Smoking

I will be shocked if HAL bans smoking. After annoying the people who bring wine on, there is no way they are going to lose the smoker's market as well. HAL is the goto line now for smokers and I fully expect to have smokers next to my verandah in the future!

I can picture the near future - a HAL ship approaches the harbor for their next port stop. Suddenly, there is much commotion on shore. Fire engines arrive. Emergency personnel swarm the pier. The port's fire boat rushes up, water spraying in all directions. All because someone saw all the cigarette smoke billowing from the ship and reported that a cruise ship was on fire. :D

I will be shocked if HAL bans smoking. After annoying the people who bring wine on, there is no way they are going to lose the smoker's market as well. HAL is the goto line now for smokers and I fully expect to have smokers next to my verandah in the future!

Keep in mind, on the "S" and "R" class ships, there are not that many verandahs. There are more on the Vista and Signature class ships. My prediction: within the next 9 - 12 months, HAL will announce a ban on verandah smoking. We shall see. :)

Thanks for all of that. As I have always cruised with NCL, the smoking issue has definitely worsened year on year. We had been looking at HAL but now booked a Celebrity cruise for a change, on the basis of this thread.

Thanks for all of that. As I have always cruised with NCL, the smoking issue has definitely worsened year on year. We had been looking at HAL but now booked a Celebrity cruise for a change, on the basis of this thread.

You made the best choice. Enjoy your cruise. :)

Thanks for all of that. As I have always cruised with NCL, the smoking issue has definitely worsened year on year. We had been looking at HAL but now booked a Celebrity cruise for a change, on the basis of this thread.

You were wise to ask your questions and get the info prior to making a booking.

Hope you have a great cruise. :)

Here is a link to the article that Cruise Critic has compiled; it might be best to read here instead of relying on information that may be incorrect/out of date.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=225 <--click here

 

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like permanently under Discussion topics,or somewhere you can check back with.

Such a pain to visit ea.site to look it up.

Where did you even find this??

Can one of the host here please see if it could be posted for more easy reference.??

Also, what about RIVER cruises??:confused:

like permanently under Discussion topics,or somewhere you can check back with.

Such a pain to visit ea.site to look it up.

 

Where did you even find this??

 

Can one of the host here please see if it could be posted for more easy reference.??

 

Also, what about RIVER cruises??:confused:

Unfortunately in reading through the information, it also is not completely accurate either.

Case in point specific to RCI, it indicates that "on all Royal ships, except those based permanently in Asia, smoking is permitted on the starboard side of open decks and designated smoking areas of public rooms". That actually varies by ship as on our March Independence cruise it was port side. The term "public rooms" is also misleading as - with the exception of Voyager and Freedom class ships which offer the Connoisseur Club cigar lounge - the only indoor public room on any RCI ship that allows smoking is the Casino, which has designated smoking sections.

I realize this might be somewhat nit picking, but the information can be misleading and if the summation offered by CC for RCI is inaccurate it may well be inaccurate for other cruise lines as well. I think - as with most specific information - the best way to determine what the policies are regarding anything on board any ship is to visit each line's web site to see what is defined by them.

Unfortunately in reading through the information, it also is not completely accurate either. ....

 

....I realize this might be somewhat nit picking, but the information can be misleading and if the summation offered by CC for RCI is inaccurate it may well be inaccurate for other cruise lines as well. I think - as with most specific information - the best way to determine what the policies are regarding anything on board any ship is to visit each line's web site to see what is defined by them.

It is certainly incorrect for other lines as well. For example, for Celebrity, which is considered to have one of the most restrictive policies, the article says "smoking is only permitted in designated indoor and outdoor areas." That is incorrect. There are NO indoor areas where smoking is permitted on any Celebrity ship.

They also say desctibe where smoking is permitted on Celebrity Galaxy and Celebrity Mercury, both of which have been sold off years ago, Galaxy five years ago in May 2009, and Mercury three years ago in Feb, 2011.

The article needs a serious updating.

Where did you even find this??

I've been a member here for a number of years; people ask about this often and I have it as one of my bookmarks so I can post it for others. :)

Unfortunately in reading through the information, it also is not completely accurate either...

It is certainly incorrect for other lines as well.... The article needs a serious updating.

Well, it's a place to start, anyway. :)

that could be added to when necessary?

I put it in search engine and only found this thread,then had to look thru it to find the link.

Maybe one of the CC hosts has an idea??:confused:

If I am considering a new line to sail on my first 'port of call' ('scuse the pun) is the FAQ's on their website. I will check out the important things to me (smoking policy being one of them). If I don't like their rules I don't book with them - simple.

If someone can find their way here to ask - why can't they go the cruise line's website and get up-to-date(ish) information?

If it were that important to me, I would not rely on someone else collating that information with no guarantee of its accuracy or how up to date it is.

If I am considering a new line to sail on my first 'port of call' ('scuse the pun) is the FAQ's on their website. I will check out the important things to me (smoking policy being one of them). If I don't like their rules I don't book with them - simple.

