Current real world status of smoking onboard

[Peeps@Me]

Hi - I am not exactly a new cruiser but it has been a awhile. Been to Alaska on Princess and Holland America, and Hawaii on Princess. Loved them all - except the smoking. These were about 10 years ago so I wonder if things have really changed. I know there are more rules about smoking on many ships but do the passengers actually follow them? I don't enjoy whale watching on the non-smoking side of the ship with people all around blowing smoke in my face. When I spend extra money to get a balcony I don't really want to deal with the smoke.

 

So, you current cruisers, what is the real story? I am saving up to go to the Panama Canal when they finish the expansion. Thanks for the help.

[CruiserBruce]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

If you look around the boards, you will find a great many threads on smoking. Smoking is a white hot topic here, and these threads can get very controversial. But there are MANY to choose from.

 

As each cruise line has somewhat different policies, it might be worthwhile to do some reading around before this thread goes thermonuclear.

[Peeps@Me]

Thanks CruiserBruce. I have seen a number of these threads but I can't always tell who is objective and who has an agenda. And I have checked the policies of several lines but they had many of those same policies when I cruised and they were not followed or enforced.

 

I can see that this is a sensitive topic - maybe that is a good thing. Sometimes that is the only way to get large companies to listen and I hope they read this site to get honest feedback.

[dkjretired]

I generally said Celebrity and have been a poster on Celebrity's boards since the inception of Cruise Critic. Celebrity has perhaps the most stringent policy of any cruise line. All indoor smoking is forbidden including the Casino and patrons are not allowed to smoke in their cabins or on their veranda's. There are I believe four locations where you can smoke on most ships, all on the port side. There is only one spot on the ship where cigars and pipes are allowed. Although there are anecdotal cases of violators, they do enforce the smoking bans and take it very seriously.

 

The other good thing about this policy is that there are very few smoking threads on Celebrity, they are usually confined to people with veranda's booked trying to avoid areas near the smoking areas. Very few arguments anymore.

Edited November 15, 2013 by dkjretired

[wwcruisers]

In my experience, Celebrity has the most restrictive smoking policy, and it is fairly well enforced. :cool:

[dkjretired]

I generally sail Celebrity and have been a poster on Celebrity's boards since the inception of Cruise Critic. Celebrity has perhaps the most stringent policy of the major cruise lines. All indoor smoking is forbidden including the Casino and patrons are not allowed to smoke in their cabins or on their veranda's. There are I believe four locations where you can smoke on most ships, all on the port side. There is only one spot on the ship where cigars and pipes are allowed. Although there are anecdotal cases of violators, they do enforce the smoking bans and take it very seriously.

 

The other good thing about this policy is that there are very few smoking threads on Celebrity, they are usually confined to people with veranda's booked trying to avoid areas near the smoking areas. Generally no arguments anymore.

Edited November 15, 2013 by dkjretired

[LHT28]

If you save a bit extra try Oceania they have no smoking on balconies etc...

 

There are only 2 small area where people can smoke & they can be avoided

1 outside on the pool deck..a small area not the whole side of the deck

1 in Horizons where the smoking area is almost enclosed on their larger ship & soon to be on their smaller ships (spring 2014)

[Keith1010]

Quite a lot has changed in the last 10 years. While it hasn't moved as quickly as on land it has moved and that will continue into the future.

 

Keith

[PuppyDogPaws]

We are non-smoking gamblers (craps & poker), and we are considering two different cruises over New Year's Eve:

1) Norwegian's EPIC

2) Royal Caribbean's ALLURE OF THE SEAS

 

Does either ship have a non-smoking casino?

 

Thanks In Advance!

[cb at sea]

Why are folks smoking on the NON-SMOKING side??????

[PuppyDogPaws]

Why are folks smoking on the NON-SMOKING side??????

 

This isn't a productive post to the overall question, and it's probably just going to cause animosity.

 

We want to know which ships/areas have non-smoking areas. That's all.

[zone8grandma]

this is a timely thread for me.

 

We just booked our first cruise. We chose Holland America because they had the only boat and itinerary that met our criteria.. However, they also have a rather liberal smoking policy - they allow smoking on private verandas.

 

We are taking a chance. And realizethis may be our first and last cruise on HAL if smoke mars our trip. Hopefully that won't be the case, but we'll see,

[feathersandnananose]

OK, we don't smoke and my husband is VERY sensitive to it. We have only sailed on Holland America. It has a somewhat loose smoking policy - this means we no longer get a balcony, because it annoys him if he steps out and gets a single whiff of smoke from someone else's balcony.... but for me, the balcony is worth it and the smoking smell is just now and then. Whatever. We've compromised on ocean-view.

 

But away from the balcony issue, on our last cruise, we noticed that the casino was no longer reeking of smoke. Previously we would do everything we could to avoid walking anywhere NEAR the casino (to the point of going to a different floor to go from here to there). On the last cruise, we walked through the casino itself on a regular basis. It was no longer stinky. And in the last few years, we have not had problems on the lovely promenade around the ship.

 

As a non-smoker, I really do HATE getting someone else's second-hand smoke .... but I feel sorry for those smokers who are being pushed into smaller and smaller areas. Addictions are TOUGH to kick.

