Coexisting with smokers?

[DesertPesce7751]

Hi all. My mother and I typically cruise with Celebrity and really enjoy their broad non-smoking policy. As asthmatics, it's so nice to be able to enjoy all of the common areas of the ship without fear of health concerns being an issue. The only things we really can't do on Celebrity (because of smoke) are play table tennis or otherwise relax on the port-side smoking areas.

 

We enjoy HAL as well, mostly for the onboard traditions (panama rolls in Panama, split pea soup in Glacier Bay, the Indonesian crew show) and because it was my grandparents' favorite line. However, the amount of cigarette smoke has made it hard to chose to book with them. One of my favorite things to do on board is enjoy nature off of my balcony over a hot cocoa, coffee, or tea and I've been forced to skip it in the past because neighbors are out there smoking all the time.

 

Has it gotten any better? We're tentatively in an aft cabin off the back of the ship (Westerdam) for July and I'm getting worried that it might not be the best choice. The thought was that, since we're sandwiched between suites, we'd have less smoke. Anyone have any advice?

 

Also, smokers, please don't be offended. Everyone should be able to enjoy whatever substance they want as long as they're not hurting anyone else. As such, if you have any suggestions on how to politely approach a smoking neighbor about sharing the balcony time so there's at least a little smoke-free time a day, we'd be really grateful for your thoughts.

[catl331]

We're tentatively in an aft cabin off the back of the ship (Westerdam) for July and I'm getting worried that it might not be the best choice. The thought was that, since we're sandwiched between suites, we'd have less smoke. Anyone have any advice?

The one time that we had a stern cabin (Noordam 4178) we noticed that we didn't have as much breeze there, so I think any smoke from a neighbor would tend to "linger" more than on a side cabin. Edited May 25, 2014 by catl331

[mountainmare]

I normally avoid smoking threads because as you pointed out...on HAL smoking is allowed on balconies, we all know that when we choose to book a cruise (or not).

We have been thrilled twice to have aft balconies and contrary to popular belief that "the smoke will blow straight out", it doesn't. The ship acts as a wind block and we found that smoke from beside you or especially below you is worse than a side balcony.

No whining or arguing here...we simply have made other choices. I love HAL and lurk here waiting to see if there is any official change, but the only change was to the wine policy.

[rafinmd]

My advice would be to forget the balcony. I would really hesitate to cruise Celebrity without a balcony, but HAL has such a good selection of public deck spaces that I never miss it.

 

Roy

[Hlitner]

We agree with the prior poster that the best advice is to not book a balcony cabin (or a veranda cabin) and also learn a route to avoid walking through the casino. One would suspect that because just about all the other mass market lines have totally banned balcony smoking, more and more smokers will now gravitate to HAL.

 

Hank

[Harry1954]

Roy is correct .. HAL really stepped in it as far as I am concerned. If they are going to allow smoking it should be in the cabin and then they can clean up between segments. What they did instead was push the problem off on the pax ... we have had nothing but terrible experiences with smokers on the verandah ... and we are not suggesting they ban it - merely return it to the cabin and deal with it.

Having aft cabin is the worst as many smokers camp out on the back deck.

harry

[DesertPesce7751]

I normally avoid smoking threads because as you pointed out...on HAL smoking is allowed on balconies, we all know that when we choose to book a cruise (or not).

We have been thrilled twice to have aft balconies and contrary to popular belief that "the smoke will blow straight out", it doesn't. The ship acts as a wind block and we found that smoke from beside you or especially below you is worse than a side balcony.

No whining or arguing here...we simply have made other choices. I love HAL and lurk here waiting to see if there is any official change, but the only change was to the wine policy.

 

Thanks for the insight! We're going to see if a side cabin is available as your advice makes a lot of sense.

 

As you can see from my signature, we're going on a continuing education cruise. I don't know if you have licensure in your profession, but for those of us who do (lawyers, doctors, psychologists, etc.), they have yearly or bi-yearly requirements for a certain number of contact hours in the specific profession (professional ethics, new research, best practices, professional liability guidelines). They're a pain to fit in but some are actually very good seminars. The workshop offered this summer is only offered on this ship so we didn't really have a choice. As I said, though, we do enjoy HAL. If it weren't for the smoking policy, we'd likely enjoy it more often. ;)

[runnergirl71]

Thanks for the insight! We're going to see if a side cabin is available as your advice makes a lot of sense.

