Jump to content

Non-smoking cruise?


DaCruiseBug
 Share

Recommended Posts

Without having people butt heads about smoking vs non-smoking...

 

Why do none of the major cruise lines have a completely smoke free ship? In the US only about 20% of the population smokes and I know that there would be plenty of people even willing to pay more to go on a smoke free ship.

 

Has any cruise line ever explored this concept?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, DaCruiseBug said:

Without having people butt heads about smoking vs non-smoking...

 

Why do none of the major cruise lines have a completely smoke free ship? In the US only about 20% of the population smokes and I know that there would be plenty of people even willing to pay more to go on a smoke free ship.

 

Has any cruise line ever explored this concept?

 

Carnival had their ship, the Paradise, as a non-smoking ship for awhile, but it changed back to allowing some smoking a number of years ago.  I sailed on it in 2003 when it was still non-smoking and it was great!  Especially the casino.  Not sure why they didn't keep it non-smoking, but I'm sure it was a financial decision.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

Why do none of the major cruise lines have a completely smoke free ship? In the US only about 20% of the population smokes and I know that there would be plenty of people even willing to pay more to go on a smoke free ship.

 

Your question has been correctly answered, but I'd like to point out that not all passengers on the mass market lines are American, so your percentage is irrelevant.  Indeed on some cruises Americans are in the minority. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, mom says said:

Your question has been correctly answered, but I'd like to point out that not all passengers on the mass market lines are American, so your percentage is irrelevant.  Indeed on some cruises Americans are in the minority. 

 

They may vary a little but in places like the UK only 17% smoke, in Canada 16%, and Germany 25% smoke. And to correct what I said...in the US it's only 15%. So basically it's a small minority that smoke. Most cruises on RCL, CCL, NCL etc have 90%+ passengers that are either from the US/Canada or the UK.

Edited by DaCruiseBug
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Carnival once had a non smoking ship but found that the concept did not work.  

 

Hank

 

3 hours ago, Go-Bucks! said:

 

Carnival had their ship, the Paradise, as a non-smoking ship for awhile, but it changed back to allowing some smoking a number of years ago.  I sailed on it in 2003 when it was still non-smoking and it was great!  Especially the casino.  Not sure why they didn't keep it non-smoking, but I'm sure it was a financial decision.

 

That was twenty years ago.That many years ago it was rare to find a restaurant or bar that was non-smoking. Attitudes about smoking have changed considerably since then. Now, many states have banned smoking in such places, and several countries have followed suit, even some where heavy smoking is still the norm.  People today are much more aware of the negatives of smoking.

 

Plus, Carnival Paradise itineraries did not change very often. People became bored with the same destinations year after year. If it offered a variety of itineraries, it might have succeeded. 

 

To assume that a non-smoking ship would face the same difficulties today is naive. People scoffed when Celebrity announced they would be the first mass market line to ban smoking in all interior spaces, with many doubters predicting they would fail due to diminished bookings. In reality, bookings boomed, bringing in enough revenue to build five new ships, also non-smoking in all interior areas. And now they are building four more ships, the first of which just started sailings this month. 

 

Clearly, their strict no smoking policy has been a major success. Now, most cruise lines have followed Celebrity's lead. It isn't unrealistic to imagine that a completely non-smoking ship would also be successful with today's heightened awareness of the health issues with smoking. 

 

Things are very different today than twenty years ago. 

Edited by sloopsailor
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

They may vary a little but in places like the UK only 17% smoke, in Canada 16%, and Germany 25% smoke. And to correct what I said...in the US it's only 15%. So basically it's a small minority that smoke. Most cruises on RCL, CCL, NCL etc have 90%+ passengers that are either from the US/Canada or the UK.

But most of the crew comes from countries where smoking is more prevalent so the percentage of the crew that smokes is also higher. Yes, it's been 20 years since Paradise but given the dismal failure of that experiment no cruise line is willing to make that sort of investment again since the status quo seems to please everyone (and before anyone objects to that statement, do you sill cruise? If the answer is yes then as far as the cruise lines are concerned you are please with the status quo.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

But most of the crew comes from countries where smoking is more prevalent so the percentage of the crew that smokes is also higher. Yes, it's been 20 years since Paradise but given the dismal failure of that experiment no cruise line is willing to make that sort of investment again since the status quo seems to please everyone (and before anyone objects to that statement, do you sill cruise? If the answer is yes then as far as the cruise lines are concerned you are please with the status quo.)

Yes, finding a 100% non-smoking crew would be the biggest problem.  If you ever have a cabin near the senior officer’s cabins, you can usually smell the smoke whenever the door to their corridor opens.  We had a balcony above an outdoor crew smoking area once, and there seemed to be at least one person smoking out there 24 hours a day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As others have posted, it's been tried & failed. So don't expect any mainstream cruise line to try again for a while.

 

Your figures are also flawed because couples or families or groups will not book if just one member is a smoker.

I'd guess the potential drop in market-share at around 25 to 30%. That's unsustainable - and will be for a decade or two to come - and since the overwhelming number of non-smokers are satisfied with current arrangements that drop would be balanced by only a fraction of a percentage of anti-smokers who'd be encouraged to cruise.

 

The only main bone of contention now is smoking in some casinos.

It's a fact that smokers tend to be gamblers so cruise lines are overly-reluctant to make casinos 100% non-smoking.

though I could never understand the point of designating half a room :classic_unsure:

And because of restrictions elsewhere on ships, the level of obnoxious fumes in the casino has risen quite dramatically as smokers nip in there just for a quick puff.

