Level of smoke in casinos

[nlktx49]

Just returned last Saturday from a cruise on Vista, our first since the shutdown. One thing that bugged me was the amount of smoke in the casino, it was unbearable in places. The new casino protocols were not being enforced - only players seated and actively playing were to be in the casino, and only those people were allowed to smoke. If you had a drink you could lower your mask to take a sip but then had to pull the mask up. No such restrictions were being enforced on smokers. Quite a few people were gathered around the table games, not playing, just watching, and smoking. There were people sitting at the slot machines, not playing, but smoking. There were very few slots designated non-smoking.

 

Carnival claims to be concerned about the health of its passengers but allows smoking in the enclosed casino, exposing everyone to second-hand smoke, a known carcinogen. On land you can't smoke in a restaurant, store, office, bar. If a smoker can make it through a meal without  smoking. why can't they gamble for an hour then go to the smoking area? The bar has been removed from the casino which should have cut down on the amount of smoke. I also heard Carnival installed new ventilation systems on the ships, but they must have skipped the casinos.

 

The whole point of my long-winded story is this. Can those of you who have cruised other Carnival ships recently and spent some time in the casinos tell me what you think about the level of smoke in them? 

 

I was expecting an improvement in the level of smoke, but if anything it was worse than before. I'd like to hear from others about this. 

[sgttami]

You said in your other post that you just came back from an Ultra cruise.  From my past casino cruises I have always found that Premiers and Ultras are 90% smokers.  (At least on Pride they were).

My friend was on Pride recently(Premier) and said it's still the same as far as the smoke.  The casino bar is open on Pride but it's non smoking and people were still standing around watching the slots and tables and smoking, even if they weren't playing.  

 

Some of the ships are adding the separate no smoking casinos but I'm not sure which ones.

 

[cruisin from vegas]

They should have policed the policies..  with that said..  smoking will never be banned from a casino, as long as smoking is legal.  I am a retired gaming professional, started on a Carnival ship and spent 25 plus years more in Vegas Casinos..  big gamblers..  majority smoke.  Carnival was starting as a gambling line..  casino is big big big $$$$….  You actually said it yourself, they can go with an hour of no smoking..  the gamblers that get these Premier/ultra cruises ..  don’t spend an hour ..  they spend most waking hours in the casino.  I don’t smoke, but I do gamble and earn all my cruises free.  I’m in there most of the time it’s open.  Casinos are never going to give  up the $$$ from these gamblers, and you don’t want them to..  keeps cruising affordable.   I thought as the population aged.. smoking wouldn’t be that critical..  but nope, not true.  Every casino in Las Vegas that has gone non-smoking has failed.  As long as there is a competitor that lets them smoke.. not going to work. I was on the Breeze in July and they had a separate casino for non smokers, hardly anyone in there the couple times I checked it out, but it was new then.  Half the casino is also non smoking…. I never had any trouble finding a seat on that side..  some may argue this point, but they are not who Carnival Casino is catering to.  If smoking goes…. Prices will jack up real quick.  Just the facts

[sgttami]

3 minutes ago, cruisin from vegas said:

They should have policed the policies..  with that said..  smoking will never be banned from a casino, as long as smoking is legal.  I am a retired gaming professional, started on a Carnival ship and spent 25 plus years more in Vegas Casinos..  big gamblers..  majority smoke.  Carnival was starting as a gambling line..  casino is big big big $$$$….  You actually said it yourself, they can go with an hour of no smoking..  the gamblers that get these Premier/ultra cruises ..  don’t spend an hour ..  they spend most waking hours in the casino.  I don’t smoke, but I do gamble and earn all my cruises free.  I’m in there most of the time it’s open.  Casinos are never going to give  up the $$$ from these gamblers, and you don’t want them to..  keeps cruising affordable.   I thought as the population aged.. smoking wouldn’t be that critical..  but nope, not true.  Every casino in Las Vegas that has gone non-smoking has failed.  As long as there is a competitor that lets them smoke.. not going to work. I was on the Breeze in July and they had a separate casino for non smokers, hardly anyone in there the couple times I checked it out, but it was new then.  Half the casino is also non smoking…. I never had any trouble finding a seat on that side..  some may argue this point, but they are not who Carnival Casino is catering to.  If smoking goes…. Prices will jack up real quick.  Just the facts

Agree.  I had conversations with casino staff and hosts on cruises and they said exactly what you did.  The Premiers, Ultras and Elite cruises are a big draw on Carnival  and most big gamblers are also  smokers.

