This Thread Is To Be Used For All Discussions About HAL's On Board Smoking Policies

[POA1]

I totally agree. In fact - make it a sticky.

 

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Nooooo!

[Ken the cruiser]

Totally unfair, booked a cruise for DH to smoke on balcony and they change the rules a week before our cruise. I would have gone to different line for better price/ Will know better in future.

 

I believe you can still cancel the cruise since it's over 3 months out.

[Lady Arwen]

Very good news for everyone. Smokers and non smokers should all be happy. Still enough smoking areas to make the smokers happy and non-smokers can use their balconies without worry.

[freestyling]

I hope the smoking policy has changed but the "old" policy is still on their website and when I called the HAL rep told me no new policy has been announced. Hope the rep was wrong.....they have been in the past

[sppunk]

I think you will find the policy has not changed. (of course, I could be wrong.)

This is why a new thread is needed!

 

THE POLICY IS: STARING IN JANUARY 2017 FLEETWIDE, ANY/ALL VERANDA SMOKING IS BANNED.

 

If you are caught you pay $250/DAY (so a 7 day cruise is $1,750 extra) and repeated violates will be kicked off the ship.

[fatcat04]

I totally agree. In fact - make it a sticky.

 

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Yes, with exclamation points. The implementation of this policy starts in 93 days and some folks may need to reconsider their bookings. I received nothing from HAL about this change and we are booked for the upcoming Caribbean season that will have this new policy. We don't smoke (well other than dh having the luxury of a very expensive cigar maybe once a year on vacation) so this is unimportant to us but some folks may need to make other plans.

[Aquahound]

This is why a new thread is needed!

 

THE POLICY IS: STARING IN JANUARY 2017 FLEETWIDE, ANY/ALL VERANDA SMOKING IS BANNED.

 

If you are caught you pay $250/DAY (so a 7 day cruise is $1,750 extra) and repeated violates will be kicked off the ship.

 

Agreed. If nothing else, the threads should have been combined. LAFNVEGAS copied the entire verbiage into the other thread.

[Cindy]

I also think the original post with the details needs to be stickied. It's a major policy change on a much discussed topic, and I don't think as many people will see it (or believe it) here.

 

 

Cindy

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Edited September 30, 2016 by Cindy

[HamOp]

Let's take a quick look at the reasons I think the policy has not changed.

 

1. As a poster stated above, no notification has been sent from HAL to people who may be within the final payment date, or very close to it.

 

2. In the past HAL has always given at least 6 months notice of a major change.

 

3. The original post has been pulled.

 

4. The Hal web site has no information about this major change, and a phone call to a HAL rep confirmed that no change has been announced.

 

5. The Cruise Critic News section has nothing on this.

 

6. The URL sited in the post is of a very strange format and links to a .pdf type of file which is often used to download malware.

 

I do hope I'm wrong, but it seems to me to be a hoax.

[alwaysfrantic]

Yeah, I didn't understand the other one being removed, at least initially. Not many venture into here unless looking for a specific answer though at this length, any answer would be hard to find

[kazu]

Let's take a quick look at the reasons I think the policy has not changed.

 

1. As a poster stated above, no notification has been sent from HAL to people who may be within the final payment date, or very close to it.

 

2. In the past HAL has always given at least 6 months notice of a major change.

 

3. The original post has been pulled.

 

4. The Hal web site has no information about this major change, and a phone call to a HAL rep confirmed that no change has been announced.

 

5. The Cruise Critic News section has nothing on this.

 

6. The URL sited in the post is of a very strange format and links to a .pdf type of file which is often used to download malware.

 

I do hope I'm wrong, but it seems to me to be a hoax.

 

 

I wonder if Lisa (LAFFNVEGAS) posted before it was to be public? Just a thought.

 

But you make a very good point, last time it was about 6 months notice and the World cruise was NOT affected.

 

I thought when Lisa's thread was pulled it was being moved here.

 

Very strange. She is a TA so would get notice -I would think? I've never known her to deliberately post incorrect info,but perhaps she got info erroneously or too early????

