Balcony and smokers

[sjcruiser]

No offense to the OP, but it amazes me at how many, and how quickly smokers and nonsmokers get flamed whenever this post/thread comes up. As a cigar smoker, my smoking habit at sea follows my pattern at home. I only smoke late at night (past 9:00) whether in a lounge, on deck or on the balcony. I am mindful of those who don't smoke, but a cigar is not like a cigarette where you can put it out and relight it later on, if asked (well you can, but the flavor changes sometimes, and I just don't do it). Most of the cruise lines allow smoking on the balcony, and its something you just have to be prepared for. When I'm not smoking my cigar, I don't like to be around others that are smoking cigarettes or cigars, go figure.

[coyotebrian]

I know .... when I went on my last cruise the e-cig was relatively new and that was the rule, you still had to go to the smoking section, but I've been told that's changed. Maybe not on Carnival yet, but I want to say maybe RCCI? I'm not sure, but someone mentioned it. In any event, I still stuck to my e-cig, but followed the rules and when out and about on the ship I went to the smoking section. But, I felt a lot more comfortable when I was on the balcony. I just find that people seem to need something to complain about sometimes .... like I said, someone was complaining now about the e-cig! Go figure! :confused:

 

i agree. i think some people just like to complain for the sake of complaining

[VAGentleman05]

I am not a smoker but I think people here make this more an issue then it really is. We were next to a smoker and as long as the ship was moving we would catch a whiff but it was gone just as quick. In port it might be more noticeable.

 

I completely agree. In my experience, you really have to be trying to be offended or upset in order to be bothered by smoke from a neighboring balcony, particularly while the ship is moving (which, honestly, is when most of us spend significant time on the balcony).

[MMOMOM]

I completely agree. In my experience, you really have to be trying to be offended or upset in order to be bothered by smoke from a neighboring balcony, particularly while the ship is moving (which, honestly, is when most of us spend significant time on the balcony).

 

Thanx for saying that! I've always thought that as well. You made me think of something funny regarding 'trying to be offended' .... while on the Oasis I was on the 'smoking side' of the ship, way down the end before the doors to the inside open on the pool deck talking to a woman who was smoking (I was using my e-cig). We were like the only 2 there, it was early, and lo and behold the doors from the other end open and out walks this woman who takes one look at us and starts 'hacking and coughing and carrying on' which to both of us seemed totally fake .... she continues walking thru to the other side and gives both of us dirty looks!! Now first of all, way up there with only one cigarette lit, she couldn't have been affected ... and if she was WHY did she walk out that side, or if it was by mistake why didn't she cross over to the non-smoking side??!! That's what I mean about people just looking for things to complain and make a big deal about. There was no need for that display. Course, it actually struck me funny at the time, LOL!! Takes all kind I guess! :D

[Wanna_Cruise]

We have a balcony reserved for our cruise. We are not smokers. If by chance we end up surrounded by smokers with it coming over/up to us and bothering us do we have any recourse? I hate to "control" someone else, but I don't want to be "controlled" by their habit either. I would like to be able to enjoy my balcony too.

 

Really hoping not to have a problem but wondering about other peoples experiences with this.

 

If I were a non-smoker that was terribly bothered by smoking, I would book a room on the front of the boat in a lower level balcony. The smoke is not as likely to go down or forward but more likely to go up and backward. Of course, at 30 knots, smoke or anything else on the balcony is not likely to hang around long. I am always more worried that I will lose my hair or my teeth in that kind of wind speed on the balcony than worrying about the smoke.

[Queen428]

Psst ..... I used my eCig EVERYWHERE on The Magic last week. Comedy lounge, main showroom, casino. I think the only place I didn't use it was in the dining areas. But then again I also use it on airplanes every week & can pretty much "vap" with no visible evidence.

[WOWGirl]

Psst ..... I used my eCig EVERYWHERE on The Magic last week. Comedy lounge, main showroom, casino. I think the only place I didn't use it was in the dining areas. But then again I also use it on airplanes every week & can pretty much "vap" with no visible evidence.

