Off the Fascination just yesterday - same problem we had on the Sensation last year

[divinmule]

We did a PH on Empress on the Fascination In April. First 3 days of the 5 day...perfect. But day 4 and 5 we had the same problem...everytime we returned to the cabin there was a VERY strong smell of smoke.

 

They had been resealing a deck the first several days..so we attributed the change to them reopening that deck and maybe the crew smoking out there. Never knew for sure but it was definately very annoying and irritating to a non-smoker.

 

After our experience and now reading this...I will avoid the PH rooms on the Fantasy class ships. Just don't want to risk having to deal with that stentch for 5 days.

[javamom]

Making a long story short:

Walked down the hall for the first time to our port hole cabin, got to our door & smelled smoke, strong. I turned & asked the room steward why it smelled so smokey. He said, "no one smokes in the cabins ma'am." WE open the door & ugh! It wreaked. I immediately turned off the air, if you read my post from last year, you will see we knew exactly what the problem was, just like last year. I'll put last year's post link at the bottom of this.

 

YOu may think I am not too bright booking another port hole cabin knowing this could happen, but last year, after that post, I called Carnival to let them know. The lady actually pulled up blue prints (she said) & assured me it had to be coming from another cabin, even though the cabin steward kept telling me it was pulling in from a public area where smoking was allowed. I figured this year that the no smoking in the cabin policy was in effect, no danger. Wrong. It pulls in from another floor, the last cabin steward as well as this one on the Fascination both said it does & there is nothing that can be done & they appear to be correct. So... what do ya do? Our clothes stunk, the linens, everything. We couldn't use the air at all or we would have a cabin full of smokey smell, very strong. I can't be the only one who has had this problem. It really can ruin your time, trying to sleep breathing that crap & not to mention, in a hot humid room.

 

Here is last year's post if you are interested. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=215

What cabin were you in?

[AmberTeka]

I was on that cruise. Our cabin was midship...Main Deck OV. I never smelled smoke. I was all over the ship..the casino..THE LEAST SMOKEY ONE I HAVE BEEN IN..EVER....IN THE MDR..on the Lido Deck..playing Trivia..at the shows.

 

I AM NOT A CARNIVAL CHEERLEADER WITH MY POM POMS SWINGING.

 

it is just not true to say that there was a shipwide problem with ciggie smoke.

 

frankly, I am shocked that someone would make such a claim.

 

Perhaps I misunderstood?

[6 of us]

I was on that cruise. Our cabin was midship...Main Deck OV. I never smelled smoke. I was all over the ship..the casino..THE LEAST SMOKEY ONE I HAVE BEEN IN..EVER....IN THE MDR..on the Lido Deck..playing Trivia..at the shows.

 

I AM NOT A CARNIVAL CHEERLEADER WITH MY POM POMS SWINGING.

 

it is just not true to say that there was a shipwide problem with ciggie smoke.

 

frankly, I am shocked that someone would make such a claim.

 

Perhaps I misunderstood?

 

Perhaps you did because I never said a "shipwide problem". I was referring to the smokey smell in my cabin - the porthole cabin we were in. On 2 different cruises actually & 2 different boats but I did not mean the smoke was a ship wide problem. It was blowing directly into my room. The room stewards DID tell me it pulls in from another area that is a smoking area & blows in. They know about the issue but they can't do anything about it.

[cruise-a-palooza]

Has anyone ever had the smell of smoke in the port hole cabin problem on the Fantasy? We have rooms E3, E4, and E 10 booked.

[AmberTeka]

to the question " how was the rest of the cruise", it was good, but no sleep & being nauseated & having a sore throat (that is how bad the smoke was) was a damper on the day.

 

to the question "what are you going to do", well, nothing. What can I do? I can't imagine Carnival would do anything for me. It will just definitely influence my decision on future cruises. I am a little shocked that this problem exists. I have found carnival to have excellent customer service so I am surprised that they have a problem they haven't addressed.

 

to the "what cabin number" question, this time we were in M7 on the Fascination. It was so strong you could smell it in the hall right in front of our cabin. I think last year we were in U2 on the Sensation.

 

Not meaning to flame you..or insult you..but if you are that sensitive...why do you cruise? Or why do you not cruise on ships that are totally smoke free. Princess has some I think..and Celebrity.

 

I smoked for a long time. I quit. Smoke ..a lot of it..can be irritating, but I have yet not been able to move away from it. why did you not demand Carnival give you another Cabin? Or could you carry a medical note? Or book as a person with severe reactions to smoke...and get an isolated cabin?

 

For me..Give me a 100 smokers and no drunks and I am happy. the drunks...the people who heckle the entertainers..get rude or loud....Ugh.

 

with your condition would an all inclusive land based Caribbean vacation not be better medically for you?