 

If someone can find their way here to ask - why can't they go the cruise line's website and get up-to-date(ish) information?

 

If it were that important to me, I would not rely on someone else collating that information with no guarantee of its accuracy or how up to date it is.

Exactly the point of my previous post (#32). CC is a great source of information for cruisers - new and experienced. But smoking policies are important to many people - smokers and not smokers alike - and many cruise lines have changed their policies recently and also differ from each other.

If it is important to understand the policies accurately, then as you say, the cruise line in question the best source.

Some cruise lines focus on water parks, others on rock walls, and some on elegance. Apparently HAL has decided to be the "Ashtray Cruising" line. Nice to see that they have found their niche. :)

+1 - Agree 100%. This is why they are added to our do not cruise again list.

As an update -- Oceania has allowed smoking in one section of the Horizon lounge. During their ship refits, they will enclose that small smoking section from the rest of the lounge.

Keep in mind, on the "S" and "R" class ships, there are not that many verandahs. There are more on the Vista and Signature class ships. My prediction: within the next 9 - 12 months, HAL will announce a ban on verandah smoking. We shall see. :)

 

Here's hoping.

If all the negative comments about HAL being only for the elderly have any grain of truth, that demographic (with their higher rates of smoking) must be gradually fading from the scene - encouraging HAL to consider.

If I don't like their rules I don't book with them - simple.

Agreed. As for me, as of late last year, I made the decision I will never book another cruise that allows balcony smoking. Never.

As an update -- Oceania has allowed smoking in one section of the Horizon lounge. During their ship refits, they will enclose that small smoking section from the rest of the lounge.

People can also smoke on O Riviera on one side of the pool deck. This was where I sometimes met the captain, who was also having a smoke. Very nice gentleman, not averse to talking about weather conditions and port info. Not too many benefits to being a smoker, but this was one.

How many packs of cigs. Can u bring on board or is it cheaper to buy them on board?

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How many packs of cigs. Can u bring on board or is it cheaper to buy them on board?

 

 

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It depends on your brand. Most major brands can be purchased on board. I haven' seen a limit on the amount you take on a cruise, but, customs only allows you one carton (200 cigs) when you disembark

How many packs of cigs. Can u bring on board or is it cheaper to buy them on board?

 

 

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No limit to carry onboard and yes, it is cheaper to buy onboard. Only limit is taking off ship. Carry tax paid cigs onboard, but save them and buy duty free onboard.

Which cruise line is best to choose if you detest smoking. We have just cruised on Norwegian Spirit and despite generous designated outdoor areas for smoking, these were largely ignored.

I do agree about the nasty habit, most all ships have some kind of smoking policy.

I do like Celebrity.

If I am considering a new line to sail on my first 'port of call' ('scuse the pun) is the FAQ's on their website. I will check out the important things to me (smoking policy being one of them). If I don't like their rules I don't book with them - simple.

 

If someone can find their way here to ask - why can't they go the cruise line's website and get up-to-date(ish) information?

 

If it were that important to me, I would not rely on someone else collating that information with no guarantee of its accuracy or how up to date it is.

Considering that whenever I see a link to some article on CC that is on the emails that the site sends out...I rarely look at them, but when I do, I usually find errors or misconceptions. I would definitely do research on any ship or cruise line based on looking at the FAQs on the websites for the lines. Most likely they're right.

As for finding out info on CC, sometimes I take what people say with a grain of salt. For instance, on the very subject of smoking, I remember someone raving about the window suites on the Golden Princess, the ship we sailed for our last two cruises.

For the first of those, by the time we'd booked, most of the ship was sold out (fortunately there was an OV that was still open, which turned out to be a great cabin for us), but there were still WSs. Way too much money for us and I did notice they were just down the hall from the Cigar Lounge and the casino. While we were exploring the Golden, and was on that deck, we almost gagged in that hallway. Seriously. From the tobacco smell that was lingering. I mentioned we could have paid $5000 each and gotten a cabin there, and my hubby said, thank god we didn't. So I mentioned how it stank on that thread and posters were claiming it doesn't. On our last cruise, we were on the other side of the casino by the entrance of the Princess theater, waiting for an elevator (instead of walking through the smoky casino) and it just smelled to high heaven.

As I am the one who started the thread after taking several NCL cruises, I took the advice and have just returned from a Celebrity cruise. Absolutely delighted, the ship was so fresh due to the no smoking Casino policy. There was no stale smoking smell throughout the ship as with NCL and the very few minor breaches were dealt with by staff immediately. It is Celebrity from now on !!

As I am the one who started the thread after taking several NCL cruises, I took the advice and have just returned from a Celebrity cruise. Absolutely delighted, the ship was so fresh due to the no smoking Casino policy. There was no stale smoking smell throughout the ship as with NCL and the very few minor breaches were dealt with by staff immediately. It is Celebrity from now on !!

Thanks for coming back and reporting - we LOVE Celebrity for their smoking policies and the fact that they do enforce them. :D Keeps us coming back!