Despite being the last major U.S. cruise line to allow smoking on stateroom balconies, Holland America Line has finally joined the competition in rolling out a smoking ban.
The Seattle-based cruise line announced this week that the new policy, which is designed to "better align with guest wishes and health concerns," will go into effect in 2017.
The ban will begin rolling out fleetwide January 2, 2017, beginning with the Maasdam and Rotterdam. By Jan. 13, the ban will be in effect aboard the Volendam, Veendam, Zuiderdam, Noordam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Eurodam, Westerdam, Koningsdam, Zaandam and Oosterdam.
Holland America's Amsterdam will begin enforcing the ban April 26, 2017, while the Prinsendam's smoking ban will begin May 6, 2017.
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While the ban will prohibit passengers from smoking on their cabin balconies, E-cigarettes and vaping devices will still be allowed for use inside the cabins as well as a handful of designated smoking areas where tobacco products will be permitted.
In addition to the outdoor public areas where smoking will still be allowed, passengers playing slots in onboard casinos will also be permitted to smoke. However, the Oosterdam and Eurodam will boast entirely smoke-free casinos.
Holland America said the penalty for violating the ban will be a $250 cleaning fee per day. Repeat offenders also risk being removed from the ship, the cruise line said.
Holland America's anti-smoking policy comes more than three years after Royal Caribbean International announced a smoking ban for its cabin balconies and more than two years after Carnival Cruise Line did the same. Norwegian Cruise Line was the most recent brand to introduce a smoking ban in November 2014.
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