RUMOR- Princess to be smoke free

[susancruzs]

I'm wondering if this "rumor" came from an article end of May mentioning Carnival, RCI making changes.

 

https://www.thestreet.com/travel/carnival-cruise-and-royal-caribbean-make-popular-smoking-changes

 

Looking around the internet, can't find anything else current in terms of Princess.

[Lady Arwen]

11 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Can't imagine they would do this with the smokers casino money going elsewhere

Have you been in a casino on a Celebrity ship?  Jammed packed every night!  No loss of revenue with no smoking.  

Edited June 10 by Lady Arwen

[JamieLogical]

I know I would gamble more if the casinos at least went smoke-free. I have called it an early night MANY times in the casino because I just couldn't take the smoke any longer. With such a small percentage of adults still smoking (in the US at least) and even fewer younger people smoking, I have to think the current smoking policies are driving more people away from the casinos than attracting people to them.

[Lady Arwen]

3 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

I know I would gamble more if the casinos at least went smoke-free. I have called it an early night MANY times in the casino because I just couldn't take the smoke any longer. With such a small percentage of adults still smoking (in the US at least) and even fewer younger people smoking, I have to think the current smoking policies are driving more people away from the casinos than attracting people to them.

You nailed it!  We recently called our Princess cruise consultant and cancelled all of our bookings for 2025.  I explained to her that we will not sail Princess again until the casinos are 100% non smoking.  She completely understood.  We then booked three for 2025 with Celebrity.  
 

If Princess does the right thing, we’ll happily come back.  We’re sailing on Enchanted in August and it’s our last one.  It makes med sad.

[capriccio]

12 hours ago, pkster said:

Yes, that would be great.  We were on a New Zealand to Australia cruise earlier this year and were pleasantly surprised to find that the casino was smoke-free.  I asked the cashier about it and she said smoking in the casino was forbidden by Australian law.

Not just in the casino.  Smoking throughout cruise ships is forbidden by Australian law.

[eclue]

26 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

You nailed it!  We recently called our Princess cruise consultant and cancelled all of our bookings for 2025.  I explained to her that we will not sail Princess again until the casinos are 100% non smoking.  She completely understood.  We then booked three for 2025 with Celebrity.  
 

If Princess does the right thing, we’ll happily come back.  We’re sailing on Enchanted in August and it’s our last one.  It makes med sad.

Enchanted is one of the worst for smoke.....We are also going on the enchanted in August and we gamble quite a lot...It is difficult to stay in that casino even in the non smoking area but I heard they are changing Take 5 to a non smoking casino....Still the awful odor lingers. On our last cruise in May on the Emerald, there was a couple below us on the Dolphin deck that smoked all the time...I called them out several times and I also called guest services and security...They finally stopped......there are those that will never follow the rules.....I hope Princess does go to nonsmoking at least in my favorite place- the casino.

[JimmyVWine]

1 hour ago, JF - retired RRT said:

That's what land-based bars and restaurants said...

Bars and restaurants can operate without losing revenue because the time spent in them is measured in 2-3 hours.  And if a person really needs to smoke, there is a workaround, even if that means leaning up against a dumpster outside.  While smoking is a choice, it is also an addiction.  Someone who is addicted to smoking can figure out a way to visit a bar or restaurant and either suppress their addiction for 2-3 hours, or find a place to smoke. This is nothing at all like a 10 or 14 day cruise, often with 2 or 3 consecutive Sea Days tossed in there.  I'm just not sure that a person who is addicted to smoking could ever make that work.  I'm not saying that Princess shouldn't go smoke-free, and I'm not saying that the loss of a certain (and shrinking) slice of its current customers won't be made up for by other, new customers.  I'm just saying that smokers who figured out a way to still visit bars and restaurants may not be able to figure a way out to take a smoke-free cruise.  