 

As you can see from my signature, we're going on a continuing education cruise. I don't know if you have licensure in your profession, but for those of us who do (lawyers, doctors, psychologists, etc.), they have yearly or bi-yearly requirements for a certain number of contact hours in the specific profession (professional ethics, new research, best practices, professional liability guidelines). They're a pain to fit in but some are actually very good seminars. The workshop offered this summer is only offered on this ship so we didn't really have a choice. As I said, though, we do enjoy HAL. If it weren't for the smoking policy, we'd likely enjoy it more often. ;)

 

Random... Are you on the medical ethics cruise on the 26th? I'm on that one with the Great Alaskan Running Cruise group. :) I'm also not a huge fan of smoke, but did end up booking a balcony, asking the travel agent in charge of our group for "as far forward as possible" as I really like the motion you can get forward. As it turns out, there will only be 3 cabins in front of me, so I'm crossing my fingers I'll get lucky. :)

[DesertPesce7751]

Random... Are you on the medical ethics cruise on the 26th? I'm on that one with the Great Alaskan Running Cruise group. :) I'm also not a huge fan of smoke, but did end up booking a balcony, asking the travel agent in charge of our group for "as far forward as possible" as I really like the motion you can get forward. As it turns out, there will only be 3 cabins in front of me, so I'm crossing my fingers I'll get lucky. :)

 

That's the one! I might have to talk to you onboard! I'm trying to get back into running and already love to hike. I'm betting you've looked into the trails at the ports? We're not booking excursions so there's probably going to be time for some trail exploration. I posted to the role call, too.

 

We're going to try for farther forward as well. How big is your group?

[HamOp]

Roy is correct .. HAL really stepped in it as far as I am concerned. If they are going to allow smoking it should be in the cabin and then they can clean up between segments. What they did instead was push the problem off on the pax ... we have had nothing but terrible experiences with smokers on the verandah ... and we are not suggesting they ban it - merely return it to the cabin and deal with it.

Having aft cabin is the worst as many smokers camp out on the back deck.

harry

 

Problem with that is that it costs HAL nothing to deodorize the veranda, but it does cost them $$ to rid a stateroom of the smell. Besides that, some people will tell you that no matter how well cleaned the room is, they can still smell stale smoke.

 

It's just a no win....

[runnergirl71]

That's the one! I might have to talk to you onboard! I'm trying to get back into running and already love to hike. I'm betting you've looked into the trails at the ports? We're not booking excursions so there's probably going to be time for some trail exploration. I posted to the role call, too.

 

We're going to try for farther forward as well. How big is your group?

 

Awesome! :)

 

Local running clubs have set up the races for us - I know on the first day we have a 3-mile deck run in the morning on the ship. Those will be part of my time in ports, but I've also booked excursions to get out in nature a bit besides the running parts. :)

 

There are slots for 100, and as of last report, there were 80-ish booked. I'm not sure if that's JUST runners or also people who come along for the ride.

[I_r_a]

Does bringing a large spray can of air deodorizer work?

 

Ira

[DesertPesce7751]

Does bringing a large spray can of air deodorizer work?

 

Ira

LOL!

 

I don't know if smokers would appreciate being lightly misted with Febreeze.

[sail7seas]

Random... Are you on the medical ethics cruise on the 26th? I'm on that one with the Great Alaskan Running Cruise group. :) I'm also not a huge fan of smoke, but did end up booking a balcony, asking the travel agent in charge of our group for "as far forward as possible" as I really like the motion you can get forward. As it turns out, there will only be 3 cabins in front of me, so I'm crossing my fingers I'll get lucky. :)

 

 

I hope you don't find out the hard way (as we did) that the smoke drifts up from the verandahs below. We had one cruise where a couple stood at the rail of the verandah beneath us every afternoon and both smoked one cigarette after another. They got to enjoy sail away every afternoon and we had to retreat indoors due to their smoke blowing straight into our faces. Despite it being a (slowly) moving ship, the smoke made its way straight upward to us. :( It did not bother those folks in the least.

 

[iancal]

There is a very, simple, straightforward solution to your issue.

 

Don't book a verandah cabin on HAL or select another cruise line/ship.

[sail7seas]

There is a very, simple, straightforward solution to your issue.

 

Don't book a verandah cabin on HAL or select another cruise line/ship.

 

 

 

Hopefully I am being too sensitive and you didn't mean to tell us non-smoking verandah cruisers we should give up our verandahs. Posters aren't usually that dismissive and condescending to each other. It clearly is not 'very simple, straightforward solution' to the issue or it would not be discussed as frequently as we discuss it.

 

It is just as simple for us to say HAL 'CHANGE your smoking policy' to suit the vast majority. Vast majority. Clearly, it isn't as simple as that or they would have done so.

It is just about as reasonable as saying "smokers - quit smoking.".

 

Edited May 25, 2014 by sail7seas

[iancal]

No.

 

We will take a verandah on HAL because we have never really been bothered by the small amounts of smoke that we have experienced. HAL's casino is the big turn off for us. We just do not go into it.

