Mercury PNW 10/1 4 smoke filled nights.

[woodofpine]

He called attention to the smell outside the main dining room before anyone could comment on it. Celebrity officially calls it a "feta cheese smell" . He said they cannot locate the source of it..

 

We had a great time and just avoided that entrance to the DR.

Marsha

 

Short of not eating dinner, how do you avoid the entrance to the main dining room?

 

But those comments by ship staff are BIZARRE! :rolleyes: I wonder what they would call persistantly backed up toilets... "earthy chocolate"!? :eek:

 

On the business of Carnival's Paradise (non-smoking) I don't think that Carnival's experience necessarily means much. Carnival I'd guess has a higher smoker demographic than many lines and Carnival's experiment with Paradise simply doesn't mean that fleet selective all or nothing is the proper appraoch. As a matter of fact, it means that it isn't the way to go.

 

I think the major US based lines should dedicate one lounge to smokers (like the old Michaels), plus the Casino, and make the rest of the ship smoke free (including all cabins and open deck). I'm a former smoker myself, I'm not dogmatic against smoking but realistically the super majority ARE rightfully bothered by it.

 

Otherwise, there's always Costa.

[TravelerThom]

... Guest relations was advised and said there are no "Non Smoking Cabins" on the ship despite the published policy of No Smoking on the starboard side....

I have never smoked, so I am not being defensive on this, but Celebrity's No Smoking starboard policy has always applied to decks and lounges, never to cabins (or the casino). I would be happy if they had no smoking cabins, but to the best of my knowledge they never have. I have never been bothered by smoke in the rooms [and I can detect smoke from a car in front of me on the highway (my friends think this is crazy, but every time I've been challenged on this I can pull up to the next car and see someone smoking)] so they do a good job of smoke elimination. That said, I sure that at least some luck has been involved on my part, and I don't doubt that smoky rooms are out there.

[bububr]

Not sure of what the current policy is....

 

It used to be you COULD smoke cigars,pipes and cigarettes in Michaels Club.

 

The last time on Mercury, they had banned smoking all together in the Club and weren't selling cigars...Not quite sure if it was temporary or permanent.

 

However the entire IDEA of Micheals club was a traditional Cigar smoking pianobar/lounge type club and should allow smoking period.

 

So I totally agree with your post. While I'm not a cigar smoker, it was nice to sometimes take a whiff of a nice one. And entering the club I knew what kind of atmosphere I would be in.

 

Dave:eek:

[Drew B]

I think the major US based lines should dedicate one lounge to smokers (like the old Michaels), plus the Casino, and make the rest of the ship smoke free (including all cabins and open deck).

 

 

No!!! You must have at least some outdoor area for smoking. I suggest one side of one deck at the aft, so it would have the least effect on non-smokers. Many people PREFER to smoke outside, and smoke is much less pernicious outside (where most of it drifts away). If every smoker on the ship smoked every one of their cigarettes in one lounge and in the casino, those places would be absolutely disgusting! It would be intolerable for smokers, non-smokers, and especially the poor people who had to work there...

[Westie1]

Yes, the Martini bar did still smell of vomit. I had read about it in an earlier post before we cruised. My question is, if I knew about it in advance , why doesn't Celebrity take care of it??? A comment to the first post on 9020 room. We were 9024 on this 3 night cruise, Our room smelled of smoke because it was filling up the hallways and coming in thru our vent. It was the first time in 5 cruises I have ever had to be in a stinky hallway and room. I really enjoyed the weekend. It was a fun get away, I think I have learned to pay close attention to the age of ships. I do think it makes a difference. Hope they fix the smell.....

[Drew B]

My question is, if I knew about it in advance , why doesn't Celebrity take care of it???

 

According to Marsha, they admit to being stumped by the smell. They've tried to locate the source and have cleaned everything, but they have been unsuccessful...

[rucruizin]

Just a side note...

 

Carnival once had a non-smoking ship (Carnival Paradise). This only lasted a few years.

 

Rumors were that people so against smoking that they would only go on a non-smoking ship did not gamble and/or drink much, if at all, and that is how the ship makes a lot of their money. Carnival discontinued it and moved it to LA. This is NOT my opinion, just rumors I have heard in the travel industry.

 

I quit smoking 4 years ago (which I never should have started, I am 37 now) however I can easily be around it because I was there once. I also can understand how people who are allergic, do not want it to affect their health, clothes, cabins etc feel. I can see both sides.

 

I just found it interesting that the smoke free ship did not last. Does anyone have any more info or opinions on that.

