Did You/Are You Switching Cruise Lines Because of HAL's Smoking Policies?

Don't shoot me but I'm really interested and, therefore, asking.....

Have you or are you planning to switch to HAL because you can no longer smoke on your favorite cruise line's verandah?

Have you or are you planning to switch cruise lines because you do not like that HAL continues to permit smoking on verandahs?

Do you have friends or family who are doing one or the other?

Thanks.

To answer your question Sail, I'm fairly certain my next cruise or two (after November) will be on Princess. I'm fed up with HAL being in the dark ages.

I'm going to stay with HA.

I'm so happy that I quit smoking 15 months ago! Now I can go back to my loved OV staterooms and not have to deal with the where can I have a smoke ordeal! And... because of price, I can cruise more often!

At this point, if I had a balcony booked, I would not be pleased to have inconsiderate smoker(s) beside me. Of course I would be tolerate though as there must have been times that my neighbor did not like that I smoked near them.

HA needs to follow suit of the other cruise lines. However, I do believe that all cruise lines should provide an acceptable area for smokers. Smoking cigarettes is still legal, after all. Non smokers should stay out of the area.

Don't shoot me but I'm really interested and, therefore, asking.....

 

Have you or are you planning to switch to HAL because you can no longer smoke on your favorite cruise line's verandah?

 

Have you or are you planning to switch cruise lines because you do not like that HAL continues to permit smoking on verandahs?

 

Do you have friends or family who are doing one or the other?

Thanks.

 

 

 

I have switch away from HAL. I am three stars on HAL, but have stayed away from HAL since Princess has no smoking on their verandahs. We do sail RCCL, but most times take a PR cabin. I also have done Azamara twice since I switched and also X

I have switched from HAL, we did Celebrity and now have rented a beach house for the past two years.

I have a cruise booked for next month and I think it will be my last. We are tired of the same old ports and all the hassles of cruising, fee for this, fee for that. I think we will try some all inclusives. From what I understand many also have nightly entertainment.

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We like HAL, very much so, but we save money now by booking inside or ov cabins. We'd go for a balcony but the smoking drives me crazy. Especially those cigars.:eek:

Only way we will cruise on HAL is in an inside cabin. We prefer balconies, but will not book them on HAL until they update their smoking policy to be in line with the rest of the cruise industry.

Switched to Celebrity from HAL after 21 days of smoke from surrounding balconies in February 2013. While we have booked a short Alaska cruise on the Oosterdam this September, as Celebrity didn't offer anything that fit our schedule, we booked an OV rather than taking a chance on wasting money on a balcony.

Didn't even consider HAL for our b2b med/TA next year as we want to enjoy a (smoke free) balcony.

We are staying. Partly from inertia, I confess. However, we always book verandahs or Neptune Suites and have never been bothered by smokers. OTOH, we don't cruise as often as many of the CC members.

We have also booked away from HAL. We have had better service on Norwegian as of late... yes you read that correctly. Plus we love the specialty restaurant package on NCL. We are 3 star on HAL and are soon to be platinum on NCL.

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I have an Alaska cruise on the Oosterdam booked for next summer. We have only sailed on HAL once before ( on the Oosterdam ) and got lucky that we didn't have any smoking neighbors. I booked a ( VD at the time ) cabin forward on the 4th deck thinking that would minimize the chances for smokers in front of us. That worked so I have booked in the same area ( but now a VB cabin ) for this next cruise. I don't like smoke but my husband HATES it and if we have issues on this next cruise with a neighbor who smokes, he will never sail HAL again. I know he'll complain about the casino if it's smoky because he loves his Texas Hold'em .

I am keeping my fingers crossed that HAL changes their policy before next July! This cruise will be at the end of a 3 week Alaska adventure and I'd hate for it to end on a bad note!

( I have just recently got my husband to cruise with me instead of only going with a friend, and I really don't want him to have a bad experience this time! He had no problems on Celebrity and I haven't told him about HAL's smoking policy since we got lucky last time on HAL both on our balcony and in the casino as well! )

We have a verandah on the stern booked on our upcoming Noordam TA. I'm just hoping we don't have smokers. If so, it'll be my last verandah.

I love sailing out of the ports in the Med...that's why I booked it.

But, we had an OV on the Noordam this winter and that was great...and will be what I book from now on until HAL changes the smoking policy.

We have several preferred cruise lines.

We have become much less inclined to select a HAL cruise over the past three years.

For our preferences/tastes etc, the HAL value proposition has diminished at a faster rate than that of several other lines.

We are in our early sixties, retired, and travel frequently.

but not X or Princess due to their smoking rules.

I'm surprised no one who smokes has commented they have moved over to HAL. Seems our theory about that happening may be exaggerated?

Yes Sail 7 we change because of their veranda smoking policy. Too bad because their beds are so comfortable.

Have you or are you planning to switch to HAL because you can no longer smoke on your favorite cruise line's verandah?

 

Have you or are you planning to switch cruise lines because you do not like that HAL continues to permit smoking on verandahs?

In the past couple years, my preference in cruise booking has been the lines with the more restrictive policies. It was this policy, alone, that tipped the scales to Celebrity over RCI and HAL for an Alaska cruise last year. It would have been the same story this year (RCI excluded now) if not for my cruise decision being itinerary driven. I'll still book HAL with the current policy, but they will not be my first choice and they will not be considered if another line has the same itinerary and is comparitively priced.

I'm surprised no one who smokes has commented they have moved over to HAL. Seems our theory about that happening may be exaggerated?

No surprise to me. I doubt that a smoker would book with HAL solely because of its smoking policy when there is no certainty that HAL won't change too.

It's a new angle on it and information which really interests me. That is why I asked.

 

No need to read it if you don't wish.

CC has a great feature some people may not be aware of. You can hover your mouse over the thread title and it will show the first words of the post. It is usually enough for you to know if you are interested.

 

I hover over the thread title all the time. I don't remember how I discovered it, but it helps in choosing a post.

Interesting Sail, thanks for posting.

We are keeping our options open. We have our first balcony stateroom booked and we hope we can use it without smoke or too much smoke. Hal fits us well but I can't stand smoke as my mum smoked every meal forl over 20 years. I hated it then and I hate it now. We would go back to insides or try an OV if it becomes an issue with the upcoming cruise.

But we like the smaller ships/boats so we may start taking more small boat cruising so we can see/do/learn more about the part of the world we are in. If HAL starts having ships with over 2500 people and lets their smaller ships (less than 2000) leave the fleet that will be a larger factor for us. The balcony stateroom on the Westerdam will be our test for how we like both the size of ship and how much we an use it (which is a lot, we hope).

We have tried Princess and Disney but still like HAL better.

Tried Celebrity, came back to HAL. Non smoker but have no prolem with HALs smoking policy.

Just what we need, another smoking thread.

 

How about giving it a rest!

 

Scott & Karen

Thank you for saying what 99.99% are thinking!!!

Joanie

We've tried Royal Caribbean and Princess, and really did not like either. I cant imagine switching from HAL... we truly love it.

As for smoking on the verandahs, it has only been an issue once but it was a big issue. Chain Smoker that never seemed to leave their verandah.

from what I've read, eliminating smoking typically doesn't have a long term effect when restaurants, bars, hotels make the change. Some leave and eventually come back, and others that don't care typicall fill their spots.

(Please don't ask me to provide a reference for that comment.. I threw that newspaper article out a long time ago :))

Just what we need, another smoking thread.

 

How about giving it a rest!

Can I hover over this comment and decide I'm not interested...? :p