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Where did you hear this  "rumor"? Another board or site or?

 

I hope not.....if they do, would be interesting to see how much it hurts/affects business.

 

If you are a smoker and stay at a non-smoking hotel or resort or eat at a smoke free restaurant, there are still places you can go to have a smoke. On a cruise, not so much....

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13 minutes ago, monctonguy said:

Where did you hear this  "rumor"? Another board or site or?

 

I hope not.....if they do, would be interesting to see how much it hurts/affects business.

 

If you are a smoker and stay at a non-smoking hotel or resort or eat at a smoke free restaurant, there are still places you can go to have a smoke. On a cruise, not so much....

It was on Royal's Crown and Anchor Facebook page. I think it will hurt their business....there are still smokers out there.

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I don't think any cruise line is 100% smoke-free.  Even Celebrity, which is known for its "no smoking policy" still have a very limited area for smokers onboard.  IMO a line would be foolish to ever try and go 100% smoke free.  There are just too many customers (particularly in Asia) where smoking is prevalent.  I don't think they would shoot themselves in the foot like that, but you never know !!

Royal has been "experimenting" with smoke-free casinos in the last couple of years so they may be hoping to go smoke-free in the casino but that's about all I have "heard" on the subject.

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Seems speculative for sure.  

That in mind none of us have the market research or data to know how it would affect business.  How many wouldn't book if an entire ship went no-smoking vs how many would book specifically because of it? Remember, if any line were to do this they could restrict it to a specific ship positioned where it would be seen favorably by the masses.

Carnival unsucessfully did this with the Paradise, but that was a long time ago.

See the non-smoking sign on the prow in the pic?  Also, bonus awesomeness to anyone (except @Matt) who can tell me where this pic can be found.  The location has been discussed.

 

paradise.jpg

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18 minutes ago, monorailmedic said:

How many wouldn't book if an entire ship went no-smoking vs how many would book specifically because of it?

As a non-smoker, I would book a cruise if it was all non-smoking and conversely would not book a cruise if it had open smoking throughout the ship.

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9 minutes ago, Geema said:

My husband and I would not book on a non-smoking ship.

 

1 minute ago, FManke said:

As a non-smoker, I would book a cruise if it was all non-smoking and conversely would not book a cruise if it had open smoking throughout the ship.

 

Didn't mean to start a survey :-)
It does point out though, you'll find people on both sides of the issue, so like any other decision any business makes, it's about how many they win vs how many they lose - no decision is universally popular (not even price drops).

I suspect a business like a cruise line would want to test more granualarly first (non-smoking casinos, smaller smoking areas, etc) *or* do significant customer surveying (and maybe they have) on the issue before trying this on an entire ship.  Either way it's a gamble.

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Guest toodle68

I really comes down to where people are allowed to smoke. I really dislike that the casino is a smoke zone and we avoid it like the plague. There is an area on the pool deck which allows smoking and depending on the wind, you can be several feet away and get still get that smell blown over. 

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35 minutes ago, tkltomp said:

I don't smoke but I don't mind smoking sections.  Live and let live.

However, there are reasons cruise lines fear smokers, and its another case of idiots ruining it for everybody.

 

princess.jpg

This is/was the Star Princess. It was speculated that a cigarette thrown from an upper balcony MAY have started the fire. If memory serves, there were other issues as well with the furniture and this is another reason why the cruise lines don't want anything left on the balcony.

As @monorailmedic has stated, a smoke-free ship has been tried and it failed. Had it worked, we'd see more smoke-free ships. And given that approximately 20% of the population smokes and that 80% of people have never cruised, I don't think any of the cruise lines, which are growth businesses, are willing to cut out any portion of the market at this time unless they can ensure a large increase in passengers.

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4 hours ago, DocLC said:

This is/was the Star Princess. It was speculated that a cigarette thrown from an upper balcony MAY have started the fire. If memory serves, there were other issues as well with the furniture and this is another reason why the cruise lines don't want anything left on the balcony.

As @monorailmedic has stated, a smoke-free ship has been tried and it failed. Had it worked, we'd see more smoke-free ships. And given that approximately 20% of the population smokes and that 80% of people have never cruised, I don't think any of the cruise lines, which are growth businesses, are willing to cut out any portion of the market at this time unless they can ensure a large increase in passengers.

Probably right, though I'd also bet that the segment of the population which cruises is not divided up the same in terms of smokers/non-smokers compared to the general population.  About 16% of the US smokes (per CDC) and non-smokers are disproporitonately college-educated and earn higher wages, so we can speculate that fewer than 16% of cruisers smoke.

