If you’re a smoker, knowing exactly where on-board the ship you can enjoy a cigarette, cigar or puff of the pipe could be an important factor when it comes to choosing which cruise line and ship you travel on. Similarly, if you don’t smoke you may be interested to know which areas of the ship you may want to avoid. It’s important to note that even if you vape or smoke e-cigarettes, the same rules apply and all cruise ship public areas are smoke-free unless stated below. Most cruise lines also strictly enforce a $250 ‘cleaning fee’ if you are found in violation of their smoking policy.
Carnival Cruises
No smoking of any kind is permitted in your stateroom or suite, including your balcony.
All the Carnival ships, except Sunshine and Vista allow you to smoke in their nightclubs, while guests enjoying designated slot machines on the ships’ casinos can also smoke in certain areas. Jazz clubs on-board Carnival Triumph, Carnival Victory, Carnival Conquest, Carnival Glory, Carnival Valor, Carnival Liberty, Carnival Freedom and Carnival Splendor also permit smoking.
Smoking is also allowed in designated outside deck areas, so check the deck plans of the relevant Carnival ship for specific details.
Celebrity Cruises
No smoking of any kind is permitted in your stateroom or suite, including your balcony, or in any public area of Celebrity ships.
There are designated exterior smoking areas on-board each Celebrity ship, so refer to deck plans of the ship you’re looking to travel on for specific details.
Cruise & Maritime
No smoking of any kind is permitted in your stateroom or suite, including your balcony, or in any public area of vessels in the Cruise and Maritime fleet.
Designated open deck areas are available for smokers to use, so refer to the relevant vessel’s deck plans to find out the exact location.
Cunard Line
Smoking is not permitted in your cabin or cabin balcony or in any public area of the ship apart from Churchill’s Cigar Lounge. As you may have guessed, the clue’s in the name and only cigar and pipe smokers are permitted to smoke here.
There are dedicated exterior smoking areas on each Cunard ship, though it’s important to note that these can be subject to change due to weather conditions and cleaning schedules. Refer to each ship’s deck plans to find the usual location of smoking areas.
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines
You are permitted to smoke on your cabin balcony on any Fred.Olsen ship, unless you’ve booked a Deck 7 Terrace Balcony on Black Watch or Boudicca. If you use e-cigarettes which do not emit any vapour, you’re also allowed to use these in your own cabin.
Smoking is not permitted in any inside public area of the Fred fleet, including all forms of e-cigarette.
There are designated exterior smoking areas on each Fred.Olsen ship, so check the relevant deck deck plans for details.
Holland America Line
Whichever Holland America ship you’re travelling on, if you’re staying in a stateroom with a veranda, you are allowed to smoke on it, though not inside your room itself. Electronic cigarettes are permitted in all staterooms, fleet-wide.
Smoking is generally not permitted in any indoor areas, though the Casino (if you’re actively gambling) and Seaview Bar on each ship in the fleet both permit smoking.
There are also designated smoking areas on each ship, typically the Sports Deck and the Observation deck also on certain vessels. Check deck plans for details.
MSC Cruises
Smoking is not permitted in your suite or stateroom or on any accommodation balconies.
Most public areas are designated smoke-free, but you are permitted to smoke in designated cigar rooms, the ships’ casinos and in a dedicated lounge on-board. Check your chosen ship’s deck plans to find out exact locations.
When it comes to smoking outside on MSC ships, there is always a side of each ship’s outdoor pool area designated for smokers, which is clearly indicated by signage.
NCL Cruises
On NCL cruise ships, smoking is not permitted in your suite or stateroom or on stateroom balconies.
Smoking is not permitted in most indoor public areas, but is allowed in the ships’ cigar lounges and casinos, if you are actively playing.
There are designated outdoor areas in which you can smoke on-board each ship and it’s important to know that the line’s smoking policy also extends to all forms of e-cigarette.
P&O Cruises
Smoking is not permitted in your stateroom or suite or on any stateroom balcony.
There are no indoor public areas designated for smokers on P&O ships, but each ship features a number of outdoor areas, typically lido decks, sun decks and promenade decks, which are designated for smokers.
If you smoke e-cigarettes, you are permitted to use them within the confines of your own stateroom or cabin and on your own balcony but not in any of the ships’ indoor areas and only in the designated outdoor smoking areas.
Princess Cruises
Smoking is not allowed in any guest accommodations or on your balcony, except for in the case of e-cigarettes, which you are allowed to smoke in the confines of your own stateroom.
Most public areas are non-smoking, including the casinos, though there are special designated slot machines where smoking is permitted. It’s worth noting that on each cruise, there are one or more non-smoking nights, depending on the length of your itinerary. Smoking is permitted in the ships’ cigar lounges and in designated areas of certain ships’ nightclubs. Check each ship’s deck plans for exact details. There is also a designated area for smokers assigned to outdoor decks, which is clearly identified and features adequate ashtrays.
Royal Caribbean
With Royal Caribbean, you are not permitted to smoke in your stateroom, suite or on your balcony, if you’re staying in a balcony stateroom.
All inside areas on-board the majority of the ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet are designated smoke-free, except for Casino Royale, which has a designated area for non-smokers. Mariner of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas also each offer a designated inside smoking area.
Smoking is permitted in designated outdoor areas of each ship in the fleet, typically on the starboard side of each ship, except for Oasis Class ships, where areas are designated on the port side.
Cruise lines do update their smoking policies from time to time but all the above information was correct at the time of publication, 24th July 2015.
Since January 2017, Holland America now also does not permit smoking on verandas.
https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/faq.html
Cruise lines that do still allow smoking on verandas as of April 2019, in addition to Fred Olsen, include Costa, AIDA, TUI, Hapag-Lloyd, Dream, Star, Saga, Lindblad and Hebridean Island. Suffice it to say, these are the ones I cruise or will consider cruising with.