NCL Smoking Ban

[SissasMomE]

my ignore feature will be used a lot the next few days, just as it has been the last week, though most are already gone & i can't say i will sorry to see them go.

I called corporate this morning and i spoke to a supervisor who was messaging someone else. They have no information on a ban of smoking on balconies.

 

I told you a couple of days ago this was coming. I believe you called me a liar. :rolleyes: It's a done deal.

[arjay9]

LOL - I just called NCL to verify the details of the new policy & as soon as I asked what their smoking policy was the NCL rep starting laughing. Apparently I wasn't the first person to call today. She even asked me if I'd heard on Cruise Critic. ;)

 

Anyways, as you've already heard, the rumors are true. She did tell me that in the Casino they will be limiting the smoking section AND limit smoking to people who are actively playing... which I assume would mean that the Casinos will be non-smoking while in port? (I didn't clarify, sorry - only thought of that after I'd hung up)

 

There will also be some (limited) smoking sections outside. On the Breakaway for example she mentioned an area behind Fat Cats that has chairs & will be ok for smoking.

 

I'm a smoker, and although I'm NOT happy with the decision, I totally get it. Smoke sucks if you are a non-smoker... I know.... What I would like to see is an attempt to have some cabins be ok for smoking on the balconies. I understand how difficult this would be from a marketing standpoint in that they would never want to refer to a cabin as "smoking" but surely there could be some option. Maybe Port side only, and limited to the back end of the boat. (Not Aft facing though)

 

I upgraded to a balcony cabin when I took the TA Solo last October from Barcelona. Given this new policy, if I were to repeat that trip I'd likely only book into a SoloCabin...

 

Funny enough, I remember taking a high school trip to Europe in 1992. We were seated in the non-smoking section of the flight, but were able to sneak forward three rows where there was an empty seat in the smoking section to have a cigarette mid-flight...... I can't even imagine how horrible that must have been for the non-smokers in that tin can....

[CasinoCruzGirl]

LOL - I just called NCL to verify the details of the new policy & as soon as I asked what their smoking policy was the NCL rep starting laughing. Apparently I wasn't the first person to call today. She even asked me if I'd heard on Cruise Critic. ;)

 

Anyways, as you've already heard, the rumors are true. She did tell me that in the Casino they will be limiting the smoking section AND limit smoking to people who are actively playing... which I assume would mean that the Casinos will be non-smoking while in port? (I didn't clarify, sorry - only thought of that after I'd hung up)

 

There will also be some (limited) smoking sections outside. On the Breakaway for example she mentioned an area behind Fat Cats that has chairs & will be ok for smoking.

 

I'm a smoker, and although I'm NOT happy with the decision, I totally get it. Smoke sucks if you are a non-smoker... I know.... What I would like to see is an attempt to have some cabins be ok for smoking on the balconies. I understand how difficult this would be from a marketing standpoint in that they would never want to refer to a cabin as "smoking" but surely there could be some option. Maybe Port side only, and limited to the back end of the boat. (Not Aft facing though)

 

I upgraded to a balcony cabin when I took the TA Solo last October from Barcelona. Given this new policy, if I were to repeat that trip I'd likely only book into a SoloCabin...

 

Funny enough, I remember taking a high school trip to Europe in 1992. We were seated in the non-smoking section of the flight, but were able to sneak forward three rows where there was an empty seat in the smoking section to have a cigarette mid-flight...... I can't even imagine how horrible that must have been for the non-smokers in that tin can....

 

 

Oh good my cabin is right next to fat cats. Problem solved :-)

 

I guess they told SOME reps and not others. I guess it's not known company wide as of yet because my guy knew nothing about it. Even though it's not official I'm happy with my change of cabin. All is good.

 

I do agree whole heartetly about making some balconies smoking just don't think that will happen.

[jkgourmet]

Guess this January 2014 promise didn't last very long. http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5684

 

Me? I'm happily ensconced in my inside cabin, but prefer the public areas to be mostly smoke free.

[All-ready2cruise]

I believe more than one poster confirmed it with NCL although I don't know if exact details were confirmed but something about limiting the smoking in the casino as well

 

I'm a non-smoker, and I received an email on Thursday (just checked the date), asking for my patience because changes to the smoking policy were coming soon, probably by the end of next week.

