Smoking on a cruise ship -- especially in the casino -- has always been a tradition.
In many ways it traces back to when smoking was sort of elegant and people did not know the harm cigarettes cause not just to smokers but also those breathing in second-hand smoke.
Now, smoking is allowed on major cruise lines including Royal Caribbean Group (RCL), Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL), MSC, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH), and Holland America.
The reason: Cruises have become about excess. When most people cruise they eat more than usually do, indulge in more adult beverages, stay up later than they do at home, and perhaps gamble in the casino.
Smoking fits that excess model. It also has always been associated with gambling, with only a few Las Vegas casinos offering smoke-free environments. Cruise ships have generally followed the Las Vegas model, with casinos having nonsmoking sections.
That's not all that effective on land, but it's almost pointless given the limited space on even very large cruise ships.
Now, one Carnival-owned cruise line has decided to expand some of its casinos to offer more smoke-free areas.
Image source: Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Carnival's Holland America Makes a Casino Change
Carnival's Holland America Line plans to expand the casino space on its Pinnacle and Signature Class ships to add more than 140 of the newest and most popular slot and video-poker machines. The added space on Rotterdam, Nieuw Statendam, Koningsdam, Eurodam, and Nieuw Amsterdam will bring those ships more traditional slots, progressive jackpots, and video poker.
“Casino play is a key part of their Holland America Line cruise vacation for many of our guests, and we were able to take advantage of some extra space on our Pinnacle Class ships to add more gaming machines,” Senior Vice President Daniel Materassi said. “The slots we’ve added are some of the newest in the industry, bringing exciting gameplay to our guests alongside the popular classic machines."
And while casino players may like those changes, some may be more excited about the second part of Holland America's casino upgrade.
"In addition to the casino expansion, a separate nonsmoking area in the casino on Rotterdam, Nieuw Statendam, and Koningsdam has been added," the cruise line said.
Royal Caribbean Has Considered Casino Smoking Bans
Having multiple rooms for the casino gives Holland America a way to offer a true smoke-free casino without changing the policies in the main room.
That would be a challenge on most Royal Caribbean ships as the casinos are generally one big room. (Wonder of the Seas is a notable exception as it has a room that was supposed to be a high-roller casino when that ship was set to sail in China.)
Royal Caribbean casinos have smoke-free areas, but they're adjacent to smoker-friendly ones, so basically everyone has some smoke exposure. The cruise line did ban smoking in the casino during the early days of its return from the covid pandemic, when mask rules were strictly enforced.
Once those rules were loosened, smoking quickly returned and there's a good reason for that.
"It's a bit of a conundrum," Royal Caribbean President Michael Bayley said during a question-and-answer session on Ovation of the Seas during the President's Cruise, the Royal Caribbean Blog reported.
"The dilemma is that there are many people who do want to smoke in the casino. I know that's not a popular response, but it's the truth. I'm not judging anyone or anything, but there's a large group of people who do want to smoke in the casino," he said.
The cruise line has tested smoking bans, but they have not been effective in one key way.
"Every, I would say, every couple of years, we do test this and we take one or two or three ships and we ban smoking in the casino. And the result is less people go in the casino and that's the reality of it," Bayley explained.
Royal Caribbean's Celebrity brand does not allow smoking in its casinos.
