Vaping in Casino on Equinox

[BCHappyGal]

I am not saying folks cannot smoke or vape just NOT INSIDE 

There are lines granted the more expensive luxury lines that remain smoke/vaping free and I can & will move to them if this smoking/vaping pilot project becomes policy...  

[davekathy]

It's not the vapors or smokers fault if they are doing their thing in the authorized smoking areas. That's all on Celebrity and I'm against the ridiculous test and hope it fails. IMO, the vapors are going to turn the casino into a vaping lounge whether the casino is open or not to gambling just like the smokers have turned the casino into a smoking lounge on RC and Princess.  

[Swann5]

11 hours ago, davekathy said:

executiveoffice@celebrity.com and/or lhodges@rccl.com

Wow, very disappointed in Celebrity. My husband had a very significant allergic reaction to inhaling, unbeknownst to him, second hand vape emissions, at a considerable distance in an outdoor setting. Sure don't want to find out what kind of reaction he might have in an in-door setting. Two emails sent to the email addresses posted.  

Dianne

[Bo1953]

29 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

I’m hoping that it’s just the keyboard warrior effect but I had such high hopes of my fellow Celebrity passengers that I think I’d rather just lose my deposit than cruise with these people. 

Okay, dw7 I do understand the challenge with the commentary... yes, some of us can be harsh about what we think is appropriate or not.

 

IMO, if you take what you read on this or any other social media platform as the overarching personality of the ship, cruise line or passengers aboard, you will not have many places to sail...

 

Yes, a few of us are very vocal, then again you will find that less than 2% of the passengers aboard may have heard of CC and even fewer have ever graced these pages.

 

As I said before, I Am not going anywhere, quickly, from X... I Am sure you are and will be very respectful of others aboard, please remember that many of us have experienced the vast majority of smokers and vapers who are not and do not care... 

 

This is where we are coming from and trying to prevent as there is no way to distinguish the thoughtful vaper vs the selfish one... I would dare to go so far as to say that all who are against vaping are only against it in the casino, which leaves the two (2) areas on X's ships where it can take place.

 

Please know that the responses are not personal and directed to you or vapers in the least bit, as opposed to the activity in heavily used public spaces.

 

In health and bon voyage

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, Daveywavey70 said:

I’m hoping that it’s just the keyboard warrior effect but I had such high hopes of my fellow Celebrity passengers that I think I’d rather just lose my deposit than cruise with these people. 

I’m sorry if we prioritize our health over yours.  You say it’s 95% safe.  What about the other 5%?

[Ellaleah]

I’m only very slightly impressed with the response because of the extremely poor manner in which our Apex 11/3/24 cruise was canceled.  Nobody knew nothing and it was next to impossible to convince them that the cruise was canceled even after I told them that I got the letter from Celebrity.  That being said, it is sad that they have set my expectations so low.

 

Here is my communication……

[BlackLion 213]

51 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Do all of you “we book suites and if we don’t get our own way we’ll go elsewhere” people have any idea how Karen you sound? 

 

By the way, don't be naïve in thinking Celebrity doesn't read these boards.

 

When the pulse of a topic, any topic, is this strong, you can be sure they know what is happening!

 

Edited July 4, 2023 by BlackLion 213

[bnurick]

18 minutes ago, Ellaleah said:

I’m only very slightly impressed with the response because of the extremely poor manner in which our Apex 11/3/24 cruise was canceled.  Nobody knew nothing and it was next to impossible to convince them that the cruise was canceled even after I told them that I got the letter from Celebrity.  That being said, it is sad that they have set my expectations so low.

 

Here is my communication……

Have 5 cruises booked, 3 on the Eclipse in The Retreat (October 2023 Mexican Riviera, June 2024 Bermuda and January 2025 Southern Carribean).  Gonna need to call and see about a refund as I did not underwrite this counterparty risk to my health playing craps every night.  To think of all the protocols for COVID, this is about the dumbest/insensitive test pilot program I’ve seen in awhile.