[DCThunder]

3 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Bars and restaurants can operate without losing revenue because the time spent in them is measured in 2-3 hours.  And if a person really needs to smoke, there is a workaround, even if that means leaning up against a dumpster outside.  While smoking is a choice, it is also an addiction.  Someone who is addicted to smoking can figure out a way to visit a bar or restaurant and either suppress their addiction for 2-3 hours, or find a place to smoke. This is nothing at all like a 10 or 14 day cruise, often with 2 or 3 consecutive Sea Days tossed in there.  I'm just not sure that a person who is addicted to smoking could ever make that work.  I'm not saying that Princess shouldn't go smoke-free, and I'm not saying that the loss of a certain (and shrinking) slice of its current customers won't be made up for by other, new customers.  I'm just saying that smokers who figured out a way to still visit bars and restaurants may not be able to figure a way out to take a smoke-free cruise.  

Perhaps Princess can market cruises with lots of sea days as "Cold Turkey" cruises.  Book a cabin as a smoker and come home smoke free!  Make Nicorette or the patches part of the Plus and Premier packages. Lots of marketing potential here.  It's gold, Jerry, GOLD!

[Retired-N-Happy]

9 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

That was over 25 years ago.  Times change, as do societal preferences and norms.

That's true, but why is Celebrity the only main stream line to have a non smoking casino and no line has a fully non smoking ship today, even with the societal shift against smoking.

[Retired-N-Happy]

6 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

These days, Carnival installed non smoking casinos in some of their ships. They seem popular and might be the best of both worlds for now. I've heard that Royal has done the same on some of their largest ships.

 

It's hard to imagine a completely non smoking ship. Unlike on land, everyone is completely trapped onboard for 24 hours or more. I don't see a solution to this.

 

P.S. I haven't heard this rumor. To me it's irrelevant where it came from, if anywhere.

The Excel Class ships on Carnival have a non smoking section in their casinos, but it still doesn't prevent some smoke from drifting over.  On the Oasis Class ships of RCI, the Jazz on 4 club has been converted into a small non smoking casino.

[JamieLogical]

In the US, smoking rates peaked at 45% in the 50s, but the current smoking rate in US is only 11.5%. It really doesn't make sense to me to alienate 88.5% of your passenger base by allowing smoking in the casinos. A case might be made that a higher percentage of gamblers smoke, so maybe it's closer to 15 or even 20%, but that still means that the majority of your passengers are miserable trying to endure the smoke. Many give up (like me) or many just don't even bother.

[JF - retired RRT]

33 minutes ago, DCThunder said:

Perhaps Princess can market cruises with lots of sea days as "Cold Turkey" cruises.  Book a cabin as a smoker and come home smoke free!  Make Nicorette or the patches part of the Plus and Premier packages. Lots of marketing potential here.  It's gold, Jerry, GOLD!

You beat me to it!! I was going to suggest patches/gum.

[JF - retired RRT]

17 minutes ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

That's true, but why is Celebrity the only main stream line to have a non smoking casino and no line has a fully non smoking ship today, even with the societal shift against smoking.

$$$

[mtnesterz]

1 hour ago, Lady Arwen said:

Have you been in a casino on a Celebrity ship?  Jammed packed every night!  No loss of revenue with no smoking.  

There was a study out of Canada not long ago that showed that after a period of adjustment, there is no diminished revenue in non-smoking casinos.

Agree with the poster about the Enchanted, worst for casino smell, which, BTW, is just one reason we too will be on a different line our next cruise.

[marden1970]

31 minutes ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

The Excel Class ships on Carnival have a non smoking section in their casinos, but it still doesn't prevent some smoke from drifting over.  On the Oasis Class ships of RCI, the Jazz on 4 club has been converted into a small non smoking casino.

In my opinion they should have made the small casino smoking and the main one non-smoking.  There are more non-smokers than smokers.

[Lady Arwen]

30 minutes ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

That's true, but why is Celebrity the only main stream line to have a non smoking casino and no line has a fully non smoking ship today, even with the societal shift against smoking.

