Royal Caribbean Bans Smoking on Balconies

[MrBreeze]

Way to go Royal. You have done the right thing !

[Cruising89143]

[quote name='Aquahound']That cliche' has become almost as common on these boards as "a cruise is what you make of it." :rolleyes:

No, a cruise is supposed to be what [B][I]they[/I][/B] make of it, not me, and no, for so many logistical reasons, you cannot make one side smoking and one side non smoking.

JMHO!! ;)[/quote]

Agree. I laugh when I read the comment " a cruise is what you make of it". Really? I thought that the cruise line had a part in that? Go figure.:)

Also NCL tried the one side smoking and one side not smoking in the early 90"s on the Norway when we cruised on this ship. Crashed and burned rather quickly and then went back to business as usual. Could not fill up the smoking side and this was twenty-one years ago.

[AIROHS]

I WON'T miss it at all. :p.......luck of the draw, seems we'd ALWAYS get a STINKY CIGAR smoker on the balcony beside us...sure can put a damper on a nice ROMANTIC breakfast.;)

[niksmom630]

[quote name='Familygoboston']One thing I'm curious about is IF smokers cancel where do they plan to go instead?

It's a serious question, not trying to be a wise guy, but for smokers, are there any cruises where smoking is still allowed? One of the reasons I was thinking of reducing my number of RCL cruises was because they were quickly becoming "the only game in town" for smokers and as a non smoker (but respectful of others) I was starting to look into alternatives more matched to my needs. Im not trying to start a battle but truly wondering where you can go instead?[/quote]

Hello, fellow "foggy" Jewel traveler!!! :D You pose a good question. As a smoker (who aspires to not be one someday), I can give you my perspective. Where will I go instead? No where. I am perfectly happy with the RCI product, and regardless of smoking policy, I have no desire to take my business elsewhere, simply for the convenience of smoking on my balcony. Am I happy about the new policy? Not really--but it's not a deal breaker for me. I'll simply adjust. There are so many positives to my cruising experiences on RCI, that I'm not feeling compelled to either cancel my cruises, and book a Carnival cruise so I can smoke on my balcony.

I do however, respect anyone's decision to cancel, or change cruise lines. For some, it might be a deal breaker--for me, mehhhhh, not so much....:D

[teajak]

[quote name='niko40']:eek:What utter rubbish I have smoked for the last 27 years and we have always had balcony's this year I quit smoking so will I now be quieter when I am on my balcony :confused:

This stupid comment has got to be up there with the im changing cruise lines and only booking inside cabin comments:rolleyes:[/quote]I agree but really you have to laugh at such a silly statement.:D

[nbsjcruiser]

[quote name='The Viking']I do not care about the smoking,- but smokers tend to be loud on the balcony.

Hopefully this ban will make it less noisy[/QUOTE]

That's a new one.

[gerif]

[quote name='cruisingator2']Agree. I laugh when I read the comment " a cruise is what you make of it". Really? I thought that the cruise line had a part in that? Go figure.:)

Also NCL tried the one side smoking and one side not smoking in the early 90"s on the Norway when we cruised on this ship. Crashed and burned rather quickly and then went back to business as usual. Could not fill up the smoking side and this was twenty-one years ago.[/QUOTE]

I've always thought that was one of the stupidest suggestions ever made - so, the non-smoking side is filled and there are tons of balconies/suites left on the smoking side (because only about 20% of the population smokes), who is going to take the greatly increased chance of getting trapped next to smokers? Not me. Never More About Royal Caribbean International

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knew anyone had actually tried it but not surprised in the least that it wasn't successful.

[nbsjcruiser]

[quote name='bigbillfromchicago']This is great news. Now if we could just get a smoke-free casino.[/QUOTE]

You probably wont live long enough to see that. I've been on more than a few RCI cruises when they've done "smoke-free" nights. You could fire a cannon off in that place and not hit anyone. We can poke fun all we like at the smokers but they seem to be the big spenders in places like Casinos so unless you'd like to see your cruise rate go up significantly, this is not likely to happen.

