Sheheen's comment about drifting casino smoke, really????

[ldlewis45]

I agree with you grumpyfan and if the ORIGINAL THREAD WERE READ, it was not about smoking, it was about Sheheen saying no one has complained about the permeating smoke to floors 6, 7 and 8 when clearly they have been complaining since the ship sailed (and I don't believe him when he says only 1 or 2 have complained to NCL, sorry). It doesn't just stay in the casino, where most of us WOULD EXPECT it. And there have been numerous reviews about it. And no, there is no "announcement" or "promotion" about the ship to let you know all this in advance. My concern is not that people smoke, it is that there is a problem that could be corrected but is not even acknowledged by those who can correct it.

He's definitely full of it, since I made a point of mentioning it at length in the survey I filled out after my cruise. I have a hard time believing that I was only one of a couple people that complained.

[ldlewis45]

It's very hard to me to blindly take the complaints that this is happening, because as a smoker I have had to deal with many over exaggerated people where this topic is concerned. So I'm not sure if this is over exaggerated or actually a problem

 

But if the new builds are too open and cause an issue of smoke drifting to many other places, then I totally agree with your post. Something should have been done when the ship was built or should be done now to help alleviate this problem.

 

It's a major issue on Breakaway, unfortunately. I remember smelling smoke pretty strongly up on deck 8 at Wasabi and well past Ice Bar, and very strongly on deck 6 at Le Bistro and sometimes before even entering the art gallery area, which is a significant distance from the casino.

[dmwnc1959]

Thank you for this thread, as it certainly is an eye opener. I usually try and stick with Celebrity or Princess, and had seriously considered Norwegian Breakaway for this December, but have now eliminated it from my short list of options because of the issues and concerns raised here. And that's a real shame, as it looks like a nice ship.

[Macadian]

Norwegian 'nicotine' Cruise Lines? As other lines tighten their smoking policy, NCL may well become more attractive to smokers it would seem. Hope their are enough smoking cruisers to keep these big ships viable.

Edited January 21, 2014 by Macadian

[tiffygirl]

Norwegian 'nicotine' Cruise Lines? As other lines tighten their smoking policy, NCL may well become more attractive to smokers it would seem. Hope their are enough smoking cruisers to keep these big ships viable.

 

The casino is a big seller for NCL. If the gamblers are dropping money and they smoke, why would would NCL elimante a huge customer base for the nonsmoker who make not be dropping the same amount of money. That does not make business wise.

 

Also for those customers like myself and there a MANY, the smoke does not bother me. Im not sensetive to the smell. I won't judge them on there vices, because I got mine. "I" can still enjoy my cruise being around smokers. when walking through the casino and I will not pass out or fall into a choking fit.

Some of the things i've seen on a cruise is a lot nastier than person smoking. :rolleyes: in my opinion, the smoking section is so much fun than the non smoking section. LOL Im not worried about the second hand smoke killing me for the amount of time i spend on the Epic/Breakaway/Getaway.

 

As i stated earlier Epic/Getaway/Breakaway may not be for some cruisers. It is what it is. They are not getting the number of complaints to warrant them 'doing something' as you all say.But then you dont know what changes have been made to the Getaway. Anyone who thinks that they should not smell one ounce of cigarette smoke in an unclosed casino that takes up nearly a whole deck is being truly 'unrealistic'(im editing this).

 

On the Epic the casino is HALF of deck 6. If they wanted to enclosed the casino they would have done so. That was not the design. In fact it was obviously so poplular that the next 2 ship builts followed that same designed so clearly to them its NOT flawed. Bliss and Escape may also follow along those footsteps. Will be curious to see.

 

If you want to cruise on a ship with a enclosed casino out the way then sail those ships. NCL jewel class and Sun class has an enclosed casinos. But we are not in a position to tell them there designed is' flawed', because some of you don't appreciate smelling smoke or walking through the casino.

 

Example. on the Breakaway my friend and I was sitting in Wasabi, he smelled smoke, im beside him i dont smell a thing. He is more sentive to it than me. so who is wrong? The best way to protect yourself is research your cruise, check the deck layout, find out where the elevators are how many? Where is the casino, is out the way? How big is the pool? is it too small for you.? Ss the balcony adequet for your needs?