[HarborHermit]

14 minutes ago, cruisin from vegas said:

I was on the Breeze in July and they had a separate casino for non smokers, hardly anyone in there the couple times I checked it out, but it was new then.

 

Thanks for the information. I will be on the Breeze next month, and plan to spend a lot of time in the new casino annex. Glad to know that it won't be crowded.

[IntrepidFromDC]

I cruised on the Pride in September and October.  HUGE improvement in the casino and casino bar over previous Pride sailings.  I spend 1 - 3 hours in the casino most days and the smoke barely bothered me.  I was sitting at a non-smoking Texas Hold'em table the entire time gambling.  But the casino bar was always empty and even just walking around I only saw people smoking while seated at a slot machine or smoking table.  For me the real way to be sure I wasn't imagining the improvement was when I woke up the next morning and my clothes didn't smell like smoke.

[cruisin from vegas]

You are 💯percent correct

[bigrednole]

I don't disagree that smokers gamble more. What should be done though is have an exact mirror of the casino in the non-smoking casino. For me, I love to play craps. The only place there is a table is in the smoking casino. Why should I be forced into the cancer center to play craps? I should be able to play in a smoke free environment.

[IntrepidFromDC]

4 hours ago, wkucrprez said:

... Why not ban it... it's all about revenue and Casino revenue is the margin making cash cow for Carnival...  

 

 

The only cash cow I'm interested in on Carnival is MATILDA.  BTW, it's all about NET INCOME, not revenue (i.e., it's about what you keep - not what you make before the gubmint takes it's cut).

[IntrepidFromDC]

2 minutes ago, bigrednole said:

I don't disagree that smokers gamble more. What should be done though is have an exact mirror of the casino in the non-smoking casino. For me, I love to play craps. The only place there is a table is in the smoking casino. Why should I be forced into the cancer center to play craps? I should be able to play in a smoke free environment.

There have been studies that showed high correlations between gambling addiction and smoking addiction, but there are many more non-smokers than smokers so I'd like to see a study about the change in the ratio of non-smoking to smoking gamblers since more and more people became non-smokers (or never smoked) over the past few decades.

[bucfan2]

9 hours ago, nlktx49 said:

Just returned last Saturday from a cruise on Vista, our first since the shutdown. One thing that bugged me was the amount of smoke in the casino, it was unbearable in places. The new casino protocols were not being enforced - only players seated and actively playing were to be in the casino, and only those people were allowed to smoke. If you had a drink you could lower your mask to take a sip but then had to pull the mask up. No such restrictions were being enforced on smokers. Quite a few people were gathered around the table games, not playing, just watching, and smoking. There were people sitting at the slot machines, not playing, but smoking. There were very few slots designated non-smoking.

 

Carnival claims to be concerned about the health of its passengers but allows smoking in the enclosed casino, exposing everyone to second-hand smoke, a known carcinogen. On land you can't smoke in a restaurant, store, office, bar. If a smoker can make it through a meal without  smoking. why can't they gamble for an hour then go to the smoking area? The bar has been removed from the casino which should have cut down on the amount of smoke. I also heard Carnival installed new ventilation systems on the ships, but they must have skipped the casinos.

 

The whole point of my long-winded story is this. Can those of you who have cruised other Carnival ships recently and spent some time in the casinos tell me what you think about the level of smoke in them? 

 

I was expecting an improvement in the level of smoke, but if anything it was worse than before. I'd like to hear from others about this. 

Unfortunately, mask mandates have contributed.  Some are so tired of wearing masks, they've discovered a work around.  I've considered taking up smoking and drinking myself.