Edited July 4, 2023 by bnurick

[Charles4515]

2 hours ago, Daveywavey70 said:

I’m so disappointed by the vitriol exhibited on this forum and have now switched from being so very excited about my first Celebrity cruise to dreading the thought of the people that I will be trapped on a ship with. 

You sound overly dramatic to me. We are regular Celebrity cruisers and have been used to the clean air inside the ship. We don't want that to change and I don't see any logical reason for Celebrity to be experimenting with vaping. 

Edited July 4, 2023 by Charles4515

[Silkroad]

I sent an email to the executive office this evening. We’ll see if I receive the same ridiculous response that @Ellaleah received. 

[swigso]

9 hours ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Thank you C4HCG, its nice to know that not all Celebrity passengers are like that. I Wonder how many people that vape have read this thread but haven't responded because of the vitriol they know they'd receive? I Must admit it has dampened my excitement for the cruise, I really wouldn't choose to be on a ship full of people that shout you down and call you a liar as soon as you disagree with them. It's hard to hear someones point of view whilst you're shouting at them. Seems to be the way these days though, if they don't agree with you shout at them until they do. 

Hi I think you misunderstand, if you choose to vape that is your choice but my choice is I do not wish to inhale the vapours. At the moment there are places outside where you can vape all day and night. I have no issues at all with this.

It took decades for the powers that be to listen to the medical profession and realise that smoking does damage your health. At this time no one has any idea of the long term damage to health that vaping does. I just want to be able to choose to stay away from the smoke. If it is allowed in the casino that will impact on my enjoyment so I will choose something else.

[C4HCG]

9 hours ago, RichYak said:

Honest question: what would be a deal breaker for you?

Don’t really want to distract from what is obviously a very important topic but I will answer your question.

 

The answer needs context, as cruisers who have only sailed a handful of times and only on Equinox we have limited experience and everything is still a novelty to us. We also are easy to please, we don’t do speciality restaurants, are not fussy eaters, so have simple needs. Sea days we sit on deck 14 where it’s relatively quiet having the odd dip in the pool. Port days we do excursions. Evenings we like Cafe el Baccio, the sunset bar, the entertainment in the Grand Foyer, we don’t do the shows in the theatre but if there is an entertainer there doing the kind of music we like we will go along.  We don’t do the casino, quizzes, game shows, etc. Room wise we choose Concierge as we like the location. What would break the deal?
 

1 - if All Included stopped including the drinks we like.

2 - if charges were introduced for more food than is presently.

3 - if the standard of room cleanliness dropped.

4 - if the ship was that full sunbeds couldn’t be found anywhere.

5 - if the people demographic changed. Either bad behaviour of adults or Celebrity changed direction and stared to appeal to families with young children.

6 - the overall cost.

 

We keep an eye on all of these things and it would need to be a combination of repeat failings that moved us away from Celebrity, to where who knows, we’ve researched other cruise lines and none appeal, and they would have the same challenges. So apologies for the long response, and that it is off topic, but I didn’t want to swerve the question. 

[C4HCG]

5 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

 

Please know that the responses are not personal and directed to you or vapers in the least bit, as opposed to the activity in heavily used public spaces.

 

In health and bon voyage

Good response Bo as usual.
 

I do think some of the responses here have been personal to Davey, been called a liar amongst other things. This is not me defending vaping, I think it’s an unknown in terms of health risk so this move by Celebrity is reckless to say the least.  But I do feel some responses here have been too personal. Just my view, many will disagree, such is life.  I do hope Davey doesn’t cancel because of this thread and I hope to Celebrity see sense and this idea falls at the first fence.

Edited July 4, 2023 by C4HCG

[poffles]

8 hours ago, Ellaleah said:

I’m only very slightly impressed with the response because of the extremely poor manner in which our Apex 11/3/24 cruise was canceled.  Nobody knew nothing and it was next to impossible to convince them that the cruise was canceled even after I told them that I got the letter from Celebrity.  That being said, it is sad that they have set my expectations so low.

