HAL (finally) bans smoking on balconies

[Turtles06]

HAL announced several days ago that it will ban smoking on balconies on most ships starting in January, two others to follow later in 2017:

 

http://f.e.hollandamerica.com/i/41/1010169812/Smoking_Policy.pdf

 

I realize this is the Celebrity board, but this news so far doesn't seem to have had much pickup. Celebrity has a great no-smoking policy, and I thought readers here might find this news of interest.

[Rkoz1122]

Excellent move! Thanks for posting, we have kept to Celebrity and Princess in recent years - but have been tempted by some of the HAL itineraries. This change would remove my main reason for avoiding HAL.

 

 

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[Turtles06]

Excellent move! Thanks for posting, we have kept to Celebrity and Princess in recent years - but have been tempted by some of the HAL itineraries. This change would remove my main reason for avoiding HAL.

 

 

Indeed, HAL has some very interesting itineraries. But my wife and I would never sail on HAL while smoking was allowed on balconies. So this opens up another cruise line for us. (But we still love Celebrity! :) )

[ClaudiaB]

But do they still allow it in casinos and some other places inside? I can't sail where it's inside so until they ban it inside, we're sticking with smoke-free lines.

[jelayne]

For us smoking indoors is far more an issue than balcony smoking. Smoke outside is a problem but it doesn't last. Smoking indoors lingers in the draperies, upholstery and carpets.

 

We just borrowed a card table and chairs from some friends who smoke. The chairs were in the house for about 15 minutes and the room had stale smoke smell. We moved them to the back porch.

 

Any cruise line that allows any smoking indoors is a no go for us.

[Cruise Junky]

But do they still allow it in casinos and some other places inside? I can't sail where it's inside so until they ban it inside, we're sticking with smoke-free lines.

 

There are I think 2 ships that it's banned in the casino. Might actually save me money with smoking in the casino ;)

[OCruisers]

Some will be happier with this than others. :rolleyes:

[fshagan]

The PDF file lists two ships where smoking is not allowed in casinos, ms Oosterdam and ms Eurodam that have smoke-free casinos.

[Cruzaholic41]

The PDF file lists two ships where smoking is not allowed in casinos, ms Oosterdam and ms Eurodam that have smoke-free casinos.

 

That's because recent refurbishments opened the space to an expanded piano bar. This will also include other ships as they get refurbished. Basically, those ships will have as strict of a policy as Celebrity. Good for HAL.

[Kmangel]

We cruised on the Zuiderdam in June 2016 and didn't notice any smoke from our balcony, but the smoke in the casino was horrible. I am glad to see that HAL is getting on board by beginning to ban smoking!

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

When they ban ALL indoor smoking and all balcony smoking, then I might re-consider sailing with them. Until then, nope.

[Loreni]

The PDF file lists two ships where smoking is not allowed in casinos, ms Oosterdam and ms Eurodam that have smoke-free casinos.

 

This is excellent news. DH and I have been considering Celebrity for a long time, but we're concerned about the thumping music. Celebrity has clearly been trying to shed older cruisers for years. I'm not sure that we are the age demographic Celebrity wants and I'd hate to feel unwelcome.

 

Meanwhile HAL offers some really nice itineraries, but the smoking policy was always a deal breaker. Now, it appears HAL is trying to be more inclusive and reach out to a broad diverse demographic at the same time Celebrity appears to be targeting a younger more narrow demographic.

 

We are Princess cruisers, but want to add another line so we have more options.

[simon stingray]

We sailed on HAL Rotterdam last November and smoking was allowed only in 1 corner of the casino where there were approx 12 slot machines.

 

We were chatting to the casino manager and he told us that the casino was shortly going to become totally smoke free.

[bigbeergut]

For us smoking indoors is far more an issue than balcony smoking. Smoke outside is a problem but it doesn't last. Smoking indoors lingers in the draperies, upholstery and carpets. .....

 

 

I agree. HAL's smoking policy was a non-starter for me selecting a cruise. However, I think I'll give them several months to allow the previous smoking areas to air-out. The prices on some of the itineraries are very attractive, I think it's worth giving them a try

[Shining Clem]

Thank you so much for posting this news about HAL!

 

It was the only thing holding us back from some of the HAL itineraries. We had put $$ down on a sailing to Hawaii in Jan '17 trying to chose our cabin very carefully. But between the long cruise and the possible effects the election might have on worldwide economies, we were thinking of bailing.

 

We took a HAL cruise to Alaska, because of family timing with a wedding, and it was short partly because of the smoking issue. We figured we would hope for no nearby cigars (the worse!) on balconies for a week. Fortunately the cabin didn't have anyone else on either side and we were OK. We found the other pax on HAL very friendly and interesting.

