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

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Hi Tom,

 

That's pretty impressive, in that you sailed on HAL in 1966. We are Alaskans and I have/was in the travel game up here for years. Around 1970 Chuck West (West Tours and ships) sold out/merged with HAL. A lot of history detail surrounding that before and after.

 

More importantly, quite a few years later HAL became part of the Carnival Corp. family, even before most of the rest of today's conglomerate did.

 

So currently, HAL is a subsidiary of Carnival which combined them into the Holland American Group more than a year ago, in that group is the much larger line, Princess, as well as P&O Australia, Seabourne, and all of the combined Princess and HAL Alaska shore hotel, excursion and coach operations.

 

Unfortunately for HAL or maybe fortunately over the last year or so if you are a smoker, not by their own doing, all of the major cruise lines, including the HAL American Group as well as every line represented by the big three cruise conglomerates, have discontinued allowing balcony smoking. Meaning, HAL is the only game in town in that regard. Many worry that due that circumstance smokers will gravitate to Hal, leaving behind their other favored lines. Sometime back when this thread was created there was an element of doubt whether or not that should or should not be a concern. Unfortunately, facts as well as posts hereon prove that it is a definitely a significant issue.

 

Now, in our case we are HAL four stars, close to 200 sailing days with them, and honestly we are not paranoid about a whiff of smoke now and then on our voyages. But we are also cruisers who book balconies, if not available we do not book, plus we book the long ones, longest being three months on HAL. That said, we do draw the line over taking a chance of having chain smoking cigar smokers on our nearby balconies for days on end. Consequently, we have canceled two HAL cruises and booked instead with Princess, as we don't want to chance it, those two cruises amounted to about 85 days of sailing.

 

Anyway, I do encourage you to go ahead with your Koningsdam cruise and post afterward, after all, this on-board smoking dilemma is a fairly recent development and negative ramifications, if any, have not actually had the chance to really materialize yet. I for one stay tuned in here and post now and then, like I'm doing now for that reason, if pertinent events change, for better or worse, at least we will remain informed.

 

Thanks for that reply - most detailed and informative!

 

Tom

[Danni3ll3]

Very happy for you. I see posts all the time saying "I never smell smoke" . That doesn't mean no one else has. It seems that some think if it doesn't happen to them it happens to no one.

 

I am not saying that no one will smell nor has ever smelled smoke. I just stated that in my case, I didn't. I was scared out of my wits by this thread stating that all smokers were migrating to HAL and I was very worried that I had made a huge and very expensive mistake by booking with HAL. As it turned out, we had an amazing experience and I will definitely book with HAL again. Yes, I may end up getting smoked out of my balcony next time, but I am not going to worry about it until it happens (and hopefully, by then HAL will have implemented a non-smoking policy on the balconies).

[cruiseing marly]

I am not saying that no one will smell nor has ever smelled smoke. I just stated that in my case, I didn't. I was scared out of my wits by this thread stating that all smokers were migrating to HAL and I was very worried that I had made a huge and very expensive mistake by booking with HAL. As it turned out, we had an amazing experience and I will definitely book with HAL again. Yes, I may end up getting smoked out of my balcony next time, but I am not going to worry about it until it happens (and hopefully, by then HAL will have implemented a non-smoking policy on the balconies).

 

 

Have experienced the same my concern is getting unlucky and having all the rooms around you smoking. Being as they are within there rights I would end up with no rights. Even the most highly addicted smoker must realize this . It's like the rules saying it's ok to infringe on other guests space ! I don't want confrontation on a holiday not the kind of person to tell them they are bothering us ! We end up with no recourse is that fair ! Maybe if they continue to allow smoking HAL should arbitrate if need be . If they were in the middle like a non smoker is the would realize what an uncomfortable place there policy puts there guest in .

[RuthC]

... I am not going to worry about it until it happens....

Good strategy. Glad this trip worked out so well for you.