 

Here is my communication……

 

 

LOL the best part 'there has been minimal to no impact to our guest experience onboard'. What? How exactly are they measuring this, what a silly statement?

 

I also wrote to them last evening and do not even care if I get a response, I just want to be heard so they can't say 'feedback was all positive'.  Some might feel it to be over dramatic but I have one cruise this fall which I'm too invested in now to cancel but another one I have booked for next spring is being given a very serious rethink.  I do not expect to be missed.

 

I don't view this as a minimal to no impact decision, and some would say get over it (which I will).  I also do not look at changes in isolation, instead I see this as a continuation of stay tuned for more to come in what appears to be Celebrity's quest to be everything to everyone.  I wonder what people would think if they also decided to allow the vaping in the theater, it's an entertainment venue much like the casino but ya it's not lost on me that this is a $$$ decision.

 

Edited July 4, 2023 by poffles

[finoky]

9 hours ago, soniam said:

 

No offense, but this isn't about "I'm not getting my way. I'm going somewhere else." for some people. Some of us are extremely allergic to this stuff or have other health issues that are affected by smoking/vaping. If you booked a cruise thinking there would be none of this inside, and then suddenly, you get on the ship and it's there, it could be a serious health issue. It's one thing to book something knowing that it's allowed in the casino and/or on balconies and then to complain. It's another for such a serious change without previous notification. It's not like they changed a dish in the dining room. It also would be unacceptable for this to become a random policy, where you don't know if your cruise will have inside smoking/vaping or not.

 

Exactly. We have cruised 25 times but never on Celebrity. We recently decided to switch over to them and have two cruises currently booked. The no smoking/vaping anywhere indoors was one of the big deciding factors for us. This news is not good at all and will negatively affect our cruise experience.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

8 hours ago, Silkroad said:

I sent an email to the executive office this evening. We’ll see if I receive the same ridiculous response that @Ellaleah received. 

I sent an email yesterday morning and still haven’t received even the ridiculous response above. 😞

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

51 minutes ago, poffles said:

wonder what people would think if they also decided to allow the vaping in the theater, it's an entertainment venue

Once it is allowed somewhere they will be sneaking puffs wherever they want.

 

Most of them probably already are thinking they are so slick holding their hand to their mouth and/or ducking their chin into their shoulder. Allowing it somewhere just gives them what they see as permission to do it anywhere.

[1Virgo]

9 hours ago, Ellaleah said:

I’m only very slightly impressed with the response because of the extremely poor manner in which our Apex 11/3/24 cruise was canceled.  Nobody knew nothing and it was next to impossible to convince them that the cruise was canceled even after I told them that I got the letter from Celebrity.  That being said, it is sad that they have set my expectations so low.

 

Here is my communication……

 

got the same form letter

[1Virgo]

11 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Once it is allowed somewhere they will be sneaking puffs wherever they want.

 

Most of them probably already are thinking they are so slick holding their hand to their mouth and/or ducking their chin into their shoulder. Allowing it somewhere just gives them what they see as permission to do it anywhere.

 

1 minute ago, 1Virgo said:

 

got the same form letter

 

1 minute ago, 1Virgo said:

 

got the same form letter

meant to add we saw a person “sneaking a vape” on the Summit in May.   No where near the smoking area either.     We also smelled smoke when sitting on our balcony.    WrittenonYourHeart is right.   Many vapers will just think they can get away with it anytime 

[welshwizards]

I e mailed them too and had the exact same reply. I have replied and challenged them should they affect changes on ships sailing out of UK. In the UK vaping is treated in exactly the same way as smoking, i.e. banned from all internal communal spaces - so in my view they should abide by that rule in the same way as the age limit to drink alcohol is reduced to 18 on UK sailings.

 

With regard to the vapes themselves - they are not solely being used as a substitute for smoking, we see youngsters  using them who have never smoked - because it appears to be a cool thing to do. The colours/flavours are deliberately targeting the young who are filling their lungs with goodness knows what rubbish. 

