Hope this doesn't start wwiii - hal's confirmation of the smoking policy

[fann1sh]

My Eurodam cruise will be the second on that vessel after implementation of the new policy.

 

I will not have a balcony.

 

However, I will definitely be reporting back on smoke odour (or its absence) in the passageways, and any other details I can glean.

[kazu]

I will be on the Maadam in March and will let everyone know. I WILL not smoke in the cabin whether the decks or open or not. hopefully by then I will have quit, but if not, I will follow the rules as I do elsewhere.

 

I am fairly sure most smokers will do the same (i hope);)

[Mary Ellen]

I will be on the Maadam in March and will let everyone know. I WILL not smoke in the cabin whether the decks or open or not. hopefully by then I will have quit, but if not, I will follow the rules as I do elsewhere.

 

I am fairly sure most smokers will do the same (i hope);)

Kazu I share your hope and wish you well on quiting smoking! Good luck. :)

[CRUZBUDS]

 

On my next cruise I managed to snag one of the 2 cabins with an extra-long balcony... so I will position myself in the middle if I have smokers on both sides:D. As it's a 22-day cruise, this could make a huge difference.

 

Hi Starwin, You're good for the first 18 day on one side. We have the other one!

[startwin]

Hi Starwin, You're good for the first 18 day on one side. We have the other one!

 

Oh wow Alison, that's great news!!

[lovevacadays]

Just off the phone again with HAL in Seattle. Two different answers yesterday, now told today "for sure" how smoking in the cabins will be handled. (And thanks to Joanie for the head's up on this one, as per info she got recently on the Zuiderdam).

 

The $250 fine for smoking in the cabin is one-time per cruise only and is added to the passenger's onboard account at the end of the cruise. Translate that how you like, but it would appear nothing has changed other than to collect extra revenue from the smokers who choose to break that particular rule... and they can continue to break it throughout their cruise at no further cost. The "fine" is actually called a cleaning fee.

 

I will be re-thinking my future cruise plans. This is not intended to start the smoking war again, but is just to confirm how the policy is going to be applied after January 2012. Some CC members had assumed it was $250 fine each time the pax smoked in the cabin. No. The HAL rep said the fine is a "huge deterrent" to smokers and they expect most to comply.

 

It might deter some but I think if it's a one time fee many will hope they won't get caught or not care and think that's not a bad price to pay to smoke in their cabins. Doesn't really seem like a great way to enforce their smoking policy.

[HoneyGV]

The Celebrity link above implies a one time fee. At least that is how I read it.

 

I really think most smokers will comply. Smoking is being banned in more and more places and smokers are adapting.

 

I will comply. I smoke and I've smoked in my cabin most of the time just so I wouldn't annoy anyone out on the verandah. Looks like I'll be out on the verandah having a smoke now and again after Jan.

Since I'm sailing in a couple weeks, I'll start "practicing" on this cruise.

Usually when I'm out on the verandah smoking, my neighbors are too, and I've always asked them if I see them if it bothers them. I've never had anyone tell me it bothers them...so far.

[HoneyGV]

Or ash trays with butts being left inside (after smoking outside), or dumped in the trash can. A steward could easily think that the smoking had been done inside.

 

Might be a good time to slip the steward an extra $20...to keep quiet! :eek::D

(JK folks)

[HoneyGV]

What will they do about the guest who paid cash and they don't have record of a credit card number if they plan to bill for smoking violations after guests have left the ship?

 

We'll probably be hearing more announcements on disembarkation day, "Will Mr. Smith, Cabin 5229 please come to the front office".

...and none of us will be able to get off the ship until "Mr. Smith" pays his cleaning bill! :eek::D

[HoneyGV]

HAL is trying to be all things for all people, putting a policy in place that will make the non smokers and smokers happy. I don't think they will have smoking police or be putting people off the ship at a distant port for lighting up. As long as HAL wants to strattle the issue the people who are so against smoking should find a different line.

 

Why doesn't HAL do what most hotels do...have smoking and nonsmoking cabins?

[HoneyGV]

I do not think you are being that Naive, which is why I said no. But... Let me explain

 

I will be in 100% compliance as long as the Captain does not close all outside decks, which includes all verandahs. If there is no smoking anywhere in the Interior of the ship except for the Casino and it is then either overcrowded with smokers or is deemed, for whatever reasons to be non smoking (I believe there is usually 1 night that it is non smoking), then I will inform the Concierge and Front Desk to add the $250.00 fee to my On Board account as I will be smoking in my stateroom.

 

I do not plan on smoking in my stateroom in any other situations. Just as I do not normally smoke in it now (except when outside decks are closed.)

 

Joanie

 

Good for you Joanie! I'm with ya on this!

[HoneyGV]

I have a question for smokers who want to smoke in their cabins. What about e-cigs? Not as a permanent replacement for real cigarettes, but to tide you over when you can't get outdoors. I think that some will deliver nicotine. Would that be a short-term substitute for the real thing?

 

I don't want to start WW IV with a discussion of e-cigs vs real cigs and what's safe and what isn't. But from what little I know, they produce less smoke/smell, can't burn holes in carpets, and seem to be satisfying for people trying to stop smoking. Yes, no smoking at all in the cabin is ideal. But I think I'd rather follow an e-cig user than a smoker into a cabin.

 

This came up on another thread not long ago, and someone said even E-cigs will be "against the law". That baffles me because all E-cigs are is vapor...not smoke and not tar or carbon monoxide.

[HoneyGV]

Does anyone know for sure if there are chemicals left behind the cabin steward has to breathe or the next guests in the cabin will be exposed to? Have enough studies for a long enough time been done?

