Smoking on balcony

[Jkmarlin24]

So we get on the ship and the neighbor on their balcony says it says no smoking I don't care I'm doing it anyway. Is this something we notify the crew about or let them continue the whole week smoking? I'm not against smoking anything it's just not my thing nor do I wanna smell legal or illegal smoke both were being used. Just wondered other thoughts about this. Thanks

 

[Sea42]

Yes, report it to guest services. They will notify the people who will handle it.

[Aquahound]

Report it to Guest Services and put an end to it now.  They are being selfish and deliberately breaking the rules, and it is impacting your enjoyment of the balcony you paid for.  

[Shmoo here]

18 minutes ago, Jkmarlin24 said:

Is this something we notify the crew about

Without a doubt, yes, notify Guest Services.

[aungrl]

It's not just a personal preference issue, it's a safety issue.  Please report it quickly and let Guest Services deal with it.  

[jsn55]

For the future, I would advise anyone who encounters someone smoking against the rules to not confront the goon personally.  Anyone who is crass enough to smoke on a cruiseship balcony could be prone to some unpleasant revenge.  Report it, but stay out of the situation.  Possible that I'm over-reacting to the mobs of drunks fighting on cruiseships, but it seems like common sense to steer well away from these kinds of people.  

[wcook]

Up to you. I would absolutely notify the crew that someone in that cabin was smoking on their balcony. I would absolutely not speculate about what they were smoking or possible illegality. 

[navybankerteacher]

27 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

For the future, I would advise anyone who encounters someone smoking against the rules to not confront the goon personally.  Anyone who is crass enough to smoke on a cruiseship balcony could be prone to some unpleasant revenge.  Report it, but stay out of the situation.  Possible that I'm over-reacting to the mobs of drunks fighting on cruiseships, but it seems like common sense to steer well away from these kinds of people.  

Sadly, I think that you are right. The general level of civility seems far lower recently - road rage is a prime example --- even something as simple as dimming high beams at night when facing an oncoming car is now largely passe.

[Sea42]

7 hours ago, Jkmarlin24 said:

So we get on the ship and the neighbor on their balcony says it says no smoking I don't care I'm doing it anyway. Is this something we notify the crew about or let them continue the whole week smoking? I'm not against smoking anything it's just not my thing nor do I wanna smell legal or illegal smoke both were being used. Just wondered other thoughts about this. Thanks

Please let us know how the situation turns out.

[Ashland]

In addition to the above...there will be a fee from $200-250 (cleaning) charged, and if the policy offense continues it can be cause for removal from the ship at the next port. 

[gerryuk]

Of course this is all moot, if you are on a Costa ship. 

[pdmlynek]

The number 1 danger on a ship is not running into an iceberg or sinking, but fire.  The threat of fire is the most important concern to safety of a ship.  

 

It used to be that passangers could not smoke inside, but it was OK to do it on a balcony. But ever since the deadly 2006 Star Pricess fire, caused by smoking on a balcony, smoking on balconies is banned. 

 

Smoking is, for better of worse, taken very seriously by the ship's crew.

[Essiesmom]

Before we ever left port on MSC Divina we could see our neighbor smoking on her balcony.  Immediately called guest services, they came right up and it never happened again.  I think it was one of the many guests from Europe, and it may get by more there.  EM

[MBP&O2/O]

I used to work on oil tankers. Smoking where not allowed was a sacking offence. 

 

If smoking is to be be allowed on a ship it should be in dedicated areas only, and the rules should be rigidly enforced.

Edited February 14, 2023 by MBP&O2/O

[gerryuk]

You can smoke on the balconies on Costa cruise ships. Even the new ships like Toscana, smoking is permitted on your balcony. 

Will be interesting to see what the smoking arrangements will be on the newly branded Costa by Carnival ships sailing in the US. 

 

[sparks1093]

22 hours ago, pdmlynek said:

The number 1 danger on a ship is not running into an iceberg or sinking, but fire.  The threat of fire is the most important concern to safety of a ship.  