Edited September 30, 2016 by kazu

[Retiring cajun]

HAL will be considered now that smoking is not allowed on balconies

 

 

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[alwaysfrantic]

September 29, 2016

Holland America Line will implement a new smoking policy beginning in January 2017. No smoking of any kind will be permitted on any stateroom verandah. Smoking of cigarettes, cigars and pipes is already not permitted in any stateroom.

The new policy has been announced to better align with guest wishes and health concerns.

The new smoking policy takes effect on all ships on the following dates (as well as any combination cruise spanning these dates):

SHIP

 ms Maasdam

 ms Rotterdam

 ms Volendam

 ms Noordam

 ms Veendam

 ms Zuiderdam

 ms Nieuw Amsterdam

 ms Eurodam

 ms Westerdam

 ms Koningsdam

 ms Zaandam

 ms Oosterdam

 ms Amsterdam

 ms Prinsendam

NEW SMOKING POLICY BEGINS

January 2, 2017 January 2, 2017 January 3, 2017 January 4, 2017 January 4, 2017 January 4, 2017 January 6, 2017 January 7, 2017 January 7, 2017 January 8, 2017 January 10, 2017 January 13, 2017 April 26, 2017 May 6, 2017

For guests who wish to smoke, the designated smoking areas for all ships are as follows unless otherwise noted:

Tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars and pipes) Permitted Outdoors

• Sea View (Retreat) Bar/Pool on starboard side. On ms Prinsendam, ms Koningsdam and ms Nieuw Statendam, smoking allowed on the port side. Smoking is never on both sides.

• Sun Bar on ms Koningsdam and ms Nieuw Statendam.

• Sports Deck forward and aft of Crow’s Nest on starboard side on ms Maasdam,

ms Veendam, ms Volendam, ms Zaandam, ms Rotterdam and ms Amsterdam, aft of Crow’s Nest starboard side.

Permitted Indoors

• Oak Room on ms Noordam only.

• Designated areas for active slot players in Casinos. ms Oosterdam and ms Eurodam

casinos are completely non-smoking, however.

Not Permitted:

Inside all staterooms/suites.

On any stateroom/suite verandahs.

E-cigarettes and Vaping devices Permitted:

Inside all staterooms/suites.

Designated smoking areas listed above.

Not Permitted:

On any stateroom/suite verandahs. Other public areas.

Any guest who smokes inside staterooms or verandahs in violation of our policy will be charged a US$250 cleaning fee per day of violation and will risk being removed from the ship for repeated violations.

 

(The dates copied and pasted away from the ship, but the link I put above has it formatted correctly)

Edited September 30, 2016 by alwaysfrantic

[LAFFNVEGAS]

This new news should be a stand-alone thread. No one will realize the new policy buried 107 pages deep.

 

Which is exactly why I posted it this morning in a Stand Alone Thread, i would have NEVER Ever gone to this thread :( It appears they totally eliminated my thread that gave all the information. So would not have known at all like many reading later today.

[Lizzie68]

Let's take a quick look at the reasons I think the policy has not changed.

 

1. As a poster stated above, no notification has been sent from HAL to people who may be within the final payment date, or very close to it.

 

2. In the past HAL has always given at least 6 months notice of a major change.

 

3. The original post has been pulled.

 

4. The Hal web site has no information about this major change, and a phone call to a HAL rep confirmed that no change has been announced.

 

5. The Cruise Critic News section has nothing on this.

 

6. The URL sited in the post is of a very strange format and links to a .pdf type of file which is often used to download malware.

 

I do hope I'm wrong, but it seems to me to be a hoax.

 

The notice is all over the place, just not on HAL's website yet.:rolleyes:

And as we all know, getting accurate information from their reps is not exactly usual. I am thinking CC admin is checking it out. But many other sites have the info and the press release.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I wonder if Lisa (LAFFNVEGAS) posted before it was to be public? Just a thought.

 

But you make a very good point, last time it was about 6 months notice and the World cruise was NOT affected.

 

I thought when Lisa's thread was pulled it was being moved here.

