NCL Escape: Is this a cruise ship or a floating casino?

[albatros1]

Just got off NCL Escape and didn't enjoy at all having the casino occupying almost the entire 7th floor. 
I never saw on any other ship so much space reserved for the casino.
Everybody can do whatever they want with their money, but in my opinion the casino should be located in a remote part of the ship, not in the middle.
Last but not least, I hate to be obliged to swallow cigarette smoke when passing through the casino and trying to get to O'Sheehan's. 
Big thumbs down, NCL Escape!

[cruiseny4life]

Have you ever cruised before?

 

While I would prefer cruise lines use the space for casinos for something different, the mainstream cruise lines all have casinos that take up pretty much the entirety of at least one deck. 

[albatros1]

Yes, this was my 5th cruise (2nd time with NCL). 

[Two Wheels Only]

NCL started to build ships with enclosed smoking for the casino after Escape was built. The newer Breakaway Plus ships (Joy, Bliss, or Encore) might be better for you. The newer class of ships might also be an option for the same reason (Prima, Viva, Aqua).

 

There have been talks of adding enclosed smoking to other ships but it's a slow process. 

[Andoria]

I wish they'd do something about the smoke. I'm an ex-smoker so I get why people want to smoke.  I'd spend more time and money at the casino if they banned smoking.  

Edited May 6 by Andoria
Clarity

[Sand and Seas]

12 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

NCL started to build ships with enclosed smoking for the casino after Escape was built. The newer Breakaway Plus ships (Joy, Bliss, or Encore) might be better for you. The newer class of ships might also be an option for the same reason (Prima, Viva, Aqua).

 

There have been talks of adding enclosed smoking to other ships but it's a slow process. 

NCL seems to be listening as all the newer ships have the smoking areas in casino enclosed.  Cruisers are reporting that the Getaways drydock this month is adding an enclosed smoking area.  Hopefully, the Breakaway will add one too!

[DorothyB]

Agree that I hate the smoke - I always figure out alternate ways to get to other venues.  I was never going to sail on Breakaway class because friends said the smoke infiltrated all venues open to the atrium.

 

On the other hand, if LOTS of people are in the casino (which I totally avoid), then that means more space per person in the rest of the ship.

[yakcruiser]

I'm sure they have done numerous studies to find out if they could make more money by banning smoking and have determined that smokers spend more money in the casino. Enclosed areas seem like the way to please the most people. Also the casinos are one of the biggest revenue generators on the ship. Why would they want to move it off into a corner somewhere?

[schmoopie17]

Depending which survey you look at, about 11% of all American adults are smokers.

 

89% are not.

 

Seems like there should be a better way to accommodate the vast majority...especially since smoke wafts far and wide and impacts everyone in the vicinity and beyond.

 

Nasty habit...and it all goes up in smoke.

 

Oh, wait. This was a casino discussion. In that case, never mind.

 

Edited May 6 by schmoopie17

[Ellis1138]

I am allergic to tobacco smoke, so avoided the 7th deck, and couldn't eat at O'Sheehans except for breakfast.

 

But the Escape also had the copious outdoor areas like the Waterfront. I also found that staying on the grotto side of Spice H2O was smoke-free, even though the smoking section was on the other side.

 

The worst ever was my time on a Royal Caribbean ship where they have the indoor space going up like 5 decks. The casino smoke floated up the stairs from the casino and the indoor promenade turned into a chimney.

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, albatros1 said:

Yes, this was my 5th cruise (2nd time with NCL). 

Has it been that different on other ships?

[ChiCruzr]

2 hours ago, Ellis1138 said:

I am allergic to tobacco smoke, so avoided the 7th deck, and couldn't eat at O'Sheehans except for breakfast.

 

I'm sure you're sensitive to smoke, lots of people are, but there's no such thing as an allergy to smoke, medically-speaking.

 

Tobacco Allergy: Can You Be Allergic to Cigarette Smoke? (healthline.com)

 

Allergic Sensitization, Rhinitis and Tobacco Smoke Exposure in US Adults - PMC (nih.gov)

[Ellis1138]

18 minutes ago, ChiCruzr said:

 

I'm sure you're sensitive to smoke, lots of people are, but there's no such thing as an allergy to smoke, medically-speaking.

 

Tobacco Allergy: Can You Be Allergic to Cigarette Smoke? (healthline.com)

 

Allergic Sensitization, Rhinitis and Tobacco Smoke Exposure in US Adults - PMC (nih.gov)

It's possible, although I do have allergy to the plant products themselves (tobacco leaves as well as cannabis/hemp). I also react more to Marlboro and Camels than to other brands. However, I also get terrible reactions to VOCs, which as you point out are in the smoke/vapes. I have such a sensitivity that if I go into a room where someone had, at some point, smoked, even a few days earlier, I react. It's very inconvenient, but doctors don't have a cure yet.

