Non-Smoking or Less Smoky Cruise?

[SuzCruise]

My DH and I are looking for a last minute get away sometime in September. We live in Texas and were considering a cruise from Galveston on RCL. I have read quite a bit on the boards about many of the common areas on that ship being very smoky. I just had eye surgery and am not quite healed (the reason we are looking for a trip that doesn't require a flight) and just can't handle the irritation of smoke. My eye might not be back to full health for years - so waiting isn't an option.

 

So - does anyone have a recommendation of a cruise from a US port (so we can drive) that would not be too smoky? We'd like a nice ship with a lot of activities on board and prefer a fun casino. We have cruised 3 times in the past (HAL: Alaska and the Med and RSSC: Tahiti) don't know if that info might be helpful. We'd prefer a 7-10 day cruise.

 

Any ideas would be welcomed!

 

Thanks,

 

SuzCruise

[johnql]

There's really no such thing as a non-smoking cruise ship. However, the smoking policies on cruise lines do differ a bit as far as where smoking is restricted. Here's a link to a good article on CC about smoking policies:

 

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

[98Charlie]

We'd like a nice ship with a lot of activities on board and prefer a fun casino.

Casinos on all ships that we have cruised have been smoking areas. That could pose a real problem if smoke irritates your eye.

 

If you do want to use the casino, you may want to get there when they open and there are fewer players (and smokers).

 

Good luck on the healing process.

 

Charlie

[HspncElvis]

The word I received was you are allowed to smoke in your cabin, and designated areas. I like a cigar now and then.

[johnql]

The word I received was you are allowed to smoke in your cabin, and designated areas. I like a cigar now and then.

You were probably given the correct information. However, if you're saiilng either Oceania or Disney, you will not be allowed to smoke in your cabin.

[seamama1]

To the OP: Disney has very strict smoking rules... not permitted to smoke in the cabins and in most places on the ship. Balconies and the very few designated areas are the only places. This might work for you.

 

Of course, they don't have a casino and do have many, many children.

[wrp96]

My mother is severely sensitive to smoke and had no problems on the Rhapsody of the Seas this past December.

[LHP]

The bottom line is that is can be as simple as the luck of the draw. Back in 2003, we took a cruise in July with absolutely no problems and then took the same ship in October (just a few months later) and thought Phillip Morris had rented it for their company.

 

With being limited to driving, your options are not many. There are probably only mass market cruise lines in your area (I am thinking Galveston and New Orleans).

 

Just remember that bigger does not always mean better. We have been on the Conquest (although it was before Carnival's designated smoking area policy) and the ship on that cruise really held the smoke. (which was disappointing, because since it was a new ship at the time, we had high hopes that Carnival had actually installed a ventilation system worthy of its loyal passengers.)

 

Let us know what you decide and how it goes!

Hope your eye heals quickly and correctly!!

[Sueseb]

We were lucky enough to sail on the Carnival Paradise when it was a completely non smoking ship -- and it was paradise. Alas, it is no longer non-smoking.

A suggestion to get a balcony cabin may not work if pax in the cabins on either side of you are smokers and use their babconies as smoking areas -- made ours unusable at times.

The casinos are always smokey but most of the ship will be smoke free.

I hope you can find a cruise that meets your requirements. Sue

[lknight27]

If you're willing to sail Carninval then Carnival Paradise is a non-smoking ship. I sailed this ship back in 2003 and smoking is not allowed anywhere on the ship at ALL.

[momofmeg]

Carnival ships do have non smoking lounges. My gripe though was all the interesting stuff like dancing, the piano bar, and karoke were ALL in smoking lounges on Carnival Inspiration.

 

Now we cruised Carnival Miracle when she was brand new and she did have great stuff going on in the nonsmoking lounges- but that was when the ship was brand new-I am not sure if that ship still has the great nonsmoking lounges.

 

This is one reason why I have not cruised Carnival since. I found with the nonsmoking lounges-it meant if I went into a smoking one I could not breathe as the smokers were all concentrated in those lounges.

 

On other lines they have the smoking side and the non smoking side and I do okay in these. I guess if you made sure you were no where near the middle of the lounge but be on the nonsmoking side by the wall-you should do okay.

 

Also all crusieships do not allow smoking in the dinningrooms or the show lounge and one side of the lido deck is nonsmoking.

[momofmeg]

If you're willing to sail Carninval then Carnival Paradise is a non-smoking ship. I sailed this ship back in 2003 and smoking is not allowed anywhere on the ship at ALL.

 

Not anymore. Carnival was losing too much money. They discovered that nonsmokers on the whole do not drink as much or gamble as much-so they were losing bucks big time with the Paradise.

 

I do know I had friends that hated carnival normally but liked the Paradise when she was non smoking-as the crusies were much more subdued.

