HAL considering going totally non-smoking?

[hulamoon]

I think they will actually gain passengers as long as they have the most liberal policy. Very few lines allow smoking in cabins and balconies.

 

Smokers who want that amenity will move to HAL or Princess, and there are many guests who will be okay around the policy and many who won't notice.

 

But as the decade moves on smoking will decline inn the US and Europe. So it may not last.

[usha]

Once a upon a time opium and it's derivatives were legal in England.

Yup!

Where do you think COCA COLA originated?

Yes, exactly! It was made with cocaine, originally.

Not really allowed nowadays, I'm afraid.:eek:

[Rutland Gate]

I don't smoke - I did, a lot, but I don't now. ButI don't want to subsidise the fares for all those people who won't go on a cruise ship if they ban smoking - the non smokers may not drink or gamble either. So there go the prices. You can't fill ships with special interest groups, gays, or whatever, so why not let everybody just get along? HAL makes great efforts to have clean, non stinky cabins. Let it go.

[serendipity1499]

In 13 HAL cruises I've never smelled smoke in any of our cabins except on the last cruise..A passenger was medically disembarked on our last cruise..Our Friends were moved to that cabin because their air conditioner did not work & could not be fixed until they got back to FtL..Drapes, all bedding & even the shower curtain was changed in the new cabin..This is SOP when a Psgr is disembarked for any Medical reason..

 

No, I'm not. That's exactly the point I was making: That so long as smokers have a place to indulge, and that place is separated from non-smokers, then there should not be a problem.

 

I have seen too many posts from non-smokers insisting, no, demanding! that they should be able to go to any and every spot on the ship, and have that spot be smoke-free.

Nonsense. Smokers are entitled to an outside and an inside area that is set aside for them. No one else needs to go there.

 

Why is the fairness of that so hard for some non-smokers to grasp?

Rather than the never-ending go-round listing places where people should not smoke, why not a consensus on two places where it would be allowed?

 

Touché' Ruth..I'm in complete agreement with you!

 

The problem is that smoking is not like choosing to wear pink clothes, chewing gum or drinking alcohol--it's constituents simply cannot contain the dangerous by-product of their actions. I still remember the smoking area in high school--the reality was that anyone in a nearby hallway and even some classrooms in the vicinity were affected by the smoke. How many people have breathed second-hand smoke trying to enter buildings because smoking is prohibited inside and smokers are indulging right outside the building entrances?

 

To implement a smoking room or area adjacent to non-smoking areas is extremely expensive and my guess is that doing it on a space-limited cruise ship is simply cost-prohibitive. Most hotels, bars and restaurants have learned this basic truth a long, long time ago.

 

And all personal opinions on the subject aside, all of the arguments in favor of accommodating smoking on board a cruise ship ignore the far more critical and potentially catastrophic risk of fire.

 

I put your second paragraph in bold type..I'm no longer a smoker (stopped in the 70's) but understand that smoking is extremely difficult to give up..It took me several years to completely give it up..I agree with Ruth, smokers should have a seperate area to smoke in..

 

Oceania has been doing it for years! One inside & one outside area for smokers...It was a pleasure cruising on an Oceania ship with out the smell of smoke permeating the air in most public places & the hallways.... They will actually warn someone who is smoking on their balcony's only once & if they do it again they will put the person off the ship as one CC poster complained about..

See: .See Cruise Critic- Post Number 61: Dated Mar 20. 2007 re Oceania putting someone off their ship for smoking on their veranda after one warning was not heeded..http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=509662&highlight=couples+only&page=4

Cheers...:)Betty

'

[igraf]

I am curious if you have anything to say about the tobacco industry that deliberately raised the nicotine level so that you became hopelessly addicted to their product. Any anger towards them?

 

igraf

 

 

 

Truthfully, I think HAL will go nonsmoking when to be otherwise hurts their bottom line. If they are not losing customers why should they change their policies? When/if the time comes when nonsmokers speak out with their money then things might change. As long as their ships are full I am certain they are happy.

