This Thread Is To Be Used For All Discussions About HAL's On Board Smoking Policies

[Drico]

For those who want smoking banned on balconies and frequent the casino, be careful for what you wish for...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2163734

[freestyling]

I'm ok w/ casino smoking but hope the balcony smoking ends..sorry.

[Drico]

I'm ok w/ casino smoking but hope the balcony smoking ends..sorry.

 

Are you saying you're okay w/ casino smoking because you don't go in the casino?

[freestyling]

I like to go to the casino and I'm sure HAL loves it as I don't leave a winner but between the two I prefer to sit on my balcony. Due to health reasons I can't do that if smoking is happeningin either location.

[Drico]

I like to go to the casino and I'm sure HAL loves it as I don't leave a winner but between the two I prefer to sit on my balcony. Due to health reasons I can't do that if smoking is happeningin either location.

 

So even though you have health issues you're okay being in an enclosed area where there WILL smokers around, you would not want smoking on open air balconies when there is a chance you MAY have a smoking neighbor?

[freestyling]

No.. I don't engage in the Casino's due to the smoke. Haven't been able to for about a year now. On our last cruise in Jan I wasn't able to use our balcony either due to a cigar smoker on one side of me and cigs on the other. But that's the way it is right now. Frustrating for me but again..it's HAL' policy and I either deal with it or go to another cruise line. I happen to enjoy HAL and deal with for now.

[whogo]

Just off the Veendam. Casino smoking stunk up the ship from the atrium to the library. The Mix was especially nasty smelling. I never got used to it. Smokey bars were a fixture of my misspent youth, but this is 2015 and smoking was never allowed in libraries. Yech!

[luvs2read]

Unlike many of you, I am not a frequent cruiser. I've been on one cruise in my entire life - and it was six years ago. I've longed to share this experience with my husband, and as we celebrate our 35th anniversary this year, he suggested that maybe the time is now. We are finally empty-nesters and ready to enjoy life. So I eagerly began exploring cruises on the one and only cruise line I had ever experienced ... only to find out they recently changed their policies and now prohibit smoking on the balconies of the cabins.

 

I was even more crushed to find out this has happened pretty much industry-wide. I must tell you that it effectively took all the joy out of my search for a cruise. So I'm switching to HAL for my second, his first cruise, because it is apparently the only line that still permits smoking on the balcony.

 

We are not chain smokers. We won't spend every minute on our balcony, puffing away. But the first thing in the morning, last thing at night - while in our pajamas! - smoke is a luxury (yes, a luxury!) that we enjoy. Early morning coffee and a leisurely cigarette on our private balcony is a great way to ease into a fun filled day. Throwing on clothes, leaving the cabin to find coffee and a place to smoke.... not so much.

 

And while I probably should quit - might LIKE to quit - I refuse to be bullied into doing so, and I won't quit just to conform.

 

While others here state they won't be told to go elsewhere, I politely point out that we smokers have nowhere else to go. I realize smoking is a contentious topic, but my research into planning what should be a happy occasion has really made me feel like a second-class citizen and one not deserving of the same joy and happiness as others. I know that is not true, but MY GOSH! You'd think I was doing something illegal to hear some people talk.

[tip]

Smoking is not illegal, but it is no longer socially acceptable. I should not have to breathe second hand smoke on my cruise ship balcony. Being able to breathe clean air should not be a luxury.

 

We have six HAL cruises under our belts. We enjoy the ambiance, food, service, and itineraries of HAL. We seriously considered cruising the HAL Eurodam this winter. We decided against it and will not sail with HAL again until they adopt a 21st Century smoking policy. We have booked RCCL instead.

Edited February 8, 2015 by tip

[jimmy2x]

Unlike many of you, I am not a frequent cruiser. I've been on one cruise in my entire life - and it was six years ago. I've longed to share this experience with my husband, and as we celebrate our 35th anniversary this year, he suggested that maybe the time is now. We are finally empty-nesters and ready to enjoy life. So I eagerly began exploring cruises on the one and only cruise line I had ever experienced ... only to find out they recently changed their policies and now prohibit smoking on the balconies of the cabins.

 

I was even more crushed to find out this has happened pretty much industry-wide. I must tell you that it effectively took all the joy out of my search for a cruise. So I'm switching to HAL for my second, his first cruise, because it is apparently the only line that still permits smoking on the balcony.

 

We are not chain smokers. We won't spend every minute on our balcony, puffing away. But the first thing in the morning, last thing at night - while in our pajamas! - smoke is a luxury (yes, a luxury!) that we enjoy. Early morning coffee and a leisurely cigarette on our private balcony is a great way to ease into a fun filled day. Throwing on clothes, leaving the cabin to find coffee and a place to smoke.... not so much.