Not helped by the design of some ships that make the casino a main thoroughfare - a deliberate design to encourage folk to gamble, same as putting impulse items by the check-outs in stores. 

I suspect there'll be changes to rules in casinos, mebbe in ship design too..

 

But although non-smokers greatly out-number smokers, those smokers greatly out-number the vehement anti-smokers. 

The vast majority of non-smokers are happy with the current arrangement so I don't expect cruise lines to come up with non-smoking ships in the foreseeable future.

 

JB :classic_smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The concept has failed as a business model before, and it would fail if attempted again now. Currently, virtually all cruise ships have designated, specific, and limited areas for smoking. It seems that the vast majority of smokers are compliant with the smoking policies. I haven't been bothered by smokers in years. Why would I pay more for no discernible benefit? I wouldn't. Neither would enough people to consistently fill a totally non-smoking ship.

 

Oh, and how exactly how would a cruise line deal with the stealth smokers who break the rules? Maybe the family pressured Uncle Marlboro to come along. Carnival would have kicked him and anyone else in his cabin off the ship at the next port. Carnival DID evict a family whose teenager was caught with cigarettes in his bag. Possession was enough. You want to train the stewards to search cabins and report violators? It didn't work then and it wouldn't work now.

 

Smoking policies are constantly evolving with movement towards more and more restrictions. Policies change when there is a groundswell of opinion followed by financial decision making. Only when cruise lines start losing business because of their smoking policies do they become motivated for change. I'm content with smoking being prohibited in staterooms, balconies, and almost all interior venues (VIP casino and Connoisseur Club are the exceptions) of my favorite line --  and allowed only in limited outdoor areas.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

They may vary a little but in places like the UK only 17% smoke, in Canada 16%, and Germany 25% smoke. And to correct what I said...in the US it's only 15%. So basically it's a small minority that smoke. Most cruises on RCL, CCL, NCL etc have 90%+ passengers that are either from the US/Canada or the UK.

While the percentage of overall population may not smoke (or consider themselves smokers), that doesn't mean the same percentages apply to cruisers.

 

Some people do not consider themselves smokers, but will sometimes smoke socially (drinking).  Also a good number of smokers gamble/gamblers smoke and cruise ships have casinos, ergo...higher smoking potential on ships than on land.

 

As a non-smoker, I'm fine with the outdoor permitted smoking spaces (but not violating the rules and smoking on balconies), and mostly fine with casino smoking, but wish ventilation was better so it didn't creep into other areas of the ship.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"It's a fact that smokers tend to be gamblers so cruise lines are overly-reluctant to make casinos 100% non-smoking.

though I could never understand the point of designating half a room "

 

Actually, this is not a true statement.  Some smokers are gamblers, but not the majority.

 

However, the majority of gamblers are also smokers.  When I worked in addiction recovery, we found that over 80% of alcoholics, addicts and gamblers we treated also smoked.  MRI's of the same area of their brains pleasure center showed enhanced activity when short clips of alcohol, drugs, tobacco or casinos were shown to them.

 

As far as the Paradise, my 1st 2 sailings were on that ship, and I didn't book it again because I wanted other itineraries than what the Paradise was limited to.

 

Today, with so many businesses, restaurants, hospitals, smf hotels being 100% smoke free, the Paradise experiment is worth trying again.

Edited by evandbob
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, mef_57 said:

There are cruise lines with no inside smoking policies, and yes, you pay more for these.  Here is an article from CC that may help you choose

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=225

 

 

Per the article you reference, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean do not permit smoking in inside areas of the ship, and they aren't more expensive than competing mass market lines. So, no, you don't have to pay more for ships with no inside smoking policies. 

Edited by sloopsailor
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, sloopsailor said:

 

Per the article you reference, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean do not permit smoking in inside areas of the ship, and they aren't more expensive than competing mass market lines. So, no, you don't have to pay more for ships with no inside smoking policies. 

RC allows inside smoking. Limited to the Casino. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Princess's policy is similar to Celebrity's, but they allow smoking on certain nights in the casino and a small area on the pool deck. BUT....on my last 3 Princess cruises, people on balconies below or in front of ours were smoking on their balcony and made it quite unpleasant for us to be out on our balcony. We reported the situation, but the staff said they couldn't find anything. Not much more we could do.   :classic_sad:

 

I would love to see another completely non-smoking ship be available, but I'm not going to hold my (clean, clear) breath!  😜

Edited by Go-Bucks!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Go-Bucks! said:

Princess's policy is similar to Celebrity's, but they allow smoking on certain nights in the casino and a small area on the pool deck. BUT....on my last 3 Princess cruises, people on balconies below or in front of ours were smoking on their balcony and made it quite unpleasant for us to be out on our balcony. We reported the situation, but the staff said they couldn't find anything. Not much more we could do.   :classic_sad:

 

I would love to see another completely non-smoking ship be available, but I'm not going to hold my (clean, clear) breath!  😜

Carnival just changed their policy making it so the cleaning fee assessment is charged per occurrence and stating that passengers in violation are subject to removal from the ship.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The amount of adults in the US that smoked in 2000 was about 24% and it's around 15% today. There's also been an emphasis on creating smoke-free environments such as restaurants, hotels etc as someone else has said. Something tells me that if one of the big cruise lines markets a ship as the only smoke-free cruise ship they'll pack it every single time and get a premium for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...