[Terpnut]

 

I put your second paragraph in bold type..I'm no longer a smoker (stopped in the 70's) but understand that smoking is extremely difficult to give up..It took me several years to completely give it up..I agree with Ruth, smokers should have a seperate area to smoke in..

 

Oceania has been doing it for years! One inside & one outside area for smokers...It was a pleasure cruising on an Oceania ship with out the smell of smoke permeating the air in most public places & the hallways.... They will actually warn someone who is smoking on their balcony's only once & if they do it again they will put the person off the ship as one CC poster complained about..

I am not against a separate accommodation for smokers. I am simply pointing out that IMO, your example of Oceania notwithstanding, based on economics, smoking trends, passenger demographics, logistical difficulties and basic safety considerations, that HAL is more likely to ban smoking entirely, rather than outfit or designate special inside and outside areas just for smokers.

[sachiboo]

Just returned from SA/Antarctic cruise on the Veendam. Our stateroom was between two staterooms that were occupied with smokers. I'm sure most of the port verandah deck cabins were occupied by smokers. It was not very pleasant returning to my stateroom in the morning and night. The passageway reek with smoke. I was very unhappy because my hair and dress had a dreadful smoke smell everytime I had to walk the passageway. At times, we had to come in from our verandah because the smokers were puffing away with their smoke. After this experience, we decided we will not cruise with HAL again.

[Zappa Fan]

After this experience, we decided we will not cruise with HAL again.

 

Your entire post was thoughtful and well written. You've also made the right decision. There are SO MANY other lines that restrict smoking moreso than HAL. Good luck, sachiboo! :)

 

(As a smoker, I'm actually entertaining the thought of an Oceania cruise....)

[mallbucks]

I am curious if you have anything to say about the tobacco industry that deliberately raised the nicotine level so that you became hopelessly addicted to their product. Any anger towards them?

igraf

 

No more than I have toward the food industry who put trans fats in my pastry and made my butt bigger LOL

[DutchByAssociation]

All are smoke free. Smokers can do so in their stateroom, bacony, casino or cigar bar.

 

HAL policy at present allows for staterooms and balconies, the "nightclub venue" (either Northern Lights or Crow's Nest on ships without Northern Lights) will have a section that allows it, the casino and adjacent casino/sports bar and outside decks.

 

Not too much of a difference from what you suggested to be totally honest :)

[DutchByAssociation]

We are going on our first HAL cruise this spring.

 

Just wondering, is there a noticable odor of stale smoke in your cabin when you enter?

 

I respect everyone's rights. I was just wondering if it is offensive as some hotel rooms I have walked into?

 

Thanks

 

There are deep cleaning procedures that can be requested if the smell is particularly strong or there are sensitivities.

[DutchByAssociation]

I agree, if the survey is stirring up fear of change or false hope, enough already.

 

Send out a press release saying what you want to say and be done with it all.

 

As I mentioned, there have been adjustments as recently as last year

[lettienets]

I always get an inside room. Smokers don't usually like to stink up their own room and usually don't get inside rooms. The only time I had a Hal balcony the smoke from somewhere else wafted in so it wasn't worth it to me to get a balcony again.

[pris993]

I quite smoking some 15 years ago. REally don't want to have someone smoking on their balcony but otherwise smoking by others does not bother me. Actually I have noticed very few folks smoke in general on cruise ships.

[Ya Ya Cruiser]

Oh my, this is such a touchy subject, but like the rest of you, I feel the need to comment.

 

I'm a reformed smoker - quit because it was either smoke or get married and love won out:D - and yes it was worth it - 34 happy years this year!

 

My husband is allergic to cigarette smoke. He has a rare chronic lung condition and cigarette smoke is excrutiating for him to be around because he has a reduced lung capacity and is highly sensitive. Yet, still we cruise, and, even on HAL, because despite everything he enjoys the experience. We booked our first cruise 14 years ago with Princess and cancelled before we left because no one could give us enough assurances back then that smoking wouldn't be an issue. I tried it with a friend, by myself to "test" the environment a few years ago, and thought he could handle it - so he has now been on three cruises; one NCL, one Princess, one HAL. He is coming on a cruise on HAL in March.