 

And while I probably should quit - might LIKE to quit - I refuse to be bullied into doing so, and I won't quit just to conform.

 

While others here state they won't be told to go elsewhere, I politely point out that we smokers have nowhere else to go. I realize smoking is a contentious topic, but my research into planning what should be a happy occasion has really made me feel like a second-class citizen and one not deserving of the same joy and happiness as others. I know that is not true, but MY GOSH! You'd think I was doing something illegal to hear some people talk.

 

Just remember that this is the Internet . Why anyone would allow themselves to feel "bullied" by anonymous board posters is beyond my comprehension . Just go and have a good time.

[cruz chic]

Unlike many of you, I am not a frequent cruiser. I've been on one cruise in my entire life - and it was six years ago. I've longed to share this experience with my husband, and as we celebrate our 35th anniversary this year, he suggested that maybe the time is now. We are finally empty-nesters and ready to enjoy life. So I eagerly began exploring cruises on the one and only cruise line I had ever experienced ... only to find out they recently changed their policies and now prohibit smoking on the balconies of the cabins.

 

I was even more crushed to find out this has happened pretty much industry-wide. I must tell you that it effectively took all the joy out of my search for a cruise. So I'm switching to HAL for my second, his first cruise, because it is apparently the only line that still permits smoking on the balcony.

 

We are not chain smokers. We won't spend every minute on our balcony, puffing away. But the first thing in the morning, last thing at night - while in our pajamas! - smoke is a luxury (yes, a luxury!) that we enjoy. Early morning coffee and a leisurely cigarette on our private balcony is a great way to ease into a fun filled day. Throwing on clothes, leaving the cabin to find coffee and a place to smoke.... not so much.

 

And while I probably should quit - might LIKE to quit - I refuse to be bullied into doing so, and I won't quit just to conform.

 

While others here state they won't be told to go elsewhere, I politely point out that we smokers have nowhere else to go. I realize smoking is a contentious topic, but my research into planning what should be a happy occasion has really made me feel like a second-class citizen and one not deserving of the same joy and happiness as others. I know that is not true, but MY GOSH! You'd think I was doing something illegal to hear some people talk.

I'm not sure who is telling you that you are a second class citizen:confused:. I have not seen anything of the sort. I'm surprised that you are surprised that smoking has been decreased over the years on cruise lines. I think that is an evolution that has Been going on for many years. For a very long time smokers had free rein to smoke anywhere. I'm not sure why you think a cruise is the only place left in the world for you to smoke. Surely land vacations must afford that opportunity. I agree that you should not be bullied into quitting. I don't think that happens very much on here. That is certainly your choice. I have also seen many very nasty posts from smokers about obese people. Neither comment is acceptable.

[luvs2read]

Just remember that this is the Internet . Why anyone would allow themselves to feel "bullied" by anonymous board posters is beyond my comprehension . Just go and have a good time.

Thank you! That is what we intend to do. ;)

[luvs2read]

I'm not sure why you think a cruise is the only place left in the world for you to smoke. Surely land vacations must afford that opportunity.

...

I'm sorry I wasn't more clear. When I said we have nowhere else to go, I meant HAL is the last cruise line that affords us the opportunity to smoke on our balcony. Yes, we can take many other vacations, but, as I pointed out in my post, I wanted to be able to share the cruise experience with my husband.

[cruz chic]

...

I'm sorry I wasn't more clear. When I said we have nowhere else to go, I meant HAL is the last cruise line that affords us the opportunity to smoke on our balcony. Yes, we can take many other vacations, but, as I pointed out in my post, I wanted to be able to share the cruise experience with my husband.

 

Thank you for clarifying that.

[freestyling]

...

I'm sorry I wasn't more clear. When I said we have nowhere else to go, I meant HAL is the last cruise line that affords us the opportunity to smoke on our balcony. Yes, we can take many other vacations, but, as I pointed out in my post, I wanted to be able to share the cruise experience with my husband.

 

I would certainly take your cruise in 2015 and enjoy it!! I do however believe that the the last cruise line that affords smoking on the balcony MAY change that policy starting in 2016.

[IRL_Joanie]

Unlike many of you, I am not a frequent cruiser. I've been on one cruise in my entire life - and it was six years ago. I've longed to share this experience with my husband, and as we celebrate our 35th anniversary this year, he suggested that maybe the time is now. We are finally empty-nesters and ready to enjoy life. So I eagerly began exploring cruises on the one and only cruise line I had ever experienced ... only to find out they recently changed their policies and now prohibit smoking on the balconies of the cabins.

