Smokers

[brian_uk]

We are thinking of joining a couple of private tours on our next O cruise but hate travelling in small buses with smokers. They are free to smoke to their hearts/lungs content but we find that the smell can be overpowering in confined areas (for example a small bus).

 

Is it politically correct to ask the question ?

 

Oh and I have no objection to anyone wearing Dungarees as per other thread !

 

Brian

[tropicalkerry2002]

I have asked this of any participants taking tours I have booked, for the exact same reasons as you.

 

I don't see any harm in YOU asking if the tour you are joining is made up of non smokers, as you do find the smell overpowering in small areas, even on clothing.

 

Of course, people could tell you whatever they want, but I work on trust, and on all tours I have booked, my olfactory sense and allergies have not discovered any smokers!

 

I think that generally, as there are relatively few smokers on O because of their policy, chances are quite good you can find a tour with non smokers.

[Mura]

That has been my experience. We do many private tours, some I organize and some I don't, as well as an occasional ship's tour. But I can't remember encountering any smokers on any of the tours we've taken on Oceania. Even on ship's tours I can't recall running into a smoking problem.

 

But I shall make a note in the future to ask people who want to participate if they smoke. I myself would be very upset to organize a tour and then to find there is an inveterate smoker among the group!

 

Mura

[LHT28]

Perfectly acceptable to ask

I find most tour guides do NOT allow smoking in the vehicle but as Marian stated the odour does linger in the smoker's clothing & can be disturbing to others in an enclosed vehicle

 

 

Lyn

[orchestrapal]

Perfectly acceptable to ask

I find most tour guides do NOT allow smoking in the vehicle but as Marian stated the odour does linger in the smoker's clothing & can be disturbing to others in an enclosed vehicle

Lyn

 

We have always asked for a non-smoking car and driver as well.

[LHT28]

We have always asked for a non-smoking car and driver as well.

 

That is a good idea

[gillianrose]

I think it is fine to stipulate that your private tour or transfer is for non-smokers only. The lingering odor and toxins on the clothes of smokers is tolerable when they simply pass you outside, but sitting next to them in close quarters is unbearable.

[no fuss travel]

Also you need to stipulate no perfume or aftershave. Both are just as bad as smell of smoke for a fair number of people.

[TKS]

Also you need to stipulate no perfume or aftershave. Both are just as bad as smell of smoke for a fair number of people.

 

Absolutely true. Smokers get the worst "rap." But those who overindulge in perfume/aftershave, or heavily perfumed lotions, can, literally, bring tears to your eyes. Sunscreens with PABA absolutely make me gag due to the overpowering odor. I have to search out PABA-free products or I can't stand being in my own skin.

 

ANY strong odor can make being in close contact with even the nicest people a real challenge.

[hypercafe]

I suggest if other peoples odors offend you then you best bet is to take a private tour. If you want to defray the cost then what you get is what you get!

[therhodes]

I'm sorry but this is a bit ridiculous. If someone is so intolerable of smells, any.....smoke, perfume/aftershaves even sunscreen....they should definitely do a private tour for your little group. There is no guarantee that you will not run into someone that has an odor that is offensive to you.

 

 

What about going on tour and they take you to a restaurant in a place like Greece, where smoking is everywhere? What do you do?

 

It's a big world and I find it incredible that people who love to travel concern themselves with smells, good or bad! If you can't deal with them, you'll miss a lot because some things aren't going to stop or change just because YOU don't like it or are allergic to it. I can't say that even the worst perfume would upset me to a point that it would ruin my tour. It's not like you're on the bus for hours and hours, usually.

[tropicalkerry2002]

and that is exactly why I book private tours.

 

Obviously, you folks are lucky enough to not be bothered by the smell of smokers!

 

If I go to a restaurant where smoking is everywhere, I don't stay long, or I sit outside.

 

But I won't enjoy sitting in a van with the nauseating smell of cigarette smoke on people and their clothing, and enjoy the tour. There are times when I HAVE to tolerate it, for example in my line of work, but if I am organizing a tour, doing all the work, I feel I have every right to request non smokers! And yes, I have also requested non smoking guides and drivers in the past!

[ducklite]

I'm sorry but this is a bit ridiculous. If someone is so intolerable of smells, any.....smoke, perfume/aftershaves even sunscreen....they should definitely do a private tour for your little group. There is no guarantee that you will not run into someone that has an odor that is offensive to you.

 

 

What about going on tour and they take you to a restaurant in a place like Greece, where smoking is everywhere? What do you do?

 

It's a big world and I find it incredible that people who love to travel concern themselves with smells, good or bad! If you can't deal with them, you'll miss a lot because some things aren't going to stop or change just because YOU don't like it or are allergic to it. I can't say that even the worst perfume would upset me to a point that it would ruin my tour. It's not like you're on the bus for hours and hours, usually.

 

No smoking allowed indoors in Greek restaurants. Outdoors is a different story. We ask for upwind tables in outdoor cafes.