Edited November 8, 2021 by bucfan2

[audcc77]

9 hours ago, cruisin from vegas said:

I’m in there most of the time it’s open.

I’d like your opinion on something. 
 

When the casino opens mid-morning or whatever, do you think that’s a waste of time to gamble on slots? Or maybe you don’t play slots?

 

I’m asking because it seems that in the morning hours it is less crowded and also less likely to win.  Thoughts?

[nlktx49]

5 hours ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

There have been studies that showed high correlations between gambling addiction and smoking addiction, but there are many more non-smokers than smokers so I'd like to see a study about the change in the ratio of non-smoking to smoking gamblers since more and more people became non-smokers (or never smoked) over the past few decades.

My husband and I and the friends we cruise with are all non-smokers, and we all spend a lot of time in the casinos and gamble a fair amount. Not $13,000 a cruise like WKUCPREZ but a good amount. And I would say about half the gamblers in Carnival's casinos are non-smokers.  And probably very few of the smokers are dropping a bundle, they just want a place to sit and smoke, drop a minimum bet in the slot every now and then. Instead of speculation - on both sides of the issue - I'd like to see some factual data on this. I'd volunteer to go around the casino with a clipboard asking questions of the gamblers, although most of the answers would probably be suggestions about where I could put the clipboard!😁

[joe/jack]

WHAT IS THE NON-SMOKING CASINO LIKE ON MAGIC?
IS THERE A BAR. IS THERE WAITERS TO BRING YOU DRINKS

IS THERE A NICE SELECTION OF TABLE 

GAMES AND SLOT MACHINES? IS THERE A PAY OUT WINDOW

OUR CP SAYS MORE AND MORE SHIPS WILL SOON HAVE TWO CASINOS 

GOING ON MAGIC IN 20 DAYS 

thanks for your information 

 

[cruiseracer]

11 hours ago, nlktx49 said:

Just returned last Saturday from a cruise on Vista, our first since the shutdown. One thing that bugged me was the amount of smoke in the casino, it was unbearable in places. The new casino protocols were not being enforced - only players seated and actively playing were to be in the casino, and only those people were allowed to smoke. If you had a drink you could lower your mask to take a sip but then had to pull the mask up. No such restrictions were being enforced on smokers. Quite a few people were gathered around the table games, not playing, just watching, and smoking. There were people sitting at the slot machines, not playing, but smoking. There were very few slots designated non-smoking.

 

Carnival claims to be concerned about the health of its passengers but allows smoking in the enclosed casino, exposing everyone to second-hand smoke, a known carcinogen. On land you can't smoke in a restaurant, store, office, bar. If a smoker can make it through a meal without  smoking. why can't they gamble for an hour then go to the smoking area? The bar has been removed from the casino which should have cut down on the amount of smoke. I also heard Carnival installed new ventilation systems on the ships, but they must have skipped the casinos.

 

The whole point of my long-winded story is this. Can those of you who have cruised other Carnival ships recently and spent some time in the casinos tell me what you think about the level of smoke in them? 

 

I was expecting an improvement in the level of smoke, but if anything it was worse than before. I'd like to hear from others about this. 

Everyone points to the CDC concerning c19 compliance for the health & well being of others. 

 

The same CDC also has an opinion on 2nd hand smoke for the health & well being of others. 

 

https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/secondhand_smoke/index.htm

 

 

[nlktx49]

10 hours ago, wkucrprez said:

As a smoker and designated  an "elite" level player under Carnival's casino loyalty program, I would consider myself a qualified person to answer your questions and address your concerns. 

 

Let's begin with the primary reason smoking is allowed indoors on the vessel... It's  definitely not out of the goodness of Carnival's heart. Carnival has to listen to the incessant complaints of guests about smoking being allowed in the casino. Why not ban it... it's all about revenue and keeping the revenue generating guests happy...

