Royal Caribbean Bans Smoking on Balconies

[Zigggypup]

Thats a good thing! They would certainly get an eye full from the "balcony club" members! :eek::D:cool:

 

That would make a good "cruisers gone wild" video. I'm gonna take a video of my wife smoking on a balcony after 01/01/14 and put it on YouTube. Nanny Nanny poo poo. I'm smoking on my balcony and you didn't catch me !!! Hee hee ha ha

[LindaO]

I know they have camera's that monitor the railings. But they don't have camera's that are geared to see onto everyone's balcony.

 

If you have the chance to take a bridge tour... take a good look at the cameras trained on balconies... and ask for a close up shot of anyone you like... Oh.. and they do video 24/7... now I'm not saying that if you are doing something on your balcony they will have a close up of it... but if you are doing something on your balcony they MAY have a close up shot of it... oh... I'm not talking about smoking here!! :eek:

[ryano]

I cant believe smokers have not gotten used to this yet. They are constantly being beaten back and quite frankly disrespected sometimes. I quit smoking about 2 years ago and am happy I did for many reasons but one of them is the constant persecution of society today. Keeping in mind that smokers pay considerably more taxes than most, (if you look at the tax on each pack of cigarettes and do the math on what is sold in your state the numbers can be staggering) they get nothing for it other than bad health. They are getting more bad publicity all the time. So I do think there will be problems with this because of such strong feelings on both sides. If the cruise line plans to police it like they do chair hogs, underage drinking, teen curfews, line cutters etc... the new rule will not be enforced and it will on occasion cause animosity among cruisers. It is not going to get easier for people who smoke though. I think it is a no brainer that all lines will eventually have the same policy. I liken it to growing pains within our cruising society but we will get through it hopefully without loosing anybody.

 

Very well said. :)

 

 

I too am a quitter. June 22, 2009. I cant stand to smell cigarette smoke now. Not because it makes me crave one but because its just repulsive to me. Im not gonna tell on anyone not abiding by the rule though. Not my place to police the cruise ship.

[akcruz]

I know they have camera's that monitor the railings. But they don't have camera's that are geared to see onto everyone's balcony.

 

but depending on where a cabin is in relation to the camera as well as what type of balcony (partial glass dividers vs steel enclosed) there is, they may well be seeing inside many a balcony :eek:.

[Seaworthy01]

Most repeat Royal Caribbean cruisers would not re-check the policy unless they were told specifically otherwise. New cruisers to RCI would check the policy prior to booking. Only a small percentage read Cruise Critic.

 

I guess I'm the exception to this fact, every time I book a cruise I always look through the FAQ's. I know policies can and do get changed.

[The Sunset Glow]

.....I haven't read this whole thread but wasn't Patti's smoking policy thread closed? Isn't this just about the same?..... :)

 

Yes it was closed - we are not allowed to question why but..... this thread is now mostly the same. Maybe they should just merge the two because there was some useful info on Patti's thread.

 

You're not going to stop people from talking about this so may as well just let it happen but remove inappropriate posts as needed. JMO

[Zigggypup]

I guess I'm the exception to this fact, every time I book a cruise I always look through the FAQ's. I know policies can and do get changed.

 

Well, keep us posted..........lol

[cruisenfever]

I doubt RCI will spend the money to install a camera system so they can see what's happening on everyone's balcony. But time will tell. I would consider that an extension of my cabin and a privacy issue.

They've already been installed.:D

[Seaworthy01]

Well, keep us posted..........lol

 

That's your responsibility.

[pollux]

Now there are to many rules and regulation.

Cruising sounds now like boarding school only more expensive.

Anyone remember the Carnival ship the Paradise?

Well that ship was the happiness of none smokers.

The story is they could never fill the ship now it sail as all the other ones.

Maybe RCL will loose some smokers just like they lost customers for leaving California.

P/S I am a none smoker, drinker love dancing and the sea.

 

And I am not loyal to any line just my wallet.

