Smokers opinions only please

[RN_Mom]

What are your thoughts on the last minute change in policy? No bashing by no smokers please! I know smokers are always attacked on here but let's see if we can have a place to vent!

 

[TheRatPack]

My husband is the smoker in our household but I'll answer for him . He's a very very very accommodating person, he ALWAYS goes outside to his work shed to smoke when he's at home, or out by our fire pit. He abides by the smoking rules at WDW and only smokes in the designated areas at the resort and the parks. He probably could draw you a map to every smoking area at WDW LOL because he studies that map.

He will walk to whatever area they have designated on the ship, but I'm concerned for him because it doesn't look like there are a whole lot of smoking areas on the Wonder. We've never cruised so I don't know how far the areas will be, if it requires an elevator each time.....etc. And are they going to have smoking areas available at night? I noticed one area mentioned in previous post said 6a-6p only.

Will smoking at Castaway be banned as well?

 

[RN_Mom]

We can map out smoking areas at a lot of places too! Don't know about castaway since there was no designated areas to begin with... On an excursion in Mexico we had a hard time bringing ourselves to smoke wherever, still found ourselves sitting in a corner somewhere! Thing is on the ships people come sit in the tiny smoking areas and complain! Now there is going to be more people filling those areas.

 

[TheLanes]

Brother and I both like to have a cigar on the verandah during per-dinner appetizers. I think for the happiness of non-smokers, which is now the majority of cruisers, this is a good thing. We will have to hike our lazy ***** up to the smoking areas.

 

[tinkerone]

i'm a non smoker, hope you don't mind my reply. i don't think the smokers need to rule out the possibility that this could all be reversed in a year or so. smokers book a lot of the verandas. now, not so many of them will, they will think why bother when i wanted it mostly to have my morning cig and i can't now. i'll just book an ov and that will be fine. i have heard other people say, well, now we can book verandas and not worry about smoke. i don't see this filling the empty spots for lots of reasons. people don't want to spend the extra money, are worried about their child on the veranda, lots of reasons.
if disney has to discount the verandas on every sailing they may take a second look at this and decide it was not for the best. it is a guessing game, only time will tell.
the other thing that i'm guessing is that after the first non smoking veranda cruise you will see lots of post from people not happy because the smokers who where driven from the veranda have to go to the smoking areas and that smoke has now doubled or trippled and is now invading their out door space. this one isn't a guessing game, those threads will happen. lol.
we have always had veranda rooms (up till this cruise coming) and have never had an issue with smoke or smokers so i don't understand how so many say that every time they cruise they have a bad experience. i think their bad experience is yet to come.
as i said, i'm a non smoker but i wish you all luck. hope it works out for you.

 

[RN_Mom]

Don't mind at all! Just wanted a spot for us to vent without being bashed! Will be interesting to see the new complaints especially since on the classics the smoking area is next to the adult pool! One way or another I save money be it on another line or an interior room on Disney now

 

[lizabu]

DH smokes. I'm an on again off again smoker. Hopefully I'll be off again by our trip. We booked a verandah room. It would have been more convenient obviously but it's no big whoop. We always follow the rules. I think they're going to find just 2 smoking area a little crowded ( not counting the one that's only just during certain hours. I find that confusing and would probably stick with one of the others). I really like how at Epcot the smoking areas are off to the side and not in anyone's way.

 

[Debbru]

DH & I are both smokers and have always booked verandah rooms. BUT, most of our smoking is done in the smoking area of Deck 9 on the classic ships. Out of consideration for our verandah neighbors, we usually only smoked out there first thing in the morning or a "before bed" cigarette. So, really this is no big deal except for.............

Even though DCL's policy states (on the classic ships) that smoking is allowed on Deck 9 & 10 starboard (except around the Mickey pool) this is NOT the case at all. On our last Wonder cruise, smoking on Deck 9 was only at the first 4 tables forward on the starboard side. Many, many times there were a few dozen people huddled together, standing, no room to sit, trying to have a smoke. CM's would NOT put out ashtrays any further than these 4 tables, even though DCL's own rules says smoking is allowed all the way down the starboard side until the Mickey pool area.

So even though we have no problem with the new smoking policy, we will be writing to DCL asking that smokers actually be allowed to smoke in the designated smoking areas.