 

To me this is another example of Celebrity sneaking changes onto the ships without any warning or consultation. I hope they don't extend this when the trial ends

[StellaGrace]

Hi All, While I don't post very much at all, I am an avid reader on the boards here. This is an important topic and I agree with the many who feel the more feedback provided to Celebrity the better the possibility will be for them to rethink their strategy on this point.

 

While my family and I have sailed many lines with Disney having been our favorite due to service, quality experience, and the smoke free indoor environment, we thought we had found our new favorite cruise line with Celebrity. We initially thought Celebrity offered an experience closest to Disney, but was more adult oriented in terms of entertainment and offered the added bonus of a smoke free casino. Several in my family have health issues including asthma, so a smoke free environment is a real selling point for us.

 

It was really disheartening to learn of this indoor vaping trial. There are so many health considerations surrounding it. The outdoor designated areas for smoking has been a reasonable compromise for many years. This is a case where I feel Celebrity tried to fix something that wasn't broken.

 

Although I don't think it makes a difference for this issue about what cabin category one typically sails, since it appears to be coming up in some comments as a speaking point, we enjoy a regular veranda cabin and have also sailed in inside cabins as well. 

 

Thanks to those who posted the Celebrity email address. I sent off emails to both of the addresses provided.

 

Kind regards and happy & healthy cruising to all!

[poffles]

38 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Once it is allowed somewhere they will be sneaking puffs wherever they want.

 

Most of them probably already are thinking they are so slick holding their hand to their mouth and/or ducking their chin into their shoulder. Allowing it somewhere just gives them what they see as permission to do it anywhere.

 

Agree ... and i was more so being serious in saying what makes anyone assume it will stop at the casino or that it will even stop with vaping.   Why the casino, why not another internal area of the ship (not campaigning for this AT ALL) but this is totally Celebrity money grabbing, there is no other reason for this, and it is at the expense of those of us that have chosen their cruise line for their refreshing interior non-smoking policy.  I really mean it when I say reading about this 'test pilot' hurts.  If this sticks and moves to all ships I am resigned to cancel my spring cruise with them.

 

I have to add that an almost stealth test pilot on ships where people had no prior insight before booking or sailing on these ships would not reflect the reality of effect so there is a slight flaw in their testing practices.  Impact should include booking changes ... good and bad.  So this leaves me to think the test is solely about $$ but short term impact vs long term impact might be very different results.  Again ... I have no illusion I will be missed but makes me sad.

Edited July 4, 2023 by poffles

[poffles]

6 minutes ago, StellaGrace said:

Although I don't think it makes a difference for this issue about what cabin category one typically sails, since it appears to be coming up in some comments as a speaking point, we enjoy a regular veranda cabin and have also sailed in inside cabins as well. 

 

I didn't pick up on this but I'm another regular veranda passenger and you are right that stateroom has NOTHING to do with any of this.  It's about health and finding a fair balance for everyone that spends their hard earned money to cruise and choose to spend it on Celebrity.

[poffles]

44 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Once it is allowed somewhere they will be sneaking puffs wherever they want.

 

Most of them probably already are thinking they are so slick holding their hand to their mouth and/or ducking their chin into their shoulder. Allowing it somewhere just gives them what they see as permission to do it anywhere.

 

I had a conversation with someone about this and a response I got was 'oh well you can't please everyone'.  That was their takeaway which made me even sadder.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

8 minutes ago, poffles said:

I have to add that an almost stealth test pilot on ships where people had no prior insight before booking or sailing on these ships would not reflect the reality of effect so there is a slight flaw in their testing practices.  Impact should include booking changes ... good and bad.  So this leaves me to think the test is solely about $$ but short term impact vs long term impact might be very different results.

 

Exactly. An unannounced trial beginning immediately where people directly affected on the test sailings have no choice but to sail or lose all their money. So of course the "results" from bookings will show "no effect" - because most people cannot and will not lose the entire cost of a cruise.