Smoking: Holland America vs Celebrity

[Assateague Island Princes]

Just what we needed, another smoking thread.....:(. Popcorn please - oh, and don't be stingy w/the butter!:p

[Cruisin Suzin]

Just what we needed, another smoking thread.....:(. Popcorn please - oh, and don't be stingy w/the butter!:p

 

Usually when a topic keeps resurfacing it just goes to show the priority it has in people's lives..so I'll take some popcorn as well

[CtheW0rld]

I just got off Volendam and vowed to never sail HAL again until they prohibit smoking in the cabin areas. It took three days, multiple visits to staff, long distance phone calls, etc. to get my cabin changed because heavy smoker across the hall polluted all the cabins around him. I do not mind if ship's have controlled smoking areas such as those on Azamara or Oceania or Celebrity. Those limited smoking areas are easy to avoid if you have allergies or asthma or just simply want to breath clean air, but you cannot avoid your cabin or the hallways leading to it.

 

In our case we did not switch to Celebrity but cancelled our November HAL cruise and booked with Oceania instead.

 

 

i'm glad some people are putting their money where their mouth (or fingers) is/are.

[chrispb]

my choice wan't listed:

 

i won't cruise with X because of their smoking policy

Same here. Why isn't there a vote for us?

[CtheW0rld]

Same here. Why isn't there a vote for us?

 

because we smokers don't count.

[kelmac]

Same here. Why isn't there a vote for us?

 

It's right here in the survey

 

"No, I'm a smoker and I have no plans to leave HAL for Celebrity"

 

Same as, "I don't like Celebrity's smoking policy"

[kelmac]

Just what we needed, another smoking thread.....:(. Popcorn please - oh, and don't be stingy w/the butter!:p

 

Hi AIP,

 

Did you read the whole thread?

 

"You need not respond to this poll. Just looking for numbers! -- not trying to bring out that old dead horse so we can play verbal pinata."

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[portofrome]

Well, I'm a no smoker and I LOVE Celebrity smoking policy. On 2011 I'm going for my first time on HAL: I'm a little bit worried but their smoking policy will not stop me. I'm not staying in a balcony cabin, I don't like gambling and I hope to have a great cruise as well.

[Assateague Island Princes]

Yes, Kel, I did read the whole thread - hence my comment about popcorn. Just another retread of same old, same old - disguised as a poll. It proves nothing, it sure doesn't help the situation, and only serves to inflame the non-smokers vs. smokers war that so often rages on this board. It gets old.

 

HAL's smoking policy is what it is - everyone who sails on HAL is (or should be) well-aware of it, its right there in their brochure in black and white. Like it or not, people are allowed to smoke in their cabins and on their balconies and in designated areas throughout the ship. Period. There should be no surprises if they smell smoke in any of those areas because it is allowed. Plenty of cruising options available for all to choose from - whether it be Celebrity w/their more rigid smoking policy or HAL w/its more liberal smoking policy.

 

Dredging this time-worn battle up once again via a poll sure isn't going to change HAL's policy. I guess I was just hoping for some time for a scab to form from the last war of the words on this hot button subject, before it was unceremoniously yanked off once again, no matter how innocently.

 

I know, I know....nobody forced me to click on the thread. Lesson learned. I'll crawl down from my soap box now - sorry folks.:o Back to your regular programming.

[CowPrincess]

Assateague Island Princes, very well said!

[CtheW0rld]

It's right here in the survey

 

"No, I'm a smoker and I have no plans to leave HAL for Celebrity"

 

Same as, "I don't like Celebrity's smoking policy"

 

the way it was worded impiled one is a HAL loyalist, though. I'm not. the itinerary is the most important thing.

[A Sixth?]

Just what we needed, another smoking thread.....:(. Popcorn please - oh, and don't be stingy w/the butter!:p

 

It's not really a 'smoking thread" It's a "which cruise lines cater more to my needs" thread isn't it?

 

Some "really" need the ability to freely smoke more or less where they want, and others want "clean air everywhere", and somewhere between those points the cruise companies walk a balance.

[cruie4ever]

We all know that 2nd hand smoke is "Dangerous " .Therefore ,we gravitate to cruise lines who have a strict non smoking policy .imho at some point in the future most cruise lines will follow the Celebrity lead . It is not only safer for fellow passengers ;but ,it willl considerably cut down the cost of refurbishing due to burns & smell in the fabrics.

[kelmac]

Results from a pretty good CC sample:

 

A. 16% of Celebrity cruisers are smokers. (84% non-smokers)

B. 8% of Celebrity cruisers say they may switch to HAL because it's smoker

friendly.

C. 26% of Holland American cruisers are smokers. (74% non-smokers)

D. 46% of HAL cruisers say they are looking at Celebrity because of HAL's

smoking policy.

 

135 people responded on the Celebrity Boards; 178 people responded from the Holland America boards. 6:30am MDT 30 April 2010.

[CtheW0rld]

Results from a pretty good CC sample:

 

A. 16% of Celebrity cruisers are smokers. (84% non-smokers)

B. 8% of Celebrity cruisers say they may switch to HAL because it's smoker

friendly.

C. 26% of Holland American cruisers are smokers. (74% non-smokers)

D. 46% of HAL cruisers say they are looking at Celebrity because of HAL's

smoking policy.

 

135 people responded on the Celebrity Boards; 178 people responded from the Holland America boards. 6:30am MDT 30 April 2010.

 

you have to take into account people that travel with a smoker, too. that could make the figure double.

[taxmantoo]

Results from a pretty good CC sample:

 

A. 16% of Celebrity cruisers are smokers. (84% non-smokers)

B. 8% of Celebrity cruisers say they may switch to HAL because it's smoker

friendly.

