This Thread Is To Be Used For All Discussions About HAL's On Board Smoking Policies

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I called yesterday to cancel our aft corner suite (since apparently sailing in a suite plays a role on this thread!) on the Westerdam coming up in February. I REALLY wish, when asked "why" that I would have replied that it was due to my displeasure with their smoking policy. Instead I told them that I had booked the Koningsdam for later next year.

 

Not that it would have mattered one iota, or that such (smoking) complaints actually get logged and tallied...

 

I suppose I could make a few random reservations, investing only a temporarily held deposit, and then cancel them explicitly for the smoking reason... again, assuming it matters to them! ;)

 

Tom

[HamOp]

The smoking issue is far more pronounced on these boards that it is onboard.

 

117 pages of comments from the same posters over and over is not indicative of real life situations.

 

Hardly. There have been posts by over 350 different CC members. It shows the level of interest' date=' both sides.[/quote']

 

While I don't argue that the topic is of great interest, It should be noted that nearly a full 20% of the posts in this thread are posts from the top 3 posters.

That's 1 in 5 posts by the same three people!

 

I'm also sure that one of those three will hit the red triangle and this comment will go *poof* very soon.:rolleyes:

[avian777]

While I don't argue that the topic is of great interest, It should be noted that nearly a full 20% of the posts in this thread are posts from the top 3 posters.

That's 1 in 5 posts by the same three people!

 

I'm also sure that one of those three will hit the red triangle and this comment will go *poof* very soon.:rolleyes:

 

Excellent post. But, hey they're good for CC's business - if it weren't for them and their repetitious posts, this Thread (and some of CC's Forums) would cease to exist.

 

So that this comment does not also "go 'poof' very soon", I'll end it with a comment on topic: As a former smoker, I do not enjoy being around smokers and their air pollution, but I certainly do not feel as though HAL should change its policies to accommodate me.

Edited September 17, 2015 by avian777

[richwmn]

While I don't argue that the topic is of great interest, It should be noted that nearly a full 20% of the posts in this thread are posts from the top 3 posters.

That's 1 in 5 posts by the same three people!

 

I'm also sure that one of those three will hit the red triangle and this comment will go *poof* very soon.:rolleyes:

 

Excellent post. But, hey they're good for CC's business - if it weren't for them and their repetitious posts, this Thread (and some of CC's Forums) would cease to exist.

 

So that this comment does not also "go 'poof' very soon", I'll end it with a comment on topic: As a former smoker, I do not enjoy being around smokers and their air pollution, but I certainly do not feel as though HAL should change its policies to accommodate me.

 

To keep on topic, as a never smoker, the smokers don't bother me. But more importantly, in addition to the 3 posters who have a large portion of the posts, as of last evening 202 of the posters or 64% have 3 posts or less.

[Monsoonalblue]

I have never been bothered by cigarette smoke or been "chased off" my balcony by smokers. It's quite simple; HAL sell their product as smoking on balconies allowed, if you don't like it, don't buy it!

 

I am a non smoker, but strongly feel "each to their own" . Also, the image of being chased from " unusable balconies" is extreme exaggeration and foot stamping at its best. IMO

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I have never been bothered by cigarette smoke or been "chased off" my balcony by smokers. It's quite simple; HAL sell their product as smoking on balconies allowed, if you don't like it, don't buy it!

 

I am a non smoker, but strongly feel "each to their own" . Also, the image of being chased from " unusable balconies" is extreme exaggeration and foot stamping at its best. IMO

 

Perhaps it's just us.. but with enough sailings, you'll eventually have someone downwind who's an inconsiderate chimney. We've been forced/chased/driven inside from the stink of cigarettes. I'd rather smell weed than cigarettes - and that's happened a few times as well (not that I intentionally hang out there to breathe that second hand smoke either :eek:)!

 

If I had to guesstimate, I'd say that we encounter significant issues with nearby smokers every 25 or so sailings. So, it's not a common occurrence, until it happens - then it might as well be!

 

Tom

[Aquahound]

I am a non smoker, but strongly feel "each to their own" . Also, the image of being chased from " unusable balconies" is extreme exaggeration and foot stamping at its best. IMO

 

I'm one who has had to vacate my balcony due to the stench. That's fact, not an exaggeration. There's a big difference between fact and "IMO."

[Lizzie68]

While I don't argue that the topic is of great interest, It should be noted that nearly a full 20% of the posts in this thread are posts from the top 3 posters.

That's 1 in 5 posts by the same three people!

 

I'm also sure that one of those three will hit the red triangle and this comment will go *poof* very soon.:rolleyes:

 

Ouch. Point taken. However, as #3 I hope that my posts have not been "rabid anti-smoking" as I try to suggest and promote better alternatives for everyone. Because new people come onto the thread insisting that we non-smokers just want to get rid of all smoking, I again post that better accommodation should be made for the smokers, including a well-ventilated and comfortable indoor facility.

[avian777]

Ouch. Point taken. However, as #3 I hope that my posts have not been "rabid anti-smoking" as I try to suggest and promote better alternatives for everyone. Because new people come onto the thread insisting that we non-smokers just want to get rid of all smoking, I again post that better accommodation should be made for the smokers, including a well-ventilated and comfortable indoor facility.

 

Thank you for your very reasoned, polite and non-hysterical post.

[Joanandjoe]

Have you communicated your concerns to HAL?

 

How does communicate one's concerns to HAL?

 

It's obvious, from some of the above posts, that HAL is attracting smokers who switch to HAL so that they can smoke on their balconies. Even a small amount of second hand smoke makes us feel ill. Therefore, we cancelled our cruise yesterday, and replaced it with a "land trip" to St. Augustine, FL, where we'll attend a Road Scholar course. The hotel, of course, will be 100% nonsmoking.

 

We wanted to cruise to Curacao in March, and HAL had the only acceptable (other than the smoking policy) ships, date, and itinerary. That ruled out a cruise for us. We'll reconsider HAL and Seabourn if and when they eliminate smoking on balconies: for now, they're both off our list.

[cruz chic]

How does communicate one's concerns to HAL?

 

It's obvious, from some of the above posts, that HAL is attracting smokers who switch to HAL so that they can smoke on their balconies. Even a small amount of second hand smoke makes us feel ill. Therefore, we cancelled our cruise yesterday, and replaced it with a "land trip" to St. Augustine, FL, where we'll attend a Road Scholar course. The hotel, of course, will be 100% nonsmoking.

 

We wanted to cruise to Curacao in March, and HAL had the only acceptable (other than the smoking policy) ships, date, and itinerary. That ruled out a cruise for us. We'll reconsider HAL and Seabourn if and when they eliminate smoking on balconies: for now, they're both off our list.

 

You can contact guest relations. I hope you mentioned why you cancelled it to them.

[QueenGlassHalfFull]

You can email HAL at guestrelations@hollandamerica.com I did send them an email well over a year ago expressing my disappointment with the HAL smoking policy, specifically the smoking on verandas. I received the standard "we take our guests input seriously, blah, blah, blah but for now we will continue to allow smoking on verandahs". After over 20 cruises exclusively on HAL, we have since booked/sailed on five non-HAL cruises. Even if HAL changes their smoking policy, it's doubtful that we will go back to them. Celebrity is now our new favorite, especially with the new restaurant Luminae for suite guests. We would most likely still be sailing exclusively on HAL if we hadn't decided to try one of the more non-smoker friendly cruise lines.

[sammiedawg]

We've submitted our concerns over a 7 or 8 year period in writing multiple times, usually through the post cruise survey. Nothing changes. There was some indication the policy would change with the rollout of the new ship but that looks doubtful now.

[Blue Mudshark]

There was some indication the policy would change with the rollout of the new ship but that looks doubtful now.

 

What were the indications that it might change?

Why does it look doubtful now?

[sammiedawg]

What were the indications that it might change?

