Is it possible to avoid smoke smells-Or are we stuck with land based trips?

Hello Cruise Buddies,

I am happy to have (for the most part) enjoyed our 1st cruise, with a few exceptions.

The biggest bummer was the difficulty of avoiding smokers/smoke smells. I don't smoke, and my dear husband quit many years ago (before we met).

We just returned from a 3 night sailing aboard Carnival Liberty, and many indoor areas reeked of either recent or heavy lingering stale smoke. Plus there were plenty of people lighting up in areas not designated for smoking.

Husband gets bad headaches when he is around smoke and I'm not happy to have my hair/clothes stink after being around smoke. I understand that there are no completely smoke free ships, and that no cruise ship is perfect, but I am worried that we are not going to be able to enjoy future cruises without headaches.:confused:

Have you been on any ship(s) that were relatively smoke-free or ships that made it easy to avoid smoke smells?

Any input/advice/details would be sincerely appreciated.

Thanks in advance and I hope I get to sail again soon!!:ship:

Nope

Back in the early 2000's, the Carnival Paradise was the only smoke free ship (in the world maybe). It only lasted a few years.

Every ship has designated smoking areas and few ships, if any, invest heavily in high quality air exchangers.

Just like every other aspect of society, there are people who either don't care or don't know what the rules governing smoking are.

Are you going to escape it completely? No

You won't escape it completely on land based AI's either.

Like you, we hate the smell of cigarette, cigar or pipe smoke. Having never smoked ever, we are sensitive to the smells.

Celebrity has the most restrictive smoking policies of the mass market lines. No smoking anywhere inside or on balconies or in the casino, where on many other lines smoking is allowed. Vaping is also prohibited in those same areas. Only two or three outside areas allow smoking or vaping, and they are easily avoided. It is very easy to never encounter smoke smells on Celebrity.

Haven't sailed that ship. but I'm surprised that it's a problem nowadays. :confused:

My experience is that in recent years smoking, even vaping, has become strictly confined to designated areas, there are few designated areas and almost always they're easy to avoid.

The exceptions I can think of.....

I think (?) HAL still allows smoking on balconies, it's banned on all others.

RCI (possibly others) allow smoking in the casino (money talks), though there are exceptions on some cruises.

Costa and MSC have smoking rules but they're not enforced (on European cruises at least) anywhere like as effectively as on other ships.

Princess do allow vaping but not cigarettes etc in cabins (but not balconies) and in some bars unless others object.

Can't tell you which cruise lines to choose, but you may want to avoid (or carefully investigate deeper) those I've mentioned.

JB :)

How do you plan to avoid smoke on land based trips?

I second Celebrity.

Hardly a whiff of smoke onboard.

Haven't sailed that ship. but I'm surprised that it's a problem nowadays. :confused:

 

My experience is that in recent years smoking, even vaping, has become strictly confined to designated areas, there are few designated areas and almost always they're easy to avoid.

 

The exceptions I can think of.....

I think (?) HAL still allows smoking on balconies, it's banned on all others.

RCI (possibly others) allow smoking in the casino (money talks), though there are exceptions on some cruises.

Costa and MSC have smoking rules but they're not enforced (on European cruises at least) anywhere like as effectively as on other ships.

Princess do allow vaping but not cigarettes etc in cabins (but not balconies) and in some bars unless others object.

 

Can't tell you which cruise lines to choose, but you may want to avoid (or carefully investigate deeper) those I've mentioned.

 

JB :)

HAL no longer allows smoking on balconies/verandas.

On Princess the only bar smoking is allowed is the Cigar Bar.

We've sailed on Navigator out of Galveston and Oasis out of Port Canaveral. Smoking on both ships was restricted to one side of the pool deck and the casino. It was a bit of a pain to try to remember to cross the pool deck on the non-smoking side, but avoiding the casino wasn't difficult. I can't say we had any issues with smoke anywhere else on the ship. We don't get balcony cabins so no issue there either.

Now whenever we go to a resort with a pool, there's always someone smoking by the pool, on their balcony, right outside the restaurant, etc etc. I am struggling to imagine it being easier to avoid smoke on land tbh.

How do you plan to avoid smoke on land based trips?

Levitating above crowds and old fashioned diving helmets have worked well in the past.......:rolleyes:

How do you plan to avoid smoke on land based trips?

Also wondering how you avoid smoke on land based trips? :confused::confused:

Thanks everyone, we will be looking into some of the Celebrity and other ships you have pointed out. I am very thankful that all of the cruise community jumps in to help any time a person asks a question.

I lost a sister to smoking related illness, so I am very appreciative of all of your quick and kind replies.

Have a lovely week ahead!!!

Also wondering how you avoid smoke on land based trips? :confused::confused:

We tend to spot smokers and avoid them or rush past the smoke very quickly, and may times I try to hold my breath as I zip past the smoke.

We really haven't done a lot of international trips, so I know that is a different story than traveling in the states. Honestly, I am hoping that the more people are aware of the dangers and illnesses caused by smoke the less smokers there are.