C. 26% of Holland American cruisers are smokers. (74% non-smokers)

D. 46% of HAL cruisers say they are looking at Celebrity because of HAL's

smoking policy.

 

135 people responded on the Celebrity Boards; 178 people responded from the Holland America boards. 6:30am MDT 30 April 2010.

 

Need to be more accurate...

That is 26% and 45% of the cruisers who replied on Cruise Critic, which we all agree only represents 5-10 % of the cruising population.

While interesting, the sample is too small to draw any conclusions.

[kelmac]

Need to be more accurate...

That is 26% and 45% of the cruisers who replied on Cruise Critic, which we all agree only represents 5-10 % of the cruising population.

While interesting, the sample is too small to draw any conclusions.

 

 

You are correct, but I did state that:

 

Originally Posted by kelmac

Results from a pretty good CC sample:

 

A. 16% of Celebrity cruisers are smokers. (84% non-smokers)

B. 8% of Celebrity cruisers say they may switch to HAL because it's smoker

friendly.

C. 26% of Holland American cruisers are smokers. (74% non-smokers)

D. 46% of HAL cruisers say they are looking at Celebrity because of HAL's

smoking policy.

 

135 people responded on the Celebrity Boards; 178 people responded from the Holland America boards. 6:30am MDT 30 April 2010.

 

178 person sample is pretty valid. Five hundred people, sampled on five ships, at different times of the year, would be better.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[kelmac]

you have to take into account people that travel with a smoker, too. that could make the figure double.

 

Excellent Point! :)

[LordSpain]

you have to take into account people that travel with a smoker, too. that could make the figure double.

 

According to the Hotel Manager I spoke with about this on a recent cruise, that figure is 42% across HAL.

[el344]

I was planning to book a HAL cruise for the holidays this winter until I read all the smoking threads -- instead we'll be sailing with Celebrity on a less convenient, more expensive itinerary because smoke residue and/or smoke odor gives me migraines.

[Hlitner]

This all seems to run close to normal statistics which show that in the US the percentage of smokers has dropped to under 25%. There are other statistics that show that smoking is even less among the better educated higher income population. When I worked at our state Health Department we always laughed at smokers who would rant about our drug addiction programs. We used to point out that smokers are the most prevelant drug addicts (most smokers are in denial and will not admit that they are drug addicts). The other irony is when you see smokers, who are constantly inhaling more then 60 known carcinogens, talking about a healthy lifestyle. Go figure.

 

Hank

[Duane T]

I like Celebrity's restrictive no smoking policies (I do not smoke). I found that we could enjoy our cruises if we just avoided the areas where smoking was allowed. Oddly enough, our only smoking incident I had to address with cruise staff was on Celebrity.

 

Last year on Celebrity Equinox, we did have a issue with a cigar smoker in the room adjacent to us (Celebrity does not allow smoking on stateroom verandahs) where his cigar smoke and ashes ended up in our verandah. Initially we asked the gentleman to refrain from smoking the cigar but he just smiled and said something (Italian I think) that gave me the impression he did not understand. We called the Celebrity Equinox Guest Relations and informed them of our observation and discussion. Within 15 minutes, they had a representative visit the cigar smoker in his stateroom and explained to him (in Italian) about the no smoking policy. We did not have any further incidents.

 

Bottomline, I'll always lean towards Celebrity because of it's restrictive no-smoking policies, but that won't stop us from sailing on Holland America (or Princess or Crystal or any other major cruiseline) if the timing, itinerary, and price are agreeable to our wishes....and we would just learn to simple refrain from entering areas where smoking exists.

[Tropic]

If everything is similar as to itinerary we will use Celebrity. But we have future cruises on HAL as well as a number of previous cruises the latest being the Zuiderdam last summer to Alaska on which we had no problem with smoke. I would not that the two worst situations we have had have been on HAL ships one when they allowed smoking in the dining room and one with a smoker in the cabin next door that was somehow permeating our room... HAL seemed to not really want to do anything about that and that was rather disconcerting at the time, though we haven't totally left them. Seems as if the smaller (older) ships have the most trouble.. will be on Rotterdam this fall and hope that this will not be a reoccurring problem.

[chrispb]

I was planning to book a HAL cruise for the holidays this winter until I read all the smoking threads -- instead we'll be sailing with Celebrity on a less convenient, more expensive itinerary because smoke residue and/or smoke odor gives me migraines.

Very sensible. If people are bothered by us smokers, then there is always an alternative.

[YYC F/A]

...Just recently got off of one the "dam" ship's and as a smoker who always stays in the smoking permitted area's, I'm here to tell you that it is VERY limited.

 

Only in the evening in the casino, could you possibly smoke. On the walkaround deck, only on the back did I ever see an ashtray. At the sea pool there was only five table's with ashtray's. ...

 

My understanding was that one side of the open decks (excluding the covered pool area) was designated smoking and one side non-smoking. Did that change?

 

Also, the Lower Promenade deck used to have steel ashtray boxes on the 'smoking side' dotted along the railings at intervals. Did that change as well?

 

We have a large friends/family group that goes away once a year and are looking at HAL on Statendam. With some who hate smoke, and some who do smoke, there needs to be a balance so that everyone in the group can be accommodated! Celebrity is too restrictive for some of our group, but HAL always seemed to have a fairly good balance before with 'one side of open decks' versus 'other side'. There also seemed to be a few indoor bars/lounges onboard that had designated smoking areas, and other bars/lounges that were 100% non-smoking. Is that still the case with a mix of both?