 

https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-line-adds-separate-non-smoking-casino-on-three-ships/53411

 

As John Heald says in the article, smokers gamble more than non smokers. Smokers outspend nonsmokers exponentially in casinos! It's the revenue that we smokers generate in the casino that keeps Carnival afloat... and the cost of YOUR vacation down. Do you think cruise lines make profit from cruise fares... absolutely not. Cruise fares extremely low margin, barely break even. Casino revenue is the margin making cash cow for Carnival. Frankly, every passenger on the ship should thank each smoker in the casino... smokers literally make nonsmokers vacation affordable. John Heald even says it. 

 

Why are so few slots designated as non smoking? See above.  Non smokers are cheap. Why would a casino owner  restrict an asset from a guest who will spend more money using it, that's the definition of insanity.  Non smokers should be thankful that non smoking machines and tables are offered as they are not as profitable.

 

What's next..."Why can't "they" gamble for an hour and then go to the smoking area."  The retort could be, "Why can't  simply stay out of the casino since you don't like smoke?" Smokers have no other venue to smoke other than the casino... as a nonsmoker you have the entire ship to not smoke. That seems like a pretty agreeable situation in the nonsmokers favor. It frustrates me that nonsmokers press to take away the one place in society a smoker still can enjoy a cigarette... it's beyond selfish. 

 

That leads me to the "known carcinogen" comment. I have a masters in chemistry, so I consider myself a scientist.  It is beyond ignorant for anyone to consider being exposed to secondhand cigarette smoke on occasion, for a short amount of time a cancer risk. Cancer related to smoking is not acute (short term based) but from chronic (long term) exposure.  Going into a casino a few hours every night during your cruise in no way will increase your risks of developing cancer.  You would have to go 10 hours,  every day for 20 years in n a heavily smoke filled room to start worrying about an increased cancer risk. 

 

The moral of the story is this... On my last cruise in September I had over $13,000 in Sign and Sail charges to the casino. I smoked lots of cigarettes while playing. The casino is going to continue to allow smoking as long as guests like me let our wallets do the talking.

 

#SmokeUmIfUGotUm

#ThankASmoker

 

 

Well, my goodness! It's a wonder Carnival even lets us "beyond selfish" non-smokers set foot on their ships, since everyone of us is a drain on their profits!  I'm amazed that they banned smoking in cabins and on balconies, imagine the revenue they lost with that move.  Just curious, why are you cruising Carnival if you can afford to drop $13,000 in the casino on one cruise? Or do other cruise lines not allow smoking in their casinos?

[nlktx49]

2 hours ago, audcc77 said:

I’d like your opinion on something. 
 

When the casino opens mid-morning or whatever, do you think that’s a waste of time to gamble on slots? Or maybe you don’t play slots?

 

I’m asking because it seems that in the morning hours it is less crowded and also less likely to win.  Thoughts?

Casino is open 24 hours except when the ship is in a port. Around 6 a.m. they set up a continental breakfast by the cashier's desk. I've rarely played the slots this early, but I've wondered if your odds of winning then are better or worse. At least there's less smoke at that time! If you're an early riser it's a good place to go drink coffee and gamble a little while you wait for the Sea Day Brunch to start.

[bigrednole]

1 hour ago, joe/jack said:

WHAT IS THE NON-SMOKING CASINO LIKE ON MAGIC?
IS THERE A BAR. IS THERE WAITERS TO BRING YOU DRINKS

IS THERE A NICE SELECTION OF TABLE 

GAMES AND SLOT MACHINES? IS THERE A PAY OUT WINDOW

OUR CP SAYS MORE AND MORE SHIPS WILL SOON HAVE TWO CASINOS 

GOING ON MAGIC IN 20 DAYS 

thanks for your information 

 

I will be on her in 12 days. I watched a video of the non-smoking casino. Lots of slots, almost all table games except craps. Not sure about a bar, but they bring drinks around from what I saw 

[LatinaInTexas]

I like to play slots but on most cruises I barely spent any time in the casino because of the smoke.

Last week's cruise on the Dream I spent much more time in the casino because for one thing they have a separate casino that is non smoking. It was quiet and not much fun playing there, plus couldn't win a penny there.