[shugey]

We are non-smoking gamblers (craps & poker), and we are considering two different cruises over New Year's Eve:

1) Norwegian's EPIC

2) Royal Caribbean's ALLURE OF THE SEAS

 

Does either ship have a non-smoking casino?

 

Thanks In Advance!

 

The Epic's casino does get quite smokey, and the casino is very open - not a good choice if you (like me) are a non-smoker.

[lrowe70]

We saw no smoking on our Celebrity cruise.

On Carnival we had a spa cabin where they do not allow smoking.

Regardless, the smoking policies have been enforced on every line we've been on.

[hansolosmom]

Celebrity has a good non-smoking policy. There is no smoking on the balconies & we didn't smell (?) anyone breaking that rule. Although there was a cigarette butt on our balcony one morning, no idea how it got there. However, the smoking areas on deck can be brutal to walk through - at least they were on our Med sailing.

 

Royal goes no smoking on their balconies starting JAN 1. I have the feeling the first few months of the new policy might be rough, but only because it's new.

 

We also did Princess which has a no smoking policy on the balconies and once in awhile I could smell cigar smoke, but it was when we docked, not while we were moving.

[Scrapnana]

I know there is some smoking areas on Disney but I never smelled any smoke anywhere. So the rules must be enforced on DCL.

[cruzeluver]

We are non-smoking gamblers (craps & poker), and we are considering two different cruises over New Year's Eve:

1) Norwegian's EPIC

2) Royal Caribbean's ALLURE OF THE SEAS

 

Does either ship have a non-smoking casino?

 

 

No. Celebrity is your option for a guaranteed smoke-free casino as well as all other indoor venues. In our experience they enforce the policy very well. Violators are subject to fines and being put off the ship.

[spookwife]

We are non-smoking gamblers (craps & poker), and we are considering two different cruises over New Year's Eve:

1) Norwegian's EPIC

2) Royal Caribbean's ALLURE OF THE SEAS

 

Does either ship have a non-smoking casino?

 

Thanks In Advance!

 

neither. at best the casino MIGHT be labeled no smoking after 7 pm on Formal nights on Allure. it doesn't help.

 

pretty sure Celebrity is the only line that forbids all smoking in the casino 24/7.

[sail7seas]

When a casino usually permits smoking but then declares one night a week to be smoke free, it still reeks of smoke. The curtains, carpets, felts on the gaming tables all hold the smoke smell and just banning smoking on a given night does not eliminate the unpleasant smells.

 

[CaroleSS]

Just an alternate point of view (please no flames)....

 

We've sailed Celebrity, RCI, Carnival and Holland. We book balconies and have rarely been impacted by smoke. I tend to be somewhat tolerant of "light" smoke smells, so a passing waft doesn't keep me from enjoying our vacation.

 

We don't gamble, so smoking in the casino isn't an issue. Our last cruise was with X and we had to walk through the smoking area to get to the pool area. And, yes, that did bother me, but it didn't keep us from booking another X cruise.

[wwcruisers]

Just an alternate point of view (please no flames)....

 

We've sailed Celebrity, RCI, Carnival and Holland. We book balconies and have rarely been impacted by smoke. I tend to be somewhat tolerant of "light" smoke smells, so a passing waft doesn't keep me from enjoying our vacation.

 

We don't gamble, so smoking in the casino isn't an issue. Our last cruise was with X and we had to walk through the smoking area to get to the pool area. And, yes, that did bother me, but it didn't keep us from booking another X cruise.

 

Yes, know what you mean about the pool-side smoking area on X. We usually crossed to the other side of the deck, just to avoid it. But, at least it (along with all of X's smoking areas) was outdoors, so the smoke had someplace to go. The last time we sailed on RC, I remember having to hold my breath and run through the casino and Bolero's. :eek:

[CaroleSS]

I just try to be tolerant......I realize that I'm not the only one on the ship.

 

DH, as an ex-smoker, isn't as tolerant. Says, "it is a filthy, disgusting habit". But he tried to quit more times than I can count, so I try to be understanding.

[cruzeluver]

Our last cruise was with X and we had to walk through the smoking area to get to the pool area.

 

Smoking is only permitted on the port side of the pool deck so you can access the pool via the starboard side and avoid the smoking area.

[Hlitner]

We think that among the mass market lines (and we have cruised on 14 different lines) Celebrity has the best anti-smoking policies. The worst would be Holland America where they still permit any kind of smoking (including cigars) on balconies and also allow smoking in the casino (for those who are actually gambling). HA also allows smoking on their promenade and aft deck (starboard side). Princess has also fallen more into favor with the anti-smoking crowd since they banned smoking on their balconies. Ironically, Princess spent a lot of extra money installing both smoke and fire detectors on their outside balconies after a disastrous 2006 fire on the Star Princess. But even after that fire (experts thought it was most likely started by a cigarette that was tossed overboard and got sucked back into a balcony) Princess did continue to allow balcony smoking for several more years. Oceania also has an excellent anti-smoking policy.

 

Hank

Edited November 16, 2013 by Hlitner