[Fouremco]

I am not saying that no one will smell nor has ever smelled smoke. I just stated that in my case, I didn't. I was scared out of my wits by this thread stating that all smokers were migrating to HAL and I was very worried that I had made a huge and very expensive mistake by booking with HAL. As it turned out, we had an amazing experience and I will definitely book with HAL again. Yes, I may end up getting smoked out of my balcony next time, but I am not going to worry about it until it happens (and hopefully, by then HAL will have implemented a non-smoking policy on the balconies).

That happened to us on a 21-day collector's cruise. For the first ten day's, we gave up trying to use our balcony, but guest services was able to move us to another cabin for the second leg when there was a no-show. On other HAL cruises we have had varying amounts of second-hand smoke, including that from two cigar smokers directly below us this past February, but none so bad that we've stopped using the balcony. Since moving to aft cabins a few cruises ago, we've found the problem to be less of an issue, so while we'd like to see HAL update it's policy to the 21st century, we'll survive.

[sugcarol]

I think HAL is of the mindset that less and less people are smoking and that as time goes on there will be less and less smoking on balconies. Right now people act like every other balcony cabin is a smoker. That is not the case at least in my experience and I cruise a lot.

[Lizzie68]

I think HAL is of the mindset that less and less people are smoking and that as time goes on there will be less and less smoking on balconies. Right now people act like every other balcony cabin is a smoker. That is not the case at least in my experience and I cruise a lot.

 

You could quite possibly be right. The problem is when your cruise has been impacted by the smoking it probably does feel like every other balcony does have a smoker.:)

[sail7seas]

Exactly.

Doesn't matter if there are only two cabins with verandah smokers or twenty two if the two are on either side of my verandah. :(

Edited July 24, 2015 by sail7seas

[erewhon]

For those who reassured me that HAL is not the "Ashtray of the Seas", I want to thank you! Your prediction of not being bothered by smokers was absolutely true. We had no issues at all on our balcony, nor was walking through the casino a problem. I was very pleasantly surprised as I did expect a large number of smokers especially since we were cruising in Europe. This thread certainly gives one a very skewed view of the reality out there.

 

You were very fortunate to not be bothered by smokers.

[Danni3ll3]

You were very fortunate to not be bothered by smokers.

 

I know. I was expecting otherwise.

[mickeync]

Now I am nervous. I'm booked on an October cruise and after reading all these posts I'm not sure if I made the right decision with HAL. It sounds like there will be smoke everywhere on the ship. Are the halls, balconies, public rooms, pool areas full of smoke?

[cruiseing marly]

Now I am nervous. I'm booked on an October cruise and after reading all these posts I'm not sure if I made the right decision with HAL. It sounds like there will be smoke everywhere on the ship. Are the halls, balconies, public rooms, pool areas full of smoke?

 

 

It won't be as bad casino back pool starboard if unlucky on your balconies

[zackiedawg]

Now I am nervous. I'm booked on an October cruise and after reading all these posts I'm not sure if I made the right decision with HAL. It sounds like there will be smoke everywhere on the ship. Are the halls, balconies, public rooms, pool areas full of smoke?

 

Honestly, whether you have a smoker directly next to you on a balcony with the wind currents just right (wrong), how sensitive you are to smoke, and to some extent how much you go looking for it, will determine whether or not it will bother you.

 

As a non-smoker, but not one who is overly sensitive to exposure (if I can smell it lightly in a room or furniture, it isn't what I'd call pleasant but doesn't cause me any grief...if clouds of it are drifting right into my face, I'm not happy)...and I've never been bothered by smoke onboard HAL ships. Most of the time, I don't smell or notice any. Certainly the halls, and almost all the lounges and public rooms, are free from any smoke. A few areas, such as the casino, or specific rooms that have designated smoking areas, might affect the very sensitive, especially if you position yourself too close and there are a lot of smokers there...avoiding the smoking sections of the ship will generally mean 99% of non-smokers won't be affected by smokers. And on balconies, much is dependent on winds, wind direction, volume of smoking, etc. I'd say a vast majority of my balcony time has been smoke-free on HAL ships - I can recall maybe 1 or 2 total days at sea out of hundreds where the wind was going the same direction as the ship, causing much more static air and less flow, and a next-door balcony that had 2 or more smokers on it at the same time, where I was able to notice the smoking...even then, it was just a mild scent to let me know it was there, but not a complete cloud that drove me indoors. The next day, even with those heavy smokers next door, the wind currents pulled the smoke out and away before it ever got to my balcony.

