Smoking on Cruise Ships

[Fuzzywuzzy]

There were far less people smoking in the Adventure smoking areas than the last time I was aboard 3 years ago. Far less. The casino unfortunately still has the same stink that escapes out the entrances and up to deck 5. 

[IzzyB]

On 7/16/2022 at 1:34 PM, twangster said:

It's very difficult to market one ship as the smoking ship, or non-smoking ship.  Guests choose to book a cruise for a variety of reasons.  Sometimes the itinerary but sometimes for the ship itself.  A returning guest would complain they don't get to see Grease or the Aqua80 show because it's on that ship they can't sail on.  Sometimes there is one specific week of the year they can sail and now the non-smoking ship doesn't go where they want to go that week.  "Why did they make Oasis the smoking ship!  That's the ship I want to sail on but I can't!"  

There are a lot of people who don't fully research specific details and would book a cruise only to find themselves on the fully smoking ship, or completely non-smoking ship.  "What a disaster!  It was all smokers!  No one told me!  I couldn't breathe!"  

Some people book a cruise from Port Canaveral because they are also visiting a theme park.  Some people find Port Everglades easier to fly into.  International guests might prefer Miami.  By making one ship smoking/non-smoking you are effectively making that port of departure smoking or non-smoking and now Royal is at a disadvantage compared to the competition from that port.

Demand might plumett for the smoking ship so they have to put that ship on sale to fill it.  Now guests are upset because they want the cheapest cruise fare but it's only offered on a smoking ship.  

You are also pitting family members against each other.   Multigenerational family wants to go on a cruise but Uncle John Doe is a smoker so he wants the smoking ship.  Half the family is dead set against that, a quarter of the family doesn't care.  It turns into a big conflict for the family and Royal is to blame.  

And so on and so on.  It just doesn't work.  

I mean making a non-smoking ship, not an all smoking ship.  The same restrictions today would apply to the ships that allow smoking.  Where it would be a set aside area and casino.  All it would do would take away smoking areas from the non-smoking ship.  Start with a single ship marketed to families out of a port that has multiple ships already going out of there.  I don't think if a family who doesn't smoke goes on other ships it would be no different than today.  It also shouldn't cause huge rifts in families as tons of families go on the ships today that would be the same with this plan.

[GatorCruiser]

I wish royal had some stogie bars on some of the ships. The one time I sailed Disney I hit up the Meridian bar which had a nice selection of bourbons and and a deck for stoge smoking. 

[Psycho and Barb]

2 hours ago, GatorCruiser said:

I wish royal had some stogie bars on some of the ships. The one time I sailed Disney I hit up the Meridian bar which had a nice selection of bourbons and and a deck for stoge smoking. 

Miss the days when Royal had indoor cigar smoking areas.

[Sea Squirrel]

On 7/23/2022 at 6:34 PM, Psycho and Barb said:

Miss the days when Royal had indoor cigar smoking areas.

It wasn’t too many years ago Allure turned the Solarium bar into a Cigar Bar at night. They had a wonderful selection and the loungers were great. I am not a big cigar smoker but it was a nice way to spend a night. I hated seeing “cigars under the stars” banished to the cigarette smoking area. 

[FSUFAN]

On 7/9/2022 at 12:09 PM, big foot said:

I don't mind the smoking in marked areas. I don't like the casino allowing it but there are areas.

What I object to is people smoking on their balcony's and tossing the butts

Mrs Fan and I were on a Princess Alaska cruise a few years back and the ship entered one of the fjords for glacier watching and we were out on our balcony.  A few floors below, a couple of women started smoking out on the balcony.  Here we were in this crisp, fresh Alaska air and since the ship was at a very slow speed, the smell of smoke was drifting all around.  Other balcony travelers started to loudly complain and shout at them to put out the cancer sticks. The women followed up with giving everyone the middle finger salute. It was bad enough that they were smoking, but they did not smoke in unison (both at once). One would fire up and when she was done, the other person would fire up. Ugh. 

[Temeculaguy]

On 7/25/2022 at 5:50 PM, Sea Squirrel said:

It wasn’t too many years ago Allure turned the Solarium bar into a Cigar Bar at night. They had a wonderful selection and the loungers were great. I am not a big cigar smoker but it was a nice way to spend a night. I hated seeing “cigars under the stars” banished to the cigarette smoking area. 

We were on liberty (I think) out of galveston in January and they had the outdoor Cigars under the stars. The upper pool deck area where the 2nd or 3rd floor bar is above the pools had couches and tables and that bar stayed open and even sold cigars. It seemed the perfect place, nowhere near any rooms and nobody was up there at night other than cigar smokers. I didn't have one but could sit with friends who did and it didn't bother me at all. But then again I like the smell of cigars and pipes vs cigarettes and I don't really care in the casinos as they seem well ventilated since the pandemic hit.

I do know the president said at a shareholder conference call they have tried making some ships or sailing non smoking casino and they lose money every time despite what non smokers and bothered by smoke people say, they are outspent by the smokers every time.

 

[jeffmw]

The smoking situation on these ships is ridiculous. The casinos are totally uninhabitable by people who don't smoke and the stench spreads well into the dining room, especially on the Oasis class ships, which are built for families. And the smoking areas on the pool decks are right near the pools where there's heavy traffic that can't avoid the stench.

It's not 1975 anymore. There should be designated areas to smoke far away from common areas. It's unreasonable for smokers to feel they have a right to partake in an activity that overtly bothers (not to mention harms the health of) others. Bill Simmons, the sports writer, once said (he was talking about sitting at a casino table with smoking) that it's basically as if a person you don't know walks up and proceeds to fart in your face over and over for hours. You wouldn't be okay with that, just as people shouldn't be okay with being forced to inhale carcinogenic, smelly nastiness in a public place.

[twangster]

16 minutes ago, jeffmw said:

The smoking situation on these ships is ridiculous. The casinos are totally uninhabitable by people who don't smoke and the stench spreads well into the dining room, especially on the Oasis class ships, which are built for families. And the smoking areas on the pool decks are right near the pools where there's heavy traffic that can't avoid the stench.

It's not 1975 anymore. There should be designated areas to smoke far away from common areas. It's unreasonable for smokers to feel they have a right to partake in an activity that overtly bothers (not to mention harms the health of) others. Bill Simmons, the sports writer, once said (he was talking about sitting at a casino table with smoking) that it's basically as if a person you don't know walks up and proceeds to fart in your face over and over for hours. You wouldn't be okay with that, just as people shouldn't be okay with being forced to inhale carcinogenic, smelly nastiness in a public place.

mbayley@rccl.com President & CEO Royal Caribbean International