Smoking on cruises....very limited.

The port of Hamburg is just about 60 kilometers from where I live and meanwhile roughly 200 cruise ships come in per year. When I was frequently visiting the QUEEN MARY 2 (the 2nd. captain is a friend of mine) they once had a quarantine over the ship because of a sickness that had spread. Very disturbing to say the least.
Alternatively there are a lot of river cruises available in Europe and I supose that this provides for more opporunities to have a smoke too.

In 72 I was doing a Big Turnaround for Exxon, we opted to go on a cruise to Jamica, Start-up of the unit cut in on our departure so Exxon footed the bill to fly to Jamica to meet the ship. We took my 4 yr old boy Ira , my father and mother had the twins which ere babies, I also took my wife's Aunt who had raised my wife at her sisters death. We flew Jamician Airlines and had a fashion show on the plane. I always have a good laugh at the taxi ride to the hotel, curve after curves road you would have thought we were 20 miles from the hotel. When we got to our rooms, walking on th Balconey you could spit on the Airport.HaHa. I rented a car and we went sight seeing, if you don't remember Jamica really was a hostile country so I was very wary, stopping for gas I let them fill up, noticed the strong smell of gas, got out and the attendant was pumping the gas in the ditch for a bigger payout. Told him hey Buddy it goes in the tank. Was not impressed with Jamica. We boarded the Southward, Norweigan line, was treated like royalty, my 4 yr old had to have rice and gravy dinner and supper, they made sure he had it, superb service and it was her Madien Voyage. I smoked my pipe everywhere but the engine room, there was much gossip about me I found out, with, my dark complection they thought I was Arab and I enforced the gossip by saying I was traveling with my Harem, I really laugh at this nowadays . We shot skeet on deck, even had a Mardi Grais night where we made costumes for the boy, with a newfound friend a little girl his age from Georgia. We used the chrome ashtrays as Space hats and a lot of tin foil ashats, they won a prize , but they were the only ones in their class HaHa . Comeing back someone suffered a heart attack and the Stabilizers were retracted and we rocked and tooled. Old Navy man that I was it was no bother for me, but the old Aunt got sick. All in all it's something the wife and I treasure, now the ships are too big, no intimate feeling, no smoking everywhere I believe the Europen River cruises are the only thing I would like.

On all of the cruise lines on the page I posted, smoking anywhere around a cabin nowadays results in being bounced off the ship, and find your own way home.

I bet that many forms of debauchery would result in a stern warning, but if horror of horrors, if you are caught smoking you are marooned.

Next thing is they let you smoke just in a life raft while towing you behind the ship.

  That is awesome.

I am with the "it is easier to ask forgiveness than it is to ask permission" in them circumstances.


I am guessing that now, they have smoke detectors hardwired throughout the ship?

The idea of a cruise never really appealed to me. Give me a some sand, the ocean and a lounge chair and I'm happy.

hubby and i don't like beaches or heat. only cruises we'd be interested in is one to Alaska or on European waterways. We prefer to vacation in the woods

My best 3 day vac was with 2 co workers night fishing off of Timbalier Island. My 2 buddies were used to expensive charter trips, I knew the area and convinced them to do a po boy trip. That afternoon we were cruising in a 24 ft open fisherman I spied a Spud barge, comeing alongside I hailed the Capt and asked him if he needed some beer, 2 six packs got us use of the engine room to sleep in until 1 am where we would scout the little rigs for red fish. It was nippy, we dumped rag boxes by the Diesel engines and listened to the hum of the engines. 1 AM came and we were off, the Capt and deckhand asked to go, climb aboard was our answer. The Capt told me of a rig that was leaning and barge after barge of shells were dumped to stop the leaning. That night the condition we encountered was a rare phorous glow, plankton that made the fish look like neon signs, the shells had made the rig alive with red fish. We fished till 4 AM, catching our limit and seeing a light show people rarely see. We put the boat on the trailer by an old bait shop and a young girl in a beat up truck was selling crabs, 10$ a dozen, my buddies tried to Jew her down to 5$ I shamed them as I knew the life of the fisherman was hard, she said they were trying to pay off the grocery bill at the little store. We bought crabs at 10$ a doz, before we left I went in the store and asked the owner about the young girl. He said she had just got married and was havering a hard time . I asked about her bill, it was a little over 200$, I gave him 300$ and told him to wipe her bill off . I made him tear it up, and give her credit for the rest. Going back to Baton Rouge I was at peace with myself as I knew how life slips you in the crack. Always wondered about the look on her face when she found out the bill was paid.

You guys have had some awesome trips. Off in the wild with caches of steaks and beer, stepping over bombs on an English moor, Harleying to the Czech Republic looking for trouble, and po boy fishing on a Spud barge, whatever the hell that is, all sound awesome. Bradley wins with the $300 to the poor chick, though; guarantee there were some tears on that one.

I had a great two week vacation once after summer camp. I'd just earned my canoeing badge (basically meant you could navigate an obstacle course only paddling on one side), so eight of us set off in four aluminum canoes. We went down the Guadalupe river, which was awesome because there were small rapids every fifty yards or so. You had to plan each one not to hit the rocks and capsize. We'd camp on the shore in the evening when we got tired.

Three of the rapids had names and folks had drowned; they were long and a bit intense. I was a sternsman, who steers the canoe, the bowsman is just for power. I learned one must tie down one's wallet and supplies, because when all four canoes get capsized on this one tricky rapid, you all lose your stuff. I bet there were a lot of wallets on the bottom there. We gave up for the day and camped. Fortunately, no one lost much money; there weren't any shops on the river and the fishies didn't take cash.

I just returned from 8 days (May 24th-31st) on the Queen Mary 2 from Southampton England to NYC.
Smoking was only allowed on the stern of deck 7. Cigarettes, pipes, cigars and ecigs/vaps.
Cigar and pipes only in the Churchill Lounge.
They sell cigars in the Churchill lounge, but no pipe tobacco is sold.
They do have cigarettes for sale in the duty free shop.
Smoking is not allowed anywhere else onboard.
It was a fabulous trip.