as possible because of the ban on smoking. And will continue to do so, until they make it absolutely illegal to smoke, regardless of all the pious do-gooders. They lambast smokers because they can't do anything about the other situations, it's easier to board the bandwagon against smoking.:mad:

[dkjretired]

This is a six month old thread...

[agabbymama]

This is a six month old thread...

 

And your point is????? This discussion could go on for 600 years!:D

[mastersleeperfinder]

All casinos in vegas still allow smoking indoors. Until smoking becomes illegal, you won't see vegas banning the smokers from lighting up while playing a hand of texasholdem. In much the same respect, cruise lines will not ban smoking either until it becomes illegal. Why? Because smoking is directly correlated with increased profits for one reason or another. I remember a few years ago when smoking indoors was banned in clubs and bars in California, all the owners of these venues cried bloody mary because they feared their profits would be hurt by such a ban. To maintain profits, many club/bar owners opened up bars outdoors while at the same time expanding their outdoor smoking sections. The same concept applies to cruise lines since these ships are essentially floating vegas hotels.

 

Safety - no, not really a concern, however

 

General welfare of the passengers - yes

 

I thought I was fairly tolerant of cigaret smoke overall, but with smoking banned almost universally in indoor areas now, the smoke on the Zenith two weeks ago really threw me for a loop. It was difficult to even enter the RendezVouz lounge to cut through to the other areas of the vessel due to the suffocating wall of smoke as one entered the room. I can think of nowhere back on dry land where smoking is permitted indoors any more, and I look forward to the day when cruise lines see the light and restrict smoking to outdoor areas only.

 

Jim

[Drew B]

My feeling is that they should ban smoking everywhere indoors, including staterooms, with the exception of the casino. I wouldn't mind them banning it in the casino, too, but they would lose a LOT of money that way! I would suggest that they totally upgrade the ventilation in the ship's casino to help with the smoke, and I also wouldn't mind them putting doors on it to keep the smoke from drifting out to other areas of the ship as much. Outdoor smoking, particularly with the rule about only smoking on one side of decks, is IMO no serious threat to non-smokers' health or happiness.

 

As for smoking on balconies, I don't get the complaint. Most people do not chain smoke all day long on their balcony. Most people take a couple of minutes to smoke, then they are finished smoking for a while (a half hour, an hour, two hours...). If the smoke coming onto your balcony from a neighbor bothers you, pop into your cabin for a couple of minutes. When you come back out, the smoking will probably be finished. If you happen to be unlucky enough to be next to somebody who chain smokes all day and night, that's a different story. I would have no problem with you saying something to him her and asking that maybe they can split the time a little so that you can enjoy your balcony, too. Still, I think that would be the exception rather than the rule...

[TWELVEOHONE]

In a word, No. I don't believe the fire was caused by smoking. If so, the sprinkler system would have put it out before it reached the level it did. I think it was electrical and ran through the walls of the ships.

 

Unfortunitely HurricaneSally the fire was caused by someone smoking out on the balcony. There are no sprinkler's on the balcony

 

As far as smoking on a ship as a past smoker, stopped 30 plus years ago I am personally against smoking. But with that said non-smoking ships will not make it.

Carnival had a non-smoking ship called the Paradise and tehy enforced their non-smoking policy. I caught smoking ither seen or cabin steward saw ashes, smelled smoke etc you were removed from the ship at the next port of call to to make you own way home. In addition your credit card was charged $250.00 to clean and replace software (curtaines, pillows, etc). This was part of the contract you signed when booking the ship.

 

Although it all sounded like a great idea it did not do as well as they hoped. First and formost with any group small or large their is almost always at least one smoker making it difficult to sail on that ship. Individual bookings were very good and in fact better than the other ships but groups are the bread and butter and tehty were few and far between.

[CaribbeanBound]

I vote for no second-hand smoke in the interior of the ship and the starboard side of the open deck areas.

[babylene]

I have no objection to a smoke-free environment.

[dkjretired]

Unfortunitely HurricaneSally the fire was caused by someone smoking out on the balcony. There are no sprinkler's on the balcony

 

As far as smoking on a ship as a past smoker, stopped 30 plus years ago I am personally against smoking. But with that said non-smoking ships will not make it.

Carnival had a non-smoking ship called the Paradise and tehy enforced their non-smoking policy. I caught smoking ither seen or cabin steward saw ashes, smelled smoke etc you were removed from the ship at the next port of call to to make you own way home. In addition your credit card was charged $250.00 to clean and replace software (curtaines, pillows, etc). This was part of the contract you signed when booking the ship.

 

Although it all sounded like a great idea it did not do as well as they hoped. First and formost with any group small or large their is almost always at least one smoker making it difficult to sail on that ship. Individual bookings were very good and in fact better than the other ships but groups are the bread and butter and tehty were few and far between.