 

I was even more crushed to find out this has happened pretty much industry-wide. I must tell you that it effectively took all the joy out of my search for a cruise. So I'm switching to HAL for my second, his first cruise, because it is apparently the only line that still permits smoking on the balcony.

 

We are not chain smokers. We won't spend every minute on our balcony, puffing away. But the first thing in the morning, last thing at night - while in our pajamas! - smoke is a luxury (yes, a luxury!) that we enjoy. Early morning coffee and a leisurely cigarette on our private balcony is a great way to ease into a fun filled day. Throwing on clothes, leaving the cabin to find coffee and a place to smoke.... not so much.

 

And while I probably should quit - might LIKE to quit - I refuse to be bullied into doing so, and I won't quit just to conform.

 

While others here state they won't be told to go elsewhere, I politely point out that we smokers have nowhere else to go. I realize smoking is a contentious topic, but my research into planning what should be a happy occasion has really made me feel like a second-class citizen and one not deserving of the same joy and happiness as others. I know that is not true, but MY GOSH! You'd think I was doing something illegal to hear some people talk.

I really like you!!! I'm with you on refusing to be bullied:)

 

Glad you are able to take your hubby and yourself on an anniversary cruise. Enjoy and ignore the comments here. What we see here on these boards in a speck of dust compared to the people on the ships. Someone mentioned a while back that CC members are only about 2% of actual cruise passengers, I believe it and ignore the regular anti- smokers who take offense at what we find to be an enjoyable habit. I find that the more we present our case(s) for our smoking, the more vocal some become against us. So, just grin and bear it and know it will not be like this on your cruise:)

 

Joanie

[sail7seas]

...

I'm sorry I wasn't more clear. When I said we have nowhere else to go, I meant HAL is the last cruise line that affords us the opportunity to smoke on our balcony. Yes, we can take many other vacations, but, as I pointed out in my post, I wanted to be able to share the cruise experience with my husband.

 

Sadly for such a large percentage of us, smokers enjoyment can be a cause for our lack of enjoyment. THat is the reason some of us are so eager for HAL to recognize smoking in places that disturbs others is no longer acceptable by a large number of towns, cities, states, countries. We don't see cities/countries making MORE spaces available for smokers..... we see many restricting those areas.

 

[sail7seas]

...

I'm sorry I wasn't more clear. When I said we have nowhere else to go, I meant HAL is the last cruise line that affords us the opportunity to smoke on our balcony. Yes, we can take many other vacations, but, as I pointed out in my post, I wanted to be able to share the cruise experience with my husband.

 

Sadly for such a large percentage of us, smokers enjoyment can be a cause for our lack of enjoyment. THat is the reason some of us are so eager for HAL to recognize smoking in places that disturbs others is no longer acceptable by a large number of towns, cities, states, countries and cruise lines. We don't see cities/countries making MORE spaces available for smokers..... we see many restricting those areas. I think it is time HAL did as so many other cruise lines have done and ban verandah smoking. No second hand smoke is acceptable anymore.

 

I think my point is while you have a 'private verandah' you are sharing that space with neighbors and what you smoke on that verandah does not always stay on that verandah.

 

 

Edited February 9, 2015 by sail7seas

[cavecreekguy]

Unlike many of you, I am not a frequent cruiser. I've been on one cruise in my entire life - and it was six years ago. I've longed to share this experience with my husband, and as we celebrate our 35th anniversary this year, he suggested that maybe the time is now. We are finally empty-nesters and ready to enjoy life. So I eagerly began exploring cruises on the one and only cruise line I had ever experienced ... only to find out they recently changed their policies and now prohibit smoking on the balconies of the cabins.

 

I was even more crushed to find out this has happened pretty much industry-wide. I must tell you that it effectively took all the joy out of my search for a cruise. So I'm switching to HAL for my second, his first cruise, because it is apparently the only line that still permits smoking on the balcony.

 

We are not chain smokers. We won't spend every minute on our balcony, puffing away. But the first thing in the morning, last thing at night - while in our pajamas! - smoke is a luxury (yes, a luxury!) that we enjoy. Early morning coffee and a leisurely cigarette on our private balcony is a great way to ease into a fun filled day. Throwing on clothes, leaving the cabin to find coffee and a place to smoke.... not so much.

 

And while I probably should quit - might LIKE to quit - I refuse to be bullied into doing so, and I won't quit just to conform.

