Smoking on Poesia

[mobydog]

Hi all- one more question on the Poesia- Caribbean cruise. I have read through a number of reviews to make an informed decision prior to booking this cruise. The one thing that keeps sticking out to me is SMOKING. Let me preface it that I am a non-smoker and try to avoid places on board where smoking takes place. I respect the right of smokers but want to be able to enjoy shows and a cocktail without going into an asthma attack.

 

Thank you for your comments.

[lousk]

hi all- one more question on the poesia- caribbean cruise. I have read through a number of reviews to make an informed decision prior to booking this cruise. The one thing that keeps sticking out to me is smoking. Let me preface it that i am a non-smoker and try to avoid places on board where smoking takes place. I respect the right of smokers but want to be able to enjoy shows and a cocktail without going into an asthma attack.

 

Thank you for your comments.

hi holly,

 

the areas you want to stay away from are:

 

Open deck, deck 13, port side.

Deck 6, bar dei poeti, port side.

Deck 7, pigalle lounge & the casino.

All decks outside on port side.

 

Hope this helps you.

 

Lou

[AndrewK]

Hi there,

 

According to the daily "program", the following were designated smoking areas on our cruise:

 

• Open decks (7 and 13), port side
  
• Bar del Poeti, deck 6, port side
  
• Cigar room, deck 7
  
• Royal Casino, deck 7
  
• Pigalle lounge, deck 7
  
• Pirana bar, deck 13 (except for the bar counter)
  
• Mojito bar, deck 13 (except for the bar counter)
  
• Pool, deck 14 port side
  

There are in fact a few areas not mentioned. In the corners of the decks at the rear there are small areas popular with smokers ... both crew and passengers. On the port side these areas are equipped with ashtrays. Depending on where the wind is coming from, some balcony cabins will get the smoke.

 

Some lounges are supposed to have specific smoking or non-smoking areas ... but unfortunately the smoke can't read and usually fills the entire room.

 

Pipes and cigars are only supposed to be smoked in the cigar room. In fact, on our cruise there were people smoking pipes and cigars wherever they felt like it and crew just turned a blind eye. One particular guy used to smoke his pipe up on the open deck just outside the doors to the buffet. I don't know what he was smoking but it smelled like a toxic waste incinerator!

 

Keep in mind also that smoking in cabins is not prohibited ... only "discouraged". This is a green light for smokers so at times you'll find the corridors full of smoke. Also, cigarette smoke seemed to waft up from a crew access area near our cabin at times.

 

Regardless of the policy, the reality is that smokers seem to light up just about anywhere. This includes crew (mainly what looked like engineering types ... overalls, but with gold braid on their shoulders) who could often be seen having a smoke just about anywhere on the open decks ... designated smoking area or not. You may also find thing differ with the passenger demographic. Maybe our cruise just had quite a lot of smokers.

 

One of the most problematic areas for us was the big "Pigalle Lounge" at the rear of the ship. A lot of activities are held here but both entrances have signs proclaiming "Smokers are welcome in this area". The Pigalle lounge happened to be our lifeboat station and would you believe someone lit up near us during the lifeboat drill ... no doubt encouraged by the "Smokers welcome ..." signs.

 

Depending on the time of day, it can vary from relatively clear to "cut it with a knife". It is always smoky in the evenings so most of the time we just had to miss out on activities held in Pigalle. Shows in the main theatre won't be a problem as we never observed anyone smoking there.

 

Your best bet for a cocktail is probably the Zebra bar. This is usually OK depending on exactly where you sit as some adjacent lounges allow smoking.

[remi1au]

Hi there,

 

According to the daily "program", the following were designated smoking areas on our cruise:

• Open decks (7 and 13), port side
  
• Bar del Poeti, deck 6, port side
  
• Cigar room, deck 7
  
• Royal Casino, deck 7
  
• Pigalle lounge, deck 7
  
• Pirana bar, deck 13 (except for the bar counter)
  
• Mojito bar, deck 13 (except for the bar counter)
  
• Pool, deck 14 port side
  

There are in fact a few areas not mentioned. In the corners of the decks at the rear there are small areas popular with smokers ... both crew and passengers. On the port side these areas are equipped with ashtrays. Depending on where the wind is coming from, some balcony cabins will get the smoke.

 

Some lounges are supposed to have specific smoking or non-smoking areas ... but unfortunately the smoke can't read and usually fills the entire room.

 

Pipes and cigars are only supposed to be smoked in the cigar room. In fact, on our cruise there were people smoking pipes and cigars wherever they felt like it and crew just turned a blind eye. One particular guy used to smoke his pipe up on the open deck just outside the doors to the buffet. I don't know what he was smoking but it smelled like a toxic waste incinerator!

 

Keep in mind also that smoking in cabins is not prohibited ... only "discouraged". This is a green light for smokers so at times you'll find the corridors full of smoke. Also, cigarette smoke seemed to waft up from a crew access area near our cabin at times.

 

Regardless of the policy, the reality is that smokers seem to light up just about anywhere. This includes crew (mainly what looked like engineering types ... overalls, but with gold braid on their shoulders) who could often be seen having a smoke just about anywhere on the open decks ... designated smoking area or not. You may also find thing differ with the passenger demographic. Maybe our cruise just had quite a lot of smokers.

 

One of the most problematic areas for us was the big "Pigalle Lounge" at the rear of the ship. A lot of activities are held here but both entrances have signs proclaiming "Smokers are welcome in this area". The Pigalle lounge happened to be our lifeboat station and would you believe someone lit up near us during the lifeboat drill ... no doubt encouraged by the "Smokers welcome ..." signs.

 

Depending on the time of day, it can vary from relatively clear to "cut it with a knife". It is always smoky in the evenings so most of the time we just had to miss out on activities held in Pigalle. Shows in the main theatre won't be a problem as we never observed anyone smoking there.

 

Your best bet for a cocktail is probably the Zebra bar. This is usually OK depending on exactly where you sit as some adjacent lounges allow smoking.

 

We were on the same cruise as you Andrew and your observations match mine, we also found the Zebra bar to be the best bet for little or no traces of cigarette smoke.

I should point out that even though I am a non-smoker, passive smoke doesn’t bother me at all in open spaces such as the ships lounges.

But it did bother me that a person in a cabin close to ours was obviously smoking quite a lot in their cabin, this smoke was very noticeable in the corridor and started to get that "stale" smell after a while. I didn’t like that much.

 

Andy.