Smoking Ban and Early saver, A Twist.

[gone_cruisin]

A mighty powerful one. I lost my father ..ironically sort of smoking related...Denial related for sure.

 

My dad was one of the chip-on-the-shoulder smokers. Always ranting about his right to do what he pleased with his body. We fought over it constantly.

Long story short, he started having these 'attacks' of shortness of breath...got scared, never told anyone BUT decided to quit smoking (funny how when fear of death struck...not being able to breathe is quite an attitude adjuster.) and went cold turkey...also never telling anyone.

Well, the shortness of breath was caused by pieces of a clot breaking off and traveling to his lungs. He wound up dying when the entire clot let lose. He was 53.

I'll be 49 this coming week...can't imagine leaving my physical life at this age. He died in 1993 and I am still pissed off at him.

 

My step dad went through basically the same thing.

He smoked from age 13 (in the 1950's when smoking was expected and cool) until some time in the early 2000's. He used to go behind the laundry lines every day and smoke a cig when no one was looking. My mother married him not knowing he smoked until about 5 years later. I only knew after I graduated from HS.

 

He lived in denial of his conditions. He was very short of breath and his nightly walks became shorter and shorter until he stopped walking all together. He refused to tell us that he was coming down with emphysema. Never saw the doctor.

 

We found out one day when he was forced into a physical exam for an insurance policy/retirement thing. The doctor rushed him to the hospital and he had triple bypass heart surgery that evening. The doctor laid it all out on the table for us......and him. Only then did he admit he quit smoking a few years back.

 

Too little too late. His recovery from heart surgery never went well. He stayed on oxygen for the rest of his life from that point on. He had to live another 7 years with a tube up his nose until one day his heart just quit.

 

I did not mean to get off the topic of the thread. Just sharing my story.

 

However, I will still defend the smokers rights to at least a few places to smoke as long as they are not indoors. Balcony is fine with me.

[popsec]

So....you admit you do smoke inside the cabin right??

 

 

Not sure why you'd bother giving someone the 3rd degree about smoking in their cabin :confused: especially as smoking in the cabins was always allowed and no rules were broken. You may not have liked it but it was always allowed by Carnival until the recent change.....

[DZNYROX]

A mighty powerful one. I lost my father ..ironically sort of smoking related...Denial related for sure.

 

My dad was one of the chip-on-the-shoulder smokers. Always ranting about his right to do what he pleased with his body. We fought over it constantly.

Long story short, he started having these 'attacks' of shortness of breath...got scared, never told anyone BUT decided to quit smoking (funny how when fear of death struck...not being able to breathe is quite an attitude adjuster.) and went cold turkey...also never telling anyone.

Well, the shortness of breath was caused by pieces of a clot breaking off and traveling to his lungs. He wound up dying when the entire clot let lose. He was 53.

I'll be 49 this coming week...can't imagine leaving my physical life at this age. He died in 1993 and I am still pissed off at him.

 

Im sorry to hear about your father. My mom was a 3 pack a day Pall Mall smoker(nasty nasty). We begged her to quit and go see a doctor because she had this horrible cough every day. She fainted one day we rushed her to the hospital. Both of her lungs were covered in cancer. It was on her kidneys and her liver. She died at 59 in 1997 a horrible and painful lingering death. It took me years to find forgiveness for her because of her selfishness denying my children the grandmother. BTW Im still frigging pissed too...

[mcwebber]

Not sure why you'd bother giving someone the 3rd degree about smoking in their cabin :confused: especially as smoking in the cabins was always allowed and no rules were broken. You may not have liked it but it was always allowed by Carnival until the recent change.....

 

IANAL, but I would say Carnival would have a hard time collecting the $250 from anyone who booked under the old ticket contract. So, I don't see a reason for any smoker to cancel if they had put down a deposit under the old contract. Just make sure you use a credit card and not a debit card and dispute the charge. Not only that, unless you have an inside cabin and leave butts behind and unless a crew member actually sees you smoke in your cabin you can simply deny you smoked in your cabin and they have no way to prove you did. e.g. If you have a balcony you can just say you may have smoked on the balcony and the smoke came inside.