[UKstages]

4 hours ago, yakcruiser said:

I'm sure they have done numerous studies to find out if they could make more money by banning smoking and have determined that smokers spend more money in the casino.

 

no, but everybody always says that... "oh, the casinos know what they're doing. they're making big bucks off of smokers or they wouldn't allow it. smoking and gambling go together like peanut butter and jelly!") in truth, it's exactly the opposite. what you are echoing is the message put forth by lobbyists for big tobacco.

 

they have done numerous studies. there has never been a study that proved that gamblers smoke more or spend more in the casino than non gamblers or that economic harm would befall a casino that bans smoking. (we're talking about legitimate peer reviewed studies that weren't somehow sponsored or tied to the tobacco industry.) if there was such data, surely the casino industry would have shared it every time a state proposes a smoking ban.  in fact, the percentage of people who smoke in casinos mirrors the general population and is currently between 11% - 15%... and it continues to fall. (down from 20% or so a decade ago.) walk into any high limit room in any casino and you will see that for every hundred people, only ten or twelve are smoking. (there are some slight differences based on the player's nationality, but nonsmokers comprise the vast majority of gamblers.)

 

there is actually hard evidence that suggests that nonsmokers have higher incomes and more disposable income, so the logic is counter intuitive.  one would think NCL would want to make its casinos more inviting to nonsmokers. and indeed they are - slowly - building glass-enclosed smoking rooms on some ships.

 

it only seems like a lot of gamblers smoke on NCL ships because non-gamblers head there to smoke (not gamble) rather than going to the inconveniently located designated smoking area. and NCL doesn't really enforce their established rules with regard to smoking in the casino on most ships.

 

Edited May 7 by UKstages

[G-DawgMN]

5 hours ago, albatros1 said:

Just got off NCL Escape and didn't enjoy at all having the casino occupying almost the entire 7th floor. 
I never saw on any other ship so much space reserved for the casino.
Everybody can do whatever they want with their money, but in my opinion the casino should be located in a remote part of the ship, not in the middle.
Last but not least, I hate to be obliged to swallow cigarette smoke when passing through the casino and trying to get to O'Sheehan's. 
Big thumbs down, NCL Escape!

 Silly question but didn’t you look at the deck plans before you booked? If a large casino is an issue I’m not sure why you picked that ship. 

[BirdTravels]

NCL has tried non-smoking casinos before. They didn't last more than a month or two before the ashtrays were brought back out. 

[Liljo22]

The Escape casino is no bigger than any other casino I have been on other ships even on other cruise lines.  It doesn’t come close to taking up the entire 7th floor because you also have the theater, O’Sheenans, and the Manhattan Room on that floor. 

[yakcruiser]

20 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

no, but everybody always says that... "oh, the casinos know what they're doing. they're making big bucks off of smokers or they wouldn't allow it. smoking and gambling go together like peanut butter and jelly!") in truth, it's exactly the opposite. what you are echoing is the message put forth by lobbyists for big tobacco.

 

they have done numerous studies. there has never been a study that proved that gamblers smoke more or spend more in the casino than non gamblers or that economic harm would befall a casino that bans smoking. (we're talking about legitimate peer reviewed studies that weren't somehow sponsored or tied to the tobacco industry.) if there was such data, surely the casino industry would have shared it every time a state proposes a smoking ban.  in fact, the percentage of people who smoke in casinos mirrors the general population and is currently between 11% - 15%... and it continues to fall. (down from 20% or so a decade ago.) walk into any high limit room in any casino and you will see that for every hundred people, only ten or twelve are smoking. (there are some slight differences based on the player's nationality, but nonsmokers comprise the vast majority of gamblers.)

 

there is actually hard evidence that suggests that nonsmokers have higher incomes and more disposable income, so the logic is counter intuitive.  one would think NCL would want to make its casinos more inviting to nonsmokers. and indeed they are - slowly - building glass-enclosed smoking rooms on some ships.

 

it only seems like a lot of gamblers smoke on NCL ships because non-gamblers head there to smoke (not gamble) rather than going to the inconveniently located designated smoking area. and NCL doesn't really enforce their established rules with regard to smoking in the casino on most ships.

 

Do you really believe that if NCL could make more money by banning smoking in the casino they wouldn't do it? This is the same company that has eliminated hash browns and cookies to save a dime.