 

I seriously doubt you will have any issues with smoke on your HAL cruise - and if at any point you do, the most likely culprit or time would be on a balcony next to heavy smokers on very still air current days, or in the casino if you're sitting surrounded by smokers on both sides...or if you are extremely sensitive and devoting a lot of time and effort into seeking out smokers to prove a point. And even then, there are possible solutions - some smokers are courteous and may be willing to snuff out or move if you are courteous in asking, and if you are in a really badly affected room or balcony the ship may be willing to move you if they can - so even that isn't the end of the world! It certainly CAN happen that you will detect smoke in some places and it may affect you, as some here have attested, but I think you'd see hundreds or thousands more posts and posters complaining here about it if it was an unavoidable problem. I'd think it's a rare case and nothing worth worrying about, personally.

[Fouremco]

Now I am nervous. I'm booked on an October cruise and after reading all these posts I'm not sure if I made the right decision with HAL. It sounds like there will be smoke everywhere on the ship. Are the halls, balconies, public rooms, pool areas full of smoke?

Although I'm a non-smoker and a strong proponent of HAL adopting a smoking policy in line with 21st Century norms, we continue to sail with HAL knowing that the worst that can happen is a reduced use of our balcony. Since we've moved to aft cabins, even this problem has become minimal.

 

Having said that, we don't gamble and so avoid the casino. That is the only interior public location where you might experience problems. There's no smoking around the pool or most other deck areas, and it's fairly easy to avoid the limited number of areas designated for smoking.

Edited July 24, 2015 by Fouremco

[Sow There]

...As a non-smoker, but not one who is overly sensitive to exposure (if I can smell it lightly in a room or furniture, it isn't what I'd call pleasant but doesn't cause me any grief...

 

Our very first cruise was on the old Nieuw Amsterdam in Sept. 1987, a 7 day Alaska cruise.

 

Back then there were no ships in the HAL fleet with any balcony cabins at all, so there was no issue with smokers in veranda areas.

 

Back then we non-smokers had to be satisfied with seats in the non-smoking section of the airplane to Vancouver that was one row in font of the smoking section.

 

Back then smoking was permitted in all public rooms on board (bars, restaurants, show rooms, etc.).

 

Back then tobacco companies offered free sample packs containing five cigarettes.

 

Back then there was no political correctness associated with smoking.

 

That was about 28 years ago. Boy have times changed.

[Lizzie68]

Our very first cruise was on the old Nieuw Amsterdam in Sept. 1987, a 7 day Alaska cruise.

 

Back then there were no ships in the HAL fleet with any balcony cabins at all, so there was no issue with smokers in veranda areas.

 

Back then we non-smokers had to be satisfied with seats in the non-smoking section of the airplane to Vancouver that was one row in font of the smoking section.

 

Back then smoking was permitted in all public rooms on board (bars, restaurants, show rooms, etc.).

 

Back then tobacco companies offered free sample packs containing five cigarettes.

 

Back then there was no political correctness associated with smoking.

 

That was about 28 years ago. Boy have times changed.

 

Indeed, I remember those days well. I was a chain smoker back then.:o Fortunately, we all became more educated about the dangers of smoking and second-hand smoke.

[SS Exeter]

Please note that more than half of the Casino is non-smoking.

You would absolutely not have people smoking on either side of you if you are in the No-Smoking section of the casino.:rolleyes:

[cruz chic]

Please note that more than half of the Casino is non-smoking.

You would absolutely not have people smoking on either side of you if you are in the No-Smoking section of the casino.:rolleyes:

 

You do realize that smoke drifts, right?