Also note, the language in the new ticket contract doesn't say anything about smoking in the cabins as far as the $250 in "damages" go. They can impose that charge if they catch you smoking on the port side or anywhere that's non-smoking not just in the cabin.

[Cruise4Music]

I just don't get it.people are cancelling because of the smoking policy change?????? that seems a little crazy to me, there are still places to go have a cig, I am a smoker and I do not have a problem, taking my rump up on deck to smoke.

The change does not bother me at all, it's not like they a banning it everywhere on the ship.

 

People on Cruise Critic can and do post about anything.

 

Wonder how many are really cancelling?

 

Seems like there are not enough smokers any more.

[LHP]

Im sorry to hear about your father. My mom was a 3 pack a day Pall Mall smoker(nasty nasty). We begged her to quit and go see a doctor because she had this horrible cough every day. She fainted one day we rushed her to the hospital. Both of her lungs were covered in cancer. It was on her kidneys and her liver. She died at 59 in 1997 a horrible and painful lingering death. It took me years to find forgiveness for her because of her selfishness denying my children the grandmother. BTW Im still frigging pissed too...

 

Halo and DZNYROX....sadly I can relate....

 

my oldest sister was a 3 pack a day smoker of Camel Unfiltered. (as was her husband) When he died in his 50's we were hoping it would help her to decide to quit.

 

It did not, she died when she in her early 50's...but not until she had endured two years that were nothing short of torture.

 

This was 20+ years ago when Cobalt and Chemo were not "treatments"...they were weapons of destruction and the only hope was that it killed the cancer before it killed you.

 

I miss her every day....

[LHP]

IANAL, but I would say Carnival would have a hard time collecting the $250 from anyone who booked under the old ticket contract. So, I don't see a reason for any smoker to cancel if they had put down a deposit under the old contract. Just make sure you use a credit card and not a debit card and dispute the charge. Not only that, unless you have an inside cabin and leave butts behind and unless a crew member actually sees you smoke in your cabin you can simply deny you smoked in your cabin and they have no way to prove you did. e.g. If you have a balcony you can just say you may have smoked on the balcony and the smoke came inside.

Also note, the language in the new ticket contract doesn't say anything about smoking in the cabins as far as the $250 in "damages" go. They can impose that charge if they catch you smoking on the port side or anywhere that's non-smoking not just in the cabin.

 

Carnival is a big enough Corporation to enforce whatever they want to....

 

once you are at sea.....the Captain has Carte Blanche to do what ever he wants to...including putting someone off at the next port or in the brig!

[salukigrl]

Oops....sorry I missed that.

 

He is wrong. Carnival did not do this to charge more for balconies.

 

Carnival understands that they have more passengers who are smokers.

 

For example....there were immediately more than 10 threads about this change on the Carnival boards yesterday....when I checked Princess (fairly late in the day)..there was one.

 

It appears that Princess (like Celebrity) simply did not have as large a passenger base that smokes. Carnival does.

 

As a matter of fact, balcony prices will probably go down.....the OVs will go up.....because the vast majority are not smokers and may not want to take the change of spending money on a balcony they can not use.

 

 

Not exactly true. I was following the princess board closely that day. The moderator was deleting any negative post or thread about the new smoking policy. One poster made a thread asking why the posts were being deleted was deleted in the short time I hit refresh.

[LHP]

Not exactly true. I was following the princess board closely that day. The moderator was deleting any negative post or thread about the new smoking policy. One poster made a thread asking why the posts were being deleted was deleted in the short time I hit refresh.

 

perhaps that is why I only saw one thread...but the one thread I saw was overwhelmingly positive. Even if they did not multiple negative threads...they did not begin to have the outcry of posts that RCCL had years ago when they made their annoucements.

 

And both RCCL and Celebrity are doing fine all these years later.