 

Very strange. She is a TA so would get notice -I would think? I've never known her to deliberately post incorrect info,but perhaps she got info erroneously or too early????

Notification letter from HAL was dated September 29, 2016 and was from HAL. It was made public last night.

I would like to know why my thread was pulled other than I did not post it in this thread and the reason I did not was because one I could not find it, and two, I personally had never posted here prior and would not even consider opening because it did not apply to me or anything I was interested in reading but the total change of policy I would have. There should be a new separate post because many will not even open this thread.

[kazu]

Notification letter from HAL was dated September 29, 2016 and was from HAL. It was made public last night.

I would like to know why my thread was pulled other than I did not post it in this thread and the reason I did not was because one I could not find it, and two, I personally had never posted here prior and would not even consider opening because it did not apply to me or anything I was interested in reading but the total change of policy I would have. There should be a new separate post because many will not even open this thread.

 

I totally agree. A lot of people don't come here and this is very newsworthy for many HAL cruisers.

 

Totally at a loss on why this has happened.

 

It was very good information ;)

[taxmantoo]

Notification letter from HAL was dated September 29, 2016 and was from HAL. It was made public last night.

I would like to know why my thread was pulled other than I did not post it in this thread and the reason I did not was because one I could not find it, and two, I personally had never posted here prior and would not even consider opening because it did not apply to me or anything I was interested in reading but the total change of policy I would have. There should be a new separate post because many will not even open this thread.

 

I totally agree with your intention to START A NEW THREAD for a NEW POLICY.

 

The thread you started should be reinstated for people to state their opinion of the NEW policy and maybe let this one about the OLD policy die off.

 

Having said that, I am quite anxious to see how many posters on this old thread who said they would no longer sail with HAL should they implement a no smoking policy on balconies will actually come back and tell us they are jumping ship. I can think of a few very vocal posters whose reaction to this announcement I would like to hear ;) ... or maybe not :rolleyes:

Edited September 30, 2016 by taxmantoo

[Lady Arwen]

Notification letter from HAL was dated September 29, 2016 and was from HAL. It was made public last night.

I would like to know why my thread was pulled other than I did not post it in this thread and the reason I did not was because one I could not find it, and two, I personally had never posted here prior and would not even consider opening because it did not apply to me or anything I was interested in reading but the total change of policy I would have. There should be a new separate post because many will not even open this thread.

 

Agree 100%! Unless there is a separate thread, virtually no one will even notice this announcement. I would not have come to this thread today...no reason to. However, the new thread was of interest to many people.

 

Is it possible to start a new thread, once again, leading with the printed announcement from HAL. I see no reason for it to be pulled unless untrue or premature.

[Ken the cruiser]

Just curious, does anyone know which, if any, cruise lines still allow smoking on verandas?

[CHOPPERTESTER]

I think you guys are being spoofed.

 

The URL is not valid and the format/font is all over the place.

 

Someone's wishful thinking or is it 4/1/2017 already.

 

They also announced that you have won a free cruise and they only need your credit card number to process the taxes.

 

When I see it on http://www.hollandamerica.com (not http://www.f.e.hollandamerica.com) then I'll believe it.

[sandij]

You all do know that gloating is ugly.:(

[kennicott]

just curious, does anyone know which, if any, cruise lines still allow smoking on verandas?

 

costa

[kazu]

costa

Doesn't Seabourn allow smoking too? Or is it Silversea? Not 100% sure.

Edited September 30, 2016 by kazu

[mightycruisequeen]

Notification letter from HAL was dated September 29, 2016 and was from HAL. It was made public last night.

I would like to know why my thread was pulled other than I did not post it in this thread and the reason I did not was because one I could not find it, and two, I personally had never posted here prior and would not even consider opening because it did not apply to me or anything I was interested in reading but the total change of policy I would have. There should be a new separate post because many will not even open this thread.

 

WOW! I too would like to know why that thread was pulled.

Probably a good 80% of the posters on these boards have been praying for the day that HAL would adopt that policy, and the moderators didn't think it deserved its own thread?

There's a head scratcher!:confused::confused: