Change to RCI smoking policy - effective today

[Bakincakes]

Do what we do. We have a little travel ashtray. Just leave it on the balcony and stick a note on the mirror for the stateroom attendant to clean out the ashtray on the balcony. :D

 

But I wouldn't be fearful if you throw your cigarette butts in the ashtray. Anybody can smell the difference that you did not smoke in the stateroom.

 

Plus the policy is not about 'making non smokers happy' but rather a measure of safety and 'destruction of property' (i.e. burn marks etc). So the little bit of stink won't hurt. RCI always cleaned rooms up and made then smell free when people smoked in the stateroom.

 

It will be interesting to see how tolerant non-smokers in adjoining balcony rooms are. I am always tolerant and courteous and I always found arrangements with neighboring cabins.

 

I've read many posts by non-smokers who are terrified that their balconies will be filled with smoke from their neighbors, especially when in port.

 

I'm betting that the gloves will come off and there will be a spate of complaints from non-smokers about their balcony usage being compromised. Many of them won't be happy until smoking is banned on all ships, everywhere.

[Eileen G]

On one of our recient cruises someone in a cabin a few doors down was smoking pot so much that the hallway reeked of it. I can't understand why the so called security did nothing about it and obviously knew what was going on. In fact we made a commment to one of the officers as we passed in the hallway and he kind of just shook his head and kept going. (I believe it ws the Sovereign.)

[Diamond Jim 2]

Good luck to you.... and Happy New Year!!!

 

Happy New Year to you and thanks for the encouragement. :) :)

[Inshape]

The smoking on our LOS cruise was horrible. All the people around us on their balcony were smoking. We did not get to enjoy our balcony at all that cruise. I could not leave the door open to hear the ocean at night, their smoking drifting into our cabin. I wish they had NO smoking on the balcony too. Next cruise in Jan on NOS we are not doing a balcony since I spent the money and never got to use it.

[RNSANE]

I am not, and have never been, a smoker. As an R.N. for forty years, I have taken care of so many patients, I guess, who have been hospitalized because of the results of their smoking, many very wonderful people who did not survive to cruise or enjoy their loved ones. I applaud anyone who manages to stop smoking and I realize what a difficult task that can be.

 

Some people cannot afford a balcony cabin when they cruise and, for smokers, I think it is very hard to go to a starboard outside deck, in the middle of the night if you wake up and want a cigarette. I don't know what the solution should be.

 

I live in California and I love it. We are more and more a smoke free state. There is no smoking even in bars.

[Diamond Jim 2]

Congrats, I am a month ahead of you at 2 and 1/2 months smoke free.

 

 

This policy is pretty meaningless as many of us smokers, myself included never smoked in our cabins anyway so I doubt you will see this huge difference. When this policy was first announced back in July I did a survey on these board on who would NOW book a balcony (that didn't before) because of the new rules and the number was minute, like 1-2%.

 

I know what you mean, my wife and I never smoked in our stateroom, nor did we ever smoke in a hotel room.

Congrats on your 2 and 1/2 months smoke free. It has been hard but as each week passes, it is not as bad as the week before.

Could I smoke one?..... yes as long as my leg. :) :)

 

The money that we (wife, too) are saving on cigerettes, we should be able to cruise more. What a trade-off. :) :)

[Sue L]

I know what you mean, my wife and I never smoked in our stateroom, nor did we ever smoke in a hotel room.

Congrats on your 2 and 1/2 months smoke free. It has been hard but as each week passes, it is not as bad as the week before.

Could I smoke one?..... yes as long as my leg. :) :)

 

The money that we (wife, too) are saving on cigerettes, we should be able to cruise more. What a trade-off. :) :)

 

 

I have been putting the 7$ a day (pack and a half) in an envelope everyday. I have over 500$ saved already. Boy, am I going to have fun in the jewelry store on the Jewel in Sept.

[Fury1995]

I am not, and have never been, a smoker. As an R.N. for forty years, I have taken care of so many patients, I guess, who have been hospitalized because of the results of their smoking, many very wonderful people who did not survive to cruise or enjoy their loved ones. I applaud anyone who manages to stop smoking and I realize what a difficult task that can be.