 

But for those who are really bothered by smokers when on their verandah it seems to me that there is only one way to resolve the problem. Complaining about those who smoke on their verandahs seems like a waste of time to me. Complain to HAL, don't complain about or to the smokers.

[sail7seas]

No.

 

We will take a verandah on HAL because we have never really been bothered by the small amounts of smoke that we have experienced. HAL's casino is the big turn off for us. We just do not go into it.

 

But for those who are really bothered by smokers when on their verandah it seems to me that there is only one way to resolve the problem. Complaining about those who smoke on their verandahs seems like a waste of time to me. Complain to HAL, don't complain about or to the smokers.

 

 

It is all the comments and requests to HAL through the years that have achieved the smoking limitations now in place. Every chance I get to tell HAL I'd like for them to bar verandah smoking I do so. We have had much success with the complaining. I know many folks associated with HAL in a work capacity read this forum. This is a valid place to voice our opinion and request further change to smoking policy.

 

It has worked well to this point and hopefully the final step will soon be taken. I don't want a smoke free ship. I want smoke free verandahs.

 

Edited May 25, 2014 by sail7seas

[mountainmare]

In our case in was that simple. We will not give up our verandas, we have given up HAL for the moment. Actually it got us out our routine and we have varied our vacations.

Our last cruise in an aft cabin with chain smokers next to us and below us forced us to move on.

I made comments, told people on the ship who were wearing fancy uniforms and e-mailed HAL when they "wanted us back"

I'm sure I've been replaced and my cabins have been filled.

Sail this is not said to be dismissive or condescending...it is just a fact that the choices are clear for the consumer: book a veranda on HAL and possibly deal with smoking and not be able to enjoy it, book HAL but not a veranda and use the other open public spaces because the consumer loves HAL, book a veranda on another cruise line or pick a different type of vacation.

Until HAL changes the policy it is that simple.

[eandj]

We cruise other lines, mainly X and some Princess. Always book a verandah because it is part of our daily routine on warm weather trips...coffee in the morning, afternoon reading on sea days, predinner wines and sometime late night star watching.

 

We don't ever book them on HAL. After one "mistake", won't chance it again. We cruise HAL for a specific itinerary now and then. But we don't look to them on cruises with lots of sea days and warm weather. Too I will drop a little fun money in other casinos. Not so much on HAL as it did seem over smokey to us.

[eandj]

No.

 

Complaining about those who smoke on their verandahs seems like a waste of time to me. Complain to HAL, don't complain about or to the smokers.

 

Correct. Take a chance that the smokers will be far and few between or skip the HAL cruise. HAL recognizes an apparent need for smokers. I recognize other cruiselines because of the smokers.

It's HAL's choice.

[iancal]

HAL will change their policy when they believe it is in their best financial interest to do so. It is a business decision based on their bottom line. And it is certainly their prerogative.

 

They read the surveys and these are probably much more representative than the very small minority of HAL cruisers, or other cruisers for that matter, that post on CC.

Edited May 25, 2014 by iancal

[sail7seas]

HAL will change their policy when they believe it is in their best financial interest to do so. It is a business decision based on their bottom line. And it is certainly their prerogative.

 

<snip>

 

.

 

Of course. That is rather obvious.

EVERY decision a cruise line makes is predicated on $$.

 

What they are calculating is how many HAL cruisers/verandah cruisers are they losing because of their smoking policy vs. how many are moving on over to Ashtray of the Seas and are booking their verandahs because they cannot smoke on other cruise lines.

 

Edited May 25, 2014 by sail7seas

[DesertPesce7751]

I don't think there was any need for the sarcasm. Fact is that a simple search of this forum would have answered every question that you have regarding smoking on HAL ships. All users are encouraged to search before they post.

 

As was mentioned above (in this very thread), the cruise line management/leadership read all of these and so posting about it helps to continue keeping the issue in the forefront of their minds. If the board admins would like us to stop posting about anything they find redundant, they could, as they have with many other subjects, make a "sticky" about it. The fact is that, while many of us have read about smoking issues here in the past, many of us are also continuing to hope the situation will improve. It is fully appropriate and reasonable to continue inquiring about it. This is completely logical and appropriate etiquette and protocol.

[kazu]

Well, for what little it is worth, unless the OP is next door to a very big chain smoker (and I hope not), then I would politely knock and ask if there is a way that the two of you could co-exist without putting them out nor you. Most people do not sit on their verandahs 24/7 smoking. So, if you can find out when they tend to go out and work with them, it might come to a happy conclusion.

 

Keeping in mind of course that smoking is permitted on balconies, I think many people are happy to work with others. It certainly doesn't hurt to ask in my experience