 

E-cigs operate the same way that "mist" machines do when you go to a theatre or concert where they have mist or "fog" coming up from the stage or around it.

The "cigarette" part is the battery, and there is an "atomizer" attached that heats the liquid that's in the "filter" of the E-cig. When the atomizer heats the liquid, a vapor is emitted...just like at the theatre when they "fake" mist or fog or smoke.

[peaches from georgia]

This came up on another thread not long ago, and someone said even E-cigs will be "against the law". That baffles me because all E-cigs are is vapor...not smoke and not tar or carbon monoxide.

On a previous thread awhile back it was said HAL's reasoning for treating e-cigs under the same restrictions on board as real cigarettes was because non-smokers would see someone "smoking" an e-cig, think it was real, and there could be "problems" explaining it to them.

 

There is no way e-cigs could be a problem in the privacy of one's cabin because it is just water vapor with no odor or residue.

[3rdGenCunarder]

On a previous thread awhile back it was said HAL's reasoning for treating e-cigs under the same restrictions on board as real cigarettes was because non-smokers would see someone "smoking" an e-cig, think it was real, and there could be "problems" explaining it to them.

 

There is no way e-cigs could be a problem in the privacy of one's cabin because it is just water vapor with no odor or residue.

 

I remember that thread.

 

Another line (I think maybe Cunard) has classified e-cigs with real cigs for the purpose of where you can use them, probably to avoid confusion and confrontation. I wouldn't be surprised if HAL did the same.

 

But since e-cigs don't smell, I don't see how anyone would get "caught"using one in a cabin.

 

I saw one used a few months ago and might not have realized what it was if not for that earlier thread on this board. It was in a play. The woman entered with her cigarette already "lit," but it didn't make much smoke when she smoked it, just a little cloud. And I couldn't smell anything, even from the second row (small suburban theater). If it had been a real cigarette or one of those vile clove things a lot of actors use, I'd have been able to smell it even farther back in the theater.

[GeriatricNurse]

Why doesn't HAL do what most hotels do...have smoking and nonsmoking cabins?

 

Well, Sheraton and Marriott would not be included as these hotels are ALL non smoking! ;):)

[Cayoooga]

All Cruise ships should be smoke free and do everyone a favour,

smokers and non-smokers alike :D

[3rdGenCunarder]

Well, Sheraton and Marriott would not be included as these hotels are ALL non smoking! ;):)

 

Not just those chains. More and more hotels have gone to all nonsmoking rooms. It makes cleaning easier, makes "soft goods" last longer, and probably gets them a break on insurance.

[sail7seas]

Hyatt Pier 66 Hotel in FLL is smoke free.

[Beebob1]

shaking head :( courtroom drama, why do people care what someone else is fined - it is not their money. Another smoking thread that is your truth here. Joanie enjoy your cruises darling - why turn on her - she was honest. Goes to show what the real truth is smoking.

[sail7seas]

shaking head :( courtroom drama, why do people care what someone else is fined - it is not their money. Another smoking thread that is your truth here. Joanie enjoy your cruises darling - why turn on her - she was honest. Goes to show what the real truth is smoking.

 

 

:confused:

 

Goes to show what the real truth is smoking.

 

What does that mean?

[startwin]

shaking head :( courtroom drama, why do people care what someone else is fined - it is not their money. Another smoking thread that is your truth here. Joanie enjoy your cruises darling - why turn on her - she was honest. Goes to show what the real truth is smoking.

 

Can you please explain that posting? I don't think anyone has turned on Joanie other than to state the obvious about her intention to break the rule under certain circumstances - there was none of the vitriol we've seen from both sides in smoking threads. It's been - as I said before - a very civil thread. And I cannot understand your last sentence at all.

[kjw869]

Can you please explain that posting? I don't think anyone has turned on Joanie other than to state the obvious about her intention to break the rule under certain circumstances - there was none of the vitriol we've seen from both sides in smoking threads. It's been - as I said before - a very civil thread. And I cannot understand your last sentence at all.

 

I also would like to hear that explanation. I don't think anyone cares about the fine, maybe they don't want to be the neighbor when the odor comes through the ventilation system.

 

My understanding on the new HAL policy is there will be no more smoking in the cabins after a certain date. I didn't read where it was "optional" if you paid a $250 cleaning fee.

 

Maybe if the captain invited you to stay at the first port and find your way home, it would send a message. It has worked for other lines. It also seems to work for airlines as anyone who is caught smoking onboard has a reception committee upon landing--wearing badges.

 

I also didn't get the impression that this thread was a smoking-no smoking thread.

[taxmantoo]

My understanding on the new HAL policy is there will be no more smoking in the cabins after a certain date. I didn't read where it was "optional" if you paid a $250 cleaning fee.

 

You read it right.

 

The "optional" fee is the way some people like to twist reality so that it conforms to the way they wished things worked. ;) By following that logic, I should be able to just give the cops a couple of hundred dollars when I'm in a hurry to get somewhere and drive as fast as I want. Seems it would be OK as long as I let them know beforehand of my intentions. ;)

[Bakincakes]

On a previous thread awhile back it was said HAL's reasoning for treating e-cigs under the same restrictions on board as real cigarettes was because non-smokers would see someone "smoking" an e-cig, think it was real, and there could be "problems" explaining it to them.

 

There is no way e-cigs could be a problem in the privacy of one's cabin because it is just water vapor with no odor or residue.

 

 

So because some non-smokers, who are ignorant of e-cigs and who might complain, HAL will treat them like cigarettes?:rolleyes:

 

Talk about taking the easy way out.