balconies

[field]

On recent trip found that you no longer can smoke on balcony???You paid for the option to have balcony enjoy a drink on same and the occasional cig or cigar???Also port side to be smoking however after first day found it next to impossible to find ashtrays...

[Mike M]

field,

I've moved this to our All Things Cruising forum.

Yes: Smoking has become more restrictive on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and some other RCCL ships. Much of it has to do with the threat of fire and the complaints from non-smokers about smokers on other balconies making their time on the balcony less enjoyable.

Do I agree with this: I'm half and half. As long as there is a reasonable place to smoke then I don't have too much of a problem but it sure was nice to sit out on the balcony at night and enjoy a cigarette.

Celebrity, Azamara and Oceania are the most restrictive because they do not allow smoking on the balconies and Azamara and Oceania only allow smoking in two areas on the ship. It can be bothersome but they are taking the same stance as many hotels where they are now smoke-free.

There are now fewer smokers so their impact on revenues isn't what it once was and the anti-smokers have become sometimes overly vocal and the cruise lines have listened. It's a matter of dollars to the cruise line. They can afford to lose a smoker as a customer rather than lose a larger percentage of non-smokers.

Take care,
Mike

[Donna]

I either missed it or its the same, I thought on RCL you could smoke on your balcony?

[Mike M]

Donna,

Yes: On Royal Caribbean you can smoke on the balcony but not in the cabin.

On Celebrity you cannot smoke on the balcony or in the cabin. On Azamara you can only smoke in two locations on the ship. Celebrity and Azamara are Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL)brands. It's sort of like Carnival Cruise Lines and Carnival. The parent company and the individual cruise line.

Take care,
Mike

[richstacy]

One word: Quit.

[Fern]

Originally Posted by richstacy

One word: Quit.

Rich, that's wonderful advice ! Unfortunately, it's not really do-able! Most people who smoke can't just Quit, it's an addiction. DH and I did quit with the help of Chantix, but we quit because we wanted to.

As long as cigarettes are legal there will have to be places to smoke on ships (7 days without a ciggy would be HELL for some). You can easily avoid these areas. They keep "shrinking" all the time, but as long as smoking is legal they'll still be there.

Remember what happened with Carnival Paradise?

[katlady]

It was very hard for my hubby to quit smoking. He had terrible mood swings. He actually said to me "you don't understand the changes go through my body." I looked at him as said "yeah women don't understand anything about body changes that cause mood swings."

He stopped cold turkey and for 2 weeks he ate everything in the house. I kept the cats outside just to be safe. He hasn't started again I give him and anyone else that quits a lot of credit. It isn't as easy as it seems. BTW he doesn't get winded or have coughing fits like when he smoked.

[Lakers Fan]

I stopped smoking in 1986 ,I went from cigarettes to cigars to a pipe and then willpower ,however ,I did gain a lot a weight but eventually lost it