[Zigggypup]

They've already been installed.:D

 

Well I am on the explorer in 3 weeks. I will look around and see if any camera's are facing my balcony. If so, I will just toss a towel on it..........lol.

Or even better, I will hold up a sign that I am being held hostage by a balcony smoker........help.....help...help.

[Zigggypup]

That's your responsibility.

 

It was a joke, lighten up Louie.

[Seaworthy01]

Well I am on the explorer in 3 weeks. I will look around and see if any camera's are facing my balcony. If so, I will just toss a towel on it..........lol.

Or even better, I will hold up a sign that I am being held hostage........help.....help...help.

 

Let us know how the hostage thing works out.

[LBcruzman]

And people think that the casinos are smokey now? How much will those people enjoy the casino once there are hordes of people crowded around the casino bar every night? That will be extra special on formal nights.

 

I can under stand the not splitting sides of the ship for smokers and non smokers, but why couldn't they have say 10 aft cabins on each side of each deck designated as smoking balconies? And those cabins would be first come first serve. Another incentive to book early.

 

I am a smoker and I do sympathize with non smokers. I try to be courteous and do my best to stay away from, or down-wind of non smokers. But the bottom line is that smoking (for now) is 100% legal.

 

If I'm offended by drunks... should they ban alcohol? And I think your perfume smells like doggie poo, that should that be banned too. :eek:

 

Ummm...sorry but a lot of people love aft balconies. Aint't gonna happen. No smoking on Royal Caribbean Balconies. Get used to it.

[Seaworthy01]

It was a joke, lighten up Louie.

 

I know. So was I

[stepmonster]

I do not care about the smoking,- but smokers tend to be loud on the balcony.

 

Hopefully this ban will make it less noisy

it's not smokers who are loud on the balconys it's the damn drunks

[Retired LEO]

Putting aside everyone's strong feelings on both sides of the smoking policy change, I'm wondering how the balcony smoking ban post 1-1-14 will play out. (Full disclosure: I'm a non-smoker who is pleased with the change but understands that smokers may be upset with the change).

 

For example, if I'm out on my balcony, and I see someone two cabins aft and two decks below who is smoking, and the smell is making it unpleasant for me, I assume that I first shout down to them and politely remind them of the new policy. But let's remember, a small minority of RCCL cruisers actively look at Cruise Critic boards, and many might not know of the new policy. So many smokers might not know of the change. (How often have you read RCCL's policies front-to-back?)

 

Aside from the logistics of "politely shouting" to someone 50 feet away from you, what if they either respond by ignoring you, or with attitude or questioning the new policy? What do you do then? Do you call Guest Services? By the time they send someone to that stateroom, undoubtedly the smoking will have ended. (And this is assuming you can figure out which stateroom to direct them to). Do those people get a warning? What if they deny they were smoking? And given that the new policy doesn't say anything specifically about being forced off the ship for repeated violations (unless I missed somethinge where that is said), who is to say that someone would ever be kicked off even for verified repeated violations?

 

As I said, I favor the new policy, but it might end up causing a lot of grief, ill-feelings, shouting matches, etc. out on the balconies. I'm guessing we'll see a lot of post-January threads about arguments breaking out over this.

 

What if, What if, What if.

 

How about if we just wait and see how it works out.

[Maryscooking]

Anyone remember the Carnival ship the Paradise?

Well that ship was the happiness of none smokers.

The story is they could never fill the ship now it sail as all the other ones.

 

Attitudes about smoking and second hand smoke have changed quite a bit since the Paradise. The number of smokers is less, and the laws towards smoking in general are much more restrictive now. I don't think the Paradise is a relevant example anymore.

 

I'd actually look to Celebrity and Disney as the relevant comparisons, as I'm sure that RCI did when they made this decision.

[CRUZBUDS]

We were leaning heavily towards a B2B out of New York on the Carnival Splendor for the spring of 2015, the new policy tipped the scales. I'm in the process of booking a B2B on the Serenade of the Seas out of New Orleans instead.

