Vaping Email Response from Celebrity

[davekathy]

We'll continue to cruise with Celebrity if they decide vaping is now allowed in the casino after there little useless experiment. We'll be highly disappointed and will annotate our disappointment on our PCS, for what that's worth. 🙄

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

54 minutes ago, neverlaysup said:

Has anyone on this forum actually experienced people vaping in either of these casino's? I will reserve judgement until I experience it firsthand.

@Georgia_Peaches has.

[Georgia_Peaches]

4 minutes ago, def0715 said:

I am supposed to sail on the Equinox later this month but am reconsidering. I would imagine the whole vaping thing might be gaining traction.

I can definitively say that I have seen no vaping only areas in the casino on this cruise….meaning, it seems to be allowed anywhere in the casino. And I agree, this will gain traction. 

Edited July 4, 2023 by Georgia_Peaches

[Georgia_Peaches]

3 minutes ago, davekathy said:

We'll continue to cruise with Celebrity if they decide vaping is now allowed in the casino after there little useless experiment. We'll be highly disappointed and will annotate our disappointment on our PCS, for what that's worth. 🙄

Same for us. We are having a great cruise and I still enjoy the Celebrity product on the whole. It will definitely impact my time in the casino though and for that, I believe DH will be truly grateful!

[def0715]

Hope you’re enjoying your cruise. Loved the ship! Which slot machines were the two you posted? The ones I played were bad, bad, bad. No luck whatsoever.

[the penguins]

16 minutes ago, davekathy said:

We'll continue to cruise with Celebrity if they decide vaping is now allowed in the casino after there little useless experiment. We'll be highly disappointed and will annotate our disappointment on our PCS, for what that's worth. 🙄

please see the thread "vaping on Equinox"

Just griping here will not change things.

Whatever your views email X directly "executiveoffice@celebrity.com".

Be polite and be sure to ask specific questions that need an answer. 

Will it get vaping banned?

I don't know but passenger pressure did result in compolsary AI being dropped for all cabins except Aqua and Suites.

[Orator]

2 minutes ago, the penguins said:

please see the thread "vaping on Equinox"

Just griping here will not change things.

Whatever your views email X directly "executiveoffice@celebrity.com".

Be polite and be sure to ask specific questions that need an answer. 

Will it get vaping banned?

I don't know but passenger pressure did result in compolsary AI being dropped for all cabins except Aqua and Suites.

 

Was the changing of AI due to passenger pressure or the need to sell cabins? As you said they did maintain AI for Aqua Class and above where sales were strong.

[phoenix_dream]

5 minutes ago, Orator said:

Was the changing of AI due to passenger pressure or the need to sell cabins? As you said they did maintain AI for Aqua Class and above where sales were strong.

Exactly.  The only thing that matters is the $$.

 

As to the OP's post - this is not only disappointing it is bordering on insulting.  A canned, and incorrect response.  Sad.

[the penguins]

6 minutes ago, Orator said:

Was the changing of AI due to passenger pressure or the need to sell cabins? As you said they did maintain AI for Aqua Class and above where sales were strong.

As soon as the  ships started sailing after the pandemic the number of "comments" X refused to accept the word "complaints" made by passengers onboard reached such a level that the Captain's Club Hosts were instructed to send daily reports on on the issue.

Then in the December after AI was introduced we received an email from X which stated that " we appreciate that not everyone needs or wants a drinks package or unlimited WiFi and we are working to address this issue".

I believe they retained AI for Suites partly to justify the very high prices.

Why they kept it for Aqua I have no idea but perhaps Aqua passengers didn't complain as much.

[1Virgo]

50 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

@Georgia_Peaches has.

we saw vaping on the Summit on April/May. One by the pool trying to do sneaky exhale and another no where near smoking area.   So if vapers were willing to do vaping before the experiment, I can’t see this going away

[tfred]

the vaping decision is really ruled by the casino revenue.  X knows the PPD spend on other Royal Group ships and isn't equal to that evidently. They probably know what everyone is doing as well with smoking/vaping and feel X is leaving money on the table - literally 

 

The spa and photo are run by concessionaires - maybe the casino as well.  In any case there is a guarantee  per week for those first two and it is really quite high.  At one time the photo quarantee was equal to a set amount or  70% of the weekly take. Made it hard for them to make money 

 

my previous comment on suites was just a comment and not a warning to X.  Suites aren't cheap and I can actually get that price with equal to service on SS or Seabourn. As a matter of fact we are taking a 10 SS Italy cruise for less than a 10 day X cruise next summer.  We dont need all the hoopla at night with a busy port schedule.  Caribbean is a different story as we enjoy the big ship activities there but that is our January vacation since we live in Florida

 

The vaping is a big no go for us as it allows it all over the ship one way or the other.  X can't stop people from wearing shorts and baseball caps in the MDR because of concern over customer complaints "its my vacation and I will do what I want". Do you really think they will corral pax back into the casino when they are standing in the doorway with a vape ?