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Please note that more than half of the Casino is non-smoking.

You would absolutely not have people smoking on either side of you if you are in the No-Smoking section of the casino.:rolleyes:

 

I'm glad to know that the smoke filled air in the casino on Holland America is so smart that it knows where it is supposed to go. :rolleyes: :)

[sail7seas]

LOL.... Reminds me of the days of 'smoking sections' in restaurants as though the smoke would know where the division was. Of course, the smoke in casino lends itself to unpleasant smells in the casino as a whole.

[peddieplease]

Honestly, whether you have a smoker directly next to you on a balcony with the wind currents just right (wrong), how sensitive you are to smoke, and to some extent how much you go looking for it, will determine whether or not it will bother you.

 

As a non-smoker, but not one who is overly sensitive to exposure (if I can smell it lightly in a room or furniture, it isn't what I'd call pleasant but doesn't cause me any grief...if clouds of it are drifting right into my face, I'm not happy)...and I've never been bothered by smoke onboard HAL ships. Most of the time, I don't smell or notice any. Certainly the halls, and almost all the lounges and public rooms, are free from any smoke. A few areas, such as the casino, or specific rooms that have designated smoking areas, might affect the very sensitive, especially if you position yourself too close and there are a lot of smokers there...avoiding the smoking sections of the ship will generally mean 99% of non-smokers won't be affected by smokers. And on balconies, much is dependent on winds, wind direction, volume of smoking, etc. I'd say a vast majority of my balcony time has been smoke-free on HAL ships - I can recall maybe 1 or 2 total days at sea out of hundreds where the wind was going the same direction as the ship, causing much more static air and less flow, and a next-door balcony that had 2 or more smokers on it at the same time, where I was able to notice the smoking...even then, it was just a mild scent to let me know it was there, but not a complete cloud that drove me indoors. The next day, even with those heavy smokers next door, the wind currents pulled the smoke out and away before it ever got to my balcony.

 

I seriously doubt you will have any issues with smoke on your HAL cruise - and if at any point you do, the most likely culprit or time would be on a balcony next to heavy smokers on very still air current days, or in the casino if you're sitting surrounded by smokers on both sides...or if you are extremely sensitive and devoting a lot of time and effort into seeking out smokers to prove a point. And even then, there are possible solutions - some smokers are courteous and may be willing to snuff out or move if you are courteous in asking, and if you are in a really badly affected room or balcony the ship may be willing to move you if they can - so even that isn't the end of the world! It certainly CAN happen that you will detect smoke in some places and it may affect you, as some here have attested, but I think you'd see hundreds or thousands more posts and posters complaining here about it if it was an unavoidable problem. I'd think it's a rare case and nothing worth worrying about, personally.

 

You make sense.

[deliver42]

I haven't been on this site often due to some of the hate responses, but I'd like to put in my 2 cents. I am a smoker (cigars), and don't agree with HAL's balcony smoking policy. They have a new ship coming out which should give them a chance to change it. I believe there should be a smokers lounge somewhere on the ship,as RCCL and MSC have on some of their ships. Carnival too. As an alternative to that, a covered area at the stern so smoke would go out to sea and not bother anyone. There should also be tables, chairs, and ashtrays there. Most of us are not piriahs, and really don't want to inconvenience the non-smokers. I'm sure some of you will disagree with me, but that is my humble opinion.

[GeneBK]

We have been on eight Holland America cruises in recent years. Our experience---

 

Perhaps we're been lucky, but smoke has never been a problem for us on the balcony.

 

We don't frequent the casino, so I can't comment on that.

 

We have never been bothered by a sense of smoke in any indoor area. The outdoor smoking area is well placed in the back and secluded.

 

We have been on other lines that have more restrictive smoking policies. Their problem---MORE people smoking in outdoor areas, often around the pool and outside lounges....these have sometimes been more annoying than we encounter on HAL. Lucky perhaps, but I for one think the current policy is working well.