 

[pyramid2000]

Tinkerone, I think you hit the nail on the head! There are already complaints about the smoking areas on deck. More dirty looks and comments to come. The added amount of people smoking in these areas will surely cause a disturbance. DCL has a terrible reputation, in my opinion, of allowing the squeaky wheel to change too many policies. Not sure if they realize that it is only complaints that get reported and that is a terrible way to adjust policy from "guest feedback." I am sure people don't tell them they have an "adequate" smoking policy that satisfied them or that the kids club age groups are(were) set up wonderfully or that their dinning attire policy is awesome. So those who feel they have lost some of the cruising experience from recent changes have no recourse but to change to a line that fills their cruising needs. DCL seems to be farthest from what cruising was about. We were already seriously considering other lines for various reasons and this is just one more policy change, for me, that pushes us away from DCL, not necessarily because of the impact it would have for me, but because of the way DCL constantly caves and changes trying to satisfy this one, wait, no, satisfy that one, hold on, no, satisfy this one! JMHO

 

[Texas lady]

My husband is the smoker in our household but I'll answer for him . He's a very very very accommodating person, he ALWAYS goes outside to his work shed to smoke when he's at home, or out by our fire pit. He abides by the smoking rules at WDW and only smokes in the designated areas at the resort and the parks. He probably could draw you a map to every smoking area at WDW LOL because he studies that map.

He will walk to whatever area they have designated on the ship, but I'm concerned for him because it doesn't look like there are a whole lot of smoking areas on the Wonder. We've never cruised so I don't know how far the areas will be, if it requires an elevator each time.....etc. And are they going to have smoking areas available at night? I noticed one area mentioned in previous post said 6a-6p only.

Will smoking at Castaway be banned as well?

The 6pm-6am is only on deck 4, the rest of the smoking sections are open 24-7, On the Wonder and Magic smoking areas are on Deck 9 an 10, Starboard side (right side of ship)except around Mickey Pool area.
On the Dream and Fantasy Starboard side of Currents (Deck 13 Forward) -
Outdoor area Port side of Meridian Lounge (Deck 12 aft)

Don't know about Castaway Cay haven't heard about any changes .

 

[MattMatts-Momma]

My husband is the smoker in our household but I'll answer for him . He's a very very very accommodating person, he ALWAYS goes outside to his work shed to smoke when he's at home, or out by our fire pit. He abides by the smoking rules at WDW and only smokes in the designated areas at the resort and the parks. He probably could draw you a map to every smoking area at WDW LOL because he studies that map.

He will walk to whatever area they have designated on the ship, but I'm concerned for him because it doesn't look like there are a whole lot of smoking areas on the Wonder. We've never cruised so I don't know how far the areas will be, if it requires an elevator each time.....etc. And are they going to have smoking areas available at night? I noticed one area mentioned in previous post said 6a-6p only.

Will smoking at Castaway be banned as well?

I am also a considerate smoker. I go to the designated areas, but there are still non-smokers who wander into the area and complain about the smoke. I think the complainers will still complain, because it is their nature it seems.

What is the smoking rule at Castaway?

We can map out smoking areas at a lot of places too! Don't know about castaway since there was no designated areas to begin with... On an excursion in Mexico we had a hard time bringing ourselves to smoke wherever, still found ourselves sitting in a corner somewhere! Thing is on the ships people come sit in the tiny smoking areas and complain! Now there is going to be more people filling those areas.

Is smoking allowed in all areas of Mexico? I guess alot of the people that are terribly bothered by the smoke, just don't get off the ship? If smoking is allowed in Mexico, I will smoke, but as always, if I see it is bothering someone, I will move. I think there will still be complaining about how "many" smokers are now smoking in the designated areas.

i'm a non smoker, hope you don't mind my reply. i don't think the smokers need to rule out the possibility that this could all be reversed in a year or so. smokers book a lot of the verandas. now, not so many of them will, they will think why bother when i wanted it mostly to have my morning cig and i can't now. i'll just book an ov and that will be fine. i have heard other people say, well, now we can book verandas and not worry about smoke. i don't see this filling the empty spots for lots of reasons. people don't want to spend the extra money, are worried about their child on the veranda, lots of reasons.
if disney has to discount the verandas on every sailing they may take a second look at this and decide it was not for the best. it is a guessing game, only time will tell.
the other thing that i'm guessing is that after the first non smoking veranda cruise you will see lots of post from people not happy because the smokers who where driven from the veranda have to go to the smoking areas and that smoke has now doubled or trippled and is now invading their out door space. this one isn't a guessing game, those threads will happen. lol.
we have always had veranda rooms (up till this cruise coming) and have never had an issue with smoke or smokers so i don't understand how so many say that every time they cruise they have a bad experience. i think their bad experience is yet to come.
as i said, i'm a non smoker but i wish you all luck. hope it works out for you.

