RCI-Royal Caribbean has begun to quietly convert the jazz clubs of their Oasis Class ships into non-smoking casino rooms.
"Jazz on 4", previously dedicated to jazz music and live performances, is now a casino room with 40 slot machines, a blackjack table, and a three-card poker table on the liners Oasis OTS and Harmony OTS. This change has not been formally announced, but the jazz clubs have remained closed during recent voyages, alerting passengers of the potential change.
The conversion to non-smoking environments is a significant departure from Royal Caribbean's historical practice of allowing smoking in their main casinos. However, in a Q&A session in June 2022, Michael Bayley (RCI's President and CEO) acknowledged that smoking in casinos is a "conundrum," as there is a demand for smoking rooms on some of their ships. Nevertheless, the company tests the level of demand for smoking rooms every couple of years and enforces bans on some of them, resulting in fewer people visiting the casinos.
Wonder OTS, which launched in 2022, didn't include Jazz on 4 but had a non-smoking casino annex, the Golden Room (deck 4), instead. It was speculated that this decision was based on the popularity of gambling in the Asian cruise market, where the ship was originally intended to operate.
While the conversion has already occurred on Oasis OTS and Harmony OTS, it is not yet clear whether the change will also take place on Allure OTS or Symphony OTS, though the latter is currently undergoing drydocking in Cadiz Spain, which could include the conversion.