[AmberTeka]

It is also sad that you did not notice the sweet, eager to please staff. The Wait Staff at dinner who handled Anytime Diners and Set Time Diners in the same MDR and still were pleasant. The Maitre D who went around to tables doing magic tricks. The sweet girl at the Coffee Bar. The nice passengers, most of the Southern and laid back, soft, slow.

 

did you notice how clean the ship was kept? The fact that it was never crowded? how good the Deli was? and the Dessert Stations?

 

The friendly groups who played Trivia or whatever....Did you notice how everyone working on that ship was trying to give you a good vacation? How most of the passengers were just lovely people? that the entertainment was good..the ship was very well kept up...and again..it was squeeky clean..

 

the smoke got in your eyes and you saw none of that? then you should not cruise.

[LHP]

I know it is a hassle to envoke the Carnival Vacation Guarantee...but if every cruiser in that situation would do that....

 

it would get fixed!!!

[All4fun&fun4all]

This concerns me a bit. I recently quit smoking (4/21/12 :)) but DBF still smokes. The smokey smell wouldnt bother me but I would be seriously upset if we got charged the $250.00 cleaning fee for a lingering smell that wasnt our fault. :( We are in R-1.

 

I just looked at the deck plans and it appears we are below any open air spots where someone would be smoking outside and in front of our cabin there isnt much space for anyone to be at. So I assume where the intake is located would have something to do with the smell. This will be a fun scavenger hunt! Find where the air intake is for my cabin. No really. I will do it!

[vaguy22]

All4fun: if you are SERIOUS about finding out where the air conditioning fan draws air in to deliver to your room,contact the shipyard that built the ship in question and see if they can give you the blueprint of the Air delivery system of that ship.Will take some research, but may be worth it to you if you want to know bad enough. remember you wont be able to do this on the ship due to restricted spaces.

[6 of us]

It is also sad that you did not notice the sweet, eager to please staff. The Wait Staff at dinner who handled Anytime Diners and Set Time Diners in the same MDR and still were pleasant. The Maitre D who went around to tables doing magic tricks. The sweet girl at the Coffee Bar. The nice passengers, most of the Southern and laid back, soft, slow.

 

did you notice how clean the ship was kept? The fact that it was never crowded? how good the Deli was? and the Dessert Stations?

 

The friendly groups who played Trivia or whatever....Did you notice how everyone working on that ship was trying to give you a good vacation? How most of the passengers were just lovely people? that the entertainment was good..the ship was very well kept up...and again..it was squeeky clean..

 

the smoke got in your eyes and you saw none of that? then you should not cruise.

 

Actually, yes, I noticed all that. That is why I give my $$ to Carnival over & over. These boards, however, are not just for praises. They are to alert fellow cruisers to issues so they are aware if they want to be. Thanks for all your scolding, unnecessary though. We love carnival, but my complaint is legit & worth telling others about.

[gr1634]

Interesting. Our very first cruise was in that room on the Fantasy - never smelled smoke at all and that was long before any restrictions were placed on smoking

[remharri]

Making a long story short:

Walked down the hall for the first time to our port hole cabin, got to our door & smelled smoke, strong. I turned & asked the room steward why it smelled so smokey. He said, "no one smokes in the cabins ma'am." WE open the door & ugh! It wreaked. I immediately turned off the air, if you read my post from last year, you will see we knew exactly what the problem was, just like last year. I'll put last year's post link at the bottom of this.

 

YOu may think I am not too bright booking another port hole cabin knowing this could happen, but last year, after that post, I called Carnival to let them know. The lady actually pulled up blue prints (she said) & assured me it had to be coming from another cabin, even though the cabin steward kept telling me it was pulling in from a public area where smoking was allowed. I figured this year that the no smoking in the cabin policy was in effect, no danger. Wrong. It pulls in from another floor, the last cabin steward as well as this one on the Fascination both said it does & there is nothing that can be done & they appear to be correct. So... what do ya do? Our clothes stunk, the linens, everything. We couldn't use the air at all or we would have a cabin full of smokey smell, very strong. I can't be the only one who has had this problem. It really can ruin your time, trying to sleep breathing that crap & not to mention, in a hot humid room.

 

Here is last year's post if you are interested. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=215

 

We had this problem on the Magic last October and one of their Family Oceanview cabins on the Riveria deck. It does come from other area of the ship and it's pumped into the cabin. Our cabin and the cabin next to it had to be pumped with clean air or whatever that machine they use more then twice a day. They did take care of us and our neighbors for the inconvenience. But it was pretty bad...

[Snorkel2Much]

Actually, yes, I noticed all that. That is why I give my $$ to Carnival over & over. These boards, however, are not just for praises. They are to alert fellow cruisers to issues so they are aware if they want to be. Thanks for all your scolding, unnecessary though. We love carnival, but my complaint is legit & worth telling others about.

Exactly.