[UKstages]

there is no Big Hash Brown and Big Cookie lobbying for decades to spread misinformation about their products. if there were and the hash brown folks and the cookie folks and the flour, butter, lard, oil and sugar and potato folks had lobbied in washington for decades and claimed that NCL would suffer dire economic harm and people would no longer sail them if they banned cookies and hash browns... we might still be enjoying those tasty treats on NCL ships today. Big Tobacco (and Big Vape) currently has over 900 lobbyists throughout america spreading misinformation about cigarettes. that includes florida, where NCL is headquartered.

 

do you really believe that an industry that created joe camel to appeal to kids is going to tell the truth about smoking and gambling revenue on cruise ships?

 

you've kind of turned the question on its end... now you want NCL to make more money by banning smoking. that wasn't really the issue. but, yes, they probably would make more money... again, "studies have shown..."

 

and you say that NCL removed hash browns and cookies to save money. fair enough. so, sometimes it's about saving money. how much in health care and productivity costs would NCL save by banning smoking? NCL casinos are not just entertainment venues; they are also workplaces. and guests come through and spend an hour or two there a night, sometimes two or three or four cruises a year. but NCL employees (dealers, croupiers, servers, hosts, slot technicians) are forced to breathe in that stuff seven to ten hours a day for six months or more at a time. how many specialty meals are not being sold at le bistro because people refuse to sit in the smoke filled outdoor seating area? how much does it cost to replace the stained and odorous carpets and drapes in the casino?

 

in any case, in answer to your question, no, i wouldn't expect NCL to ban smoking if they thought they would make more money. i expect them to do so chiefly for guest satisfaction. (that's the reason they're adding glass partitions and smoking rooms to existing casinos.) there is no other industry - except for casinos - that caters to such a small percentage of its customers.

 

but if NCL would look beyond the lobbyists, they would discover that some of the highest grossing casinos in america are in jurisdictions that ban smoking. why is it, do you suppose, that there are fierce bidding wars for casino licenses  in new york state and in massachusetts. smoking is not permitted in casinos in either of those states. have the casino companies lost their minds? no, they know that the future of gaming is nonsmoking. and that the vast majority of their customers do not smoke.

 

nonsmoking casinos are incredibly profitable. a report published in 2022 by C3 gaming in las vegas found that casinos that did not allow indoor smoking outperformed their smoking counterparts.

 

Edited May 7 by UKstages

[yakcruiser]

Hopefully NCL will start enclosing the smoking areas on their smaller ships

as they get a chance.  Of course, some anti-smoking fanatics will complain about have to visually see the smokers. And in all fairness, there are some smokers that will complain about having to smoke in a glass cage.

 

As someone who smoked for 43 years and has been a non-smoker for five, I have met folks on both sides of the argument who think it's their right to impose their views (or smoke) on everybody else.

[albatros1]

4 hours ago, G-DawgMN said:

 Silly question but didn’t you look at the deck plans before you booked? If a large casino is an issue I’m not sure why you picked that ship. 

Take a look at the deck plan on NCL website: https://www.ncl.com/fr/en/cruise-ship/escape/deck-plans. 
The casino is shown to occupy only a small area on the side, across the Skyline bar, but in fact it goes all the way from Manhattan to O'Sheehan's, and Skyline is a part of it (they even have poker machines at all the bar chairs in Skyline). 

[albatros1]

4 hours ago, Liljo22 said:

The Escape casino is no bigger than any other casino I have been on other ships even on other cruise lines.  It doesn’t come close to taking up the entire 7th floor because you also have the theater, O’Sheenans, and the Manhattan Room on that floor. 

I said it takes almost the entire 7th floor and what I meant is the area where people usually walk/socialize and this area is in between the elevators/stairs. It excludes the theater and Manhattan and includes only O'Sheehan's and the casino.   

[nimbex1970]

10 hours ago, Andoria said:

I wish they'd do something about the smoke. I'm an ex-smoker so I get why people want to smoke.  I'd spend more time and money at the casino if they banned smoking.  

check out the Viva!

[Asawi]

8 hours ago, G-DawgMN said:

 Silly question but didn’t you look at the deck plans before you booked? If a large casino is an issue I’m not sure why you picked that ship. 

Here's a crazy thought: Itinerary? 😉 

[Capitan Obvious]

2 hours ago, Asawi said:

Here's a crazy thought: Itinerary?

 

You might be right, but if itinerary was the driving factor, then carping about the casino size is even less relevant. Itinerary should be the driving factor.

 

5 hours ago, albatros1 said:

I said it takes almost the entire 7th floor

 

That might be a bit dramatic, no? Looking at the deck plans you referenced, and only considering the passenger accessible areas, the theater takes up 23.5% of the space, O'Sheehans takes 19%, the casino takes 33.5%, and the Manhattan room takes 24%. So the casino (sky bar included) takes slightly more then a third of the deck...I don't know if 1/3rd counts as "almost the entire 7th floor".