[salukigrl]

They were deleting posts out of that particular thread. I watched it in action. I have no comment either way on the smoking policy changes, however, I was incensed that negative posts were being pulled. The freedom to smoke on a Princess balcony was not an issue to me, but the lack of freedom for others to openly discuss their displeasure on a message board irritated me. I have not cancelled any Princess cruises, but seriously considered cancelling my cruise critic log-in.

[crotchityoldman]

My step dad went through basically the same thing.

He smoked from age 13 (in the 1950's when smoking was expected and cool) until some time in the early 2000's. He used to go behind the laundry lines every day and smoke a cig when no one was looking. My mother married him not knowing he smoked until about 5 years later. I only knew after I graduated from HS.

 

He lived in denial of his conditions. He was very short of breath and his nightly walks became shorter and shorter until he stopped walking all together. He refused to tell us that he was coming down with emphysema. Never saw the doctor.

 

We found out one day when he was forced into a physical exam for an insurance policy/retirement thing. The doctor rushed him to the hospital and he had triple bypass heart surgery that evening. The doctor laid it all out on the table for us......and him. Only then did he admit he quit smoking a few years back.

 

Too little too late. His recovery from heart surgery never went well. He stayed on oxygen for the rest of his life from that point on. He had to live another 7 years with a tube up his nose until one day his heart just quit.

 

I did not mean to get off the topic of the thread. Just sharing my story.

 

However, I will still defend the smokers rights to at least a few places to smoke as long as they are not indoors. Balcony is fine with me.

My father is 86 years old and has smoked since he was 20 years old. He still enjoys playing 18 holes of golf a day in Palm Springs CA. He also rides a bike and swims. Smoking hasent slowed him down one bit!. I should know as he makes me pay for and ship to him his Cuban cigars!

[maggie cruises]

Ok....so would you say smoking was allowed at a majority of the ships venues before?

 

the biggest problem with smoking on the ship is that the excessive smoke stench from the Casino waifs all over...and on many ships there is no avoiding walking..in..near or past..the Casino....because they position the Casino so you have to find it..like putting milk in the back of the grocery store..so you have to walk thru the entire store to get to it...and buy more stuff on your way..

 

 

As far as the cabains are concerned...the stench from the smokers in the OV's and insides...just lingers...and then seeps out their doors into the hallway...and everybody walking past the smokers door is basically bathed in the smoke smell....I kid you not...but someone will disagree on this board..that is a given

 

As far as the balcony is concerned...many smokers book balconys in order to smoke cigs and cigars on them...sometimes excessively..sometimes not....but being that a balcony is what it is..and they are practically on top of each other...and there is always a breeze on the ocean...non smokers cannot help but get the smoke stench not only on their balcony and cabin....but also they breathe it as secondhand smoke..

 

The NYC communter railroads have just banned smoking on their platforms..so now there is no smoking anywhere in a train station...

 

My city just banned smoking in public parks, playgrounds, and all city owned venues.....

 

Many posters claim that the cruiselines will eventually have to pander to the smokers and keep referring to the Paradise of many many years ago when smoking bans were still new.....

 

Reality..or just call it the handwriting on the wall is.....that cruiselines will continually reduce the smoking areas on their ships.......

 

It will happen.....just like many other things that were unthinkable 30 years ago have happened..

[mohavemommy]

Personally, I dont think you will have any issues. Your room steward will know if you are smokers and if any odors are from your cause or not. Also the likely hood of enough smoke coming from outside and into your cabin to cause problems would be low. (Even if you prop your door open 24/7.

 

JMO.

 

 

I had a balcony last year and had exactly that problem. I could not have my balcony door open or sit out there because of smokers on the adjacent balcony. I have asthma and am allergic to smoke. It made my balcony unusable. The smoke DID drift in when the balcony door was open and was quite noticeable.

[LucyR.]

I was able to cancel two future 2012, Early Saver Carnival cruises with no penalties because of the new smoking policy.