 

Vaping has caught on. I once saw this Woman start hacking when my husband pulled out his e cig, then after she said she was curious as to why the smoke smelled like watermelon and not smoke. He now does it just about anywhere. He can hide it and no one ever coughs. FAKERS and Idiots out there.

[TMWTim]

I will be smoking a eCig late at night on our spa balcony during our upcoming cruise. :eek: I may break out a Marlboro if I'm feeling frisky. :rolleyes:

[sparks1093]

We have a balcony reserved for our cruise. We are not smokers. If by chance we end up surrounded by smokers with it coming over/up to us and bothering us do we have any recourse? I hate to "control" someone else, but I don't want to be "controlled" by their habit either. I would like to be able to enjoy my balcony too.

 

Really hoping not to have a problem but wondering about other peoples experiences with this.

 

I am going to post before reading any responses, kinda know what they will be anyway, but no, there is no recourse but for what it is worth we had smokers around us on our last cruise and it wasn't an issue. DW and I are former smokers and we hardly noticed.

[H82seaUgo]

We have a balcony reserved for our cruise. We are not smokers. If by chance we end up surrounded by smokers with it coming over/up to us and bothering us do we have any recourse? I hate to "control" someone else, but I don't want to be "controlled" by their habit either. I would like to be able to enjoy my balcony too.

 

Really hoping not to have a problem but wondering about other peoples experiences with this.

 

in a designated smoking area? no, you don't.

 

but the brand ambassador states their stats show only 10% of their passengers smoke, so you have more to worry about what's coming out of the big whale tail up top.

[kathy884]

In my family, DS and I are really bothered by smoke and DH smokes. Carnival balcony rooms worked well for us on the last three Carnival cruises because there are not designated smoking balcony areas vs. and non smoking balcony areas meaning the limited number of smokers were spread out all over, and we didn't notice smoke, except from DH a couple of times who practices the smoking habits that other posters have described (trying to be considerate to non-smokers). The fact that Carnival has other places on their ships that people can smoke too, means that balconies are not the only place that smokers go to or the main go to place. We've even gone ahead and booked our fourth balcony Carnival cruise for next March (2014).

 

The truth is that we use our balcony a lot and so much of the time there were very few other people even out on their balconies (smoker or non-smokers) on our last three trips. We mostly noticed lots of other people on balconies when we were moving in or out of port.

 

Because of DH, we don't cruise lines unless they allow smoking on balconies. Because of me and DS (DH much prefers this policy too), we don't cruise on lines that only allow smoking on balconies on one particular side of the ship because DS and I think that that would congregate too many smokers together, meaning we wouldn't be as happy with the balcony which like I said we use a ton. We aren't even interested in cruising if we can't get a balcony or if the policies for the balcony don't fit the criteria above. // Policies other than this mean the line is one we won't book on. If all lines change policies, this would mean we wouldn't go on a cruise vacation. We'd just do land rather than throwing in cruise vacations into that mix.

 

For our family, Carnival's policies are perfect at the moment and one of the reasons we've done a few Carnival cruises and are booked on one again. (Of course it would be more perfect to just have DH stop smoking -- don't I wish).

 

Anyway we are a family that is sort of on both sides of the spectrum and smoking policy is a very big deal for us and a deal breaker in many cases.

[bjinouno]

Well Put!!

[Fydlstyx]

They have the right because the cruise line says they do. They allow smoking on the balcony and there isn't anything you can do to make sure you aren't near a smoker. If you end up near a smoker you can politely ask them to work with you to not smoke when you are outside but they don't have to comply. Then can smoke on the balcony all day every day if they so chose.

 

I am not a smoker but I think people here make this more an issue then it really is. We were next to a smoker and as long as the ship was moving we would catch a whiff but it was gone just as quick. In port it might be more noticeable.

 

Doesn't it make you wonder, when you read some of the comments here, how people manage to walk down public streets and survive? :D

[Cashew14]

Doesn't it make you wonder, when you read some of the comments here, how people manage to walk down public streets and survive? :D

 

Car exhaust fumes springs to mind :cool:

 

Oooops, shall we ban cars? ;)

[Cruizinman]

Doesn't it make you wonder, when you read some of the comments here, how people manage to walk down public streets and survive? :D

Actually there have been a quite few confrontations on Carnival ships .