[JLMcruise]

4 hours ago, 3boyz2keep said:

Well, not feeling very heard and actually feeling dismissed

We will be on the Millie early August - I  will be letting guest service know our concerns about vaping onboards since the "test" period will still be going on. I hope others do the same on other ships. My daughter is asthmatic  - we planned her birthday cruise on the Equinox in November. I informed the lady today that called in regards to my email - we may need to rethink our Equinox cruise if the "test" becomes permanent and the other cruises we have booked.  She did state the overwhelming response to vaping indoors is negative. She stated that the impact to the guests has not been determined. Glad I got a phone call - the email you received - I think a vapor wrote it🤣

[dlh015]

1 hour ago, neverlaysup said:

Has anyone on this forum actually experienced people vaping in either of these casino's? I will reserve judgement until I experience it firsthand.

You apparently haven't seen the other threads.  (And now see post #23 below)  2 passengers have posted actual pictures and witnessed the vaping on the Equinox...and one of them as spoken to the Guest Relations desk personnel...

[neverlaysup]

3 minutes ago, dlh015 said:

You apparently haven't seen the other threads.  (And now see post #23 below)  2 passengers have posted actual pictures and witnessed the vaping on the Equinox...and one of them as spoken to the Guest Relations desk personnel...

Copy all...big cherry cloud!

 

Edited July 4, 2023 by neverlaysup

[Orator]

2 minutes ago, the penguins said:

As soon as the  ships started sailing after the pandemic the number of "comments" X refused to accept the word "complaints" made by passengers onboard reached such a level that the Captain's Club Hosts were instructed to send daily reports on on the issue.

Then in the December after AI was introduced we received an email from X which stated that " we appreciate that not everyone needs or wants a drinks package or unlimited WiFi and we are working to address this issue".

I believe they retained AI for Suites partly to justify the very high prices.

Why they kept it for Aqua I have no idea but perhaps Aqua passengers didn't complain as much.

Many of the Suites have the premium drink package as part of their amenities. IMO, and I might be wrong, when a corporate culture replaces loyalty with the bottom line it is in trouble. In the long run you will be alienating those who have displayed loyalty and in the long run adversely affecting the bottom line. I can understand the need to reduce debt. I want Celebrity to succeed, I just feel that their approach is incorrect. 

[phoenix_dream]

10 minutes ago, the penguins said:

As soon as the  ships started sailing after the pandemic the number of "comments" X refused to accept the word "complaints" made by passengers onboard reached such a level that the Captain's Club Hosts were instructed to send daily reports on on the issue.

Then in the December after AI was introduced we received an email from X which stated that " we appreciate that not everyone needs or wants a drinks package or unlimited WiFi and we are working to address this issue".

I believe they retained AI for Suites partly to justify the very high prices.

Why they kept it for Aqua I have no idea but perhaps Aqua passengers didn't complain as much.

I have no idea why they kept it for Aqua either and am very, very unhappy that they did.  For those of us at Zenith level (and I achieved it after a lot of loyalty to Celebrity - over 70 cruises over 30 years) we feel we are paying a lot extra for benefits we already earned through our loyalty.  Since created Aqua Class has always been our cabin of choice when we can't afford suites, which is often.  Now we look at the so much higher prices and cringe.  We couldn't care less about the spa component, we book it mainly for Blu.  With all the current menu cuts in MDR we are really torn between booking a different class, or in essence paying double for our benefits.  I hope I am not sounding like a Zenith snob here - it's just that we waited a long time to earn that level and paid a ton of money to Celebrity along the way to get there (and definitely enjoyed the ride!) and now feel like we are in some ways being taken advantage of as we have no choice but to pay for benefits we already earned if we want to sail AQ or higher.  

[tfred]

Join the club.  Every frequent "flyer" program - hotel, airline, cruise ship - has been gutted.  I have high lifetime status with Marriott and it really isn't worth that much for stays. The only thing you get anymore is quicker conflict resolution.  Few upgrades or special anything and very hard to use miles except at excessive rates. 