 

Celebrity will continue to be the first choice when we look to book a cruise, but it is nice to have alternatives. And they were our first, first choice because of the mostly no smoking policy. People who smoke should have an area where they can smoke, so they don't try to sneak around and smoke someplace dangerous. I wonder if the line didn't have some near misses, with live ashes etc, even on the balconies. :eek:

****************************

BTW we liked the outlook on the world expressed in the latest Celebrity ad campaign. It was a calming break after all the nastiness of the debate. We didn't see it as political at all, but a reflection of our interest in the world. Let us have respectful conversations, as Lisa sez, not name calling and fights. We have been enriched by our travels. We want to do as much as we can before we age-out. There is a lot of pent-up desire to travel, to see new things in nature and learn from people on the ship and on the land.

[4774Papa]

For us smoking indoors is far more an issue than balcony smoking. Smoke outside is a problem but it doesn't last. Smoking indoors lingers in the draperies, upholstery and carpets.

 

We just borrowed a card table and chairs from some friends who smoke. The chairs were in the house for about 15 minutes and the room had stale smoke smell. We moved them to the back porch.

 

Any cruise line that allows any smoking indoors is a no go for us.

 

If you upwind neighbor is smoking on their balcony, believe me, it is a huge problem, even outdoors, when you want to use your balcony.

[ghstudio]

We just booked Princess to Norway/Arctic although HAL had a better itinerary (celebrity is a non-player in that area of the world). The reason...smoking policy. We agree with others here...when they eliminate ALL inside smoking, we'll be happy to take advantage of some of their interesting cruises. The balcony is a good start....the casino still makes HAL a non-starter other than the two ships with no indoor smoking.

[Turtles06]

If you upwind neighbor is smoking on their balcony, believe me, it is a huge problem, even outdoors, when you want to use your balcony.

 

Totally agree. And since we sail in balcony cabins, we would not book with a cruise line where our enjoyment of our own balcony could be compromised that way.

[awhcruiser]

When they ban ALL indoor smoking and all balcony smoking, then I might re-consider sailing with them. Until then, nope.

Good luck.

 

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[Cop Chef]

Hal to us always had some interesting itinerary and sales we wanted to try, and like everyone here, we didn’t sail with them because of their smoking policy. We’re gonna sit back and see how long it’s going to take for the frequent smoker Pax to adhere to the rules and to see if Hal enforces this new policy before sailing with them.

[bigbenboys]

We had cruised with HAL 65 nights. It still comes down to you can still smoke Vapor brand electronic cigarettes in your cabin.

 

Celebrity Captain's Club is much better then HAL mariner Society. I looked at the suites and what you get with them. Celebrity is miles ahead of HAL.

I might have missed them, but I did not see any drink packages. I do remember buying a wine punch card years ago.

We have not cruise with HAL since 2008 or 2009. Our last cruise with HAL was on the Eurodam and it might have been 1 year old.

[awhcruiser]

Hal to us always had some interesting itinerary and sales we wanted to try, and like everyone here, we didn’t sail with them because of their smoking policy. We’re gonna sit back and see how long it’s going to take for the frequent smoker Pax to adhere to the rules and to see if Hal enforces this new policy before sailing with them.

How does this relate to Celebrity?

 

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[Wine-O]

I am wondering when RCCL is going to eliminate smoking in their casinos. I understand smoking is allowed only in certain areas of the casino, but the smoke doesn't abide by that rule.

[A Sixth?]

Hal to us always had some interesting itinerary and sales we wanted to try, and like everyone here, we didn’t sail with them because of their smoking policy. We’re gonna sit back and see how long it’s going to take for the frequent smoker Pax to adhere to the rules and to see if Hal enforces this new policy before sailing with them.

 

Yup, I'll second that thought.

[Turtles06]

I am wondering when RCCL is going to eliminate smoking in their casinos. I understand smoking is allowed only in certain areas of the casino, but the smoke doesn't abide by that rule.

 

Funny that you mention this. The only RCI ship on which we've ever sailed is Anthem; we were on her inaugural TA last fall. A couple of days into the crossing, by which time we'd been pretty much all over the ship, it struck me that we hadn't seen the casino. Where was it?

 

Turns out, RCI nicely stuck the casino down in the bowels of the ship. Mostly there was no need to walk through it unless you were going there, and while it was indeed horribly smoky (and yes, I'd prefer no smoking indoors on cruise ships), it was more easily avoided than casinos on most other ships. (And of course I realize that this is not the case for those who enjoy gambling.)