[Karter]

I think this is another case of how a few can spoil it for everybody. We have cruised in a balcony around 50 times and in all those times smoking has only been a problem on 2 or 3 of them. Most of the time there are very considerate smokers that try hard not to have smoke affect our cruise experience and that's great. However on 2 cruises they smoked non stop and when we politely asked them to refrain from smoking during the time we get dressed for dinner the response was they paid for a balcony and will do as these please. I really think if it wasn't for the few that have no regard to how their actions affect other cruisers this never would have been an issue. Yes we are nonsmokers but when our neighbors were considerate it was never a problem.

[Dave85]

[quote name='gerif']I've always thought that was one of the stupidest suggestions ever made - so, the non-smoking side is filled and there are tons of balconies/suites left on the smoking side (because only about 20% of the population smokes), who is going to take the greatly increased chance of getting trapped next to smokers? Not me. Never knew anyone had actually tried it but not surprised in the least that it wasn't successful.[/quote]

I agree that it makes absolutely no sense. Good luck filling the smoking side rooms, or enticing people to purchase those discounted guarantee cabins after final payment to fill the ship when they're an excellent chance they'll get stuck on the smoking side...

[Cruzingwen]

[quote name='jakesnana']I don't EVER see Carnival changing their smoking policy. Carnival Corp has 2 other cruise lines that have restricted smoking policies - Holland and Princess - so they have a cruise line that appeals to most everyone. Why would they want to change that.

As of Jan. 1, the only ships RCCL Corp owns ALL have restricted smoking policies. I don't see how this is a good business decision, but time will tell.

Personally, I book a balcony cabin so that I can have an OCCASIONAL cigarette out there. After all, I don't spend all day in my cabin. As I see it, the need for a balcony is now gone. I am sailing the Enchantment in Oct., so I will see how small the smoking area on the open deck is going to be. If it is so small that I cannot sit and enjoy a cup of coffee with my cigarette, I will DEFINITELY not be sailing RCCL in the future.[/QUOTE]

Hi...We were on Celebrity Equinox in April and they had 3 small tables with 12 seats on their pool deck for smokers. There were about 200 smokers on board and they were taking a drink back to their cabins and smoking on their balconies just so they could sit and enjoy themselves. Yes they gambled on getting fined but the restrictions were ridiculous. And of those 12 seats half of them were taken up with non smokers. Very inconsiderate to say the least. I hope Royal Caribbean will be more considerate toward their smoking paying guests.
Cheers

Gwen

[sdrocks]

Double Yeah !! Hope no balcony smokers close to us in October :rolleyes:

[teajak]

[quote name='nbsjcruiser']You probably wont live long enough to see that. I've been on more than a few RCI cruises when they've done "smoke-free" nights. You could fire a cannon off in that place and not hit anyone. We can poke fun all we like at the smokers but they seem to be the big spenders in places like Casinos so unless you'd like to see your cruise rate go up significantly, this is not likely to happen.[/quote]You are wrong, it works fine on Celebrity. The casinos are full of gamblers and smoke free. How sweet it is.:)

[chrispb]

[quote name='Coov']I'd be looking for credit, but that is just because I an cheap and would be happy to take free money :)... but I am loyal to RCI no matter what the smoking policy is (within reason). Pulling the plug on your loyalty because of a/an (already controversial) rule change just shows how loyal you really were.[/quote]

Huh? Loyal to a cruise line? A cruise is a product just like your soap powder. Once it doesn't do what you expect, you move on to another product. Most of us do anyway.:cool:

[RubyDog08]

Neither of us are smokers, but I really feel the inclusion of e-cigarettes in the ban is harsh. I know quite a few people who used or are still using them to help them stop smoking. We've been around them on multiple occasions and we have never detected offensive odors - and I have to say, that was very surprising. I understand that some of the electronic models look very realistic, but many are quite a bit larger and easy to discern from an actual tobacco product. Some even glow green or blue at the tip. It seems that "recovering" smokers are being treated far too harshly. Just my HO. :(

[Annefran]

In all the years that we have cruised, never been bothered by smokers on balconies next door to our cabin. I do hate all the smoke in the casinos though. Ah well I guess that won't change anytime soon. I will just live with it, limit my time there or just go into the casino on smoke free nights. Let's see how this all pans out for RCI. I doubt it will hurt sales at all. Happy Cruising!

