Mainly Dahj/Soji, as I recall.
Same actress, though, so Dahj contributes to the pattern.
Why not?
That was another situation of someone just chilling out in their spare time. Indeed, he was only wearing a pair of shorts in that scene.
Technically, Raffi is never seen on duty other than in flashbacks. She doesn't work on Rios's ship. She came along for the ride because Picard was going to the planet where her son lived and she saw it as a chance to reach out to the son, and Rios allowed it because she's his friend and Picard was already paying him to go there, so giving her a lift was no trouble. She came back on board because her son rejected her, not because it was her job, and again, Rios let her come back because she's his friend, not because she works for him. She doesn't. She helps out along the way, but she is a passenger, not a crew member. So she isn't vaping and drinking on duty, she's vaping and drinking on her own time, which happens to include the time she spends helping out on the ship she's travelling aboard.
We've already had six TV shows prior to Picard doing exactly that and following Picard there's been another one released with another in development. No harm at all in Picard doing something different from the usual mold.
You do realize now that Disco is in the 32nd century, it is in fact Picard that is the prequel, right?
The average Romulan probably didn't see a massive difference, aside from being relocated (if at all possible) or losing a lot of family, which is probably significantly possible. The actual government and Tal Shiar would have relocated what resources they could to try and maintain their Empire in some measure. So, their ship building resources may not have been as impacted, even though significant loses would have been incurred. And the Romulans were already significantly hampered by the Dominion War and the Shinzon coup. So, the Tal Shiar would have other resources to maintain their own power, and less concerned about the everyday Romulan.