 

Some people cannot afford a balcony cabin when they cruise and, for smokers, I think it is very hard to go to a starboard outside deck, in the middle of the night if you wake up and want a cigarette. I don't know what the solution should be.

 

I live in California and I love it. We are more and more a smoke free state. There is no smoking even in bars.

 

 

Well hello Carmen!

 

Glad to see you. Hope you had a happy and safe new year.:)

 

How is Rula? Did you gals make it home ok after the Brilliance cruise?

[K1200S]

I will have quit 5 years ago come Feb 1st. This Saturday we board LOS and have a balconey cabin so I am hopeful our neighbors are non smokers. Not so much that it bothers me but more because it bothers my DW. I have always found the casino to be the smokyest and I don't think that will change anytime soon. Good thing I am not a big gambler.

[will work to cruise]

Just wondering how well they will enforce this. If they cannot control chair hogs, hoiw will they handle this?

[Sue L]

Just because it hasn't happened to you, doesn't mean it hasn't happened to others.

 

Yes smoke can drift into a room and ruin your trip. We stayed at a $350-$500 a night resort in Princeville, Kauai. We had to leave our door closed there too. This is not a "whiny" comment. It is the truth.

 

Banning smoking altogether isn't the answer, but trying to keep it from bothering others should be a priority.

 

I applaud RCCL for trying.

 

Proudly a non smoker for 13yrs/6mo and counting! (We quit just to go to Hawaii. Saving that money paid for 4 plane tickets and lodging for 10 days on Kauai!):)

 

 

A lot different though for a hotel that is not moving as compared to a ship moving at 16-18+ knots.

[a-tx-brit]

The small glass ashtrays they give you are useless outside. Slight breeze and butts blow everywhere!

Buy a "Butt bucket" from Walmart, auto section,it will hold a weeks worth of butts and cuts down on the smell.

[clararats]

Banning smoking altogether isn't the answer, but trying to keep it from bothering others should be a priority.

 

Thats the issue. It does not matter what you do. Someone will always start to whine about some aspect. The smoke is going in the wrong direction.........yada yada yada. No matter what you do their will always be a whiner.

 

Light em if you have em.

[RG10203]

Ok, and?

The smoking policy hasn't changed other than you can't smoke in the cabin anymore. So now you have to smoke on the balcony or in one of the designated smoking area's.

Anyway, who is going to rat you out if you are smoking in the cabin? The cabin steward? No way. Because he is then washing his tip down the drain.

 

Nobody will rat anybody out, except the smoker themselves. On a recent bridge tour on the Navigator I was surprised to learn that the bridge is alerted to any smoke in any cabin. A computer screen revealed several cabins where smoke was present. It was a little funny seeing this as I could imagine the smoker thinking there was no way anyone would know they were smoking in the cabin. The question is will Royal use this technology to enforce their new rules. I suspect not!

[aloha43]

A lot different though for a hotel that is not moving as compared to a ship moving at 16-18+ knots.

 

That's true. But in Hawaii there are some pretty strong trades and it still blew straight into our room.

 

We are going into our cruise with a positive attitude, and we will enjoy every second of our Grande Suite on the Radiance for our 20th anniversary in March!

 

I am hopeful that the winds will be blowing to our advantage. :)

[Shipyard Cruiser]

Thats the issue. It does not matter what you do. Someone will always start to whine about some aspect. The smoke is going in the wrong direction.........yada yada yada. No matter what you do their will always be a whiner.

 

Light em if you have em.

 

Or just ban smoking everywhere inside the ship.

 

That would sure stop me from whining:D

[horric29]

I had smokes on both sides of me for our Honeymoon cruise. We are both non-smoker's and other than seeing the smoke roll off the balcony, we couldn't even tell they were there. I would imagine that if someone purposely pulled their face up to the balcony divider and blew the smoke over then it would become an issue. When we were motoring through the seas, I think the wind just took care of it. The only thing that was noticable was the pot from a few rooms down, not that I cared, but you could smell it in the hallway. LOL... :)

[Chigirlcruzin]

This is the same ashtray which accompanies us on our various beach visits. Sadly, many smokers are inconsiderate of others; and, I expect, that in future years, Florida will follow the example of left coast California and ban smoking on all beaches.

Also sadly, many non-smokers exhibit paucity in the way of consideration for others.

