Newby Question:Is smoking a problem on HAL?

[Songhee]

We are VERY anti smoking and just spoke to friends who have just been on a Princess ship. They said the smoking was dreadful; nowhere on the ship was smoke free and it even wafted into their cabin.
My DH is ready to cancel if HAL is going to be the same. We are booked on the Zuiderdam. Any comments for us?

[gizmo]

Smoking is permitted in certain areas of the ship.
Lounges have areas for smoking.
The casino allows smoking.
The aft pool allows smoking usually just on one side.
Lido pool has smoking areas.
Smoking is permitted in all cabins and verandahs.

There is no smoking in the main show room or the dining room.

How much smoking takes place on a ship is difficult to answer since it would depend on how many smokers are on a given cruise. I would say smokers do keep to the smoking areas on Hal ships.

You said you were VERY anti smoking. You many want to look into Oceania cruises. Smoking is not allowed in cabins but there is an area on the ship for smoking. The people on the Oceania board could give you ore information.

[eldercruser]

We have been on several HAL cruises. The only area that I have noticed to be "smoky" is the casino. Having said that, you could have a chain smoker next to out on the verandah smoking away the entire cruise.

The smoking areas in the lounges are well separated in my opinion and have never given us any problem.

[duck tune]

We have been on 5 HAL cruises, just finished a cruise to Alaska on the Zaandam. We are non-smokers and have never had an odor of smoke in any cabin. I don't know how they do it but the circulation and cleaning process removes all traces of any smoke. The place that seems to have the highest concentration of smoke is the Casino so I recommend that you avoid that area. Smoking areas in the lounges/bars are clearly identified and we have not had a problem with smoke when enjoying any of those areas. The cruise we just completed addressed the smoking issues in a written letter delivered to each cabin - no doubt as a result of the fire on another cruiseline as a result of smoking in the cabin. It would be nice if non-smoking cruises were offered as options.

[peaches from georgia]

It would be nice if non-smoking cruises were offered as options.
Carnival used to have a cruiseship that was totally non-smoking. Evidently it was not profitable because they no longer have non-smoking cruises.

[mike35]

You said you were VERY anti smoking. You many want to look into Oceania cruises. Smoking is not allowed in cabins but there is an area on the ship for smoking. The people on the Oceania board could give you ore information.

We are very allergic to smoke, and we love Oceania because of its very limited smoking policy: no smoking in any cabin or balcony (strictly enforced), and in very limited places on the ship (one small area outdoors, and a corner of the Horizons lounge, away from the "masses"). Absolutely no smoking in the casino, dining rooms, other public areas, bars, etc. And Oceania is going out just about fully booked as much as a year in advance. Seems to work for many of us!

Mike

[debjo]

Thanks for the "tip" about OCEANIA cruise line...I'll have to keep that in mind for future cruises.

To the Original Poster...I'm very sensitive (allergies & asthma) to any kinds of smoke and have never really had any problem on any of the ships we've been on...but haven't yet taken a HAL cruise. I just stay away from the casinos during peak hours...I pop in there to take my pictures during the day time when very few people are in there. I also give the smoking lounges a wide berth, as well as the areas adjacent to them. I always learn which side of the outside decks are for the smokers and which side is for the non-smokers. The only "real" problem I ever encountered was when I had a balcony cabin on the "side" of the ship. We had a cigar smoker in one of the cabins forward from ours and as the ship sailed forth, the cigar smoke made it's way "back" as that passenger enjoyed their balcony. Needless to say, I wasn't able to "enjoy" my balcony as much as I would have liked. On my next cruise, I booked a balcony cabin in the "forward" section of the ship...I figured that my chances were diminished greatly, with less cabins toward the front of the ship from mine, that I'd encounter another "smoker" out enjoying their balcony as the ship sailed. That worked out great on that cruise.

My next cruise is with HAL on the WESTERDAM and I've booked one of the aft corner balcony cabins...that way, I think I should have good airflow on the oversized balcony so any "adjacent" smokers won't spoil my verandah enjoyment. I'm sure to post the experience when I return...I hope it works out. One good thing is that my "non-smoking" cousins are occupying the cabin right next to ours...at least I won't have to worry about them! :-)

Debjo

[Songhee]

I'm sure we can manage if there are many non-smoking areas and as recommended, we will avoid the Casino (sob) and the smoking lounges. Thanks also for the tip about Oceania. It's too late to change this cruise, but we will look into that for another time. We are around smokers less and less and find that smoking is just smelly and distasteful -- luckily, I think most people are getting the message and are being more thoughtful about their habit. Thanks everyone for the info.

[LetsGoAgain]

I also believe that there are non-smoking times in the casino(at least on the Zuiderdam there was), so perhaps you will be lucky that way as well. It seems to usually be from 5:30PM to 10:30PM or so on certain days. I truly wish the cabins were non-smoking as well, as we have unfortunately experienced some "smoke" residue in our cabins on occasion. One was so bad we had to have the shower curtain changed, and the bed spread removed from the cabin, but that was a couple of years ago. No problem since(except) on our recent RCCL cruise, where the smoke smell drifted into our bathroom from the next door cabin, plus they coughed all night long(thin walls).

[zaandam_2]

I'm sure we can manage if there are many non-smoking areas and as recommended, we will avoid the Casino (sob) and the smoking lounges. Thanks also for the tip about Oceania. It's too late to change this cruise, but we will look into that for another time. We are around smokers less and less and find that smoking is just smelly and distasteful -- luckily, I think most people are getting the message and are being more thoughtful about their habit. Thanks everyone for the info.

If its too late to change, why did you bring it up? Your 1st post said you were ready to cancel. I don't think you're going to have a positive experience since you are VERY anti smoking. The suggestion about Oceania was excellent. Many river barges have similar policies against smoking.

[5 in OK]

Songhee

My mom is ultra sensitive to smoke so we did some research as well to be sure she wouldn't be miserable.

The casino is always a smoking area, however, this area is very easy to avoid - even when walking to the Vista Lounge (Showroom) you had to walk by the casino - the smoke was never a problem or offensive.

There was only one day in the LIDO pool area that it was bad - but it was raining outside so they pretty much migrated to the pool area. We found the smokers to be very sensitive and polite- they mostly congregated in one area to visit and smoke. The kids in the pool were far enough away that they never noticed. And, when it quit raining they opened up the retractable roof and all the smoke cleared up.

We weren't in the lounges - so can't really say if it was a problem there.

Never smelled smoke in any of the dining areas (except the LIDO pool).

A couple of times when the wind was blowing just right we could smell a cigar from someone below our balcony - but it wasn't too bad. My dad actually said it was a very expensive cigar - he enjoyed it. :D

Keep up a good attitude and don't worry about the smoke. You are going to have a wonderful cruise!! It is just so much fun!!!:)

[Scrumpy]

I think most people are getting the message and are being more thoughtful about their habit...

I hope you have a great cruise, but I do worry about your attitude when I read that last comment. Until our most recent cruise, I had never had any trouble with smoking/non-smoking conflict. This time was different. At least once a day, every single day, a group of non-smokers would enter a smoking area in a lounge and then make faces, give dirty looks, or otherwise show their discomfort in spite of the fact that on every occasion there were many available non-smoking tables. Please make sure that you avoid smoking areas; they are clearly marked. Oceania might be better for you next time. They have been recommended to us repeatedly, but with a smoking policy that restrictive, it is out of the question.

[doone]

My sister is allergic to smoke and is about as anit-smoking as they come. She's been on 2 HAL cruises, the most current was the Volendam this past February. If anyone was to complain about smoke, it would be her. She didn't have a complaint in the world. She steered away from the smoking areas and had a wonderful time. I hope you do as well.

[starysacz]

Cigar smokers on either side of us on our verandah suite from 7:00 a.m. throughout the day on sea days. We had 10 sea days on the cruise to Hawaii and had very limited use of the verandah. Our request to either party to let us know when they would be out on the verandah did not work. Of course, they had their rights.:mad:

[herb]

The only time we have noticed any BLATANT disregard for the smoking rules on a cruise was our RCI cruise on the Voyager of the Seas by a group of Europeans who I suppose decided that the rules of where you can and cannot smoke was only meant for Americans. Throughout the cruise they were very noticeable because they would all start drinking very early during the day and then go about smoking EVERYWHERE they were. When confronted by the staff, they would yell at them in Italian, then laugh and walk away. BTW, they were the same group we saw getting yelled at by the staff when the mothers decided that their babies could go in the pool with diapers on!

[bruceh4]

I am a non smoker and have never had a problem on a HAL ship. I just stay clear of the designated smoking areas, except for the casino:D If I am in the casino and a smoke is bothering me then I leave. Which is probably a good idea anyway:eek:

[cruiserfromohio]

While I have never experienced a situation on HAL where smokers smoked in areas other than designated for smoking, you can still come across some places where smoking can disrupt your enjoyment of a activity. If you're sensitive to smoke, forget the casino -- always has the pall of smoke over it. The sports bar which is in close proximity to the casino is the same way. We were on the Ryndam this spring and the piano bar could be bad WRT smoke -- the air patterns were such that the air carried the smoke to the non-smoking areas. Bottom line it can be catch as catch can and depends geatly on the number of smokers in a given area at a given time.:mad: