Smoking,rowdy behavior and inebriation on other cruise lines?

[Tomatoface]

Another request for information on other cruise lines here. I've read other posts on this subject but I have some specific questions.

How prevalent is smoking on the ship? We've cruise DCL twice and never encountered cigarette smoke at all. We have an 8 and 5 year old so I'm also very concerned about exposing them to inebriated people, profanity and "romantic" behaviors between men and women.

 

[DMRick]

I've been on a dozen cruises in the past three years, and haven't run into any of that. There is smoking in smoking areas and in the casino, but we avoid those areas. I find it hard to believe no one smokes on DCL ships.

Haven't run into any drunks or romantic behavior that you wouldn't see in any public places. No one necking in the corners or doing anything in the pool, hot tub (like we've seen at Disney World LOL) or elevators.

Where did you get the ideas that this was going on on the other ships?

I can't wait for my two Disney cruises this week, just to see just how different they might be from NCL, HAL, Carnival and Celebrity. We've loved them all. One big difference I think I will see, is the rules enforced that keep the adult pool for adults. I do wonder about chair saving, if Disney is better about removing stuff from unused pool chairs than NCL and Carnival.

 

[justmestace]

We've cruised Norwegian twice and Princess once, with our third Norwegian coming at the end of May. We've done 9 Disney cruises.
I had always said that Carnival would have to PAY ME to cruise with them, from all the bad I'd heard. But I had the opportunity to cruise Carnival, in a suite, with very low airfare, in December....so I did it.

I was REALLY pleasantly surprised. As noted above, there was smoking in the casino, but even there, there weren't all that many people smoking. And I didn't see ANY of the drunkeness that I'd heard would abound on Carnival. Plus the food was good. lol I didn't see teens hanging in the elevators or stairways like I do on every Disney cruise...I guess they just weren't bored enough.

Same with Princess and Norwegian. All very clean ships, with nice people onboard.

Now that I know that they aren't as bad as I'd heard, I will gladly cruise with any of these....and hope to try Royal Caribbean, too......in a heartbeat. Especially since they offer so many different ports....we've gotten tired of all the same ports on Disney and have started to only go when they have the "special" cruises....which I see is a mistake, when comparing the costs. The other lines do these so-called "special" ports for nearly half of what Disney does.

Do I still love DCL? Yes. But if I want to cruise once or twice a year, I have to have the money for it. And the other lines have proven themselves worthy.

 

[justmestace]

One thing that I wish everyone would recognize....just because people choose to cruise with Disney doesn't mean they're the cream of the crop.

They're just people, plain and simple. They use bad language, they smoke, they drink........ Some of the worst behavior I've ever encountered has been on Disney Cruise Line or in the parks.

Now almost all of the cruiselines have gone to having designated smoking areas...all of them outdoors and easily avoidable.

 

[mmouse37]

I have to agree with above post....I love DCL and have been 18 times and is by far my favorite cruiseline...but the worst drunk I ever saw was on DCL and they have had their share of "romantic episodes" as well out in public. We witnessed it a few times. tacky people can be anywhere....on DCL or other cruiselines. We witnessed an out and out riot once in the lobby when the announcement was made that we could not make it to Grand Cayman due to weather. I could not believe adults could be so horrible and treat the CM's so poorly for something that was out of their control.

One of the reasons the "Secret Deck" aft on Deck 7 had to be closed at night was because there were episodes of romantic behavior and or underage drinking/smoking.

Every vacation can have its share of drunks and badly behaved people.....

Please check out www.cruisecritic.com to find more indepth discussions of other cruiselines.

MJ

 

[NancyIL]

Generally, the shorter and cheaper the cruise, especially those over a weekend, the more of a "party boat" atmosphere you will find. Even more so if it's during spring break.

My in-laws just booked RCI Grandeur of the Seas out of Tampa for March 25. It's a 4-night cruise but it's over a weekend, it's during spring break, and it's cheap. I warned them!

 

[DMRick]

I'm with you. We've now done two Carnivals one with older friends and one with our entire family. I was shocked at how tame they were LOL. We were expecting party party party, and it was no different (except the shows were outstanding) party wise (actually, except in the bars, the sidewalks were rolled up pretty early!) than our other cruises. The food was good, and we enjoyed the service in our rooms and during dining.

I had always said that Carnival would have to PAY ME to cruise with them, from all the bad I'd heard. But I had the opportunity to cruise Carnival, in a suite, with very low airfare, in December....so I did it.