[Barbee524]

Try the Radiance of the Seas. They have very limited smoking areas.

[LHP]

Not anymore. Carnival was losing too much money. They discovered that nonsmokers on the whole do not drink as much or gamble as much-so they were losing bucks big time with the Paradise.

 

I do know I had friends that hated carnival normally but liked the Paradise when she was non smoking-as the crusies were much more subdued.

 

One small correction. The Paradise never lost money. It did not make enough money, but it did make money. It fell far below the MARS of the other ships and Carnival's corporate expectations. So while it never lost money, it was harder to book (because even a small family group booking is going to have one smoker) and it did not make enough money. Now whether corporations have a responsibility to sacrifice making MORE money over passenger health and safety is another issue currently being debated at the WHO.

[LHP]

To the OP:

I would also avoid any 3 or 4 day cruises as these (at least on Carnival) are viewed to be more of the party cruises.

[KLG]

Oceania has a very restrictive smoking policy for their small, luxury ships. They only allow smoking in one small corner of the dining room and in one limited area on deck. Not in cabins,on balconies, in lounges, or in the casino--for nonsmokers it's a real treat!--and they maintain the right to remove pax from the ship if they are caught smoking. The service and (especially) the food are excellent.

 

Oceania ships are a world apart from RSSC, Carnival, etc. Small (700 pax), a somewhat older crowd, all dining is open seating, the cruise is all country club casual--and in September the ships are still in other parts of the world. During the winter they sail out of Miami to the Carribean, mostly on 10-12 day trips. We were quite impressed with their shore excursion staff--they brought someone local onboard to help independent travellers, and were generous with information even if you planned to go on your own.

 

You won't find tons of activities or a huge casino--but you won't have to worry about smoke. Or children, for that matter. Of course, they'll also be a bit more expensive than the cruise lines that operate big ships.

 

Good luck. Hope you find a not-too-smoky ship that has what you're looking for.

[LHP]

Oceania has a very restrictive smoking policy for their small, luxury ships. They only allow smoking in one small corner of the dining room and in one limited area on deck. Not in cabins,on balconies, in lounges, or in the casino--for nonsmokers it's a real treat!--and they maintain the right to remove pax from the ship if they are caught smoking. The service and (especially) the food are excellent.

 

Oceania ships are a world apart from RSSC, Carnival, etc. Small (700 pax), a somewhat older crowd, all dining is open seating, the cruise is all country club casual--and in September the ships are still in other parts of the world. During the winter they sail out of Miami to the Carribean, mostly on 10-12 day trips. We were quite impressed with their shore excursion staff--they brought someone local onboard to help independent travellers, and were generous with information even if you planned to go on your own.

 

You won't find tons of activities or a huge casino--but you won't have to worry about smoke. Or children, for that matter. Of course, they'll also be a bit more expensive than the cruise lines that operate big ships.

 

Good luck. Hope you find a not-too-smoky ship that has what you're looking for.

 

I have been hearing more and more wonderful things about Oceania....we may have to give them a try next winter! But I think the OP was looking for a port close enough to drive to since flying was not an option. Is Miami the only port Oceania goes out of in the winter?

[LHT28]

Oceania has a very restrictive smoking policy for their small, luxury ships. They only allow smoking in one small corner of the dining room and in one limited area on deck.

 

NO smoking in ANY part of the dining room.

A small corner in Horizon's bar and Small area on the pool deck.

[Happy ks]

You will never avoid smoking completely. but, I've found that the cheaper, shorter cruises always seem smokier. I think because they are more geared to partiers than longer cruises. I have friends who only smoke when they are out partying and drinking.

 

We definitley noticed less smoking when we sailed on Celebrity in Alaska and QM2, even though it was just a short 3 night cruise.

 

I'm an avid non-smoker and can honestly say that it is easy to avoid smokers onboard a ship. Just find out which bars allow smoking (sometimes they only allow it on one side of the bar), usually one side of the pool deck allows smoking. We have times where we have to go up a deck, walk a ways, then go down a deck to avoid the smokey areas, but it is worth it to us. I don't believe I have any more right to be rude to a smoker than they do to me, there is room for all of us.

 

Stay away from the casino, don't even walk near that area, it's the worst area of the ship for smoke.

[momofmeg]

To the OP:

I would also avoid any 3 or 4 day cruises as these (at least on Carnival) are viewed to be more of the party cruises.

 

Actually it is the 3 day wkend cruises. I have cruised Sovereign of the Seas twice. The first one was Mon thru Fri and was great-the second one was Fri through Mon and the atmosphere was ENTIRELY differant. Same exact ship- and some of my worst experiences with "hard partiers" were on this ship- the 3 day party cruise and not the Carnival cruises I have done.

