Smoking: Holland America vs Celebrity

[m steve]

and the HAL and Princess ships were fully booked so who are the sqeaky wheels sailing with that will make these cruise lines rush to change their policies. I can't believe the casinos are going to be empty because of the non smokers refusing to enter. Maybe they need Rand Paul to announce that he will offer a bill in congress to ban smoking everywhere. If he's elected???

[chrispb]

I'm totally opposed to gambling but I wouldn't dream of clamouring for the Casino to be closed.:D Guess we all have different vices.

[hulamoon]

So glad you are back Sail. I almost posted a "Where in the earth in Sail " post myself. You were missed.

 

I hope more details are forthcoming.

 

Verandahs? At least that is a good escape hatch when it seeps in the cabins.

[kelmac]

 

 

 

 

I can list right here exactly who will be here to argue the point and dispel the accuracy of my report but time will prove the fact.

 

I'll not argue the issue. I'm only posting what I consider to be reliable information.

Do with it what you wish..... or don't.

 

 

Sail,

 

Do you think the increase in the number of smokers on HAL comes from the exodus from Celebrity, Oceania and Azamara? Seems like the number of smokers is increasing on Holland America???

 

I guess if I had nicotine coursing through my blood stream and synaptic spaces of my brain, I would go on the defensive too. Nicotine addiction vs Reason is not a fair battle. This drug is way more powerful than simple brain chemistry.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[Rutland Gate]

How dare you to presume to curtail smoking, which is a legal activity which gives comfort and pleasure to so many people. I do not smoke, but I have seen many people who are going through distress find in tobacco a comfort not as risky or as dangerous as whiskey or drugs.. Shame on you.

[kelmac]

How dare you to presume to curtail smoking, which is a legal activity which gives comfort and pleasure to so many people. I do not smoke, but I have seen many people who are going through distress find in tobacco a comfort not as risky or as dangerous as whiskey or drugs.. Shame on you.

 

A. who are you talking to?

B. nicotine is a drug.

C. the only people using tobacco for comfort are addicted to nicotine.

D. tobacco is NOT as risky as whiskey or drugs?

 

Please clarify,

Kel:)

[ot73nl]

I am a smoker. Normally I respect people who do not smoke. But you, non-smokers from this topic, make me angry! I have the same rights as you, people. You have enough non-smoking cruise lines as X or RCCL or MSC etc.,

just go book there. leave HAL alone!

 

This is so stupid. Just go with a company that has a policy YOU like.

[usha]

Do you think the increase in the number of smokers on HAL comes from the exodus from Celebrity, Oceania and Azamara? Seems like the number of smokers is increasing on Holland America???

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

Kelmac, I think you're right about that, and with all that added smoke on Holland America, the ships might be said to have HALitosis .

[kelmac]

Kelmac, I think you're right about that, and with all that added smoke on Holland America, the ships might be said to have HALitosis .

 

usha -- LOL! ;):)

[cruisemom42]

As more of a "dispassionate observer" I have to wonder after reading this thread if some of the posters cruise in an alternate universe to mine.....?

 

I am a nonsmoker who has sailed on what some would have us believe are these smoky deathtraps waiting to happen (otherwise known as Princess and HAL ships) and have never been bothered by smoke.

 

Does smoking occur on these ships? -- yes, it does. Have I occasionally smelled some smoke? -- yes, I have. However, it's never been a "problem" in any way whatsoever. I've never had a stinky cabin; I've never noticed smokers smoking where they shouldn't.

 

I cannot believe that people like me (and I think there are many more in my general camp than the passionate smokers or anti-smokers who debate this endlessly) would continue to fill up Princess and HAL ships week after week if smoking was really such an issue as some would have us believe. Is that possible? :confused:

 

I will of course be curious to see if my September sailing is any different, smoke-wise. I have a feeling it will not be....

 

Of course, I have to admit that I could not care less what they do in the casino. I have probably put less than $5 of money in the slots on all my cruises and trips to Vegas combined and have no idea how to play any table games....;)

[Sea King]

I'm totally opposed to gambling but I wouldn't dream of clamouring for the Casino to be closed.:D Guess we all have different vices.

 

you don't die from 2nd hand gambling:mad:

[m steve]

if you didn't pay your marker and Nunzio visited you.

[chrispb]

you don't die from 2nd hand gambling:mad:

No, but lots of people have lost family members when their gambling debts have spiralled out of control. Others have suffered fraud, theft, etc

 

Anyway, nobody dies from the "smell" of smoke, you have to inhale and if you want to inhale mine you pay for 'em:D

[JimVrhovac]

The CASION is a smoking PERMITTED area and when we smoke there we are playing by the posted rules..

 

Jim (without Ruth)

[Ocean Travler]

why not just admit it

 

smoking "stinks"

 

the sooner it ends on board, the better for all of us

[CtheW0rld]

you don't die from 2nd hand gambling:mad:

 

nobody has ever died from 2nd hand smoke, either. if it was as bad as some people proclaim it to be, the streets would be littered with bodies.

 

and please, no posting of links to support your 'position'. it is all a creation of the nanny-state.