There is no real point to the above - I just started checking some stats on this b/c I'm a dork.

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38 minutes ago, monorailmedic said:

Probably right, though I'd also bet that the segment of the population which cruises is not divided up the same in terms of smokers/non-smokers compared to the general population.  About 16% of the US smokes (per CDC) and non-smokers are disproporitonately college-educated and earn higher wages, so we can speculate that fewer than 16% of cruisers smoke.

There is no real point to the above - I just started checking some stats on this b/c I'm a dork.

Utah also tends to have the lowest percentage of smokers.  I went with the 20% given that there's a small contingent of international guests onboard. I actually did a lot of research related to smoking in grad school, so I could bore you with all kinds of statistics. I also think the CDC numbers are a bit low as there are a number of "recreational smokers" who don't identify themselves as smokers. 

I think the smoking issue has become more of an issue because smokers are much more restricted to where they can smoke. As a result, it's becoming more noticeable (e.g., in the casino) as that's where a lot of smokers congregate as it's one of maybe two or three places where they can actually smoke. This did pose a problem on our recent Princess cruise, though, as we needed to avoid the forward stairwell as smoke drifted up several decks from the casino (bad ship design) but it wasn't a problem anywhere else onboard. 

Before smoking was banned in cabins, we had a horrible experience on Holland America because the room smelled terribly of smoke, particular in the bathroom. They had to run various air cleaning equipment and replace some of the soft goods to just make the room tolerable. 

I guess the point of my rambling is that there's no solution that will make everyone happy and that it may not be as bad as some imagine. 

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4 hours ago, DocLC said:

Utah also tends to have the lowest percentage of smokers.  I went with the 20% given that there's a small contingent of international guests onboard. I actually did a lot of research related to smoking in grad school, so I could bore you with all kinds of statistics. I also think the CDC numbers are a bit low as there are a number of "recreational smokers" who don't identify themselves as smokers. 

I think the smoking issue has become more of an issue because smokers are much more restricted to where they can smoke. As a result, it's becoming more noticeable (e.g., in the casino) as that's where a lot of smokers congregate as it's one of maybe two or three places where they can actually smoke. This did pose a problem on our recent Princess cruise, though, as we needed to avoid the forward stairwell as smoke drifted up several decks from the casino (bad ship design) but it wasn't a problem anywhere else onboard. 

Before smoking was banned in cabins, we had a horrible experience on Holland America because the room smelled terribly of smoke, particular in the bathroom. They had to run various air cleaning equipment and replace some of the soft goods to just make the room tolerable. 

I guess the point of my rambling is that there's no solution that will make everyone happy and that it may not be as bad as some imagine. 

True, you cant please everybody but a little common courtesy on all sides goes a long way.

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Everything is so politically correct these days.....more so here in Canada than the USA but.....

 

To ban smoking on balconies for the sake of fire?!.....how many cruises happen each year with how many balconies and how many fires happen??...Then some people will say 1 fire is too much. Well ok then, if one plane ever crashes that is too much so lets ban flying......lol If one person ever jumps off a balcony and commits suicide, lets fence in every balcony.....

 

Come on....if its someone right to smoke, its someone's right to not smoke...and the issue with breathing second hand smoke well I am guessing what the ship spews out of its smokestack is worse...so lets ban that as well.

 

People are so NOT tolerant these days it blows my mind...and I am only 40 yrs old. I remember when society was MUCH more tolerant of everyone in every aspect. Think back to even 10 years ago or so when smoking was everywhere, inside and outside. To have to pass by a few smokers for 15 seconds of your day outside on the pool deck is really not the end of the world.

 

I have said though that one way to keep 99% of everyone happy, would be to have a smoking AND a non-smoking casino on the ship(or enclose half of the current casino or whatever)......I am sure the cruise lines could afford and it may even encourage more gambling at the end of the day!

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17 minutes ago, monctonguy said:

To ban smoking on balconies for the sake of fire?!.....how many cruises happen each year with how many balconies and how many fires happen??...Then some people will say 1 fire is too much. Well ok then, if one plane ever crashes that is too much so lets ban flying......lol If one person ever jumps off a balcony and commits suicide, lets fence in every balcony.....

Yep! What do you do with the cigarette after you're done?  Throw it off the balcony, of course.  This is 1) illegal, it's littering into the ocean and 2) very dangerous.