 

The Investigation report was issued this week and the fire was in fact caused by a cigarette on the balcony catching fire to a combustible substance. The fire spread because there were no sprinklers on the balcony.

 

 

http://www.maib.gov.uk/publications/investigation_reports/2006/star_princess.cfm

[smj]

Yes.

[maillady73]

I am a smoker! What really bothers me is when I am on the smoking side of a lounge, deck or casino and a non-smoker is there and complains about me smoking! Non-smokers have most of the ship! Smokers are usually limited to certain areas. If you don't like smoke.....stay out of the smoking areas! I have had balconies, I take a cup of water with me for my ashes and my butts!

[jessemon]

In light of the tragic fire aboard the Princess Star today, do you think Celebrity should ban smoking on its ships for safety?

I guess they (cruiselines) should ban drinking then too.

Wouldn't want more drunks falling overboard.:rolleyes:

[SusieV]

Casinos here in Ontario are non smoking indoors. People are complaining a little, but they're going outside to smoke. It's too soon to see if there's been a revenue drop yet (ban was enforced in June) but so far the casinos have been just as busy every time I visit... and I'm much, much happier. I don't think that cruiselines would necessarily have a revenue drop if they banned smoking in ALL indoor public areas, including the casino. Like other posters have mentioned, if the ships are nice and the itineraries good, people will sail ships regardless of whether they are smoking or not, except for the few diehards, and I am sure there are just as many diehard nonsmokers now who refuse to cruise because of health reasons. And no one has mentioned what happens to cruisers who are pregnant being exposed to smoke. According to this study (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8563188&dopt=Citation), even TEN MINUTES of smoke exposure daily can cause irreparable harm to the developing fetus. Is your cigarette smoking so important that you are willing to risk someone's unborn child?

[Drew B]

Casinos here in Ontario are non smoking indoors. People are complaining a little, but they're going outside to smoke. It's too soon to see if there's been a revenue drop yet (ban was enforced in June) but so far the casinos have been just as busy every time I visit... and I'm much, much happier.

 

I can't imagine any way that revenue WOULDN'T drop. If it takes ten minutes for somebody to walk from the table or slot machine to an outside smoking area, smoke their cigarette, and walk back, those are ten minutes that they are not playing. Therefore, for those ten minutes, the casino is not making their statistical profits off of that player. If the person leaves to smoke every hour and a half, that is more than ten percent of their time spent away from the table/slots. Theoretically, there would be a drop of more than ten percent in their revenue from smoking players.

 

For some reason, smoking seems completely ingrained in the casino experience, and what is inappropriate in other places is fine in a casino. It's not unlike strip clubs. I'm not crazy about public nudity, and I'd be put off by a woman taking off her clothes in a restaurant or a bar. However, if I went into a strip club and complained about the nudity, that would be NUTS! The strippers are doing their thing in the appropriate venue, and if I don't like it, I should stay out! I don't mind when anti-smoking people try to get smokers out of other indoor public spaces, but I think casinos are an exception.

 

And if what you said about smoking affecting pregnant women is true, then pregnant women should STAY OUT OF CASINOS! It is no more to ask them to stay out of casinos than to ask smokers to stay out.

[dkjretired]

In New Jersey we have new laws which went into effect in April. All restaurants, bars are non smoking with the only exceptions being the Casinos themselves. I don't smoke but its funny seeing people getting told to stop smoking in bathrooms attached to the casinos or in hallways leading to the casinos. They are quite strict with the rules and some are calling for them to eliminate the exemption for the casinos. I think that may hurt quite a bit. You really have to see the clientele and realize they would probably not go to the casinos if they couldn't smoke.

[jessemon]

Remember those of you who want smoke free ships...

When was the last time "you" cruised on the Carnival Paradise?

That ship is now a smoking ship....guess it did not work for revenue.

How many of you cruised with the "R" class line?

Totally nonsmoking...

They are out of business....:eek:

 

Guess the only one to cruise on now is the Oceania Line. Only two smoking areas...on upper deck....How many of "you" have cruised on that line?

 

It is time to stop complaining about lines that allow smoking and cruise a line that does not...

 

Then they will stay in business...;)

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

Not sure if this was brought up yet, but I am curious as to why the SOLAS requirement on all ships is not also applicable to the outside of ships? You would think that if everything inside the ships is fire retardent, then shouldn't everything outside the ship should be too? Just curious.

[Susan-M]

I can't imagine any way that revenue WOULDN'T drop.

 

Once the smoking ban went into effect, many non-smokers who previously avoided the casino started going, making up for the loss in revenue from the smokers who have to spend time outside smoking... but I'm only going from heresay as I only have one addiction .... Cruise Critic:)