 

We avoid the casino and anywhere near it, as well as any other areas where smoking is allowed because of the smoke - even the smoke free nights are not smoke free enough for us; we advise HAL before we embark of his issues and they clean the room thorougly and it hasn't been a problem; we wish folks didn't smoke on balconies because it does affect our enjoyment of our balcony - we have to go inside. Does he hate smokers? No, of course not.

 

But, it would be nice if there were only one outside/one inside (off the beaten track, preferrably) location for smokers where they could go for their fix and then join the rest of us whereever we are. I'm disappointed HAL is allowing cigar smoking and cigarette smoking in the retreat area because it means we won't be able to go to any evening movies on the outdoor screen, and we do enjoy that. On Princess there is no smoking at Movies under the Stars. It's a difficult debate, because we live in free countries where individual freedoms are highly prized; but so is good health, and I wouldn't want to do anything to negatively impact someone else's health; it would be nice if others felt the same way.

 

I've already warned my CC roll call buddies that when they're having a smoke, we probably won't stop and join them for a chat and that it's not that we're anti-social, but DH just can't take that risk. They have been very kind in their responses and we will all conduct outselves according.

 

It would be very nice if we could all get along; if smokers wouldn't feel persecuted; if non smokers could allow a couple of places on board to smoke (if they added not in cabins or balconies we'd be really happy).

 

I hope I haven't offended anyone - it's just that sometimes there's more to the story than not liking the smell.

 

Cheers,

yaya

[Gablin]

I have a lot of sympathy for smokers, as I understand that they believe they can't go very long without a fix.

That said, I do not ever want to breathe tobacco smoke, nor do I want those I love to breathe it. I am missing part of a lung, due to cancer. I don't want any more lung cancer. One of my grandchildren has very severe asthma and can have an attack very easily from any pollutants. I do not want her to encounter tobacco smoke.

 

When the cruise lines provide smoking areas with air locks, so that no ambient smoke enters nonsmoking areas, they will have done the right thing.

 

At this point, to cruise on HAL ships, I would not book a balcony cabin and I would avoid passing by the casino, etc. I would be interested in knowing the smoking rules for HAL's lower promenade decks that totally encircle the ship.

 

My daughter's brother-in-law, a very young man, is addicted to tobacco. He has tried to quit eight times, without success. He has a nasty, wet cough. He smells really bad. He is not yet thirty, but his skin is yellow and he has wrinkles. I feel very sorry for him, but I am sure that he could quit smoking if he got help. It is a great sorrow for the family that he has not kicked this yet.

[m steve]

and my partner does and I don't have lung cancer from second hand smoke. I used to go to bars where smoking was previlent and found my clothes reeking but I didn't get sick. I have never had the tobacco smell on my clothes on a ship and I spend time in the casino and w/partner in a smoking bar. As for long flights, you wouldn't want to be sitting near her after 3 hours. :eek: For the rant earlier, that person should be given a hiatus as I was a few weeks ago for being insulting on a smoking thread. I have had friends die from lung cancer, aids, heart conditions, breast cancer etc. but I don't demand others change their way of life because of my experience. We all have to live with loss. And we need to adjust to others and maybe they might adjust to us or is that asking too much? If the smoking is such a problem, there are other cruise lines who have policies that you want HAL to follow. Why not sail with them and take your money away from the Carnival Corp.?

[suse]

No, I'm not. That's exactly the point I was making: That so long as smokers have a place to indulge, and that place is separated from non-smokers, then there should not be a problem.

 

I have seen too many posts from non-smokers insisting, no, demanding! that they should be able to go to any and every spot on the ship, and have that spot be smoke-free.

Nonsense. Smokers are entitled to an outside and an inside area that is set aside for them. No one else needs to go there.

 

Why is the fairness of that so hard for some non-smokers to grasp?

Rather than the never-ending go-round listing places where people should not smoke, why not a consensus on two places where it would be allowed?

I understand your point now. Thank you.

Smokers do have the right to smoke. I also have the right to clean air.