[travelplus]

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wrote a good letter to Mr. Goldstein about my severe allergies to smoke and I'm glad they take it to heart. Now I will look into upgrading to a balcony(:

[critterchick]

[quote name='MrsB05']Wow. We were breaking the law and didn't even know it. Wonder why all our stateroom attendants, who cleaned out our ashtrays, never said anything to us on the four cruises we've been on 2010-2012?[/quote]

Because they didn't want to jeopardize their gratuities. If he had been on the balcony next to me, I would have called Guest Services and asked for their assistance in informing him of the policy.

A friend tried that approach and the response was that they didn't want to upset the guest (the cigar smoker). Only after they received a second complaint did they do anything.

Count me as another who is thrilled with the new policy, which I fervently hope they enforce. And if the casino is even smokier than before, I won't lose as much money, either.:D

[niko40]

wow:eek: so now what's my best friend Sitting Bull Of The Seas going to do now if he cant send smoke signals from the balcony to his family, I will have to teach him the art of Emails :D:D

[bigeagle12]

[quote name='critterchick']Count me as another who is thrilled with the new policy, which I fervently hope they enforce. And if the casino is even smokier than before, I won't lose as much money, either.:D[/QUOTE]

I agree. If they would make the casino smoke free I would probably spend at least 5 times as much time there. That would mean they would get 5 times more money from me :-)

[travelplus]

[quote name='Flukey Luke']Can you imagine though, how disappointing it is for a non smoker to not be able to use the balcony that they have paid extra money for because the person next door smokes. It is not just the smell and health risk - but it makes your clothes and hair stink too. Even when you are not smoking, that "ashtray" odour lingers long after you have extinguished your cigarette....I would have no objection if they had designated smoking rooms so that you could keep the smoke indoors - but not on the balcony.[/QUOTE]

I agree as a non-smoker with severe allergies to smoke that could land me in the Medical Center this is welcome news. In fact having designated areas is the best way so non-smokers know where to avoid. Come on people just go down to the Conniseurs club or Starboard side or casino if you wan't to smoke.

We non-smokers are sick and tired of smelling smoke when we paid for a balcony cabin only to be put next to a smoker.

This policy is also good for kids who have to breath in second hand smoke.

I fully support this decision.

[niksmom630]

[quote name='Annefran']I will just live with it, limit my time there or just go into the casino on smoke free nights. [/quote]

I'm fairly certain when I read the FAQ section, there was a question about whether the casino will still offer "no smoking" nights" and the answer was no--they are being eliminated under the new policy.

[travelplus]

[quote name='bigeagle12']I agree. If they would make the casino smoke free I would probably spend at least 5 times as much time there. That would mean they would get 5 times more money from me :-)[/QUOTE]

They need to have one non-smoking casino and one smoking casino far away and have a better ventelation system.

[Annefran]

[quote name='niksmom630']I'm fairly certain when I read the FAQ section, there was a question about whether the casino will still offer "no smoking" nights" and the answer was no--they are being eliminated under the new policy.[/quote]

Thanks for letting me know that. I hadn't gone back to read the entire thread. Too bad...I loved those nights of no smoking; I could sit at the slot machine and breathe freely. LOL :cool:

[schmeed]

Ugggh, why not start the ban effective immediately? Why wait until 2014? I am going in two weeks and have a balcony...would love to not smell the smoke that will inevitably be out there.

:mad: