Smoking on your balcony is out! Gratuities are going up.

I really think its funny that everyone gets so hot on the smoking subject.

 

Let people smoke on their balconies. The ship is traveling at 21 knots. There is no lingering smoke, its outside!

 

Some people aren't going to stop being offended unless they shoot everyone that smokes.

Wow I must have been mistaken add to what that smell on my balcony was last cruise.

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Sigh.... this is ridiculous. The whole reason I booked Carnival this time around was because I knew I'd be allowed to smoke a cigar out on my balcony. I understand that smoke iritates some folks and something should be done about that, but an outright ban of balcony smoking is just over the top. This is going to cause the casino to be overwhelmed with smokers, as well as the one or two other public smoking sections...like out on the lido deck, where there is nothing to stop the smoke from drifting into the nonsmoking section. This is a bad move. I like the idea of classifying one side of the ship's balconies as smoke-free and keeping the other side as-is.

I remember when the law passed to ban smoking in all restaurants and bars, smoker's were obviously upset about it and said they would just not go out to dinner anymore. Well, they do and just go outside to smoke.

 

Would a smoker, that really enjoys Carnival cruise line, plan a different vacation because they couldn't smoke on their balcony? They do have areas on the ship they can smoke.

 

I'm a smoker and still would enjoy cruising. Simple solution is go to designated smoking areas. My husband is a non-smoker and when we book a hotel room, I always get a non-smoking room out of respect for him. This keeps me in check and when I'm on vacation the excitement of not being home in the same routine make me more happier than lighting up:)

 

I just don't see that happening. That would be "cutting off your nose to spite your face" kind of logic?

 

I think eventually, all cruise lines will go this route. I just can't believe people that love to cruise AND love to smoke, would stop cruising because they couldn't smoke on the balcony.

I fell in love with cruising when I took my first cruise in September of 2013. Nothing will stop me from cruising. As well all know, smoking is banned in so many places now and one just has to adjust. I'm a respectful smoker and do not light up in my car when I'm out with friends who are non-smokers. They always tell me, its your car do what you want. I always so no because it make me uncomfortable and I respect and envy that they never picked up the habit.

I am very happy with the no more smoking on the balconies! I can enjoy myself now and don't have to worry about the smoke!

I do not care either way about the staff getting raises, DH handles all of that. They do work hard so I am cool with it.

Our local Indian casino went smoke free and it is more packed with people than ever. I certainly hope the balconys being smoke free is true. I think it's ridiculous for smokers to think its their right to smoke there with no consideration to the people in the balcony next door.

This struck me kind of wrong...I was thinking the whole time I was reading through these posts...not ONE non-smoker, to the point of your post, has said they asked their smoking neighbors to not smoke while they were enjoying their balcony. As a smoker, who enjoys my balcony time, I would have absolutely no issue with not lighting up while my neighbor was outside. And I can bet, 99% of the other smokers feel the same way. Of course, you'll always have the difficult people, on both sides of the coin....I think it's ridiculous for non-smokers to think it's their right to b*tch about the smoker next door on their balcony when that's one of the places available for a smoker to smoke. Where's the consideration of that? If you asked your neighbor, politely, perhaps they'd refrain from smoking. Courtesy goes a long ways for both sides.

That being said, it's not really a deal breaker, but since DH has been wanting to branch out from cruising anyways if this is true, we will definitely consider a AI next time if our enjoyment factor is detracted from.

Tips - eh, the ship staff work hard, they deserve anything they get.

This is going to cause the casino to be overwhelmed with smokers, .

wow.. I think we found a reason that carnival is doing this.. get off your balcony, go smoke and spend some money in the casino. :cool:

it might be a big win for Carnival.

IF the smoking ban is true.... The reason given should be/will be because of the fire hazard. So why would/should they ban ecigs on balconies? They need to address the ecig policy.

 

I am sure someone will complain about the vapor from the ecig also, but it's should be about compromise, if you are gonna take something away you should give a viable alternative.

 

I think take away the actual cigarettes on balconies, but allow e-cigs ( no fire hazard ).

The good thing about E cigs is they only affect others if they see them being used. You can use them freely in your cabin even now as they don't contain smoke, and we will continue to use them on our balcony, on ANY line.

Me too. And to be honest try to stop me. I hear a knock on the door, I'll fling the butt and say I smelled it too, I think it was the room below me.

You do realize the cameras on the balcony would be able to verify that it was you that was smoking on the balcony?:D

The good thing about E cigs is they only affect others if they see them being used. You can use them freely in your cabin even now as they don't contain smoke, and we will continue to use them on our balcony, on ANY line.

Growing up, I was always mortified when my mom went into her fake coughing spell, exaggerated face fanning routine. I still hate it to this day. Really?

I think there is a compromise in port side balconies are non smoking and starboard are smoking.... How easy is that to make everyone happy???

There are people who book a certain side of the ship for views. For example, some people, both smokers and non-smokers, believe if one is on the port side when the ship docs, seeing the island side is better than seeing the water. The next complaint if your policy were to be adopted, would be that one wanted to see the island but was forced to face the sea when in port or vice versa.

