Friends Just Off Carnival

We have friends who have cruised celebrity and tried carnival. Big issue for them was the smoking being allowed in areas such as the casino. Put them off any future cruises with carnival.

So far, most ship casinos allow smoking....that might change, but it might not!

Unless only a casino attracts them to cruise, there are many smoke-free area to enjoy onboard, Carnival, Celebrity or other cruise lines.

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We have friends who have cruised celebrity and tried carnival. Big issue for them was the smoking being allowed in areas such as the casino. Put them off any future cruises with carnival.

They did not know that???????????:confused:

They did not know that???????????:confused:

It always surprises me what fellow passengers don't know.

My best friend went on an Alaskan cruise this Summer and didn't even know the name of the ship.

I guess not everyone is a Cruise Critic Junkie!

It always surprises me what fellow passengers don't know.

 

My best friend went on an Alaskan cruise this Summer and didn't even know the name of the ship.

 

I guess not everyone is a Cruise Critic Junkie!

That's like my own parents! They took a cruise in Europe once... in 2008? It put them off cruising but they couldn't tell me the name of the ship either!!!!!

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A nonsmoking casino is a huge benefit even for those who don't play...seems like most ships route you through the casino to/from the theatre or other venues. We enjoyed the bar in the Summit casino very much.

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they honestly did not know and had assumed that it would be the same as celebrity with no smoking policy.

The smoking policy was a major reason for our first cruise on Celebrity. It comes into play when we start to look at other lines. Being forced to walk through the smoke filled casino is disgusting. We love the Celebrity product but repeating itineraries gets old. When we look at other options we come back to Celebrity because of the smoking policy. I'd rather repeat an itinerary on a basically no smoking ship then go sail someone else at this stage of my life. Hoping Celebrity will bring an S class ship to the West Coast in the near future. I'd book that in a heartbeat.

The smoking policy was a major reason for our first cruise on Celebrity. It comes into play when we start to look at other lines. Being forced to walk through the smoke filled casino is disgusting. We love the Celebrity product but repeating itineraries gets old. When we look at other options we come back to Celebrity because of the smoking policy. I'd rather repeat an itinerary on a basically no smoking ship then go sail someone else at this stage of my life. Hoping Celebrity will bring an S class ship to the West Coast in the near future. I'd book that in a heartbeat.

We concur.

they honestly did not know and had assumed that it would be the same as celebrity with no smoking policy.

That's like saying "I walked into Wendy's and asked for a Big Mac. I was surprised when I couldn't get one".

I'm sorry that they were disappointed, but I don't understand why they assumed two totally different cruise lines would have the same policy.

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That's like saying "I walked into Wendy's and asked for a Big Mac. I was surprised when I couldn't get one".

I'm sorry that they were disappointed, but I don't understand why they assumed two totally different cruise lines would have the same policy.

 

 

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Because if you are not a Cruise Critic Junkie, and the only experience you've had is that there is no smoking in casino - why would you even look for that information? Kind of like folks that are used to Carnival's self-serve laundry boarding Celebrity and being shocked to find there is none. Or never having to check out a pool towel on Celebrity and then finding out you must do so on RCCL. Yes, the info is out there - but when you are on the Carnival website - or a TA website - there are no big announcements that smoking is allowed in the casino.

(Oh, and my daughter used to work at Chick-fil-a and folks asked for hamburgers all the time!)

we are not smokers but couldn't care less about the Casino smoke. Just went on Celebrity cruise and while it was nice it would never be oour deal breaker either way. For those who do care I am glad they have a line like Celebrity which discourages amoking throughout the ship.

We were on HAL Eurodam in February which had recently come out of dry dock and happily they were not allowing smoking in the casino. Don't think it was fleet wide but maybe they are slowing changing casino smoking also. I get a kick out of non-smoking nights in casino's on some ships...as if 10 years of built up smoke in the walls, fabrics and carpets will magically go away with a night of no smoking.

We were on HAL Eurodam in February which had recently come out of dry dock and happily they were not allowing smoking in the casino. Don't think it was fleet wide but maybe they are slowing changing casino smoking also. I get a kick out of non-smoking nights in casino's on some ships...as if 10 years of built up smoke in the walls, fabrics and carpets will magically go away with a night of no smoking.

They have a new smoking policy going into effect for most ships early next month: http://f.e.hollandamerica.com/i/41/1010169812/Smoking_Policy.pdf

No verandah (balcony) smoking will be allowed. That was a major reason we haven't considered HAL, always afraid we would have a smoker or two upwind from us! I'm not sure what they mean by smoking being limited to the "designated areas for active slot players" in the casino. I'm assuming smoking will be allowed only at the slots, and only if you are playing.