Because Celebrity took a giant step forward and never looked back.  Their casinos are packed.  The other cruiselines are still wringing their hands on their ability to change an outdated policy.  Their loss.

[jennybenny]

I'll Believe it when I see it. I would love it. If it was just the casino that was non smoking, I'd gamble more! I hate when I come home with clothes smelling like smoke. Plus, my hair sucks that stinky stuff in and I don't usually wash my hair every day, but I have to when I'm around smoke. I am not against smokers. I have smoker friends, but they don't smoke indoors.

[JamieLogical]

It's honestly always shocking to me when I see people smoking nowadays. I live in western NY and it is illegal to smoke indoors anywhere here or within 50 feet of the entrance to a public space (bar/restaurant/store). I work on a smoke-free college campus where the only place you are allowed to smoke on campus is inside your car in the parking lot with the windows up. I live in a condo complex where there is no smoking outside or on balconies/porches. The only people allowed to smoke on the premises are the owners of owner-occupied units. Renters have it in all their lease agreements that there is no smoking even inside their units. So I literally never see anyone smoking in my day-to-day life and it is so crazy to me to go on a cruise and see dozens of people smoking in the dedicated smoking areas.

[Lady Arwen]

27 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

It's honestly always shocking to me when I see people smoking nowadays. I live in western NY and it is illegal to smoke indoors anywhere here or within 50 feet of the entrance to a public space (bar/restaurant/store). I work on a smoke-free college campus where the only place you are allowed to smoke on campus is inside your car in the parking lot with the windows up. I live in a condo complex where there is no smoking outside or on balconies/porches. The only people allowed to smoke on the premises are the owners of owner-occupied units. Renters have it in all their lease agreements that there is no smoking even inside their units. So I literally never see anyone smoking in my day-to-day life and it is so crazy to me to go on a cruise and see dozens of people smoking in the dedicated smoking areas.

Exactly the same here in Canada.  I can’t remember the last time I saw someone smoking.  We’re basically a non smoking country except on your own property.  

[memoak]

12 hours ago, annmarz said:

Maybe they would get more revenue from the casino because nonsmokers may stay and play.

Try going on a VIP casino cruise you are hard pressed to find a seat at a table or a slot to use until after 11:00

[Lady Arwen]

5 minutes ago, memoak said:

Try going on a VIP casino cruise you are hard pressed to find a seat at a table or a slot to use until after 11:00

I totally believe this!  Hardcore gamblers are immune to cigarette smoke.  They’re either smokers themselves or they don’t even notice it anymore.  Folks like myself, who enjoy the casino on occasion and do it only for fun, are the ones who suffer.  The Princess casinos would still be full until the wee hours without smoking.  They’re just afraid to take the leap.

[RNRcruisers]

I don't gamble but on the Caribbean Princess the smoke from the casino made the piazza and surrounding lounges unbearably smelly. I would be thrilled if they made the casinos non-smoking.

 

[memoak]

5 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

I totally believe this!  Hardcore gamblers are immune to cigarette smoke.  They’re either smokers themselves or they don’t even notice it anymore.  Folks like myself, who enjoy the casino on occasion and do it only for fun, are the ones who suffer.  The Princess casinos would still be full until the wee hours without smoking.  They’re just afraid to take the leap.

No we are not immune from smoke but do carry masks when we have to go to the smoking area

[geocruiser]

13 hours ago, annmarz said:

Maybe they would get more revenue from the casino because nonsmokers may stay and play.

I believe that you are right.  Smoker go there to smoke and play.  Some just to smoke.  That pushes all the non smokers out.  I would  play more if it were non smoking.

[Lady Arwen]

44 minutes ago, memoak said:

No we are not immune from smoke but do carry masks when we have to go to the smoking area

I just don’t want to wear a mask so that someone else can freely smoke.  I should be able to enjoy the casino without a mask and without my hair smelling like an ashtray.  I know you love the casino, but the price is just too high for this lady.