 

Does that make it official? No, it's not official until they make the Official Announcement. If it is made tomorrow, great, it will give everyone the information they need to do what they need to do in order to enjoy their vacation.

 

If true, I need do nothing, if it's not true... I still need to do nothing, although I may move my cabin if they only designate one side of the ship smoking and the other not.

 

I'll wait. :D

[CasinoCruzGirl]

Guess this January 2014 promise didn't last very long. http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5684

 

Me? I'm happily ensconced in my inside cabin, but prefer the public areas to be mostly smoke free.

 

Interesting

[cookieeater]

Just off the Breakaway... my hubby is a cigar smoker. There is a cigar lounge on Deck 8 with outdoor seating, as well for smokers with a bar. Also in Spice H2O, in the back by the bar there is a designated smoking area. BTW, I do not smoke and the Casino was not a smoke cloud!

[Warm Breezes]

I'm just gonna put it out there and say, with all the cruises I have been on I have hardly seen balconies with people on them. I said to myself many times why do people pay for a balcony when they don't use them. Yes they come out for a few minutes when we dock or getting close to land. Between showering, eating breakfast, spending time at the pool or taking off as soon as the ship docks, having dinner and then seeing shows at night. When do you have time to notice people smoking on a balcony? Sorry I am really upset because my husband want to cancel our cruise, and I agree. Gotta go and look for a trip either to cancun or Aruba where we are not treated like we have a dreaded disease

 

If we book a room with a balcony, then you will see me out there. It is my favorite place to read, relax, and take a nap in relative privacy. Plus DH freezes me out of the room so I use it to warm up. The only time I didn't constantly use a balcony on the ship was on Princess because I could not get comfortable in their balcony chairs for the life of me. What a waste of money that was for our balcony.

Edited July 15, 2014 by Warm Breezes

[triptolemus]

Guess this January 2014 promise didn't last very long. http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5684

 

Me? I'm happily ensconced in my inside cabin, but prefer the public areas to be mostly smoke free.

 

So NCL didn't have any plans in January, but they apparently have some now. Also, take a close look at Kevin's statements:

 

"When we launched Epic we got a lot of comments about the smell and the location of the casino in the middle of the ship, and we took those seriously. We put in all those extractors, and we haven't had a comment in about three years. We've had one or two comments about Breakaway, and if we get enough, we address them."

No comments on Epic? One or two comments about Breakaway?!?

 

I don't care which side of the smoking debate you stand on... there is no way that's accurate.

[arjay9]

 

I guess they told SOME reps and not others. I guess it's not known company wide as of yet because my guy knew nothing about it. Even though it's not official I'm happy with my change of cabin. All is good.

 

I do agree whole heartetly about making some balconies smoking just don't think that will happen.

 

Apparently an internal e-mail went out to all of the NCL reps sometime last night (I'm assuming around 7pm given the time this thread began) I'm assuming those that don't know haven't checked their e-mails yet.

[goldmom]

Actually, I'm a bit surprised that NCL would do this right now so close on the heels of Carnival's announcement. I would have thought that they would have given it more time to see how things worked out as far as getting the smokers coming over from Carnival.

 

My only issue with it, is that the few areas where they will still allow smoking are going to be very congested with smoke as they would now be having more people in a small space whereas before it was spread out more.

 

I see this in comparing Las Vegas with Atlantic City. In Atlantic City there are small areas that allow smoking and those areas are usually covered in a smoke cloud. In Las Vegas, smoking is pretty much anywhere in the casino and I never really noticed any smoke there.

 

It'll be interesting to see how this shakes out especially on the new ships with the casino in the middle.

[emcelh]

Guess this January 2014 promise didn't last very long. http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5684

 

Me? I'm happily ensconced in my inside cabin, but prefer the public areas to be mostly smoke free.

Saying "we have no plans to change our policy right now" isn't exactly a promise.

[skiwee]

Isn't the cigar lounge pretty small tho? And seems I saw somewhere that cigars only were permitted there.