[HamOp]

why not just admit it

 

smoking "stinks"

 

the sooner it ends on board, the better for all of us

 

Might want to change that to read "the sooner it ends on this board, the better for all of us:D

[Copper10-8]

Everybody! Out of the pool!:cool:

[COLLEYBERRY]

 

 

Are you on "life guard" duty ...again!! :D:D

[kelmac]

Everybody! Out of the pool!:cool:

 

Got'a like a guy with a whistle, who knows how to use it!:)

[YYC F/A]

Smoking in the Casino on Maasdam was absolutely disgusting.

I can assure you dozens of non-smokers gave up even trying to use the casino night after night on our 14 day cruise...

 

Doesn't HAL do the non-smoking nights in the Casino anymore then? They did this for a long time - if they stopped it (and it's news to me) then there must have been a reason for it...

 

 

We spoke with so many others who couldn't even stand at the Casino Bar to look at the scores of the ball games. It was intolerable. Night after night there was almost no one having a drink there. It used to be possible to have an after dinner drink and watch a few minutes of a ball game but no longer. We could not stand the stink.

 

If there was so much smoke in there, it must have been packed with chain smokers - how can it be empty and yet so choking full of smoke?

 

 

I would have been willing to pay a smoker just to keep them inside smoking after having our unpleasant Eurodam experience and denied use of our veranda for the whole second week of our b-to-b. It was miserable.

 

If a smoking guest booked on this cruise, they (just like you) knew the policy in advance and they have every right to smoke on their balcony. If someone is being exceptionally discourteous, maybe have a civilised chat about it - but to offer to pay them to not use their Verandah is pretty ridiculous. Sorry - you know the HAL rules. If the smoke really bothers you that much, Oceania, Celebrity and Azamara will accommodate you on your non-smoking balcony.

 

 

HAL is seeing they are absolutely losing cruisers to lines with more strict smoking rules and the casinos are suffering from so many of us walking out night after night. I personally heard people say to casino workers why they were leaving the casino and would not be returning until they barred smoking. It was too many to ignore.

 

If HAL really was 'suffering' losing loads of money in the Casino - HAL would then have plenty of non-smoking nights don't you think! They've done it before, and IIRC they actually had LESS revenue on those nights when they conducted a test.

 

 

The first cruise line who has the courage to ban all interior smoking will be cheered by most and it is almost definite all the others will follow suit. It takes the first one to dare doing it and the rest will have their hand forced.

 

It's been done before (Anyone remember Carnival's Smoke Free Paradise?) and it was a flop. Maybe a few years later on and there might be a niche for it? Personally, I think that if anything, ships will become more like Oceania, Celebrity or Azamara. It's only 2 tiny places on the entire ship, yet it keeps those guests whom are smokers happy while catering to the non-smokers.

 

 

smokers - start looking at other lines if you cannot quit or go without your cigarettes. Your upcoming HAL cruises may have new rules.

 

At the end of the day, some people choose to smoke, some actually enjoy the occasional/rare smoke with a drink, some don't want to smoke but are having trouble quitting - whatever the situation, the implied 'holier than thou' attitude that everyone should be quitting is uncalled for.

 

After all, non-smokers can cruise on other lines with more stringent smoking policies and yet some elect not to do that and still preach at smoking guests abiding by the rules. HAL strikes a pretty good balance for the most part with the vast majority (80+%) of the indoor public areas now non-smoking. This is broadly in line with the percentage of smoking guests, so I think HAL has got a good balance here. Some non-smoking nights in the Casino would mean non-smokers have the majority of the ship smoke free, and can enjoy a smoke-free casino experience without resorting to a 100% ban and alienating customers.

 

Maybe it will change at HAL and maybe they will lose some of their smoking guests, who knows. But until then you should choose your cruise line based on your priorities - and if no smoking is such a major one as it appears it is from your post, then one of the 3 other Premium or Deluxe lines will likely suit you much better.

[hulamoon]

I agree with you YYC. Waiting for a cruise line to change for you is an exercise in frustration. Many passengers, us included, thought HAL would follow others policy, but it didn't happen.

 

Non smoking nights in the casino do not work for us because:

we get in the habit of not going during the cruise,

the line schedules something interesting that same evening for those who won't go the casino because they can't smoke and we go too,

sometimes a cruise does not have a non smoking night.

[m steve]

another new poster wanting to change things! Anything positive like port info you can post?

[peaches from georgia]

How come on the formal dress codes thread people who want formal nights ended are told if they don't like formal nights to find a cruiseline w/ no formal nights and HAL should not change. But on smoking/non-smoking threads people who want no smoking on HAL ships, even when smokers are obeying all smoking rules, they say that HAL should change the rules and discontinue smoking privileges?

 

In one case the same people are saying that cruisers should find another cruiseline rather than ask HAL to change the dress code rules, but when it comes to their wishes for no smoking they are fine with asking HAL to change their established smoking policy so they don't have to change cruiselines? There are cruiselines and very nice ones that forbid interior smoking and are very strict about it. How come the 'find a cruiseline which has what you want' doesn't apply to them?

 

Double standard depending on whose ox is being gored?

[ot73nl]

 

Double standard depending on whose ox is being gored?

 

Totally agree!