 

Being on the West Coast I think that I am always one of the last ones to post at night. Feels lonely sometimes he he.

 

Thanks again everyone for all your advice and thoughts.

 

Gina J

 

I loved the Paradise...:D

 

I could see several problems with the WHOLE concept. For one, it reapeated the same itinerary year after year, after year. Well, it alternated Eastern, and Western routes while in operation as a NON-SMOKING vessel.

 

While it is true that non-smokers tend to drink less, and gamble less, the ship still made money from those sources. We quit sailing her after the third time simply because we were bored with the itinerary, and the same, exact ship 3 times in a row.

 

I was told that they had a hard time filling up the ships. They rarely had large group bookings. Think about it...say your company wants to send it's top selling people on a group trip. They couldn't book the Paradise even if there was only one smoker out of 100 other people on the cruise.

 

Same with family reunions, weddings, clubs, or just about any other group you could think of. The whole family could be smoke free but if your step uncle smokes...he's either not invited, or you find another ship.

 

So, the non-smoking ship while a fabulous idea in theory...almost impossible to make it work.

 

What needs to happen is a happy medium. I don't care if people want to smoke, but there needs to be a place for non-smokers to escape it completely. On the other hand, you can't sit on the smoking side of the ship, and complain about someone who lights up.

 

I was emailing back, and forth with Bob Dickinson, former Carnival CEO. He told me they planned on banning smoking in the casino. I told him..."that is the dumbest idea I have ever heard." Coming from an avid non-smoker, I think he was a little surprised at my comment. Whenever he asked my opinion about something, he knew I would tell him my honest opinion.

[Pinot]

Thanks to all of you who have carried this thread from my original posting about Cabin 9020. I think we can all agree that smoke filled passageways, cabins, public spaces and sanitary issues must be dealt with by ships company/hotel management. Mercury has Hawaii, South Pacific and AZ/NZ cruises coming up and I don't think any of us would want to on board for 12-14 days in an inside or outside cabin under these conditions. It is important that you voice your concerns on the cruise comment cards and if necessary a letter to RCCI/Celebrity Management.

We are booked on Azamara Quest (a Celebrity Company) for 14 days in the spring. Azamara has adopted a smoking policy that is similar to Oceania. It they choose to not enforce it, they will just be another average small ship line. Oceania Cruises fills their ships a year in advance with long waiting lists for their unique product. Celebrity, are you listening?

[Mellowtraveler]

We are going to be cruising on the Mercury, October 12th. Wrote to them yesterday regarding the strange odor. Here is the reply I received.

 

"Thank you for your e-mail. We appreciate the opportunity to respond

to your inquiry.

 

An e-mail has gone to the Mercury asking about the smell that you

describe. The answer from the Chief Engineer and the Staff Engineer

state that there is no bad smell found in the area mentioned.

 

Thank you for choosing Celebrity Cruises. We look forward to seeing

you onboard!

 

Sheila Whedon

Customer Service Representative"

 

Will let you know what I find when we return.

[janabelle61]

Short of not eating dinner, how do you avoid the entrance to the main dining room?

 

There are four entrances to the dining room - 2 on deck six (port and starboard) and 2 on deck five. Unless you are entering the dining room on deck six starboard, you would never be aware of the problem. On the 9/21 sailing, our party used the deck five port side entrance and until I read the comments on CC, I was unaware of the issue.

[janabelle61]

... Being on the West Coast I think that I am always one of the last ones to post at night. Feels lonely sometimes.

Gina J

 

Gina - I know exactly what you mean! Feels like I end alot of threads :)

[paintedduck]

janabelle and gina, glad you are there to keep something for me to read in late west coast time.

gary

[CatServants]

........

But those comments by ship staff are BIZARRE! :rolleyes: I wonder what they would call persistantly backed up toilets... "earthy chocolate"!? :eek:

...............

 

 

 

:D:D LOL! LOL!! LOL!!! :D:D

 

Denise

[Westie1]

From my previous experience with the smell near the Martini bar. Once you notice it , you just need to avoid it. That is what we did. It only takes one time walking to dinner and you will remember to find a different route. Too bad they won't at least admit they have an issue. Sometimes that is all people want. Just to know they would be considering fixing it would be great. Just avoid the area. It is a shame tho,

As I said earlier, it is a fun cruise. If you go on a cruise and don't have fun someting is wrong. We were on the Pacific Coastal Sept. 28th.

