My Ocean Balcony Suite was lovely, large, lots of closits but SMOKERS ALLOWED on deck RIGHT BELOW!!!

  Where to start? The crew members were very nice and tried very hard but the competency level was lacking in many areas. We were in the worst possible location for an allergic-to-smoke cruise customer. I kept calling the Guest Service staff because I was smelling smoke. They offered housekeeping because "no smoking allowed on any balcony or in any rooms on the ship". But my beautifully appointed suite was directly over the 5th deck smoking area! Therefore I couldn't enjoy the balcony or open my door to the balcony. When the ship was moving slowly up the Mississippi River or to dock or worse, when docked, the smoke from the smokers seemed to seep directly through the floor. Forget about opening a door or enjoying the balcony. The Guest Services manager who told me that it should be ok when the ship was moving rapidly through the Gulf was correct. There was nothing they could do to move me and my daughter because they were full. We needed Medical Services twice related to ship sponsored activities & had difficulty getting there (deck 0) because of lack of staff competence in knowing what to do or which elevators went all the way to the 0 deck. I called my agent to report the major problems but have not heard back from her yet.  The staff really kept trying to solve problems and were nice about everything but I wonder about the level of training.  Plus, there was "nothing they could do except tell me to keep doors to balcony closed during slow moving times in River and during docking or leaving docks at our ports of call. I could also leave my suite to be in another area of the ship where the smokers were not allowed to smoke (dinning rooms, spa areas) if the smoke smell got too bad. I was instructed to call housekeeping when I smelled smoke at night so that they could attempt to locate the source.  I have never experienced this before so was quite shocked. There is no mention of the potential for smokers being allowed to smoke below the Ocean-Balcony-Suite that I reserved in any advertisements.  The food was good in all of the restaurants. I would have wished that my family could have all sat together at dinners but alas we did not know that we had to reserve for our family in advance (11 of us) of boarding the ship. One of the travel agents said it was not possible to accommodate 11 at a table but we learned that this is not the case at all. Allergies to the smoke and injuries sustained on the trip put a damper on ability to fully enjoy all that the ship had to offer but they graciously refunded the advance money paid for excursions. I hope to hear from my travel agent today about this cruise. I'll be glad to provide any further details upon request.