 

I just want to inform cruisers that if you want to cancel your future early saver cruises you better do it before June 28, 2011, if you want to get all of your money back. I am guessing that Carnival will not honor that policy if too many people want to cancel their early saver future cruises.

Carnival can change their minds about the early saver refunds if too many people cancel their future cruises. I am just guessing that this may happen since

I have lost confidence in Carnival Corp.

 

Carnival is my favorite cruise line because I have so much fun on them.

If rates go down in the future I may still book future cruises with them.

I plan to wait and see what happens. Yes, I do like to smoke & drink but I may have to stop smoking & drinking someday.

 

I am still booked for the Oct. 30th Halloween cruise.

[Frick_&_Frack]

LucyR - We also just finally managed to cancel out 2012 (after much working on it).

 

Now, of course, I'm having some issues getting my FCCs on the two cruises I have left for this year :rolleyes:

 

I've been dealing with this all since last week and it's just tiring.

 

If Carnival ever steps up the amenities and goes in line with the other major lines, then I'll re-consider them. Until then, it's going to be where I get the most value for the dollar. After all, they run a business and I run the business of my personal finances. Same difference at the end of the day.

[maggie cruises]

I had a balcony last year and had exactly that problem. I could not have my balcony door open or sit out there because of smokers on the adjacent balcony. I have asthma and am allergic to smoke. It made my balcony unusable. The smoke DID drift in when the balcony door was open and was quite noticeable.

 

this is the exact reason why we never book a balcony....but it looks like CCL is coming to their senses and we may soon be able to book a balcony!!! Yeah!!!

 

Also, for our last cruise we booked NCL...because all of the indoor venues less the Casino and Cigar Bar if there is one...ARE NONSMOKING.......yeah..and guess what happened?

 

We went to the bars and lounges and spent mucho bucks on drinks...something we have never done before on CCL..because on CCL..the Piano Bar and various other INDOOR venues that we wanted to frequent were smoking venues....so we didn't go and didn't spend money!!!

 

Keep up the good work...keep on restricting smoking areas....everyone is doing it....so should the cruiselines..

[BJHOOSER]

Maggie i will say you gave me a big laugh, complaining about the smoking, what about you and the liquor? It will ruin more parts of your body then smoking ever did.... Good luck to you .

F&F, and Lucy, i too joined you and got my 2012 canceled. If things turn aroung to be a little more even for the smokers i will reconsider as well. Till thennnnnnnn.

Good luck F&F on getting te 2011 cruises refunded. I hope you make it and my prayers are with you that you do.

[halos]

If things turn aroung to be a little more even for the smokers i will reconsider as well. .

 

Seriously? Do you honestly think that's even a possibility? :confused:

[maggie cruises]

Maggie i will say you gave me a big laugh, complaining about the smoking, what about you and the liquor? It will ruin more parts of your body then smoking ever did.... Good luck to you .

F&F, and Lucy, i too joined you and got my 2012 canceled. If things turn aroung to be a little more even for the smokers i will reconsider as well. Till thennnnnnnn.

Good luck F&F on getting te 2011 cruises refunded. I hope you make it and my prayers are with you that you do.

 

What on Earth are you talking about? On our last cruise we had 4 alcoholic drinks between the 2 of us on a 7 day cruise.....and since you don't know me...you obviously would not even guess that that I consider that to be excessive....because we usually don't drink at all on a cruise....so NCL got about $50 more from us because they have no smoking indoor entertainment venues...

 

 

However, I understand you are angry about the new smoking rules so I will give you a pass.......but for the future...gambling, excessive drinking and smoking...are not within my realm

 

btw..no excessive caffeine or soda drinks either.....water is the drink of choice...quite healthy you know and doesn't ruin too many parts of your body....

 

 

you do smoke am I correct? Or do I have you confused with a different poster? Just askin' that's all.