 

we like Blu as well but the price difference between veranda and AQ is enough to go specialty every night. We like The Retreat as it is less hectic with the included amenities 

[marieps]

4 hours ago, 39august said:

We also got this canned response to our e-mail sent yesterday. They have no idea if there has been an impact to their guests or not. Also, it appears from GeorgiaPeaches comments that there is no designated area in the casino for vaping. 

The email said "at this time," which I take to mean a final determination had not been made at the time of the email's posting.  I'm sure they'll gauge  "impact" based on the number of complaints they receive from passengers with direct proximity to the vaping going on.

[PatandStu]

I’ve also sent a email voicing my displeasure……for what it’s worth.

Pat

[Bo1953]

I would like to point out that for the form letters being received, in such cases and situations where there are massive mail ins about a particular topic, there is no way they can or will provide individual responses to each email.

 

The best thing which can be done is a 'pro-forma' email acknowledging the issue that was written in about and a few facts...

 

Otherwise, the 'unique' situations which require immediate attention would fall by the wayside, yet those of us who wrote in about this issue/policy/test, will get our emails noted and tallied as input for the final decision.

 

IMO that is the goal, the numbers of passengers who wish to not have this expanded beyond the smoking areas.

 

bon voyage

[jelayne]

3 hours ago, Julma said:

I wonder if the people on the Equinox and Eclipse realized when they booked this cruise that they would be part of this trial?  

We didn't or we would not have booked the 2 cruises we have on the Eclipse.

[dlh015]

2 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

I would like to point out that for the form letters being received, in such cases and situations where there are massive mail ins about a particular topic, there is no way they can or will provide individual responses to each email.

 

The best thing which can be done is a 'pro-forma' email acknowledging the issue that was written in about and a few facts...

 

Otherwise, the 'unique' situations which require immediate attention would fall by the wayside, yet those of us who wrote in about this issue/policy/test, will get our emails noted and tallied as input for the final decision.

 

IMO that is the goal, the numbers of passengers who wish to not have this expanded beyond the smoking areas.

 

bon voyage

One can hope!  But I must say that 'the letter' does give the impression that the decision has been made and that this 'trial' is merely lipstick on the pig. 

 

What I mean is they state it is a trial and the next paragraph says:

 

"and at this time there has been minimal to no impact to our guests experience onboard."

 

...and it's only been 2 days!

 

As I said, one can hope they reverse course and I certainly am hoping!!!

[C-Dragons]

36 minutes ago, 1Virgo said:

we saw vaping on the Summit on April/May. One by the pool trying to do sneaky exhale and another no where near smoking area.   So if vapers were willing to do vaping before the experiment, I can’t see this going away

It's the beginning of a slippery slope, IMO.

How will X deal with guests vaping in their staterooms, which is the next logical situation. On previous X sailings we have had to call Guest Relations because we could smell the cigarette smoke coming through the air ducts from the cabins next door. Smoking in staterooms is illegal, but guests will still try and get away with it.

I can’t see any logical reason for X to go down this path regarding guests vaping. Have they done actual research on this topic? What percentage of their guests actually indulge in this activity? Will allowing it really actually increase their bottom line?

There is a very well known quote, “ The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one. Perhaps X needs to figure out which is more important.

 

[KKB]

1 hour ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

You have clearly not been in New York City. It is ubiquitous with people puffing away on the streets and  "sneaking" puffs on the subway, in the movie and Broadway theatres, pretty much everywhere (I even saw someone vaping in St. Patrick's Cathedral the other day when I wandered in as I'd never been there before!).

Not surprising in a city of 18M.

Considering cruises are a microcosm of society, I'm not too worried about it.

3.4 % of US population vapes. 30% of US population has cruised.

In theory about 1% of passengers vape. No guarantee they will all be in the casino, at same time.

Yes, yes, the true math lies in the demographics of who vapes...the largest vaping age group by far is under the age of 44...and the largest age of cruisers is 40+.

The numbers support my lack of worry.

(11% of world population vapes, but much lower % of world population has ever cruised--much tougher to do the math there)

 

[C4HCG]

1 hour ago, 1Virgo said:

we saw vaping on the Summit on April/May. One by the pool trying to do sneaky exhale and another no where near smoking area.   So if vapers were willing to do vaping before the experiment, I can’t see this going away

Vapers vape anywhere in my experience. Can’t blame Celebrity for that. In the UK it’s become trendy amongst youngsters who do it where they want it would seem. And older generation ex smokers push boundaries too.