[jlbl4902]

Ok so just for fun when I go on this ship on 10/26 I am now going to have to go and see about the smell.... :) I am sure we will have a great time even if we find the smell...:D

[janabelle61]

From my previous experience with the smell near the Martini bar. Once you notice it , you just need to avoid it. That is what we did. It only takes one time walking to dinner and you will remember to find a different route. Too bad they won't at least admit they have an issue. Sometimes that is all people want. Just to know they would be considering fixing it would be great. Just avoid the area. It is a shame tho,

As I said earlier, it is a fun cruise. If you go on a cruise and don't have fun someting is wrong. We were on the Pacific Coastal Sept. 28th.

 

Westie - I believe Marsda posted earlier that the crew has acknowledged the problem and have tried to fix it, but haven't been able to locate the source of the smell.

[elwood_98034]

I was on the Norwegian Sun out of Seattle this time last year, and had a very loud family below us (on the front of the ship) that were apparently in training for a gold medal in the smokers olympics.

 

The use of our balcony was totally out of the question when they were 'home', and our bathroom/dressing room used to fill up with smoke overnight, so that our clothes begun to stink of it.

 

I tried a few subtle hints with the neighbours, but after three or four days I simply reverted to direct verbal abuse. That was actually fairly effective.

 

It seemed that the husband didn't smoke, so the wife used to go outside, and share it with us up above. We were travelling with a baby and small boy, and really didn't appreciate it, as we were mobility limited and had to spend a lot of time in the cabin as it was.

 

When I read about 'smokers rights', I would like to point out that people smoke for their enjoyment - I don't smoke for my health. It is like peeing in a pool, having a 'peeing end', and 'non-peeing end' really doesn't work.

[Drew B]

It is like peeing in a pool, having a 'peeing end', and 'non-peeing end' really doesn't work.

 

 

That is the best - not to mention the funniest - analogy I've ever seen! Bravo!!!

 

I'd add, though, that if somebody knowingly chooses to jump into a pool that advertises a 'peeing end' and a 'non-peeing end', they shouldn't blame anybody but themself if they wind up with pee all over them!

[GinaJ]

I wonder if they pulled up the carpet if they would find a rotting floor underneath it? That could create a very bad smell.

 

Maybe they should just make that the smoking area and then noone would smell it HE HE.

 

Gina

[dkjretired]

That is the best - not to mention the funniest - analogy I've ever seen! Bravo!!!

 

I'd add, though, that if somebody knowingly chooses to jump into a pool that advertises a 'peeing end' and a 'non-peeing end', they shouldn't blame anybody but themself if they wind up with pee all over them!

 

Your not supposed to pee in the pool??????

[CatServants]

...... It is like peeing in a pool, having a 'peeing end', and 'non-peeing end' really doesn't work.

 

 

Elwood - LOL!:D LOL!!:D LOL!!!:D I LOVE an irreverent sense of humor! Sorry about the situation you went through, but honestly, that last sentence...:D:D!!!

 

Drew B - Not unusually, I agree with everything you said. Including the part about this being the funniest analogy ever! I TRULY laughed out loud as did my Randy when I read it to him. But you're right...if the rules say you can pee in the pool, don't be surprised when you swim in pee. Ugh! I'm going to go brush my teeth now!:D

 

Happy cruising!

 

Denise

[CatServants]

Your not supposed to pee in the pool??????

 

 

Don, stop it! I'm laughing so hard I'm going to go in my pants!:D:D:D

 

Denise

[gillianrose]

There are four entrances to the dining room - 2 on deck six (port and starboard) and 2 on deck five. Unless you are entering the dining room on deck six starboard, you would never be aware of the problem. On the 9/21 sailing, our party used the deck five port side entrance and until I read the comments on CC, I was unaware of the issue.

 

We haven't cruised on the Mercury recently, but we always used the Deck 6 Starboard entrance, since that's where our table was located. We liked the table very much and would have had that location again in December, except that I cancelled our Mercury cruises to Australia, New Zealand due to the extremely smelly smoke smells we experienced on the Infinity.

 

Smoke smells AND vomit smells? That would have been REALLY TOO MUCH! :eek:

[dkjretired]

Don, stop it! I'm laughing so hard I'm going to go in my pants!:D:D:D

 

Denise

 

 

I hope your not near a pool!!!!!!!

[Bemidji Ty]

Revealing quote from Oct 15, 2007 Newsweek, page 25,

 

"Smoking is more important than friends. I mean that."

Gary Lien of Diamond Bluff Wis.

 

Too bad.