 

Be proactive when planning your vacation.

[Froggitt]

The casino is a big seller for NCL. If the gamblers are dropping money and they smoke, why would would NCL elimante a huge customer base for the nonsmoker who make not be dropping the same amount of money. That does not make business wise.

This doesn't make sense. Is like saying......

The bars are a big seller for NCL. If the drinkers are spending money and they smoke, why would would NCL elimante a huge customer base for the nonsmoker who make not be spending the same amount of money. That does not make business wise

[ldlewis45]

But we are not in a position to tell them there designed is' flawed', because some of you don't appreciate smelling smoke or walking through the casino.

Aren't we, though? We are part of their customer base, and customer reaction drives what the company does. Eventually, when enough people complain about it, they'll either enclose it or add more air scrubbers. I don't want them to make it completely non-smoking, what I want is to stop smelling it over half of the ship. And I'm sorry, but when people can commonly smell smoke over multiple decks when it's coming from one location, either the design IS flawed or their air scrubbers and ventilation aren't working properly. It's not a situation of one in a thousand customers smelling it, it's been remarked and commented upon many, many times.

[tiffygirl]

This doesn't make sense. Is like saying......

 

I say that because most of the gamblers are drinking for FREE. :) I can say that because i spend most my evenings sitting at the casino bar...NCL is NOT making on the gamblers drinking.. soooooo now what?

Edited January 21, 2014 by tiffygirl

[tiffygirl]

Aren't we, though? We are part of their customer base, and customer reaction drives what the company does. Eventually, when enough people complain about it, they'll either enclose it or add more air scrubbers. I don't want them to make it completely non-smoking, what I want is to stop smelling it over half of the ship. And I'm sorry, but when people can commonly smell smoke over multiple decks when it's coming from one location, either the design IS flawed or their air scrubbers and ventilation aren't working properly. It's not a situation of one in a thousand customers smelling it, it's been remarked and commented upon many, many times.

 

but doesn't money talk?

 

The only choice you have is to not sail it. I dont understand what is not to get about this.

 

You say you smell smoke I say I dont...it can go back and forth.

 

You DONT have to sail Epic/Getaway/Breakaway. Find ship that meets your needs...simple!

 

They are not enclosing it. How do you enclose a deck a whole deck...????

 

 

Unless you have seen the thousands of complaints you can't quote that number right.

 

Dont sail on that ship it solves your problem.

 

clear as day!!

[Macadian]

Aren't we, though? We are part of their customer base, and customer reaction drives what the company does. Eventually, when enough people complain about it, they'll either enclose it or add more air scrubbers. I don't want them to make it completely non-smoking, what I want is to stop smelling it over half of the ship. And I'm sorry, but when people can commonly smell smoke over multiple decks when it's coming from one location, either the design IS flawed or their air scrubbers and ventilation aren't working properly. It's not a situation of one in a thousand customers smelling it, it's been remarked and commented upon many, many times.

 

Indeed, hence my reference to 'Norwegian 'Nicotine' Cruise lines'. The fact that so many decks and eating area's etc are seemingly affected by the smell of smoking, as many of the above posts mention, not specifically the casino where one would expect it, was the point I was clumsily attempting to allude to. Enough to put me off cruising on them in spite of the 'great deals' being offered of late to sail 'Getaway' etc

Edited January 21, 2014 by Macadian

[tiffygirl]

Indeed, hence my reference to 'Norwegian 'Nicotine' Cruise lines'. The fact that so many decks and eating area's etc are seemingly affected by the smell of smoking, as many of the above posts mention, not specifically the casino where one would expect it, was the point I was clumsily attempting to allude to. Enough to put me off cruising on them.

 

That is the choice you have to make and you should...

No sense of arguing about it when the CEO said he's going to keep it as it. :rolleyes:That is his answer regarless of whether anyone agrees with it or not.

 

If folks dont like take it your vacation dollars elsewhere, as you are doing.

 

However those 'Nicotine' cruisers that you are referring to will bring there 'nicotine' dollars to the' nicotine' cruise line. They in turn will keep the price of my cruise down and I will keep sailing the Nicotine cruise line and have some of the best dayum cruises!:D

 

win-win- everyone is happy

Edited January 21, 2014 by tiffygirl

[ldlewis45]

but doesn't money talk?