Set aside an area for them, inside and outside. I think the real issue is the times I am breathing smoke when I am sitting on a verandah that I paid dearly for.

I don't think it's too much to ask for clean air.

Enough of this for me.

Thanks for your opinion.:)

[sail7seas]

I think it unreasonable and definitely not useful to tell people who have sailed HAL dozens and dozens of times they should simply move to another cruise line rather than attempt to have clean air to breathe on their veranda.

 

They are doing nothing to injure others but they should leave the cruise line in order to avoid the unpleasant stench? Surely you don't think that is an acceptable solution to this question?

 

I think there should be two outdoor locations where people can smoke and one or perhaps two inside. I'm fine with people smoking in their cabins but not on verandas. Because HAL cleans the cabins so well, any smoke smell can and is removed for guests that arrive after a smoker has been in a particular cabin.

 

Sports Bar on Vista/Signature ships seems a logical place to permit smoking. People can avoid that location and view the games on their cabin TV if they don't want to be around the smoke.

 

On ships without a Sports Bar, I think a smoking section in Crows Nest is viable and perhaps Casino Bar. Two indoor locations should suffice. Both would still be disturbing to some non-smokers but it is possible to avoid those locations. It is not possible without sacrifice to avoid one's veranda. If someone pays for that level of accomodation, they want to use it. Can't blame them for that, can you?

 

Smokers really do not understand exactly how very much their smoke bothers others. I don't think they are trying to be obstinate or dismissive. I truly think they don't smell it themselves or find it offensive. They really think we exaggerate and there is no way to convince them otherwise. IMO Until they become non-smokers, they cannot understand. I would think they can understand we don't want the health ramifications we are subjected to involuntarily by their smoking. They have to know they expose us to that unhealthy air but apparently they deny it is harmful to others. That for me is hard to understand.

 

As the number of smokers dwindles, they become more defensive and protective of their decreasing smoking areas. More states/counties/ provences/countries are daily instituting stricter smoking policies and as there are fewer smokers, it is easier to keep limiting where they can partake. The eighty plus percentage of us non-smokers are getting intolerant of smokers in confined spaces because a great many of us do not have to deal with it in our daily lives at home. I almost never see a smoker and rarely have to pass by someone puffing. Smoking is not permitted in any work place in Massachusetts and just about every place you go is a work place for someone.

 

 

 

 

[suse]

Well put. Thank you.:)

[TahoeTraveler]

You said it much better than I ever could!

[madelinerose]

I'm fine with people smoking in their cabins but not on verandas. Because HAL cleans the cabins so well, any smoke smell can and is removed for guests that arrive after a smoker has been in a particular cabin.

 

 

This works almost perfectly for your/my cabin. ;)

 

However, after you've settled in and realize that there are four 24/7 chain smokers in the cabin next to you, the smoke eventually permeates the walls and my cabin is affected big time. No, this was not on HAL, but our neighbors spent an enormous amount of time in their cabin and on the balcony. Our balcony time was almost non-existent, because it seemed that these 4 people were joined at the hip, therefore they smoked as a pack on the balcony and in their cabin.

 

Yes, we mentioned our concerns to them, only to be ignored. They were not breaking any rules, so......................

 

So, my vote is no smoking on balconies or in the cabins. It works on other cruise lines....it can work on HAL. ;)

 

p.s. I have a relative who cruises HAL exclusively and chain smokes. ;)

[m steve]

when did they have time to eat or sleep. They must have booked their cabin just to bother you. If HAL allows that kind of behavior I would certainly not sail with them again. Celebrity here I came.:rolleyes:

[sail7seas]

MadelineRose,

 

Yes. I can see that could be a big problem. That has never (yet) happened to us so I didn't know it could get that bad. Sure sounds like a miserable situation to have to endure.

 

[madelinerose]

There are deep cleaning procedures that can be requested if the smell is particularly strong or there are sensitivities.

 

These procedures are of no use while you're crusing if the cabin next door is occupied by smokers. ;)

 

Public venues are a whole different ballgame.