 

Thanks for being considerate:). You're right, too many aren't. In fact, Chicago also joined California by prohibiting smoking on the beaches (and parks). And as of today, no smoking in bars, restaurants, etc in the whole state!

[Jeanine&Jim]

I have been putting the 7$ a day (pack and a half) in an envelope everyday. I have over 500$ saved already. Boy, am I going to have fun in the jewelry store on the Jewel in Sept.

What a great idea to put the money you save from not smoking towards a piece of jewelry... You'll have a memento of your hard work of quiting , not to mention extending your life for more cruises. I am a long ago smoker who also quit with my first pregnancy and I know it is a wicked addiction but nowadays there is so much help available. Everyone should keep trying to quit. So you don't have to be like the man I saw while on vacation in Maine last weekend outside of our hotel in the freezing cold smoking a cigarette with his O2 still in use. I am in the health profession and at least can keep my patients away from fire hazards by instructing them to turn off their oxygen before lighting up. Just goes to show how addicted that poor man was. Good luck to everyone and Happy Cruising.

[Tra4]

I live in Illinois and as of today, smoking is banned in all public areas. Smoke has always bothered me, but I could live with it. However, now I have a 15 year old son who just passes someone with smoke on his coat causes him a terrible asthmatic reaction. We just walked by someone yesterday in the mall, and had such a reaction, it took an hour to breathe normally and to quit coughing.

 

I love the new law, and hope our balcony doesn't have smokers next to it. Its not just whineyness for some, its a health hazard. I don't care if anyone smokes, just respect those that get physically sick from your actions and do so only where it is legal to smoke.

[Chigirlcruzin]

What a great idea to put the money you save from not smoking towards a piece of jewelry... You'll have a memento of your hard work of quiting , not to mention extending your life for more cruises. I am a long ago smoker who also quit with my first pregnancy and I know it is a wicked addiction but nowadays there is so much help available. Everyone should keep trying to quit. So you don't have to be like the man I saw while on vacation in Maine last weekend outside of our hotel in the freezing cold smoking a cigarette with his O2 still in use. I am in the health profession and at least can keep my patients away from fire hazards by instructing them to turn off their oxygen before lighting up. Just goes to show how addicted that poor man was. Good luck to everyone and Happy Cruising.

 

I love the idea too! And that is truly sad about the man you saw on vacation. My mom did the same thing as you when she found out she was pregnant with me. I'll be 31 on Friday, so she's been a non-smoker for nearly 32 years. She says she still gets the occasional craving, but doesn't give in. Sue L and others that have quit/are trying to quit - congrats and good luck!

[bubbie617]

My husband has communicated with RCCL in the past about the smoking in the Schooner Bar on the Radiance class ships. You have to pass through that particular bar to get to the Safari or Colony Club. DH has asthma and cannot tolerate the second hand smoke, so were have been unable to get to the Safari/Colony Club on several trips.

 

We have also had the misfortune of people smoking on balconies near us. The smell of smoke was so strong that we were unable to use our balcony most of the time.

 

As former smokers (19+ smoke-free years for me and 26+ years for DH), we understand how strong the addiction is, but when your addiction meets our need for clean air, we have a problem. We can avoid most areas where smoking is permitted, but when we've paid for a balcony and can't use it, we have to draw the line.

 

A smoker can enjoy the views from their balcony even if they're not smoking, but when they are smoking, they are preventing us from enjoying ours.

 

RCCL should provide a comfortable, well-ventilated area for smokers without infringing on the rights of non-smokers at the same time.

 

I will now put on my fireproof gear because I'm sure there are many who would disagree with me.

[Tra4]

I for one will NOT disagree with you. We've had restaurants here that have the non-smoking areas in between the smoking areas. We have to leave immediatley and still my son can't eat or talk for quite some time until his breathing returns to normal. He plays basketball & football without any problems, but cigarette smoke causes him a terrible reaction.

 

Yes, I am cruising over a holiday and if a smoker prevents us from enjoying our aft balcony, then I will also be upset. Enjoy your vacation, but don't ruin mine.

 

Happy cruising!

[mx121]

Here's a thought......stop smoking....LOL! With the money I saved when I quit, I can cruise 2x per year

[vator90]

Hasn't this horse been beaten enough before?