Royal cruise line has made a controversial change that some passengers will love while others will be angry, reports the Street.
Royal Caribbean outlaws smoking
During the early days of the cruise industry’s comeback from the covid pandemic, Royal Caribbean outlawed smoking in the casino. At the time, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) required passengers to wear masks in public areas of the ship except when eating or drinking while stationary.
Smoking was, at first, a sort of loophole. People would smoke in the casino and remove their masks (or at least move them to the side) while playing slot machines. That basically meant that unlike drinking, where your mask could be moved and then replaced for a sip, smokers were essentially not wearing a mask.
Royal Caribbean (RCL) closed that loop by fully outlawing smoking in its casinos while masks were still required. That was something that smokers weren’t happy about, but probably understood given how large a role the CDC was playing in setting cruise ship rules.
Once the CDC stopped requiring masks (and regulating cruise ships at all), Royal Caribbean reverted to its pre-pandemic smoking policies. That meant that every casino on its ships had a smoking section. Technically, smoking is only allowed when actually playing a slot machine, but that’s hard to enforce and the casinos quickly filled back up with smoke.
Now, the cruise line has officially made a long-rumored move that should make non-smokers really happy while angering a whole different group of the cruise line’s passengers.
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Source: The Street