 

It used to be that passangers could not smoke inside, but it was OK to do it on a balcony. But ever since the deadly 2006 Star Pricess fire, caused by smoking on a balcony, smoking on balconies is banned. 

 

Smoking is, for better of worse, taken very seriously by the ship's crew.

The smoking rules on ships have changed because society has changed and smoking is becoming less and less tolerated. The authorities identified smoking as the likely cause of Star Princess, but they did not identify it as the cause because they couldn't definitively identify the cause. I served on many ships in the Navy and never saw such a conflagration caused by a cigarette. 

 

OP, I would also report them to guest services.

[Aquahound]

On 2/13/2023 at 5:21 AM, pdmlynek said:

But ever since the deadly 2006 Star Pricess fire, caused by smoking on a balcony, smoking on balconies is banned. 

 

I'm Coast Guard, and I know one of the guys who was involved in that investigation.  There was no evidence found to determine cause, so the final official report had to reflect that.  The nature in which the fire spread had more to do with the flammable materials used to construct the balconies.  I believe it was the decking.  

 

That said, because there was no evidence of any accelerant found, they did believe a discarded cigarette to have been the most likely cause.  They can't report assumptions though.  

 

Regarding the timing, I don't think cruise lines banned smoking on balconies for that reason.  I believe it had more to do with passenger complaints.  Some lines, like HAL, were very slow to make the change, and they are under the same corporate umbrella as Princess.  

 

Edited February 14, 2023 by Aquahound

[sparks1093]

1 hour ago, Aquahound said:

 

I'm Coast Guard, and I know one of the guys who was involved in that investigation.  There was no evidence found to determine cause, so the final official report had to reflect that.  The nature in which the fire spread had more to do with the flammable materials used to construct the balconies.  I believe it was the decking.  

 

That said, because there was no evidence of any accelerant found, they did believe a discarded cigarette to have been the most likely cause.  They can't report assumptions though.  

 

Regarding the timing, I don't think cruise lines banned smoking on balconies for that reason.  I believe it had more to do with passenger complaints.  Some lines, like HAL, were very slow to make the change, and they are under the same corporate umbrella as Princess.  

 

According to Sir Google Princess banned balcony smoking in 2012. 6 years after Star Princess.

[chengkp75]

2 hours ago, Aquahound said:

That said, because there was no evidence of any accelerant found, they did believe a discarded cigarette to have been the most likely cause.  They can't report assumptions though. 

Thanks, Paul.  Saved me trotting out the canned reply to Star Princess and fire.  Interestingly enough, in laboratory conditions, using on of Princess' own towels, the investigators could not get a cigarette to ignite the towel.  Everyone who looks up the Star Princess fire, whether to Wiki or the MAIB report, misses the little words like "allegedly" or "likely" with reference to the cause of the fire.

Edited February 14, 2023 by chengkp75

[navybankerteacher]

On 2/13/2023 at 8:21 AM, pdmlynek said:

The number 1 danger on a ship is not running into an iceberg or sinking, but fire.  The threat of fire is the most important concern to safety of a ship.  

 

It used to be that passangers could not smoke inside, but it was OK to do it on a balcony. But ever since the deadly 2006 Star Pricess fire, caused by smoking on a balcony, smoking on balconies is banned. 

 

Smoking is, for better of worse, taken very seriously by the ship's crew.

Of course, the bottom line is:  not only does smoking represent a (possibly small, or unproven) safety hazard, it is an acknowledged health hazard - even to non-smokers who are near smokers.  Cruise lines might be well advised to ban it absolutely - in all areas.  While perhaps upsetting to some dedicated smokers, such action should be seen as a kindness if it helps them bite the bullet and just quit.  

[pdmlynek]

2 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Of course, the bottom line is:  not only does smoking represent a (possibly small, or unproven) safety hazard, it is an acknowledged health hazard - even to non-smokers who are near smokers.  Cruise lines might be well advised to ban it absolutely - in all areas.  While perhaps upsetting to some dedicated smokers, such action should be seen as a kindness if it helps them bite the bullet and just quit.  

