Please be honest

[tami99]

Thank you for your response. Very informative! I honestly understand that smokers want a place to smoke, but I just don't get it. If someone falls asleep in their bed while smoking, what a fire hazard! I will keep your tips in mind should we experience any of these scenarios! :)

 

 

I have been on six Carnival cruises (betw 1994 and 2002)' date=' including on the Paradise when it was a no-smoking ship (it was very clean smelling and one of our favorite cruises for so many reasons tied into the no-smoking rule).

 

I am very sensitive to the smell of tobacco, growing up with a cigar-smoking father (whose medical specialty was diseases of the chest, go figure). My preteen daughter suffers from asthma. So we try to stay away from smokers as much as possible.

 

That said, I have never entered a cabin on a ship, Carnival or Princess, that smelled of tobacco. I have been in hotel rooms that absolutely reeked of that awful smell (even on a non-smoking floor, thanks Miami Airport Radisson for having the stinkiest rooms). If you do find a bad smell when you first get to your cabin, find your cabin steward and asked them to take care of it (there is a spray they can use, and if that doesn't work, insist that the curtains and bedding get switched out).

 

On some cruises, we have been able to walk down the hallway and be able to tell which cabins had the smokers. The worst is if someone is smoking in the hallway and stinks up the place. If you run into such a person, point out that there are places that they can smoke -- that smoking in the hallway should be avoided.

 

If there is a smoking lounge (Princess has cigar lounges) on your ship, check out the deck plan and make sure it's not on a path you would be taking a lot (like in between your cabin and the closest elevator). On the Island Princess, the cigar lounge was on the grand atrium which was truly a bad location for it. I'm not sure if Carnival has cigar lounges. Hopefully not.

 

We never get a balcony, and after reading a lot about smokers on them, I don't think we ever will want one. We also avoid the casino.

 

And there has not been any smoking in any dining rooms for at least ten years. We were once considering going on Royal Caribbean (this was around 1997) and discovered that there was a smoking area in the d.r., so we booked on Carnival. But they no longer have smoking in their dining room.

 

As for kids, I find cruiseships to be a great way for a family to vacation together. My daughter was 23 months, 3 years and 5 years on her Carnival cruises. Camp Carnival was great for her. Lots of activities.

 

To ensure that there is plenty of kids, make sure to book when school is out. Of course then it costs a bit more (higher demand), but your child will have plenty of potential companions.

 

Unfortunately, the ships that often have stricter rules about smoking tend to be the least child-friendly (Regent, Oceania, Celebrity) or more costly (Disney). Royal Caribbean is child friendly and has a no-smoking in the cabins policy. The reason we wouldn't go on that line is that they don't have self-service laundries. As we're now doing longer cruises, this is a must for us.[/quote']

[imsulin]

I can't remember smoking being allowed in any MDR since about 1999, although I do remember those days! I remember Celebrity having attached wall ashtrays in hallways and at the tops and bottom of stairs - and in elevators. Same on NCL. Ashtrays in cabins, bars, and lounges were standard. When I cruise solo, I opt for the cheap inside cabin, and have never smelled smoke. HAL (IMO) does a great job.

[vijoge]

The only place I have ever noticed an appreciable smell of smoke has been in the cigar bar. I'm not a smoker, but I love the smell of cigar (and pipe) smoke so I often just go in the cigar bar just to relax.

[tubasteve]

We've cruised Carnival. No issues in our oceanview room. Casino and cigar bar were understandably stinky. Occasionally caught a wiff from people smoking on deck, but never was a bother.

[poobears]

I have problems with smoke but have not had a problem on Carnival. DH and I like the casino so we hit it in the more off hours. When it fills up and the smoking starts heavy we leave. We also avoid the bars since we dont' drink and the smoking side of the lido deck.

 

The rooms don't smell of smoke and if yours does just take to the room steward and he'll use their magic spray and it will be gone. Whatever they use is amazing.

 

This will be our first year with a balcony and I think that's just a crap shoot. It will depend on who is out on the other balconies at the exact time you are. No way to tell until you get there.

 

As far as smelling smoke while driving I can also smell when someone at a stop light is smoking. It pulls the smell through your vents if they have their windows down a bit. Nothing weird or supernatural about it LOL