There are very few smoking areas on a ship...and unless you're in port and not moving and there's NO breeze at all...smoke dissipates quickly. We've never been bothered unless we're in the casino....and even that depends on how crowded it is, and how many are smoking. You may notice an odor when passing the casino, but it certainly will not inundate your clothing as you pass by.

Your problem is more likely the length of your cruise rather than your cruise line.

3 day cruises are routinely called booze cruises, full of fun loving young folks with little regard for technical issues, like where you can and cannot smoke.

Try a 7 day or long sailing and you will find a very different demographic. Not perfect, but definitely different.

Royal Caribbean was mentioned earlier; they went to a stricter smoking policy several years ago which included no smoking permitted on balconies. Sadly on every cruise since then, we have encountered those who continue to smoke on their balcony. The casino on most RCI ships is a designated smoking area, whereas Celebrity has a non-smoking casino policy. The difference is like night and day (for me, anyway). :)

Cunard's QM2 interior is non smoking - except for the cigar lounge, and the crew's pub. I think during the last refit they may have increased the 'negative pressure' on Churchill's - and least I do not smell anything next door in the Commodore Club. [Apparently there were problems/complaints before the refit] There is an outside smoking area to avoid near the 'Terrace Pool' aft on deck 8.

I think Celebrity, Azamara & Oceania have the most restrictive policies

They have 1 or 2 areas for smokers which you can avoid once you know where they are

On Oceania they have 1 small outdoor area on the pool deck & 1 indoor area in the lounge which is enclosed

All cruise ships should restrict smoking to a single dinghy that gets towed while at sea. They can set up a zip line for smokers to board it. This will free other PAX from having to endure their pollution, and the cruise lines can work out the lower-priority details of getting someone back on the ship as time permits.

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Your problem is more likely the length of your cruise rather than your cruise line.

 

3 day cruises are routinely called booze cruises, full of fun loving young folks with little regard for technical issues, like where you can and cannot smoke.

 

Try a 7 day or long sailing and you will find a very different demographic. Not perfect, but definitely different.

I agree completely. We always sail 7 days or longer and mostly on Carnival and smoke has never been an issue except around the casino area. I think the shorter cruises are cheaper and tend to have more of a younger party crowd that ignores the rules. And this rule of thumb is pretty much true regardless of the cruise line you pick. So keep that in mind when choosing your next cruise. Carnival is usually very strict about smoking. But maybe this particular cruise was too much for them to handle because there were too many people ignoring the rules. With Carnival there are a handful of designated areas and even smoking on your own personal balcony is prohibited. In fact I’ve seen several threads on the Carnival boards about how strict the smoking rules are now and how many smokers were going to start going on other cruise lines because of it. With my asthma I can’t be anywhere near smoke or I start having severe breathing issues. But it’s not an issue on our Carnival cruises as long as we do the longer cruises and avoid the casino and the designated smoking areas (there’s not many and they’re not in main areas.)

There are some cruise lines that have stricter policies than others wherever they sail but any ship that sails in aussie waters for the season has to adhere to the no smoking laws which is anywhere inside the ship. This means there is designated areas, these are usually on the promenade (one side), the pool area (one corner) and also by the very top rear bar.

We just returned from a 3 night sailing aboard Carnival Liberty, and many indoor areas reeked of either recent or heavy lingering stale smoke.

Carnival ships have an awful design. The main corridor goes through the casino and the smoke stench tends to permeate all the surrounding venues. That was my biggest complaint when I sailed Carnival Liberty.

I agree with the others who mentioned Celebrity. They have the most restrictive smoking policy and it is very refreshing!

OP Please don't be turned off to cruising by a 3 night cruise as your 1st experience .

3 nighters attract a mostly different cruise guest than longer cruises . Smokers who

pay no attention to the rules and crews that look the other way from violations are common .

On longer cruises you gain familiarity with areas on the ship to avoid smoke.

There are a few Holland America ships that only have 1 smoking area at the aft Seaview bar and no smoking in the casino at all. Off hand I forget which ones, sorry.

I am a smoker. We have been cruising over 25 years. We always follow the smoking rules but do see those who do not. What I find most irritating are the grumbles of non-smokers as they pass right thru the designated smoking areas. It's quite unfair to complain about something when the rules are being followed. I realize smoking is an awful, smelly habit. I do not smoke in my home or vehicle. Never the less, I DO enjoy smoking and will continue to do so and make every attempt to be polite about it. We have saved a TON of cruise fare by no longer purchasing balcony suites - we did that for years - now with the stricter policies I don't bother with a balcony since I can't use it for the purpose I wished.

I figure I am a paying customer just like every non-smoker and I will continue to cruise several times per year until smoking is no longer allowed at all on board. In the meantime, I will smoke where posted smoking areas are and try to be quick about it!

.... What I find most irritating are the grumbles of non-smokers as they pass right thru the designated smoking areas. It's quite unfair to complain about something when the rules are being followed. I realize smoking is an awful, smelly habit.....

On some ships, the smoking areas are in a direct path to another part of the ship. Sometimes they are inconvenient to avoid, forcing people to walk around that area.

As for your complaint of people grumbling when walking through a smoking area, it is similar to what you would do if you walked into a room where several people had just passed gas. Passing gas in public is likewise "an awful, smelly habit". :D