I was REALLY pleasantly surprised. As noted above, there was smoking in the casino, but even there, there weren't all that many people smoking. And I didn't see ANY of the drunkeness that I'd heard would abound on Carnival. Plus the food was good.

 

[unionville]

The drunken behavior has never been any different than Disney on any of the other cruise lines we have been on - of course they have been 7 night cruises too. As for smoking, I was worried about that on our Thanksgiving 2009 Carnival Glory cruise. The only place that we noticed smoke was in the casino and the sports bar while watching the Dallas Cowboys. You are allowed to smoke on deck on one side of the boat, so we just always went to the other side.

 

[justmestace]

Generally, the shorter and cheaper the cruise, especially those over a weekend, the more of a "party boat" atmosphere you will find. Even more so if it's during spring break.

My in-laws just booked RCI Grandeur of the Seas out of Tampa for March 25. It's a 4-night cruise but it's over a weekend, it's during spring break, and it's cheap. I warned them!

I think that's probably especially true for Spring Break....but our Carnival cruise was between Christmas and New Year's and was only 5 nights....and it was a great cruise. I guess any of them can be good or bad, no matter what.

 

[atm55]

Generally, the shorter and cheaper the cruise, especially those over a weekend, the more of a "party boat" atmosphere you will find. Even more so if it's during spring break.

My in-laws just booked RCI Grandeur of the Seas out of Tampa for March 25. It's a 4-night cruise but it's over a weekend, it's during spring break, and it's cheap. I warned them!

You betcha! I cruised at Christmas last year on RCCL and it was wonderful. I took a short cruise the following July on RCCL and it was aweful!!!: The ship was majesty of the seas and the pool deck didn't have any tables, just chairs that were lined up one next to the other so no room to set your drink or personal items. To make matters worse, there were 700 high school kids from Argentina on a field trip. Formal night was more like Prom Night. While they were well behaved, they did smoke a lot because in their country it is acceptable. Needless to say, they were just being teens and pretty much dominated any activites so I don't blame them - just realized that I would never take a short cruise again when school is not in session!

 

[tvguy]

Generally, the shorter and cheaper the cruise, especially those over a weekend, the more of a "party boat" atmosphere you will find. Even more so if it's during spring break.

My in-laws just booked RCI Grandeur of the Seas out of Tampa for March 25. It's a 4-night cruise but it's over a weekend, it's during spring break, and it's cheap. I warned them!

I know more than one person that took a 3 day Carnival Cruise and dropped their stuff off in the stateroom and never went back until the end of the cruise. Yep, 3 days straight of partying.

8 Cruises, including 5 before there were ANY smoking restrictions on the ships, and the only time I felt overpowered by cigarette smoke smell was on the Magic. But that was when they still allowed smoking after 9 pm in the bars. They would schedule family activites in there during the day and they just stunk, the ventilation system just couldn't remove the smell.
Even on cruises where you could smoke anywhere, never ran into an inconsiderate smoker on a cruise.
Never ran into a drunk or over the top PDA either. Only irritation I have run into on a cruise is noisy kids running in the halls on the Magic at 6 am on a sea day. But THAT is their parents fault, not theirs.

 

[kcashner]

I'm with the above...on DCL as well as other lines, they shorter the cruise, the rowdier the crowd.

 

[DMRick]

I know more than one person that took a 3 day Carnival Cruise and dropped their stuff off in the stateroom and never went back until the end of the cruise. Yep, 3 days straight of partying..

Boy, once the dance bars shut down, we didn't see another person out late. Maybe a couple or two sitting watching the ocean go by in the moonlight. If there was partying going on in the wee mornings (and we stay up late) it must have been in someone's room LOL! We actually thought the cruise over Thanksgiving last year, was a bit too quiet. But then it was a 5 dayer.

 

[woody73]

. . . tacky people can be anywhere....on DCL or other cruiselines.

I agree. Teens on DCL.

Woody

 

[DMRick]

I agree. Teens on DCL.

Woody

Hey Woody, are you the same Woody from Cruise Critic from our Panama Canal cruise?
Doris

 

[kcashner]

Much like the adult groups, the teen groups can vary. Yes, DD has chosen to leave The Stack because of what was going on there....on other cruises, she had a great time. Not sure how much it depends on which CMs are up there, but definitely on the kids. Gets pretty wild on school vacations.

 

[woody73]

Hey Woody, are you the same Woody from Cruise Critic from our Panama Canal cruise?

You betcha!

That was a terrific cruise. We enjoyed meeting you at the Green Onion and seeing you onboard.

Woody