Vaping Signs Removed…My conversation with the Revenue Director

[Georgia_Peaches]

I felt like it was easier to start a separate thread so as not to get lost in the shuffle of the current threads on the subject of the new vaping policy. 
 

The Marketing & Revenue director took time to sit down with me and hear my concerns about the new policy. She was extremely engaging and took notes to pass along to corporate. While she maintained that this is only a test and no final decision has been made, she admitted that A LOT of feedback has been received and based on this, corporate has instructed that the signage be removed in favor of word of mouth instead. 
 

I raised several concerns including:

 

1. Enforcement of the “while actively playing” rule and mentioned the vapers who were vaping while watching the slot tournament. 
2. The awkward position it puts the crew in who have to enforce the policy. 
3. The health concerns for everyone. 
4.  The changing of the Celebrity brand and what attracted me to Celebrity in the first place

5.  What changes will this open the door to if this is implemented permanently?

 

Our conversation concluded with assurances that the feedback was valuable and would continue to be collected and analyzed. 
 

My take away from this is that they are already walking back on this little experiment by removing the signs. Experienced Celebrity cruisers already know the policy and those who are new will not know the difference as long as the signs remain hidden….hence, making word of mouth more difficult. 
 

She is also aware of the threads here on CC as well as other social media platforms. 
 

Don’t let up on the feedback…it’s working!

Edited July 5, 2023 by Georgia_Peaches

[Kelownadon]

Good work. Keep us posted. 

[Stem to Stern]

10 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

My take away from this is that they are already walking back on this little experiment by removing the signs

Not unlike the walking back of the main dining room hamburger entree?  Well done Mrs. Peaches.

[davekathy]

@Georgia_Peaches thanks for taking the time from your cruise to speak with M&R director. 

[RichYak]

15 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

corporate has instructed that the signage be removed in favor of word of mouth instead. 

 

15 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

My take away from this is that they are already walking back on this little experiment by removing the signs.

I'm sorry, I know I wasn't in the room with you, but I couldn't disagree more with your take away based on the first comment. Corporate has decided that the signage, not the policy, is the problem. Vaping in the casino is here to stay and IMO is only phase 1.

Edited July 5, 2023 by RichYak

[NMTraveller]

13 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

My take away from this is that they are already walking back on this little experiment by removing the signs. Experienced Celebrity cruisers already know the policy and those who are new will not know the difference as long as the signs remain hidden….hence, making word of mouth more difficult. 
 

My takeaway is that they are removing the signs and not going to enforce anything.

[Georgia_Peaches]

7 minutes ago, RichYak said:

 

I'm sorry, I know I wasn't in the room with you, but I couldn't disagree more with your take away based on the first comment. Corporate has decided that the signage, not the policy, is the problem. Vaping in the casino is here to stay and IMO is only phase 1.

Well you may be right. But my thought was, if the signs aren’t there then nobody knows the difference. I saw no vapers last night. Will look for them again this evening. 

[RichYak]

2 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Well you may be right. But my thought was, if the signs aren’t there then nobody knows the difference. I saw no vapers last night. Will look for them again this evening. 

If I were a vaper or smoker, the first thing I'd ask when I got on board is, "where can I smoke/vape?" Probably even before finding out what bar was open at that time.

[Pennstatedj]

thanks for information. My wife is on the Equinox right now and I join her on Saturday. She saw the signs yesterday and immediately spoke with the CC hostess. Interesting the hostess agreed and said some of the crew was of the same feeling as my wife which is very upset. One of the main reasons we travel on X is because of their non smoking policy. We switched from Princess to X in 96 because of how they corrected problems and because of no smoking policy. I sure hope they listen to us and eliminate this test. I do not mind testing different things as long as they remove the tests when many of us do not like them. Thanks again for your post. 

[cruisestitch]

What will be interesting to see is the first daily on the new cruise after this one… What will the instructions regarding smoking and vaping say on the next cruise’s embarkation day.

 

thanks, Georgia Peaches!!!!!

[long time lurker]

I board on the 8th and will be watching. If this trial is still in place they won’t like my post cruise survey answer to “How did we care for your health onboard”. Do they have negative numbers?