They are at least making a distinction between smoking and vaping, at least a little bit (they allow vaping in the cabins). They should allow it on balconies as well to encourage smokers to switch over to vaping, but I suppose it makes enforcement that much harder.

Kind of like folks that are used to Carnival's self-serve laundry boarding Celebrity and being shocked to find there is none.

Guilty :o

They have a new smoking policy going into effect for most ships early next month: http://f.e.hollandamerica.com/i/41/1010169812/Smoking_Policy.pdf

 

No verandah (balcony) smoking will be allowed. That was a major reason we haven't considered HAL, always afraid we would have a smoker or two upwind from us! I'm not sure what they mean by smoking being limited to the "designated areas for active slot players" in the casino. I'm assuming smoking will be allowed only at the slots, and only if you are playing.

 

They are at least making a distinction between smoking and vaping, at least a little bit (they allow vaping in the cabins). They should allow it on balconies as well to encourage smokers to switch over to vaping, but I suppose it makes enforcement that much harder.

This is a major step forward. Like you, we've always avoided HAL even though they have som good itineraries, entirely because of the smoking policy. Friends who risked it swore they'd never sail HAL again. All they have to do now is ban vaping in staterooms and I'll be sending for a brochure.

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we are not smokers but couldn't care less about the Casino smoke. Just went on Celebrity cruise and while it was nice it would never be oour deal breaker either way. For those who do care I am glad they have a line like Celebrity which discourages amoking throughout the ship.

I am a former smoker and I spend a lot of time in the casino, and it would most definitely be a deal breaker if smoking were allowed in the casino or any other public area that can not be avoided (either because you have to walk through it, or because activities are scheduled there).

Even most land based casino are smoke-free or confine smoking to specific areas that can be totally avoided. I think it was a logical assumption (although I personally try to confirm any and all assumptions myself) to make.

we are not smokers but couldn't care less about the Casino smoke. Just went on Celebrity cruise and while it was nice it would never be our deal breaker either way. For those who do care I am glad they have a line like Celebrity which discourages smoking throughout the ship.

Have you ever been on one of the smaller Carnival ships? They allow smoking in the casino but don't do anything to effectively mitigate the smoke from expanding into non smoking areas. The bar adjacent to the casino on the last Carnival ship (emphasis on LAST) I sailed was half smoking. The problem was nothing stopped the smoke from consuming the area that was non smoking. Had they had adequate ventilation it would have not been so bad.

Even though the traffic pattern didn't drive you through the casino as they do on Celebrity, the smoke filled the adjacent major traffic pattern on the other side of the non smoking section of the bar.

We have friends who have cruised celebrity and tried carnival. Big issue for them was the smoking being allowed in areas such as the casino. Put them off any future cruises with carnival.

Just somewhat surprised Smoking was their BIG issue with Carnival compared to Celebrity.

Seems they would have found other things that bothered them about Carnival lots more. :confused:

Just somewhat surprised Smoking was their BIG issue with Carnival compared to Celebrity.

Seems they would have found other things that bothered them about Carnival lots more. :confused:

hahahaha

I am very much against smoking. However, it will not kill you to walk through a casino where people are smoking. Just do not stay there.

DON

I am very much against smoking. However, it will not kill you to walk through a casino where people are smoking. Just do not stay there.

 

 

 

DON

So happy that you are obviously a healthy person without breathing issues.

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I am very much against smoking. However, it will not kill you to walk through a casino where people are smoking. Just do not stay there.DON

Don, So have you actually walked through a smoking area on Carnival or are you just pontificating?

Have you ever been on one of the smaller Carnival ships? They allow smoking in the casino but don't do anything to effectively mitigate the smoke from expanding into non smoking areas. The bar adjacent to the casino on the last Carnival ship (emphasis on LAST) I sailed was half smoking. The problem was nothing stopped the smoke from consuming the area that was non smoking. Had they had adequate ventilation it would have not been so bad.

 

Even though the traffic pattern didn't drive you through the casino as they do on Celebrity, the smoke filled the adjacent major traffic pattern on the other side of the non smoking section of the bar.

I'm old enough to remember smoking on airplanes; usually the smokers were in the back. I had one United flight where smoking was on the starboard side and non-smoking on the port side.

If you were trying to avoid smoke it as completely ineffective. If you were trying to prevent giant burn holes in your double-knit dress slacks from an errant ash it worked OK.

NCL's Epic has a casino you are practically forced to walk through to get to one end of the ship or the other while in the public areas. We would go up to a cabin-only floor, walk through those corridors, and then back down to avoid it. They do a pretty good job of mitigating the smoke with good air filtration, but we preferred the aft dining room because the mid-ship dining room did have a slight smoke smell.

We're looking forward to our first X cruise coming up in Alaska in September! I'm wondering how it will be to walk through a casino without trying to hold your breath ...