Why does it look doubtful now?

 

A poster here was told by a HAL insider the policy would change and an announcement would come second quarter of this year.

[avian777]

A poster here was told by a HAL insider the policy would change and an announcement would come second quarter of this year.

 

... there goes my confidence in what I read on here ... maybe the CC poster meant to say the "second quarter of next year" or "the second quarter of some year" ...

[Hlitner]

... there goes my confidence in what I read on here ... maybe the CC poster meant to say the "second quarter of next year" or "the second quarter of some year" ...

 

I think they meant to say "the second quarter of the next century." And that is assuming that the HAL management team makes some changes (HAL management is similar to the passengers and live forever :)).

 

Hank:D

[mudscraper]

I have on very good authority that by Q3 2015 HAL will roll out and / or implement similar restrictions as to what Carnival and NCL have recently put in place. My source from within HAL Corporate did note that there was some surprise at NCL's announcement, they did not think NCL would implement or even announce before 2015. More surveying and data is being collected for good corporate CYA but basically "the writing is on the wall". It all comes down to timing and phase in of implementation.

 

I trust my source 100%. This is a long time friend going back many, many years. If I were to divulge further details I could jeopardize their career. Suffice it to say, anything I have shared is high enough level as to not pinpoint to any single person within the organization.

 

I'm just the messenger.

 

Waiting patiently !

[creel5857]

I know that you can never know who will be your neighbors in cabins around you and how much, if any, smoke you will be annoyed with on your balcony. However, could anyone advise of areas that might be worse if you are next to some smokers.......example, is it better to be closer to front of ship with fewer cabin balconies blowing down wind?? are there any outdoor smoking areas that are known to cause problems with certain cabins??? any help appreciated as we have someone with asthma......and yes I know that it is a gamble and we wont know till we get there........and thanks!!

[cabinluvn]

We had smokers on both sides of our verandah on our Mediterranean cruise. It was worse in port when we wanted to stand and watch us come into port...morning when they were having their first smoke, I guess. We were mid ship, but it depends on which way the wind is blowing whether or not you get the stink. It drove us inside. We did have chances to sit outside and have wine so we did enjoy it smoke free sometimes

 

 

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[creel5857]

thanks......it almost makes we want to payer higher rates with princess .....I was wanting to branch out and go with someone other than princess and I get a better price this time with HAL but the smoking issue might make me rethink things

[cabinluvn]

I am really sensitive to cigarette smoke and I hate to be around it. We only sail HAL because of the ships and the service. We don't like the mega ships, like the fact there are not many children and don't do activities like rock climbing. We did a TA and never smelled smoke, it it was in March and we had really rough seas, so we were not out on our balcony. I guess it is a roll of the dice, but worth is for us. Our next cruise is in January and we got an aft corner cabin. It is a w/c accessible next door, so hoping if is someone with a disability they won't be smoking. If it is, we can move around the corner.

 

 

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[tim22361]

We booked with HAL because they allow smoking on verandahs. If they change the policy, our cruising days will end.

[creel5857]

thanks for responses......again I know that smokers have rights and want to enjoy their trip and now many are flocking to smoke friendly ships like Holland.....I even have a family member who used to smoke but ironically now finds the smoke odor annoying and said he never knew the odor was that foul to others.......however, my question was more from a strategic point on any tips that prior passengers on Nordam might already have regarding smoke prone areas on the ship.....again, just trying to help an asthma passenger enjoy her trip as well......thanks alot

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

We booked with HAL because they allow smoking on verandahs. If they change the policy, our cruising days will end.

 

Get in as many cruises as you can now, as I can GUARANTEE you that it will change. It might not be this year, or next - but within a few it's bound to happen.

 

That, like it or not, is the direction that society is heading. I feel that's appropriate as well - but admittedly, I'm biased.

 

I can certainly see where you're coming from, and everyone should have freedom of choice. Right now, it's the choice of non-smokers to risk a smoky balcony. Eventually it will flip around.

 

 

Tom