We have traveled in balconies for years and we are both non-smokers. At times we smelled smoke when we were in port and other times when a cigar smoker was next to us, it didn't matter if out to sea or in port as we could smell the cigar.

I also am wondering if the smoking policy on all ships in the casino will be the same as that of the Dream when we sailed from Pt Canaveral. There was smoking at the casino bar which was not originally the case, I think, but there wasn't a real smokey smell. The slot machine area had a small smoking area with signs stating one could only smoke when playing the machines. They also had employees walking around to be sure that policy was followed. To me, it is the way to go.

I know I am upsetting smokers, but in today's world there are few areas that allow smoking and I think Carnival is now getting with the times. JMO.

The fact is if the cruise industry paid the rank and file crew members a "livable" wage by American standards, it would be terribly too expensive for most of us to cruise, because again, those costs are passed on to the consumer to absorb.

Why would a foreign corporation employing foreign workers who don't live in the US even consider paying wages based on US wages? The workers don't live here and the money they make is generally far above the average wage of their home country.

I hope that some of the increased tip goes to the security guys. I get off and on the ship at every port, and sometimes I forget to tip them.

 

Does anyone know if they will expand the casino and increase its hours to accommodate the smokers?

Why would you tip security?

I think tipping has gotten out of control. There are certain positions that deserve tips, or tipping is a normal thing, i.e., hair / nail personnell, wait staff, room stewards / housekeeping, bar staff, people handling bags, drivers, etc. However, there are certain positions that shouldn't be tipped. I'm not tipped to sit at my desk and do my job. Security shouldn't be tipped. The guy working the cash register at starbucks shouldn't be tipped. There are tip jars everywhere. When I was a teen and worked in fast food, we weren't allowed to be tipped, and that is how it should be in certain positions. I don't get why people think everyone should be tipped.... :confused:

It's true. I just saw the letter to TAs.

I just told my mom (a smoker) about this. Her, my aunt, grandma and I are all planning a cruise for later this year. I asked her if this would bother her at all (since we were planning on getting 2 balcony rooms), she said no. I asked her, if she would want me to look at another cruise line, she said, no. I asked her, how about an all inclusive instead, she said no, we're going on a cruise. I kept saying, no smoking on the balcony, she didn't care, she would just go outside on lido or another place. thank god, she doesn't care!!!

And for those saying, you may have to rethink your plans because of this new rule, some resorts are non smoking completely! (the one my parents went to in Jamaica was, and my mom had no idea lol).

Everyone is saying, carnival will have a hard time filling the ships, Celebrity and royal have no problem since they have had the no smoking on balcony policy.

I'll now book a balcony are Carnival if the price is good. Before, we avoided paying extra for a balcony not knowing whether we'd be caught between chain smokers and not be able to enjoy it when we wanted to.

Pittsburgh, I agree, but it wouldn't hurt them to make 1/2 non smoking. That way, everyone can pick a non smoking balcony. I as a smoker have been saying for over a year that would be a smart idea, either way we will know for sure this week.

Seeing as only 20% of the public smokes, it seems a waste to make 1/2 the balconies smoking.

I love it! Thank you Carnival. Finally. Otherwise, I'm here just to watch the thread. This should be fun.

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IF this rumor is true I disagree but can live with the tipping increase.

However, we book a balcony suite primarily to enjoy a smoke outside while enjoying a drink and the view. Should CCL ban smoking on balconies then we will look elsewhere for our vacations. :(

I have read the actual letter dated today from Vickie that states no more smoking on the balconies as of October 9, 2014 and the increase in tips

You do realize the cameras on the balcony would be able to verify that it was you that was smoking on the balcony?:D

There are cameras on the balconies??!! Ruh roh. :o:eek: I guess security has seen some things they probably don't want to....

at the moment, ecigs have the same rules as cigarettes. if they dont change that, you cant use ecigs on balconies either

I could use an eCig on my balcony and nobody would ever know. No smoke. No smell.

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I have read the actual letter dated today from Vickie that states no more smoking on the balconies as of October 9, 2014 and the increase in tips

Of course the week AFTER our cruise it begins:( This will make our family happy for the future cruises though!

If this becomes official, it seems that our August cruise on the Pride will be our last Carnival cruise. The DW smokes and really enjoys her time on the balcony. A non-smoking policy on balconies will lead us to other vacation options.:( I guess that NCL will become our cruise line.

I would bet all of the cruise lines will band smoking on the balcony in the near future.I 'm glad for the change . I stopped booking a balcony because it was a gamble whether you wold be able to use it or not.

Growing up, I was always mortified when my mom went into her fake coughing spell, exaggerated face fanning routine. I still hate it to this day. Really?

I don't remember how this came up, but my kid one day told me her teacher told the class that if they see a smoker, to do that exact thing.

After laughing, I told her the only impact that has is to make the person doing that look foolish. Nothing more.