There other thing was that in the smoking casino I found that wearing my mask made it more tolerable so I was able to spend more time in there.

[Djptcp]

Have sailed twice on the Magic, Aug. and Oct., and the smoking and non-smoking areas are well defined with a large walkway between them. The Magic also now has a totally smoke free casino on Deck 4 in addition to the main casino on Deck 5.

[cruisin from vegas]

5 hours ago, audcc77 said:

I’d like your opinion on something. 
 

When the casino opens mid-morning or whatever, do you think that’s a waste of time to gamble on slots? Or maybe you don’t play slots?

 

I’m asking because it seems that in the morning hours it is less crowded and also less likely to win.  Thoughts?

Possibly.  I like daytime gambling most and I now only play slots..  occasionally blackjack.  I seem to find the machines I like more in the day because it’s less crowded.   So I tend to do better in the day.   Also very late at night.  Slot machines are “set” with a chip that if you turned it off and turned it back on in a million years.. same hand will come up next..  time isn’t a factor…. But lots more play at night so more opportunity for that “random generator” to roll around.  I don’t know, it’s kind of a toss up 

[CruiseBro16]

I was just on the Breeze and hardly noticed the smoke in the casino. I don't remember it always being this way, but they only allow people to smoke who are actively playing. 

[Joebucks]

16 hours ago, nlktx49 said:

Carnival claims to be concerned about the health of its passengers but allows smoking in the enclosed casino, exposing everyone to second-hand smoke, a known carcinogen. On land you can't smoke in a restaurant, store, office, bar. If a smoker can make it through a meal without  smoking. why can't they gamble for an hour then go to the smoking area? The bar has been removed from the casino which should have cut down on the amount of smoke. I also heard Carnival installed new ventilation systems on the ships, but they must have skipped the casinos.

 

I always get a giggle out of the secondhand smoke fear. "Well I read the science!" 

 

No one gets sick walking through a cloud of someone's smoke. The concern is from living with a smoker, working in a place that's constantly smoky, etc. I guarantee you inhale more harmful traffic smoke that secondhand smoke.

 

I know people who smoke 2-3 packs a day (disgusting) and they are fine. Then comes some busybody who says they are going to die because they smell someone's puff.

[silvercrikhix]

Recently off the Dream, we spent too much time in the casino. Half of the casino is non-smoking and it was not smoky on that side. There is also a smokeless casino annex on Deck 4. There was nobody smoking at the casino bar.  Saw no one standing around smoking. Only active players. Only noticed smoke when seated next to a smoker. It did appear to be well ventilated. And yes, casino staff were admonishing those going maskless to, ‘put on your mask’. So let’s see, non-smokers now have more casino space than smokers. And yet some must still itch, oan & omplain. Anybody surprised?  🤷‍♀️ 

[Bostwick girl]

On 11/8/2021 at 8:46 AM, joe/jack said:

WHAT IS THE NON-SMOKING CASINO LIKE ON MAGIC?
IS THERE A BAR. IS THERE WAITERS TO BRING YOU DRINKS

IS THERE A NICE SELECTION OF TABLE 

GAMES AND SLOT MACHINES? IS THERE A PAY OUT WINDOW

OUR CP SAYS MORE AND MORE SHIPS WILL SOON HAVE TWO CASINOS 

GOING ON MAGIC IN 20 DAYS 

thanks for your information 

 

It’s a nice area, an old conference room converted to casino.  Yes there’s a bar, yes there are waiters bringing drinks. Seems like there were 4 tables and roulette, maybe one more. A good selection of slot machines, not as many as the regular casino, but good variety and all prices. Yes there’s a casino payout area.  Have been on  Magic 3 times since August,  and have to say I definitely enjoyed the non smoking casino. The main casino was great in the mornings, not that many playing. It was definitely less smoky since you had to be playing to smoke. Either people were following the rules on their own or the rules were being enforced. We did see one or two smokers playing on the non smoking machines and said something to them. They all said they didn’t notice and moved.