I agree.

Don't mind at all! Just wanted a spot for us to vent without being bashed! Will be interesting to see the new complaints especially since on the classics the smoking area is next to the adult pool! One way or another I save money be it on another line or an interior room on Disney now

I think this may be a money saver for us too. Either book the cheapest room on DCL or go with an entirely different cruise line. It will be interesting to see what follows now.

I think people are still going to smoke on the verandahs, they still do at WDW Resorts.

Personally, I would be happy to see alcohol only served from dinner time on. I am sure that would make alot of people upset...but they would probably not obey the rules regarding the drinking times.

Anyway, we may not sail DCL after this cruise.

 

[Aeryn76]

I'm not a smoker and not here to bash. My mom smoked for 40 years but now has been smoke free for 8 years. I just wanted to say that DCL could at least make it easier to have an area for you guys to smoke. And not make it a small section for you to be squished into like cattle. Do I like smoke? No but I don't go into areas that allow it and if I do wander into an area by mistake, then I leave. No complaints or being rude about it. People just need to have common sense and to be considerate. That goes to the smokers and the non-smokers. So good luck to you guys and hope to you have a happy cruise when it comes around.

 

[jameysdopey]

We booked our first cruise for this Dec and now have to decide what we want to do. DH wants to cancel if allowed because when we booked we knew the policy allowing smoking on balconies. It is the only reason i got Dh to agree. I really wish it was for future bookings.

 

[Rogillio]

I am no longer a smoker but I smoked for years (20 years ago) and am sympathetic to those addicted to smoking. When I smoked, I would never take a cruise if I could not smoke on the balcony. I'd either find a cruiseline that allowed it or I would not cruise. Period.

For the sake of people who smoke, I hope DCL rethinks this policy. Maybe enough people will cancel their cruise and cite this policy change as the reason and Disney will rethink the policy change.

25% of the country smokes. That's a huge percentage of the public that will feel marginalized because of this.

 

[TheRatPack]

Well we will be on deck 8 so the trek to deck 9 won't be an issue I suppose. I am wondering though, after reading the issue about only having 4 tables to smoke at, if they are going to widen their smoking area.

 

[wsualum99]

I don't like that e-cigs are also banned on verandas and in state rooms. These are basically water vapor which causes no damage and isn't harmful to others.

 

[Suger Mag]

I hate being in designated public areas because it seems that a lot of folks go out of their way to make smokers feel uncomfortable through negative comments and dirty looks. I am not looking forward to the increasing witch hunt on smokers nor the increase in complaints as now they will now complain about the increased number of folks smoking in the meager designated public areas. Personally I am not happy about this and will likely choose another line next time, and if I can find a better priced cruise for my march break I will switch.

 

[Debbru]

Well we will be on deck 8 so the trek to deck 9 won't be an issue I suppose. I am wondering though, after reading the issue about only having 4 tables to smoke at, if they are going to widen their smoking area.

They don't even need to "widen" the smoking area - they simply have to provide ashtrays and allow smoking in the areas that have always been & continue to be "designated smoking areas". If you look at the deck plans, the smoking policy (still) states "deck 9 and 10 starboard except for the Mickey pool area". This clearly implies smoking down the whole starboard side except for the portion near the Mickey pool. Yet we were all huddled at the first 4 tables at the front of the ship.

 

[TheRatPack]

They don't even need to "widen" the smoking area - they simply have to provide ashtrays and allow smoking in the areas that have always been & continue to be "designated smoking areas". If you look at the deck plans, the smoking policy (still) states "deck 9 and 10 starboard except for the Mickey pool area". This clearly implies smoking down the whole starboard side except for the portion near the Mickey pool. Yet we were all huddled at the first 4 tables at the front of the ship.

That's what I meant.....if they are going to actually allow those areas to be full smoking areas or keep it contained to 4 tables.

 

[Katie & Glen]

As a smoker, I'm a little disappointed in this new rule by DCL. When we go to WDW I always stick to the smoking areas; I know them all by heart. The worst is when non smokers purposefully and knowingly walk into the designated smoking area and start with all the fake coughing and waving their hands in front of their face and all of comments that ensue. I'm sure most of you have seen this at WDW or other places and you know it will happen on the ships.

I think DCL will be receiving a lot more complaints now, but mostly by the smokers. I would like to see DCL still allow smoking in the verandas, just maybe make them the 8pm to 6am, that way when most people (non-smokers) would be out on them, they would be smoke free.

Just my $.02.