[Lizzie68]

I haven't been on this site often due to some of the hate responses, but I'd like to put in my 2 cents. I am a smoker (cigars), and don't agree with HAL's balcony smoking policy. They have a new ship coming out which should give them a chance to change it. I believe there should be a smokers lounge somewhere on the ship,as RCCL and MSC have on some of their ships. Carnival too. As an alternative to that, a covered area at the stern so smoke would go out to sea and not bother anyone. There should also be tables, chairs, and ashtrays there. Most of us are not piriahs, and really don't want to inconvenience the non-smokers. I'm sure some of you will disagree with me, but that is my humble opinion.

 

I know it's a long thread so not likely anyone would have the patience to go back and read it all, but you will find that most of us non-smokers have stated this. The ships should have a comfortable, enclosed and well-ventilated lounge for smokers. There is already an outside smoking area on HAL ships on the aft lido. And of course there is the casino, if you are playing. And every darned balcony too:o - that is where the contention lies. We, as non-smokers, cannot avoid it if we have smokers on either or both sides, like we can on the rest of the ship. Aside from the smoke, I had a cruise almost totally ruined by the hacking and nauseating lung-clearing from the next balcony every day. Not only could we not sit out there, but never once could we eat on our balcony. So if they could stop the balcony smoking and give you all a decent smoking lounge plus the outside area already provided, I think that would be a win-win.

[kennicott]

Honestly, whether you have a smoker directly next to you on a balcony with the wind currents just right (wrong), how sensitive you are to smoke, and to some extent how much you go looking for it, will determine whether or not it will bother you.

 

As a non-smoker, but not one who is overly sensitive to exposure (if I can smell it lightly in a room or furniture, it isn't what I'd call pleasant but doesn't cause me any grief...if clouds of it are drifting right into my face, I'm not happy)...and I've never been bothered by smoke onboard HAL ships. Most of the time, I don't smell or notice any. Certainly the halls, and almost all the lounges and public rooms, are free from any smoke. A few areas, such as the casino, or specific rooms that have designated smoking areas, might affect the very sensitive, especially if you position yourself too close and there are a lot of smokers there...avoiding the smoking sections of the ship will generally mean 99% of non-smokers won't be affected by smokers. And on balconies, much is dependent on winds, wind direction, volume of smoking, etc. I'd say a vast majority of my balcony time has been smoke-free on HAL ships - I can recall maybe 1 or 2 total days at sea out of hundreds where the wind was going the same direction as the ship, causing much more static air and less flow, and a next-door balcony that had 2 or more smokers on it at the same time, where I was able to notice the smoking...even then, it was just a mild scent to let me know it was there, but not a complete cloud that drove me indoors. The next day, even with those heavy smokers next door, the wind currents pulled the smoke out and away before it ever got to my balcony.

 

I seriously doubt you will have any issues with smoke on your HAL cruise - and if at any point you do, the most likely culprit or time would be on a balcony next to heavy smokers on very still air current days, or in the casino if you're sitting surrounded by smokers on both sides...or if you are extremely sensitive and devoting a lot of time and effort into seeking out smokers to prove a point. And even then, there are possible solutions - some smokers are courteous and may be willing to snuff out or move if you are courteous in asking, and if you are in a really badly affected room or balcony the ship may be willing to move you if they can - so even that isn't the end of the world! It certainly CAN happen that you will detect smoke in some places and it may affect you, as some here have attested, but I think you'd see hundreds or thousands more posts and posters complaining here about it if it was an unavoidable problem. I'd think it's a rare case and nothing worth worrying about, personally.

 

Don't forget that over 50% of balcony use takes place under mostly zero wind conditions, when the vessel is tied up at the pier, at anchor or moving very slowly during sail-aways and arrivals.

 

There is this perception that balcony smoking only takes place when the ship is under way with a gale blowing through and throughout the balconies. Our many days of sailing, going on 600, proves otherwise, as rarely do we experience much wind on our balconies except during stormy conditions with wind blowing into our side of the ship or near to it.