Should Fred stop allowing smoking on balconies?

[Pentlands]

Anyone want to express an opinion?

[nb125]

I don't think we really want to have this discussion again.

[Pentlands]

It is not compulsory for you to read or vote.

[July morning]

I have never smoked but voted to keep it as it is.  When on board Braemar in January it was easy to avoid the smoking area.

[Pentlands]

But that is not the point, it is that balcony cabins allow smoking on balconies which upsets and can be devastating for people in the cabins next door. It is not about smoking areas in other parts of the ship.

 

[tring]

I suggest the only person who has a right to say if Fred should allow smoking on balconies (or not) is Fred.  Do you buy something from a supermarket, then wage a war on the manufacturing company, saying they should produce it in a different manner with different ingredients etc.?

 

There are many cruise companies and all are different in some way or other.  The point is you choose what you book and that is what is provided.  I see from another of your recent posts that you have travelled on Fred previously, so you can easily make the choice of whether to book again or not, and if you do book you can choose your cabin appropriately according to your personal requirements.

 

It is no secret that smoking is allowed on most Fred balconies, though as I have reported recently we spoke to a future cruise rep on a Fred ship in early April and she had information, (which she got from someone very high up in their hierachy), that they are likely to stop smoking on balconies in the next 5-10 years.  OK that is a long time, but when exactly they choose to do it remains to be seen and that is likely to be more affected by how many people are interested in booking under the current system, than the fact you have decided to wage war.  I certainly would not expect there to be any change in cruises that have already gone on sale as some people could have booked expecting to be able to smoke on their balcony.

 

Incidentally, I am a non smoker and asthmatic so would not risk a smoking balcony in case problems were encountered, though I have been in balcony cabins/suites that allow smoking (belonging to other passengers) and there was no problem whatsoever as very few passengers smoke anyway.  The only person I have come across who did have problems with a cabin was upgraded to a cabin on the next deck that had no issues at all with smoke.

 

We have had a terrace balcony twice (for 6.5 weeks in total) and thought both were excellent and the price for those cruises was pretty good as well IMO,  considering the itineraries and quality of cruise, (though we upgraded on board for one of them).  On many other occasions we have been equally happy in outside, or even inside cabins.

 

We have also travelled on a number of other cruise lines.

 

 

    

Edited May 15, 2019 by tring

[Pentlands]

LOL

 

Bring out the guns, man the barricades we are at war.

 

Why do you think Fred gives you a questionnaire at the end of using his product and asks about your enjoyment and other comments? I wonder if that could possibly be because they are interested in what the customer thinks?

 

Have cruise lines changed their policies and because of pressure from its users, yes they have.

 

So perhaps offering our opinions as to what might make for a better experience is of interest to them.

Still perhaps listening to you, they really don't give a jot what the customer wants or is interested in, Fred says "we will give them what we want to give them and they can like it or lump it". Sure is a fast way to lose customers. Because Fred has lost one in me at least.

[tallulahcruiser]

We have done 32 cruises and always had a balciny cabin until our first cruise on Fred in December 2018. We decided for the first time ever to book an inside cabin as we didn't want to take the risk of having smokers next go us on a balcony we wouldn't be able to use. So glad we did. It showed us we could have a good cruise without a balcony and will save us a fortune in the future. We liked our cosy cabin so much we have booked it again for 28 nights in January. 

[Vitalsign]

Other cruise lines limit smoking to either port or starboard side maybe as smokers are becoming fewer and fewer an idea would be to limit smoking balconies to one side of the ship and advertise as such As a smoker I would be quite happy with this as currently I cannot smoke on a balcony on my chosen line so never book one and the areas for smokers has reduced to about 5% of their ships which means I will be jumping ship!!!

[Britboys]

I'm quite surprised that Fred still allow this.  Many lines stopped it a few years back after a significant fire on board a Princess ship after a cigarette end was drawn back in to a cabin from the balcony.

[SausPud]

I was on a Terraced Balcony Suite on the Boudicca and Smoking isn't allowed on those balconies. 

[Pentlands]

And if one cheated it would easilly be seen!

 

[Lottie A]

I’m a first time Fred cruiser going on Braemar on August 27th and quite frankly, I’m appalled that Fred allow smoking on balconies at all. I have no problem with a designated smoking area onboard as it is easy to avoid this, but if I was in a balcony cabin and the passengers next door were constantly smoking I would be furious. I would not be able to use my balcony at all which seems very unfair and as we all know the dangers of smoking now both personally and the risk of fire on a ship then I think Fred should be discouraging this on their ships. 

It would certainly stop me booking a balcony cabin in the future. 

 

[Elaine0138]

I have been looking at booking a Fred cruise, but will have to think again if they allow smoking on balconies. We had a bad experience on a Celebrity ship before they banned smoking in cabins and on balconies.

[tallulahcruiser]

On 8/22/2019 at 5:39 PM, Elaine0138 said:

I have been looking at booking a Fred cruise, but will have to think again if they allow smoking on balconies. We had a bad experience on a Celebrity ship before they banned smoking in cabins and on balconies.

You could book an inside cabin as we did then you will have no problems with smoke. It is the first cruise  we have done without a balcony and we managed ok and saved a lot on the cost too.  I was very apprehensive when we booked but pleased we did. We have booked 28 nights in the same cabin for January.  It would be a shame for you to miss out on experiencing a Fred cruise because of the smoke but I certainly wouldn't risk a balcony.