 

While others here state they won't be told to go elsewhere, I politely point out that we smokers have nowhere else to go. I realize smoking is a contentious topic, but my research into planning what should be a happy occasion has really made me feel like a second-class citizen and one not deserving of the same joy and happiness as others. I know that is not true, but MY GOSH! You'd think I was doing something illegal to hear some people talk.

 

I was a cigarette smoker for 25 years. I'm glad I was finally able to kick the habit, but I hold no ill will to others who smoke.

 

When I was a smoker, I never really realized how far the smell traveled. My next door neighbor smokes on his patio, and if I have my back window or door open, the smell comes in. I don't enjoy it, but he's on his patio, so I really have nothing to say about it.

[Blue Mudshark]

"The issue is HAL's smoking policy and some argue that the policy should be altered to prohibit smoking on veranda balconies. Others argue that the purpose of such a prohibition is unnecessary. The validity of such an argument is contingent upon the severity of the negative health effects of second hand tobacco smoke."

 

The validity of that contingency has not been shown. The severity of the negative health effects of second hand tobacco smoke is clearly not the only smoking-related issue involved in the policy regarding tobacco smoking on the balconies, and even if it were the only issue, that still doesn't make the ship's exhaust relevant to the smoking issue.

[cruisemom42]

Yes, that. Non-smoker have been said to be demanding according to smokers here, but let's face it, smoking and forcing people off their balcony is a form of bullying.

 

I don't see any need to amp up the already-hot "rhetoric" on this thread.

 

If you are going to use the criteria you state, then nonsmokers attempting to force smokers off their balconies (where smoking is currently allowed by the cruise line) is also a form of bullying.

 

I have read many times on these threads where smokers have stated they will do things ranging from playing loud music to becoming confrontational to using water guns to spray smokers who are smoking where they are entitled by HAL to smoke....

[babyher]

I don't see any need to amp up the already-hot "rhetoric" on this thread.

 

If you are going to use the criteria you state, then nonsmokers attempting to force smokers off their balconies (where smoking is currently allowed by the cruise line) is also a form of bullying.

 

I have read many times on these threads where smokers have stated they will do things ranging from playing loud music to becoming confrontational to using water guns to spray smokers who are smoking where they are entitled by HAL to smoke....

 

 

 

Second hand smoke will never harm a non smoker as bad as spraying me with water while I am smoking in a smoking area

[luvs2read]

Being an inexperienced cruiser, I ask this with all sincerity, and hope my wording comes across as such.

 

I started exploring trip options with very limited knowledge of what has happened in the cruise industry in the years since I took my one and only cruise. All I knew was that I had had a cabin with a balcony, it was a delightful experience I shared with gal pals, and I wanted a similar experience to share with my husband.

 

When I started exploring affordable trips, I had a wide range of trips from which to choose - on a number of cruise lines. It was only when I started reading smoking policies (re: verandahs/balconies) on the various cruise lines that I realized how really very limited my options were. Holland America (as far as I can tell) is pretty much IT if we wanted our early morning/late night cigarettes on our balcony.

 

(Sorry - my cat posted before I was ready!) :D

 

Continuing.....

 

So, my question: with the seemingly endless options afforded cruisers who don't smoke and don't like smokers on the verandah, why do they choose HAL, which permits it, over the other lines which prohibit it? What am I missing?

Edited February 9, 2015 by luvs2read

[LMaxwell]

So, my question: with the seemingly endless options afforded cruisers who don't smoke and don't like smokers on the verandah, why do they choose HAL, which permits it, over the other lines which prohibit it? What am I missing?

 

Itinerary is one chief reason to choose any particular line over another.

[cruisemom42]

I don't see any need to amp up the already-hot "rhetoric" on this thread.

 

If you are going to use the criteria you state, then nonsmokers attempting to force smokers off their balconies (where smoking is currently allowed by the cruise line) is also a form of bullying.

 

I have read many times on these threads where smokers have stated they will do things ranging from playing loud music to becoming confrontational to using water guns to spray smokers who are smoking where they are entitled by HAL to smoke....

 

Sorry -- just noticed that should have said "nonsmokers".

 

 

 

Babyher -- your response is not exactly helping the situation either!

 

 

All these "in your face" statements DO cause fear among folks that there will be some kind of altercation.

 

People can say what they like about it "only" being an internet forum, but it's been shown in other contexts that threats made on the internet often eventually translate into real-life actions on the part of some.

 

I know that I regret sharing some of the posts made here with my parents (smokers) who now are somewhat afraid that if they cruise they will be met with some sort of bad behavior from others.