I hear you saying, "very dangerous you say?  Come on, it's a cigarette."  Yes.  Very dangerous.  Why?  Because it blows off the ship and then back on the ship. Blows onto a balcony where it lands on the balcony and starts a fire.  Or it blows into an open door and now it's really bad.  That cabin is now on fire.  What if someone is sleeping in there?  

Plus it smells disgusting.  I can smell it while I sit on my balcony.  Smoke makes me physically ill.  I get headaches.

If you think this is PC, I'm not sure what PC means then.

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ash trays.....butt buckets....lots of options...I don't throw them off my back deck at home or out the  window when driving....never had a fire yet.. and I have done 10 cruises so far and never thrown ONE overboard yet...so don't lump me in with all the others that you assume throw them away.

 

You cant ban stupid......throwing garbage over the railing is illegal too but some will still do it....so should we ban people from having a balcony rooms on cruises?

 

As for the smell on balconies, I get that...perhaps one side of the ship could be smoking and one side not?.....I think there are options and solutions, rather than to just ban things...

 

Its like the drink package issue...cause 1% of the users abuse it, the other 99% who don't will now be subject to have to buying it for everyone in the cabin over 21....not fair to punish the masses for the actions of a few.....imagine if society ran like that in any area of law or regulations or morals????!!!....."we cant control the 1% that break the laws and make it miserable for others....so lets just make everyone have to do/not do it"

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8 minutes ago, monctonguy said:

ash trays.....butt buckets....lots of options...I don't throw them off my back deck at home or out the  window when driving....never had a fire yet.. and I have done 10 cruises so far and never thrown ONE overboard yet...so don't lump me in with all the others that you assume throw them away.

I definitely wasn't assuming you did or would.  I meant "you" in the general sense.

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28 minutes ago, monctonguy said:

ash trays.....butt buckets....lots of options...I don't throw them off my back deck at home or out the  window when driving....never had a fire yet.. and I have done 10 cruises so far and never thrown ONE overboard yet...so don't lump me in with all the others that you assume throw them away.

I thank you for that!

It is true that I have seen my fair share of people throwing cigarette butts out of the car window, as I'm sure you have. Both of my in-laws smoke and think nothing of doing this, but would never consider throwing a candy wrapper or empty pop can out of the window. Why is that? Because at least in their minds that's not littering. 

This doesn't make sense to me, but I don't know if it's because I'm a non-smoker or not.

Littering is littering, whether it is a cigarette butt, candy wrapper or set of old car tires. It's bad for the environment and nature and shouldn't happen.

I blame the smokers that do and all the non-smokers that do!

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No problem with specific smoking areas on the ship, HOWEVER we never go into the Casino because of the smoke in there so you have to wonder how much revenue is being lost through allowing smoking there. Interestingly, Hard Rock casinos have opened specific non-smoking areas in some casinos and early indications are that this is a revenue-driver, so don't be surprised if Cruise lines follow this practice.

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7 minutes ago, FLGooner said:

No problem with specific smoking areas on the ship, HOWEVER we never go into the Casino because of the smoke in there so you have to wonder how much revenue is being lost through allowing smoking there. Interestingly, Hard Rock casinos have opened specific non-smoking areas in some casinos and early indications are that this is a revenue-driver, so don't be surprised if Cruise lines follow this practice.

Casinos here in Illinois have been non-smoking for years and I'm not sure it has had any impact on revenue.  If people want to smoke as they gamble that badly, they can drive to Indiana or Michigan that has smoking and non-smoking sections of the casinos.

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Sorry to add to the debate, but as a borderline asthmatic with asthmatic mother and brother, I can assure you that any exposure to cigarette smoke is a MAJOR trigger for asthma attacks. My mother was nearly hospitalized when a guy in a museum cafeteria that was clearly labeled a no-smoking area decided to light up a cigar and was smoking for several minutes before my dad (who nearly came to blows with the guy) finally got him to put the damn thing out.

What's a borderline asthmatic, you may ask? I don't need a rescue inhaler on my person, and I've never had a "failed" peak flow test, but I'm damn close to it and have been on a daily inhaler for peak flow maintenance for over 10 years now. Before I was on that, whenever I'd get a bad head cold it would always turn into bronchitis with heavy wheezing, at which point I would get put on the rescue inhaler until it finally cleared out. And even with that, I can still get that bad with a really severe cold, and breathing any kind of smoke (cigarette or otherwise) puts me into a coughing and wheezing fit like any other asthmatic until I can get away from it.