[sharecruises]

That is odd that the Princess board is anti smoking when this one has always seemed "pro smoking" to me LOL

 

as for smokers thinking that these rules will change or weaken....dream on

 

I think it will be interesting to see after Dec 1...we will have some first time posters enraged that they were charged $250 to deep clean their cabin

 

I do hope Carnival puts out the message loud and clear....people on these boards are canceling but so many out there don't read or keep up with the rules and will have a bad surprise come december

 

as for us non smokers....I personally think the Fantasy class and the Dream Class will be great for us...just think only about 60 "suites" with balcony on the Imagination.....once the word gets out all the smokers will choose the Destiny (balconies) over the much nicer ship Imagination....LOL

 

For non smokers who must have a Balcony....try a Dream Class spa balcony....or cruise another line like Princess or Celebrity that will not allow balcony smoking

 

Otherwise Carnival is a good value for "us">>> inside or an outside stateroom.....and now we can USE the piano bar, the sports bar.....fantastic :)

 

I also have to laugh at the "rush" to NCL by the smokers.....they don't allow smoking anywhere inside but casino and one cigar bar....wow

not only that....NCL won't allow any alcohol brought on board....no wine...without a $15 per bottle corkage fee..and they really check.

 

For those rushing to Royal....well they don't allow smoking inside the cabins, only on balconies. Price their balconies vs Carnival and you might get sticker shock. Really the only smoker friendly line I see is Costa and/or Pulmanter but on the latter you better speak Spanish.

[ridge4]

Speaking only of cancelling ES by June 30th, has anyone actually received their refund? I cancelled my ES booking for Jan. 2012 about two weeks ago. At the time it was an easy process, took only a few minutes, and the CSR stated I would receive a full refund in 7-10 days.

 

So far, nada. :confused:

[AdrenalineRush]

Speaking only of cancelling ES by June 30th, has anyone actually received their refund? I cancelled my ES booking for Jan. 2012 about two weeks ago. At the time it was an easy process, took only a few minutes, and the CSR stated I would receive a full refund in 7-10 days.

 

So far, nada. :confused:

I would call and make sure it was processed. While I didnt try to cancel under the new policy, I did cancel an ES in the past and the refund was processed in 5 business days.

[BJHOOSER]

I had my TA cancel late on the 20th and it was processed and received the next day the 21st.

I would call them and make sure it was processed.

[wrkfire911]

Seriously? Do you honestly think that's even a possibility? :confused:

 

LMAO! to the OP= don't hold your breath!! that's NEVER gonna happen...just look around over the past 5 years or so things have dramatically changed with smoking...all major casinos (which I visit regularly) have slowly reduced their smoking areas...government buildings, restaurants & even entire states going NON smoking..some businesses you cant even smoke on their property..smoking is quickly on the outs and NON smokers on the IN...The FEW places like the casinos that still 'allow' smoking now have many more non smoking areas then smoking areas..it was always the other way around but NOT anymore:D

 

I believe that what you are going to be seeing is the cruise lines doing the same thing until the smoking areas are even more limited...

 

IMHO if you are a smoker SUCK IT UP ! they didnt BAN smoking-you can still smoke-just in designated areas...it doesnt say you can't smoke at all !

 

break the rules..break it a time or two & I hope you bring extra $$$$ cuz you're gonna find yourselves put off the ship

 

Personally, I say cancel your cruise! maybe it'll give me a bigger balcony upgrade

[ridge4]

I would call and make sure it was processed. While I didnt try to cancel under the new policy, I did cancel an ES in the past and the refund was processed in 5 business days.

Thank you. I did call, and it's a good thing I did. It turns out the agent who took my original call didn't even notice I was on Early Saver until after she ended the call. She was apparently, at that time, one of the agents still unaware of the policy to waive the penalties and do deposit refunds due to the smoking policy. She made notes on the account that she did say I would receive a full refund, but realized after we disconnected that it was incorrect.

 

The agent I talked to today saw that I cancelled during the grace period and says she has now processed my refund. It took longer this time, she seemed to make a lot of notes on the account. Hopefully it will actually go through this time.