 

 

No you can smoke cigarettes in there also. My husband also enjoys cigars so usually hangs out in there while I gamble our money away.

 

 

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[jkgourmet]

Saying "we have no plans to change our policy right now" isn't exactly a promise.

 

True, but I bet many smokers are feeling pretty misled right now.

[Johnny Bananas]

Saying "we have no plans to change our policy right now" isn't exactly a promise.

 

Exactly! He said "right now", well almost 7 months has passed since he made that statement and Nov is still 4 months away so it's no longer "right now".

[dalgirl]

I suspect that NCL did not want all those Carnival smokers piling onto NCL ships thinking that the policy would be the attraction. That you Kevin!!!!

 

Doing the Snoopy happy dance:D:D:D

[tonit964]

Atkantis, Hard Roxk, Punta Cana, most St, Marteen hotels, and Dubrivnik lol since we just returned from there all are ver accomadating if you smoke on your balcony. It is sad but we will manage. I love to crusie but I just love to travel so I am sure we will all be fine,

 

That is quite a few AI's that allow it. I never thought about other countries not banning smoking.

 

It sounds like that is the way to go. I have never been to an AI, hubby only wants to cruise. :rolleyes:

 

Enjoy your next vacation! :)

[goldmom]

OK, so just had a crazy thought. What if they didn't ban smoking on the balconies, but put some kind of time restriction on it. Say, you could only smoke on the balcony from 10pm to like 8am. That would probably be easier than trying to make one side of the ship smoking or certain cabins smoking.

 

The main complaint from smokers seems to be having to get dressed to go have coffee and a cigarette. If they did the above then they could still have a cigarette on their balcony in the morning, but their non-smoking neighbors wouldn't have to have someone limiting their time on the balcony because of smoke. They could have full use of their balcony all day long.

[halos]

My Dh and I and the people we travel with are all smokers. Will we cancel because of the change? No. We have not been able to smoke in public places, most bars, hotel balconies etc...for years. We do enjoy a cig with a cup of coffee in the morning but enjoy vacations and cruising more. We don't smoke in our cars or our house, only outdoors. This just might be the motivation we need to follow through on our plans to quit smoking altogether:)

 

This September will be our last cruise. I was thinking of giving up cruising anyway, and this will just reinforce that idea. I have been cruising since the late 80's and always enjoyed it. Lately, the lackluster entertainment, combined with the downgraded food, service are also factors. I am also tired of going to the same old ports.

Last year we went on a tour of costa Rica and had just as much fun. I am going to start looking at tours and all inclusives. The prices are usually about the same.

 

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Opposite ends.

One will stop cruising. The other hopes to stop smoking.

[sdmike]

I am a smoker.

 

About 10 years ago, my state banned smoking everywhere, except private clubs. I belonged to a private club, and the city banned us too. We fought hard. We all put in lots of money for lawyers and lawsuits and stays and penalties and on and on. Needless to say, the Board of Health won. The state won.

 

Smoking was now banned. We went outside. Yes, we had to walk an additional 50 feet every so often. But it wasn't so bad. I could still smoke. I could still drink.

 

5 years later I took a trip out of state and went to a bar. You could smoke there. I was in there for 3 minutes and my eyes were watering. And I'm a smoker!:eek:

 

The casinos I can drive to have big giant smoke eaters, so it's not too bad. Plus, about 2 years ago, they made it 75% smoke free as opposed to the former 5%. The ships should put in some smoke eaters in the casino as well, but due to space limitations, I'm assuming that's a long way away.

 

Aside from those with mobility issues, which is another discussion altogether, its not so bad to go to a designated smoking area. That's how I met some good friends. I got some "fresh" air.

 

The point of this story is that if its not happening today, its happening tomorrow. There are really just 2 choices you can make. Abide by the rules that are better for the majority and make the best of a situation that isn't the best for you (we do it all the time for other areas too) or piss and moan about it/don't cruise. If you don't cruise and think that your money is going to hurt them, then guess again. They will find a new cruiser who stayed away due to smoking a lot easier than one who does smoke in 2014 and beyond (in USA at least).