[WestLakeGirl]

Well done, Georgia Peaches!👏👏👏👏👏👏🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑

[Pennstatedj]

I will be boarding on July 8 also. If there is a Zenith lunch I will be speaking up. My wife is attending a lunch with CPT and Zeniths tomorrow. She is not shy and will also express her displeasure. Thanks again Peaches. 

[Bandman]

Currently on board as well. We left the casino one night earlier in the week due to vape smoke swirling around us. So glad they might have already reconsidered. 

[Shiba_Lover]

Thanks for the update!  

[Honolulu Blue]

@Georgia_Peaches:  Thank you for posting notes from your meeting!  I didn't know that there was a Revenue Director on each Celebrity ship, though it certainly does make sense.  I know about the Hotel Director and I'm sure there's a comptroller or functional equivalent onboard.  It's nice to know there's someone to turn me upside down and shake every last penny out of my pockets. 😁

 

Anyway, I have no dog in this particular hunt, so I'll just leave it by saying keep up the good work! 👍

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Good job and thank you for speaking out for everyone who is opposed.

[davekathy]

20 minutes ago, long time lurker said:

I board on the 8th and will be watching. If this trial is still in place they won’t like my post cruise survey answer to “How did we care for your health onboard”. Do they have negative numbers?

A big fat zero with a negative follow-up comment.  

[C 2 C]

1 hour ago, Stem to Stern said:

Not unlike the walking back of the main dining room hamburger entree?  Well done Mrs. Peaches.

And "X the rules"

[3boyz2keep]

Thank you @Georgia_Peaches!

[39august]

My thanks also for taking your time to meet and to post. Were all the signs, including the large ones at the entrance removed, or just the little scattered about signs, please?

[Hearthosesteeldrumsplayin]

Thanks for pursuing this issue.  I have been looking forward to my next Celebrity cruise (and particularly the casino!), as there was no smoking on our 1st cruise.  This was one of the reasons I am returning to Celebrity.  My personal feeling is that vaping and cigarette smoking put the same bad things into the air I breathe.  Vaping doesn't smell as noxious, but the harmful stuff is still there!

[dlh015]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I felt like it was easier to start a separate thread so as not to get lost in the shuffle of the current threads on the subject of the new vaping policy. 
 

The Marketing & Revenue director took time to sit down with me and hear my concerns about the new policy. She was extremely engaging and took notes to pass along to corporate. While she maintained that this is only a test and no final decision has been made, she admitted that A LOT of feedback has been received and based on this, corporate has instructed that the signage be removed in favor of word of mouth instead. 
 

I raised several concerns including:

 

1. Enforcement of the “while actively playing” rule and mentioned the vapers who were vaping while watching the slot tournament. 
2. The awkward position it puts the crew in who have to enforce the policy. 
3. The health concerns for everyone. 
4.  The changing of the Celebrity brand and what attracted me to Celebrity in the first place

5.  What changes will this open the door to if this is implemented permanently?

 

Our conversation concluded with assurances that the feedback was valuable and would continue to be collected and analyzed. 
 

My take away from this is that they are already walking back on this little experiment by removing the signs. Experienced Celebrity cruisers already know the policy and those who are new will not know the difference as long as the signs remain hidden….hence, making word of mouth more difficult. 
 

She is also aware of the threads here on CC as well as other social media platforms. 
 

Don’t let up on the feedback…it’s working!

My hero!!!   Thank you!!

[davekathy]

1 minute ago, Hearthosesteeldrumsplayin said:

Thanks for pursuing this issue.  I have been looking forward to my next Celebrity cruise (and particularly the casino!), as there was no smoking on our 1st cruise.  This was one of the reasons I am returning to Celebrity.  My personal feeling is that vaping and cigarette smoking put the same bad things into the air I breathe.  Vaping doesn't smell as noxious, but the harmful stuff is still there!

Now that you've told us, have you told Celebrity?

 

lhodges@rccl.com

 

executiveoffice@celebrity.com

 

[jelayne]

Thanks for the update and taking the time to give your feedback to those on the ship.