So yeah, I would have major problems with anyone smoking on their balcony if I was sitting on mine and downwind of them, butt cups / ash trays / safety canisters available to the person or not. I will be sure to avoid the areas that are designated "smoking allowed" and, if they're outdoors, probably have to route around them as I navigate the ships. And I'd pay extra to be on a ship where the entire thing was guaranteed to be 100% smoke free, and I could be sure of going to the casino without having to leave the second I pick up the cigarette smell (and I realize this probably means my plans to play craps on my cruises have been shot down the toilet, unless Freedom's / Anthem's casinos go smoke free).

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@monctonguy I've seen the one-side of the ship suggestion before for cabins. The problem is that there are more non smokers than smokers, and non smokers are less inclined to stay in a room that someone had previously smoked in, so cruise lines would have problems selling all of the cabins on that side of the ship. This is one of the reasons so many hotels have gone smoke free. It reduces cleaning costs and the need to replace soft goods as often. Remember, people aren't as courteous or carful on vacation as they are at home. 

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Can't please all of the people all of the time......

It's always a contentious point when it comes to smoking on cruise ships...but I feel like they have done more than enough to accommodate both sides of the issue. Basically you have to avoid the casino and your ok...and I don't see many people hanging in there just to smoke..of course there are a few who do..but  mostly those smoking ARE gambling...and the "nonsmoking" section of the casino is usually dead...but then they will say that its still too smoky in that section to sit and play.

 

I seriously don't know how anyone lived 20 years ago when it comes to food allergies and smoking allergies and gluten and and and.....

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19 hours ago, Jason.H. said:

I wish they would make all the indoor places (casino) non-smoking. Just about have to throw clothing away after playing in there. Can't wash them and if I put them near other clothes then they all smell like smoke. 

My wife tends to bring plastic bags to keep the dirty clothes and I'll use one just to separate my "casino clothes".  She won't set foot in there due to just the lingering smell so if I go one night, I'll have to stick the clothes in the separate bag and shower to get rid of the smoke smell.  Though I guess in the end I wind up saving $ since because of all that, I don't go as much as I normally would.  I'd love a 100% smoke-free environment but I can't see this taking hold any time soon.   So for now, I'm happy to have a smoke free room and balcony and we just avoid the smoking areas.   

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17 hours ago, tkltomp said:

I don't smoke but I don't mind smoking sections.  Live and let live.

However, there are reasons cruise lines fear smokers, and its another case of idiots ruining it for everybody.

 

princess.jpg

I believe this is the fire that caused all the cruise lines to ban smoking on balconies.

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22 minutes ago, Geema said:

I believe this is the fire that caused all the cruise lines to ban smoking on balconies.

This like most smoking related fires, was caused by careless smokers, not just smokers in general. Both of my in-laws have smoked collectively probably 80 plus years, and have never burned anything down!

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23 minutes ago, FManke said:

This like most smoking related fires, was caused by careless smokers, not just smokers in general. Both of my in-laws have smoked collectively probably 80 plus years, and have never burned anything down!

From what I heard, they flicked their cigarette..:2_grimacing:...and a gust of wind blew it into the cabin below theirs and started the fire.

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1 hour ago, Geema said:

I believe this is the fire that caused all the cruise lines to ban smoking on balconies.

Actually, many cruise lines just recently banned smoking in the balconies within the last few years, long after this fire. 

Also, keep in mind that the fire was in port the result of combustible materials on the balcony and in the dividers, lack of fire detection on the balconies, and glass doors that were not fire resistant. Further, it's speculated that a cigarette caused the fire, but couldn't be proven. 

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I'm not too sure it will cost them a lot of business (Apart form in Asia....). I think there are a lot of people that will actually pick a cruise line because it was smoke free which might equal out those that would o the opposite. I know my wife for instance with her asthma would absolutely give extra consideration marks to a ship that was completely smoke free.

I remember about 20 years ago when New Zealand went smoke free in bars, restaurants and public places there was an outcry that 'bars will close' and 'no one will go to restaurants'.... well it didn't happen and in fact they suddenly found a whole new audience that weren't going to bars due to the smell of smoke etc.

A cruise ship is a bit different due to the length of time you are on it but I can imagine that it isn't too far in the future until this will be a reality (or mandated... New Zealand is aiming for smoke free by 2035 (not law at the moment to ban but it is the goal and they have initiated  lots of programs in place to both help people quit, make it less desirable to purchase and increase education regarding issues etc)  so if that was the case it'd be illegal for a ship to allow smoking in NZ waters etc... I imagine other countries will probably do the same in the future).

 

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