 

The only choice you have is to not sail it. I dont understand what is not to get about this.

 

You say you smell smoke I say I dont...it can go back and forth.

 

You DONT have to sail Epic/Getaway/Breakaway. Find ship that meets your needs...simple!

 

They are not enclosing it. How do you enclose a deck a whole deck...????

 

 

Unless you have seen the thousands of complaints you can't quote that number right.

 

Dont sail on that ship it solves your problem.

 

clear as day!!

Lord, help. I am NOT DISAGREEING WITH YOU! Yes, money talks, and when Norwegian gets enough people filling out their surveys and telling them that they are not going to sail on a particular ship again because it reeks, then yes, they'll change it. I never said there were thousands of complaints. I said I doubt it's a situation of 1 in a thousand passengers smelling it, since I've SEEN all the comments and threads about it here and I HEARD many of my fellow passengers commenting on it when I was on board. I have a hard time believing that only a couple of us have commented to Norwegian about it.

 

And it would be relatively simple to wall it in with glass walls. Put up a glass wall with glass doors at both ends and put up a glass wall on that level in the atrium, with a door opening at the stairwell. Negative pressure, of course, so the smoke stays inside when the doors are opened. People can still see in and out, but the smell and smoke stays in the casino.

[Winston Wolf]

He's definitely full of it, since I made a point of mentioning it at length in the survey I filled out after my cruise. I have a hard time believing that I was only one of a couple people that complained.

 

Let's remember that Kevin Sheehan doesn't read your comment cards. He gets only the information that is filtered through to him from others in the NCL organization.

[tiffygirl]

Lord, help. I am NOT DISAGREEING WITH YOU! Yes, money talks, and when Norwegian gets enough people filling out their surveys and telling them that they are not going to sail on a particular ship again because it reeks, then yes, they'll change it. I never said there were thousands of complaints. I said I doubt it's a situation of 1 in a thousand passengers smelling it, since I've SEEN all the comments and threads about it here and I HEARD many of my fellow passengers commenting on it when I was on board. I have a hard time believing that only a couple of us have commented to Norwegian about it.

 

And it would be relatively simple to wall it in with glass walls. Put up a glass wall with glass doors at both ends and put up a glass wall on that level in the atrium, with a door opening at the stairwell. Negative pressure, of course, so the smoke stays inside when the doors are opened. People can still see in and out, but the smell and smoke stays in the casino.

 

I understand what you and everyone is saying, You feel as if Kevin is not listening to your concerns and that is frustrating. But at the same time Kevin is the CEO and he has made his decision not to make any changes. So maybe they are looking at some other data. Maybe the positive responses they have gotten may have outweighed the negative reports. We don't know. But its clear that Kevin is not going to make any changes at least right now.

 

As far them enclosing the whole deck, while you're suggestion make sense, but I cant see them doing that after the fact. I m pretty sure the design team/architects may have thought of something to contain the smoke in the initial prints, but after 4 years after the Epic and the numerous complaints the Epic regarding smoke (at least on cruise critic) they still went and kept the design on the casino and made the Breakaway and Getaway in Epic’s Image.

 

So what do you do, other than send emails and letters to corporate about the ship smoking policy concerns. Also, to let them know that decision is unsatisfactory and you will take your money elsewhere.

 

I will say that the Epic a few weeks ago had those smoke ionizers(s) they had quite a few of them. It did a really good job with the smoke. Was it 100% gone ? no, but it was a faint scent to me.

 

Other than that, I have nothing left to offer.

Edited January 21, 2014 by tiffygirl

[mpk218]

Just jumping in with one comment .. Of all the ships I have sailed , not once have I smelled smoke on most of the decks. Maybe around the casino of course , but throughout the ship ?? Come on .. Thats more than sensitive ..

I dont smoke but I do find these threads to be a bit "overboard" ..

 

So whats the new ruling on Pot smoking on board ?? Legal ? Not ?? dont ask ??