[6 of us]

We had this problem on the Magic last October and one of their Family Oceanview cabins on the Riveria deck. It does come from other area of the ship and it's pumped into the cabin. Our cabin and the cabin next to it had to be pumped with clean air or whatever that machine they use more then twice a day. They did take care of us and our neighbors for the inconvenience. But it was pretty bad...

 

I am surprised at how many CC members have had this same issue. I believe that machine is called an ozone machine. Something like that.

Smoker or not, having it blow on you while you sleep is unpleasant, & it's trapped in that tiny cabin so it just builds.

[Shaded Lady]

Not meaning to flame you..or insult you..but if you are that sensitive...why do you cruise? Or why do you not cruise on ships that are totally smoke free. Princess has some I think..and Celebrity.

 

I smoked for a long time. I quit. Smoke ..a lot of it..can be irritating, but I have yet not been able to move away from it. why did you not demand Carnival give you another Cabin? Or could you carry a medical note? Or book as a person with severe reactions to smoke...and get an isolated cabin?

 

For me..Give me a 100 smokers and no drunks and I am happy. the drunks...the people who heckle the entertainers..get rude or loud....Ugh.

 

with your condition would an all inclusive land based Caribbean vacation not be better medically for you?

 

WOW! You certainly are being judgmental! I know that if I had a cabin that smelled often of cigarette smoke I'd be raising a major fuss about it! And I don't have 'a condition'! I'm not sitting on a balcony getting smoke from a nearby balcony, I'm in my enclosed cabin where no smoking is allowed! So my expectation is definitely that I wouldn't have to put up with cigarette smoke in my cabin!

 

I ABSOLUTELY support smokers' rights, and in this case, they're doing nothing wrong! They are smoking where it is permitted. If Carnival has a design issue that is bringing smoke into the cabins they definitely have a responsibility to deal with it, not just ignore it and hope the people complaining go away!

[Chigirlcruzin]

Sorry about your experience, I can say for a fact, that would pretty much ruin a cruise for me.

 

Hopefully no one comes in and says "A day sucking in smoke on a cruise is better than any day at work"

 

Ha ha...totally agree, that would ruin the cruisr for me.

 

I despise the "bad day on a cruise is better than a good day at work" phrase. While I'm not happy in my current situation, I enjoy my actual job.

[AmberTeka]

Would the simple solution not be to book on all smoke free ships? Princess has some. Maybe all of them. They are owned by Carnival. $$$$ going to the same place.

 

If I had a child who was allergic to peanuts..if I had a choice..I would not go where I knew peanuts were going to be.

Don't go where you know smoke will be.

I am not trying to be judgemental. Or mean. it is common sense.

 

I take infusions for R.A. My immune system is very limited. I am to avoid crowds of young people..people likey to have colds etc. I miss a lot of parties..a lot of birthday..even church. But should they stay home and let me go..or should I chose things I can do..like cruise..with a doctor below..with mostly older passengers..and Yes, I dd get norvo..so I am an concerned about that..

 

IT IS COMMON SENSE FOR ME NOT TO CRUISE IN THE SUMMER...OR HOLDAYS BECAUSE I WOULD BE EXPOSED TO MUCH MORE.

 

IT SEEMS LIKE COMMON SENSE TO ME FOR YOU TO AVOID SHIPS THAT HAVE SMOKING AT ALL. THAT SOLVES THE PROBLEM.

[AmberTeka]

Another thing that irritates me about this one note review.

 

I come to cruise critic because we cruise a lot. I read these reviews to find out what type of experince they had on the ship.

Often you read a review that has Nothing good to say about the entire cruise because on ONE ISSUE..like this one. It can be a money problem with the pursar..this smoking problem...a special diet was not honored..And they have the right to gripe.

 

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE REST? Was the staff nice? The food edible? The shows good? the casino too tight?

 

People who spend five days on an cruise............and their entire cruise is totally wrecked by one thing..SHOULD NOT GO ON SHIPS WHERE THEY KNOW SMOKE WILL BE.

 

And often you read through the complaints..and on and past history..and THEN THE LAST LINE...........WE STILL HAD A REAL GOOD TIME. REALLY. HOW? YOU NEVER TELL US!

[Zoedokey]

What horrible luck. I would have been upset if I had to endure that. I can understand how it must have been hard to enjoy to the rest of your cruise when you were suffering from nausea and a sore throat.

 

Seems like a structural problem with the fantasy class ships that could be remedied at the next dry dock. I hope Carnival does the right thing and fixes this problem.

[Sugar67]

Don't go where you know smoke will be.

I am not trying to be judgemental. Or mean. it is common sense.

 

IT SEEMS LIKE COMMON SENSE TO ME FOR YOU TO AVOID SHIPS THAT HAVE SMOKING AT ALL. THAT SOLVES THE PROBLEM.

 

The OP books a room where she KNOWS there will be no smoking. If she was hanging out in the casino complaining about the cigarette smoke, then yes, your comment about common sense would be valid.