[no fuss travel]

More and more countries in Europe are now starting to ban smoking in certain places. It is just that the North American continent took the lead in banning smoking. For those of you who do not suffer from allergies, lucky you. For those of us who suffer from allergies, you will just have to put up with our tears, sneezing, and coughing. We are not sick, we are just allergic.:eek:

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Hmm, interesting, wasn't aware that PABA even had an odour! As for perfumes, yes I don't like it when it's overpowering.

[Travelcat2]

It is usually smokers who complain about perfume, aftershave. It is just like a thread about children acting badly -- someone has to post about adults acting badly. One thing has nothing to do with the other.

 

If you are bothered by smoke, aftershave, perfume, sunscreen, etc., you already know that you need either a private or small group tour with a driver and tour guide that can meet your allergy guidelines. This is not specific to Oceania. Any place you go where there are groups of people, your requirements would be the same.

[gillianrose]

Sunscreens with PABA absolutely make me gag due to the overpowering odor. I have to search out PABA-free products or I can't stand being in my own skin.

 

I don't think you have to search out PABA-free products. It would be more difficult to locate a brand that still contains it.

 

I agree that many sunscreens smell awful, but it isn't because of PABA.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Also you need to stipulate no perfume or aftershave. Both are just as bad as smell of smoke for a fair number of people.

 

No, OP doesn't need to specify this, unless OP shares your view.

[Mura]

Okay, maybe we don't need to get so combobulated here.

 

Many people who dislike smoke also dislike perfume. I know that I qualify for both.

 

I can handle light perfume, lightly applied, far better than smoke ... but I would prefer no extra scents. I have a friend who was a big smoker but since she quit she cannot tolerate ANY perfume at all. We all have different reactions.

 

But the fact is that for all of our cruise trips -- whether private or on a ship's tour -- we haven't encountered a problem. Maybe we were lucky!

 

We haven't encountered smoke-filled cars/vans and we haven't run into drivers who smoke and we haven't run into fellow passengers who smoke.

 

So maybe we're all fulminating about not that much.

 

Then again, maybe we've just been lucky.

 

In the future when I set up a private tour I WILL specify no smoking, and ask the guide (or agency) for a no-smoking vehicle. But I will not send along a list of forbidden scents! I choose not to create a problem where none has existed in the past.

 

And when people sign up for a tour I am organizing I WILL ask them if they have a problem with this and that. But if they are too persnickety ...

 

But as I have said before, we haven't had a problem before. I don't see why we'll have one in the future.

 

Mura

[TKS]

I agree, Mura. I've never had a problem on a tour either. Most O folks are pretty knowledgeable about such issues - and few who cruise O smoke.

 

Where I have encountered problems is aboard airplanes, where you cannot escape the odors of those surrounding you, sometimes in the adjoining seat. And some of those flights are long - made longer by the offensive odors. I've also encountered some at dinner or in the theatre aboard who were heavy handed with the perfume/aftershave.

 

We all have different pet peeves (DH hates to listen to people chew crunchy food - makes him cringe!). Would I miss a tour with people because they violate my pet peeve - no. Would I demand others on a tour I organized obey "my" rules - no. But I would be sure not so sit too close to them in closed quarters.

 

We all have different olfactory senses - some more acute to some odors than others. I'm spoiled because I live in an area where most people are pretty careful to be, more or less, "scent free". That's probably why I'm relatively sensitive to strong odors of any type, good or bad.

 

And, GillianRose, if it's not PABA, what is it that smells so strong? I've only encountered it in PABA based sunscreens.

[wripro]

There's an obvious solution. Do your own tour.

[orchestrapal]

There's an obvious solution. Do your own tour.

 

You got that one right.

We always do our own tours on our own schedule and see only what we want

with NO shopping time. :D

[gillianrose]

And, GillianRose, if it's not PABA, what is it that smells so strong? I've only encountered it in PABA based sunscreens.

 

It could be another ingredient, most likely combined with fragrance of some sort added to mask that ingredient. I find a lot of sunscreens smell overly and falsely floral.

[wassup4565]

This thread exemplifies why I will never cruise on O again. You people go around sniffing to see if others, by chance, offend you by their odors?

 

For the record, on my one and only O cruise, the most interesting and informative people I met were the smokers, when we met up in the teeny smoking ghetto on the ship. We really enjoyed our times with the captain too, when he joined us to indulge in a fag.

 

You consider the many, many ways others might offend you on your cruise. Just a thought - might you be offensive to others in some way? Or do you care at all about that?

[brian_uk]

Having started this thread specifically to ask whether it was political to ask a tour organiser the question about whether smokers would be included or excluded I am simply amazed at the diversity of answers.

 

I am a pefectly normal O Cruiser (although some would disagree) and I am happy to travel with everybody unless I have the choice. Nor do I go around sniffing at anybody to see whether they smell.

 

Brian