 

Carry on ;)

[dmwnc1959]

Just jumping in with one comment .. Of all the ships I have sailed , not once have I smelled smoke on most of the decks. Maybe around the casino of course , but throughout the ship ?? Come on .. Thats more than sensitive ..

I dont smoke but I do find these threads to be a bit "overboard" ..

 

 

I see by your cruise history that you've not sailed on the Epic, Breakaway, or Getaway, which seems to be the biggest offenders in question, and where the largest number of complaints are coming from in this thread. The atrium at the casino area of the newest ships seems to be the major contributor to the drifting smoke. The ships you've actually cruised on don't have a similar design as these three ships.

 

.

Edited January 21, 2014 by dmwnc1959

[GSLMOM]

It's a major issue on Breakaway, unfortunately. I remember smelling smoke pretty strongly up on deck 8 at Wasabi and well past Ice Bar, and very strongly on deck 6 at Le Bistro and sometimes before even entering the art gallery area, which is a significant distance from the casino.

 

We spent a lot of time at Shaker Martini Bar which is right outside of the Ice Bar and honestly none of us noticed any smoky smell.

[GSLMOM]

 

So whats the new ruling on Pot smoking on board ?? Legal ? Not ?? dont ask ??

 

Carry on ;)

 

Rofl!

[tiffygirl]

We spent a lot of time at Shaker Martini Bar which is right outside of the Ice Bar and honestly none of us noticed any smoky smell.

 

That is the problem with the smoking debate. Some are super sensitive to smoke and others are not. I had a coworker to sail on the inaugural sailing on the Breakaway she came back and said it was so smoky you could smell it everywhere. Now granted inside her office on the job, she can smell the smoke outside and the smoking section is nowhere near her office. I went on the Breakaway a few months later. I smelled it but i was in the casino talking to the smokers smoking many times, so i may have gotten desensitized to it. LOL so i didn’t smell it like others did.

 

No one is lying on this issue or presenting it worse than it is; How bad it [smoke] really is or isn't is based upon each one's perception. Unless the ships goes completely nonsmoking. I believe somebody will ALWAYS complain about the smoke no matter what they do..

[jakeT]

It's just casino and smoking go together. Most people in the casino drink and smoke. NCL can't, don't want to, stop this

[Froggitt]

It's just casino and smoking go together. Most people in the casino drink and smoke.

Oh no they don't

[HI-C's]

I'm booked on a May 2014 sailing on The Getaway. This thread is seriously making me wonder whether or not I need to cancel before my final payment is due and re-book on another cruise line. I am not overly sensitive to second hand smoke, but do not want to be exposed to a stale smell throughout many parts of the ships non-smoking areas.

 

I've sailed with RCCL, Princess and Celebrity and have never had issues with second hand smoke in non-smoking areas of their ships. A friend of mine sailed on Breakaway a few months back, and did say the presence of stale smoke was noticeable in many areas of the ship. In fact, he said he noticed it as soon as he stepped on board.

 

It's ashame. I'm was very excited about experiencing a new cruise line and a brand new ship as well. Decisions, decisions.......

[Froggitt]

I'm booked on a May 2014 sailing on The Getaway. This thread is seriously making me wonder whether or not I need to cancel before my final payment is due and re-book on another cruise line. I am not overly sensitive to second hand smoke' date=' but do not want to be exposed to a stale smell throughout many parts of the ships non-smoking areas.

[/quote']

 

20% of Americans and Brits smoke.

 

If the other 80% cancel, NCL will go bust.

 

No smoking shipwide or a "smokers bar" with a selection of slot machines and a couple of table games has to be the way forward. Maharinis (with an air barrier) on the Spirit as an example of where it could be done.

[unboringuy]

I love playing in casinos - on ships or in Las Vegas. These are the only places and times I can play in a casino ... so I PUT UP with other people smoking. It's only a few hours at a time.

 

I ain't complaining!

 

Allow me to personally invite you to Ohio. Our four land-based casinos (Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus, and Cincinnati) are totally smoke-free. Very pleasant gambling experience. And to say that eliminating smoking would kill revenues simply is not true. The casinos in neighboring Indiana, which permit smoking, have seen substantial declines since our casinos opened up.

[Froggitt]

Or the UK......every casino, bar, club, restaurant, hotel is smoke-free.