 

I have also done one 3 day cruise on Carnival-but it was on the Miracle when she was brand new and was actually more expensive the the 7 day cruise I had done 4 months earlier-so this cruise was actually not as bad as the SOS one (no hard partying college students) but still there were a couple of things that made me decide that I did not want to do another 3 day cruise.

[momofmeg]

One small correction. The Paradise never lost money. It did not make enough money, but it did make money. It fell far below the MARS of the other ships and Carnival's corporate expectations. So while it never lost money, it was harder to book (because even a small family group booking is going to have one smoker) and it did not make enough money. Now whether corporations have a responsibility to sacrifice making MORE money over passenger health and safety is another issue currently being debated at the WHO.

 

 

I never cruised her but my friend said you would go in the casino at night and no one but maybe 2 or 3 people would even be there. she was amazed at how differant from other cruises where the casino would be "hopping". But she liked that ship for that very reason-as she could breathe in the casino.

[momofmeg]

I have been hearing more and more wonderful things about Oceania....we may have to give them a try next winter! But I think the OP was looking for a port close enough to drive to since flying was not an option. Is Miami the only port Oceania goes out of in the winter?

 

 

Which for that reason you mentioned I did not recommend Disney. Disney allows smoking ONLY on balconies-so if you are a smoker you book a balcony.

 

No smoking in lounges and none on the lido/pool area either. No smoking allowed in staterooms.

 

but Disney is at Pt. Canaraval -so a long drive or else a flight from Texas.

[LHP]

I never cruised her but my friend said you would go in the casino at night and no one but maybe 2 or 3 people would even be there. she was amazed at how differant from other cruises where the casino would be "hopping". But she liked that ship for that very reason-as she could breathe in the casino.

 

I don't gamble, so I don't specifically remember how the casino looked compared to other cruises. I do believe the statistics would bear out that folks that smoke, do drink and gamble more.

 

But oddly enough their biggest problem was the lack of group bookings. Even one smoker would knock out an entire group...and group bookings are (if not the life blood) a large artery in the life finances of cruising.

 

Their second biggest problem was that they based the ship at the "ends of the cruising world" down in Miami in a time when more and more people are driving to their destinations. A more centrally located ship would have helped with the bookings.

 

It is sad that 2 small changes could have preserved this ship.

1) Totally non-smoking was a stupid idea. Since they went to all the trouble of building this special ship, smoking rooms and a sealed smoking section casino (with proper ventilation) on each deck would have been sufficient.

2) Moved the ship around. No change in ports + no centrally located embarkation....is like giving a specialty ship a deathwish.

 

And again, since it was making money, seems like Carnival could have cut it some slack on the MARS. No one expects a corporation to lose money...but how much profit is enough?

[momofmeg]

I don't gamble, so I don't specifically remember how the casino looked compared to other cruises. I do believe the statistics would bear out that folks that smoke, do drink and gamble more.

 

But oddly enough their biggest problem was the lack of group bookings. Even one smoker would knock out an entire group...and group bookings are (if not the life blood) a large artery in the life finances of cruising.

 

Their second biggest problem was that they based the ship at the "ends of the cruising world" down in Miami in a time when more and more people are driving to their destinations. A more centrally located ship would have helped with the bookings.

 

It is sad that 2 small changes could have preserved this ship.

1) Totally non-smoking was a stupid idea. Since they went to all the trouble of building this special ship, smoking rooms and a sealed smoking section casino (with proper ventilation) on each deck would have been sufficient.

2) Moved the ship around. No change in ports + no centrally located embarkation....is like giving a specialty ship a deathwish.

 

And again, since it was making money, seems like Carnival could have cut it some slack on the MARS. No one expects a corporation to lose money...but how much profit is enough?

 

 

Well I never had a problem with smoke until Carnival made their lounges smoking and nonsmoking. I love things like the piano bar and karoke but since those lounges were laways smoking I found I could not breathe in them.

 

Now on Carnival Miracle the lounge Frankie and Johnny's was non smoking and they had a great band that played in there-so I did not miss the piano bar so much.

 

but Disney is really the best nonsmoking ship-it is nonsmoking everywhere except on the balconies. so if you are a smoker you need to book a balcony.

[Happy ks]

When we cruise on Disney Magic, smoking was allowed up on deck, although not in every area.

 

Balconies are probably the worst area to allow smoking, as proven by the recent Princess fire. I'm not saying a cigarette caused the fire (I don't recall if there has been absolute proof or not), but the outside of the ship has a lot of combustible material, with no alarms in place and a much more difficult area to combat than the interior of the ship. No sprinklers are on the outside of the ship.

 

Oceania and perhaps other cruise lines have banned smoking from their balconies, I know Disney does not permit smoking in their cabins.