Although I don't care for smoking (several family members who were heavy smokers died of lung cancer), I understand that there are people who enjoy it. To me, it is their choice. Trying to force my views, even if right, on them, forcing them to lead onto a path of quitting, seems overbearing and morally wrong. 

 

It is a no win situation anyway.

 

Smokers will still continue to go on cruises, and they will find ways to light up. And they may light up in places on the ship that are much more hazardous then a place that is dedicated by the cruise line to be a smoking area or a "cigar lounge". Banning smoking totally would be a poor decision because some smokers will break rules about smoking, and put the ship in greater danger.

 

On the other hand, those smokers who obey rules about no smoking, will be less likely to choose to cruise. Not only themselves, but their partners and their families will thus be less likely to cruise. By banning all smoking will cut a large portion of population (20%, 30%?) from cruising. That will lower the demand pressure, driving the prices down. 

[pdmlynek]

9 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

According to Sir Google Princess banned balcony smoking in 2012. 6 years after Star Princess.

Well, it may have taken that long to put into place the necessary protocols to ban smoking on balconies. 

 

Just take a look at the implementation of security measures after the events of 11 Sep 2001. Many recommendations have been agreed to, yet, 22 yrs later, have not yet been implemented. For example, some US states still issue driver licenses that do not comply with REAL ID laws. 

 

 

[gerryuk]

6 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Of course, the bottom line is:  not only does smoking represent a (possibly small, or unproven) safety hazard, it is an acknowledged health hazard - even to non-smokers who are near smokers.  Cruise lines might be well advised to ban it absolutely - in all areas.  While perhaps upsetting to some dedicated smokers, such action should be seen as a kindness if it helps them bite the bullet and just quit.  

You could also argue that it would be a kindness for cruise lines to ban alcohol to save peoples livers. Alcohol causes far more problems than smoking has ever done, but it is not happening.  

[sparks1093]

4 hours ago, pdmlynek said:

Well, it may have taken that long to put into place the necessary protocols to ban smoking on balconies. 

 

Just take a look at the implementation of security measures after the events of 11 Sep 2001. Many recommendations have been agreed to, yet, 22 yrs later, have not yet been implemented. For example, some US states still issue driver licenses that do not comply with REAL ID laws. 

 

 

A private company can and does act much faster than a bureaucratic government. No, smoking was banned on balconies for the same reason there are no more smoking/non-smoking areas in restaurants- because society has changed and smoking is no longer as accepted as it used to be (watch Jaws to be reminded of how prevalent and accepted it was- smoking in a hospital ER). I severed onboard several ships in the Navy and very few fires were caused by smoking. Post #19 is very telling.

 

In any event, as interesting as this conversation is, on the vast majority of cruise lines smoking is not allowed on balconies and it doesn't really matter why.

[sparks1093]

5 hours ago, pdmlynek said:

Although I don't care for smoking (several family members who were heavy smokers died of lung cancer), I understand that there are people who enjoy it. To me, it is their choice. Trying to force my views, even if right, on them, forcing them to lead onto a path of quitting, seems overbearing and morally wrong. 

 

It is a no win situation anyway.

 

Smokers will still continue to go on cruises, and they will find ways to light up. And they may light up in places on the ship that are much more hazardous then a place that is dedicated by the cruise line to be a smoking area or a "cigar lounge". Banning smoking totally would be a poor decision because some smokers will break rules about smoking, and put the ship in greater danger.

 

On the other hand, those smokers who obey rules about no smoking, will be less likely to choose to cruise. Not only themselves, but their partners and their families will thus be less likely to cruise. By banning all smoking will cut a large portion of population (20%, 30%?) from cruising. That will lower the demand pressure, driving the prices down. 

Or the cruise lines do what they did and are doing- they make most of the ship non-smoking and have limited smoking areas for the smokers. I'm ok with that- I know where the smoking areas are and can avoid them.