[Gypsywych]

How hard is it to use a polite tone of voice to tell your neighbor that you are really sensitive to cigarette smoke and ask if he/she would give you warning when they are out there to smoke?

Sure, there are jerks in this world, but not as many as this board would lead you to believe. ;)

[Noel182002]

I wonder why you couldn't use your ecig in public areas....I'm a non smoker and I have a really close friend who uses those and they don't bother me in the least...i don't smell anything coming from them...so I don't know why these wouldn't be allowed

[H82seaUgo]

I wonder why you couldn't use your ecig in public areas....I'm a non smoker and I have a really close friend who uses those and they don't bother me in the least...i don't smell anything coming from them...so I don't know why these wouldn't be allowed

 

because someone called the act of vaping, smoking.

[winddawn]

My wife and I are smokers and here is our own personal policies regarding smoking on the balcony. And, from what we've seen, most people seem to follow something similarly.

 

1. We try not to smoke too much when in port, especially if the wind is down.
   
2. We generally don't sit out there for much longer than to have one smoke then go back to what we were doing.
   
3. We always bring a brand new travel ashtray with a lid. This keeps the butts from flying off.
   
4. We never let the cigarette hang out over the balcony rail. This helps keep ashes from flying.
   

Now that's not to say you won't end up near someone who doesn't do these things but I think it's rare. You might get a whiff of some cigarette smoke but it won't be over bearing or long lasting. Now the casino might be too much if you're sensitive to smoke. If so, you might want to steer clear of that area.

 

 

 

My advice is to not focus too much on it and enjoy your cruise!!

It is a shame that all smokers are not as considerate as you and your DW. I am always concerned too about people throwing their cigarettes overboard and them blowing back in to the balconies and starting a fire. I think Carnival has increased the chance of that happening by relegating smokers to the balconies.

[mikenhe]

the odds of someone very near your balcony being a heavy smoker and it being anything more than an annoyance is low. I think the further forward you are then the better your odds.

 

 

unless you are next to my MIL - then I can only apologize....

 

you should be fine..

[Midwestgal]

I never understood why people get so bothered by smokers on the balcony, I do not smoke and can't stand the smoke however the girl I cruise with smokes out on the balcony and it just blows away without any problem, yes I get a hint of it but no to where it smells. We've had smokers next to us and you can hardly smell it. What did people do in restaurants and bars when smoking was permitted?

 

People need to stop acting like its illegal to smoke.

How do you all feel about the pot smokers on the balcony, I smell that more than cigarette smoke.

[StillPooh]

I am always concerned too about people throwing their cigarettes overboard and them blowing back in to the balconies and starting a fire. I think Carnival has increased the chance of that happening by relegating smokers to the balconies.

Carnival could avoid that problem by providing safe ash/butt disposal cans to their smoking passengers who book balconies. Instead of leaving them to figure out for themselves how best to safely get rid of them.

[pungo3]

Carnival could avoid that problem by providing safe ash/butt disposal cans to their smoking passengers who book balconies. Instead of leaving them to figure out for themselves how best to safely get rid of them.

 

I agree with you 100%. I am not a smoker, but have felt bad for those who are since there aren't suitable disposals on the balconies. Maybe Carnival will figure it out soon.

[Guest fyree39]

Maybe your drinking won't affect my body but it could still impact my vacation. Sloppy and loud drunks annoy everyone. One guy started a thread about how it was his birthday that was being celebrated on board. His friends decided to have some fun by carrying around a blow up doll all over the ship and filling the hot tub with bubbles. Which in turn caused it to be shut down to be drained, cleaned and refilled. Yes these young guys were drinking heavily. No it wouldn't impact my health but still would impact my vacation to deal with that non sense.

 

The reality is when on a ship with 3000-4000 other people you will encounter things you don't like. The options are to deal with it by removing yourself from the situation or find a vacation where you won't ever have to interact or be around other people.

Isn't that the truth! I'd rather have a quiet smoker next to me than a drunk.

[soccersharon]

Isn't that the truth! I'd rather have a quiet smoker next to me than a drunk.

 

...or a constant door-slammer...now that's annoying!