 

We'll do a cruise from New York when Carnival catches up. :)

[LBcruzman]

Attitudes about smoking and second hand smoke have changed quite a bit since the Paradise. The number of smokers is less, and the laws towards smoking in general are much more restrictive now. I don't think the Paradise is a relevant example anymore.

 

I'd actually look to Celebrity and Disney as the relevant comparisons, as I'm sure that RCI did when they made this decision.

 

Absolutely correct here. The people using the long ago Paradise example are grasping for something that isn't there.

[LBcruzman]

We were leaning heavily towards a B2B out of New York on the Carnival Splendor for the spring of 2015, the new policy tipped the scales. I'm in the process of booking a B2B on the Serenade of the Seas out of New Orleans instead.

 

We'll do a cruise from New York when Carnival catches up. :)

 

They will.

[cjknox]

And people think that the casinos are smokey now? How much will those people enjoy the casino once there are hordes of people crowded around the casino bar every night? That will be extra special on formal nights.

 

I can under stand the not splitting sides of the ship for smokers and non smokers, but why couldn't they have say 10 aft cabins on each side of each deck designated as smoking balconies? And those cabins would be first come first serve. Another incentive to book early.

 

I am a smoker and I do sympathize with non smokers. I try to be courteous and do my best to stay away from, or down-wind of non smokers. But the bottom line is that smoking (for now) is 100% legal.

 

If I'm offended by drunks... should they ban alcohol? And I think your perfume smells like doggie poo, that should that be banned too. :eek:

 

 

You know that's actually not a bad idea, that could be a "middle ground" of sorts to satisfy both smokers and non smokers.

[stepmonster]

I am a stock holder.........will be cashing my stock in. I have always cruised on Celebrity and never on RCL and was not happy when Celebrity changed their smoking policy.......I can understand stateroom no smoking, but balconies? How many people actually use their balconies all day long? I have book my first cruise on RCL for May 2014 to Alaska and got a balcony cabin, just so I could watch the view and enjoy a smoke every once in a while. I will be cancelling soon. I can get the same price on NCL and probably will do that.

 

For all your extreme perfume smokers........your perfume makes me gag when I get on the elevator with you.........must be as bad as my smoke, could RCL please ban perfume!

 

 

Yes,and also some peoples body odor is offensive

[ChicagoBound]

A couple of points:

 

First, I'm not sure that the cameras trained on the balconies are necessarily monitored in real time by one person or a team of people to spot bad things going on at that very moment. It seems like they are normally used as historical footage to determine what happened if someone went missing. So I would be surprised if RCCL will be actively policing the no-balcony-smoking policy in real time. But who knows??

 

Second, if that is the case and if someone is breaking the rules, perhaps the best way to make sure the rules are enforced is not to engage with the person but instead to call guest services. But on the other hand, the smoker might simply be someone who doesn't know about the rules change and also who happens to be a good person and is willing to follow the rules. I mention this because I often sit on the "quiet car" on the Chicago commuter rail system. There isn't a conducter in the car at all times to monitor the policy, so when someone starts having a noisy conversation or makes a phone call, others on the car gently remind them of the policy--normally with the assumption that the person probably didn't know they were in the quiet car in the first place. Given that, it doesn't seem too terrible--particularly if it is the person in the balcony right next to yours--to gently remind them of the new policy. But I see the opposing viewpoint.

 

Third, I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility to smell smoke from someone who is smoking two cabins down and two cabins away from you. If the wind is blowing the smoke in your direction, you will definitely smell it, even if you are 50 feet away from the smoker. (And I'm surely no bloodhound--more of a Labrador Retriever!). Mind you, a little bit of smoke doesn't bother me. But if someone was smoking on their balcony all day, every day, and it was blowing into my balcony, I wouldn't be too thrilled with that. One of my favorite parts of being on the high seas is to breathe in the clean ocean air.

[Dave85]

They will.

 

I hope they do personally, but read the corresponding thread on the Carnival board and the sentiment is quite different than the theads on the RCI board!