 

Thanks for your perspective, Jethro. It makes sense that as smoking is restricted to certain areas, those areas may become so smoky that they're unbearable even to smokers. I live in California and I'm not a smoker. I didn't really realize how smoker non-friendly my state was until I went into a club in another state with some co-workers. We had to leave it was so bad.

[luvtheships]

Actually, I'm a bit surprised that NCL would do this right now so close on the heels of Carnival's announcement. I would have thought that they would have given it more time to see how things worked out as far as getting the smokers coming over from Carnival.

 

My only issue with it, is that the few areas where they will still allow smoking are going to be very congested with smoke as they would now be having more people in a small space whereas before it was spread out more.

 

I see this in comparing Las Vegas with Atlantic City. In Atlantic City there are small areas that allow smoking and those areas are usually covered in a smoke cloud. In Las Vegas, smoking is pretty much anywhere in the casino and I never really noticed any smoke there.

 

It'll be interesting to see how this shakes out especially on the new ships with the casino in the middle.

 

They are probably doing it because people that want to book Ncl are asking about smoking

 

My guess is they are saying. " will there be smoking allowed in the balcony?" And " if so, I don't want a balcony or I am going to Carnival instead"

 

Bottom line. My feeling is the demand is for non smoking balconies on Ncl not the other way around

 

 

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[luvtheships]

I suspect that NCL did not want all those Carnival smokers piling onto NCL ships thinking that the policy would be the attraction. That you Kevin!!!!

 

Doing the Snoopy happy dance:D:D:D

 

Yep

 

 

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[JasonV1]

It would be another enforcement nightmare, much like if they tried allowing e-cigs (even mentioned on their site http://www.ncl.com/faq#smoking).

 

They have to make the move that is easiest for them to enforce, and for their guests to understand. With a "window" you'd have (some) non-smokers watching the clock to catch smokers, and (some) smokers arguing that they should be able to finish their current cig even if it is 8:05am.

 

 

OK, so just had a crazy thought. What if they didn't ban smoking on the balconies, but put some kind of time restriction on it. Say, you could only smoke on the balcony from 10pm to like 8am. That would probably be easier than trying to make one side of the ship smoking or certain cabins smoking.

 

The main complaint from smokers seems to be having to get dressed to go have coffee and a cigarette. If they did the above then they could still have a cigarette on their balcony in the morning, but their non-smoking neighbors wouldn't have to have someone limiting their time on the balcony because of smoke. They could have full use of their balcony all day long.

[dalgirl]

I am a smoker.

 

About 10 years ago, my state banned smoking everywhere, except private clubs. I belonged to a private club, and the city banned us too. We fought hard. We all put in lots of money for lawyers and lawsuits and stays and penalties and on and on. Needless to say, the Board of Health won. The state won.

 

Smoking was now banned. We went outside. Yes, we had to walk an additional 50 feet every so often. But it wasn't so bad. I could still smoke. I could still drink.

 

5 years later I took a trip out of state and went to a bar. You could smoke there. I was in there for 3 minutes and my eyes were watering. And I'm a smoker!:eek:

 

The casinos I can drive to have big giant smoke eaters, so it's not too bad. Plus, about 2 years ago, they made it 75% smoke free as opposed to the former 5%. The ships should put in some smoke eaters in the casino as well, but due to space limitations, I'm assuming that's a long way away.

 

Aside from those with mobility issues, which is another discussion altogether, its not so bad to go to a designated smoking area. That's how I met some good friends. I got some "fresh" air.

 

The point of this story is that if its not happening today, its happening tomorrow. There are really just 2 choices you can make. Abide by the rules that are better for the majority and make the best of a situation that isn't the best for you (we do it all the time for other areas too) or piss and moan about it/don't cruise. If you don't cruise and think that your money is going to hurt them, then guess again. They will find a new cruiser who stayed away due to smoking a lot easier than one who does smoke in 2014 and beyond (in USA at least).

 

Well said. It really is better for everyone.

[EyeSeaEwe]

One fire, is that the best you have? Might the fire be the result of the no smoking policy, someone trying to hide their smoking and not properly putting their cigarette out?

 

LOL that is the funniest and most absurd reply I have ever read anywhere on the internet.