Friday, January 11, 2008

Cruise Ships: Where You Can & Can't Smoke

One of the unhappiest groups of cruisers I've even met were four World War II veterans aboard R-1. It was back in 1999, when now defunct-Renaissance Cruises was the only no-smoking-allowed cruise line in existence. The otherwise charming vets were all cigarette smokers whose wives thought a cruise on a non-smoking ship would prompt them to abandon their habit. It didn't.

Those cunning gents managed to light the smoking lamp in the middle of the night on a deserted aft deck. As far as I know, no one complained, but that was over eight years ago and smoking is even less popular now than it was then.

Today's cruisers don't have to engage in "closet" smoking, but they do have to be considerate and follow the rules. Cruise Diva looks at the changing times in Smoke on the Water and outlines cruise lines' smoking policies.

Photo: Churchill's Cigar Bar Aboard Queen Victoria

1 comment:

Bumstead said...

Just returned from a 12 day sailing in which I used my SmartSmokerUSA e-cigarette. The ship was smoke free with the exception of a small corner in the pool area. I was able to use the my SmartSmoker everywhere! The entire ship was amazed and the smokers were busy ordering their own SmartSmokerUSA e-cigarettes at every port stop (Internet Cafes). My husband and I were able to vape in our cabin, etc... What a difference it made for the trip! SmartSmokerUSA was so happy with the business that they have a special discount code for Cruise Ships. Use the discount code howard . I am not sure how long the code will be active. The Cruise Line's attitude is proof that the e-cigarette is gaining acceptance in spite of the attempts to stifle it!

P.S. I used my e-cigarette during the 8 hour flight home w/o incident. Nobody seemed to notice.