If you are a smoker (or want to avoid smoke when you cruise) you may be wondering which cruise lines allow smoking on their balconies. I've cruised with 12 cruise lines to date and only 1 has allowed smoking on the balconies. Generally speaking, the majority of cruise lines do not. Can You Smoke on Cruise Ship Balconies? There are only four cruise lines that allow guests to smoke on their balconies, Costa Cruises, Aida Cruises, TUI Cruises, and Fred Olsen Cruise Line. All other cruise lines have banned smoking on balconies. In addition to smoking on balconies on the above cruise lines, guests are also able to in other places such as designated smoking areas on the top decks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkapDz20jsg Costa Cruises Guests on Costa cruises are allowed to smoke on their balconies. Smoking on BalconySmoking in CabinDesignated Smoking AreasE-Cigarettes/VapingCosta CruisesAllowedNot AllowedYesAllowed in Cabins and Smoking Areas Who are Costa Cruises? Costa are an Italian cruise line owned by the Carnival corporation. They offer great value cruises and are popular with families, young cruisers and groups. A number of languages are spoken onboard and the Italian ownership is felt in the dining and entertainment. To find out why Costa have made it onto my 'Best Cruise Lines For Families' list, check out our recommended cruise lines page here: Best Cruise Lines For Families (Tried & Tested, Pros & Cons!) Costa Cruises Smoking Policy Costa Cruises have a relaxed smoking policy which does allow guests to smoke on their balconies. Smoking in cabins is not allowed and there are other smoking areas around the ship. I took my first Costa cruise in 2018 and was surprised by the amount of smoking areas on the ship. We cruised on the Costa Luminosa and on the top deck a lot of the bars had ashtrays. Smoking is not allowed in cabins but is permitted outdoors on private balconies. In order to avoid a fire hazard, it is very important to always extinguish and dispose of cigarettes in the appropriate ashtrays and never throw them from the ship when still alight. - Source In addition to the balconies and top deck space guests are also permitted to smoke inside in the area marked 'Cigar lounge'. In the cigar lounge passengers are able to smoke cigars, cigarettes and pipes. E-Cigarettes E-Cigarettes may be used in any smoking area onboard and also in the cabins. Please be considerate of other guests though and if E-Cigarette has a particularly strong scent take it outside. The photo above shows one area onboard the Costa Luminosa where smoking is permitted. To learn more about my Costa cruise check out my Costa Luminosa content here: Costa Luminosa. Fred Olsen Fred Olsen allow smoking on most balconies. Smoking on BalconySmoking in CabinDesignated Smoking AreasE-Cigarettes/VapingFred OlsenYes, Excluding Deck 7 on Black Water and BoudiccaNot AllowedYesAllowed in Cabins and Smoking Areas Who are Fred Olsen? Fred Olsen are a British cruise line who operate small- mid sized traditional cruise ships. The experience onboard is geared towards British cruisers and they tends to attract an older market. Fred Olsen currently have four ships in the fleet. Fred Olsen Smoking Policy Smoking will only be permitted on room balconies (excluding Deck 7 Terrace Balconies on Black Watch and Boudicca), and in designated open deck areas. - Source All Fred Olsen ships have an outside smoking area and do not allow smoking inside the ship. There isn't a 'cigar lounge' or any internet room which allows smoking. Interestingly you're not allowed to smoke on Deck 7 or Black Watch and Boudicca so if you do want to smoke on your balcony make sure you don't book one of these cabins. E-Cigarettes E-Cigarettes which don't produce any vapour can be used in your cabin or on your cabin balcony. They are not permitted in any other 'non smoking' area of the ship. You could use them in the smoking areas. E-Cigarettes which do produce some vapour can only be used in the designated smoking areas. This is applicable even if the vapour is only water. Tui Cruises Tui cruises are part-owned by Tui and part-owned by Royal Caribbean, they target a German market, and the primary language spoken on board is German. That said, it is possible to cruise with Tui without speaking German as the staff onboard almost always speak English. When cruising with Tui guests are allowed to smoke on their balconies. There are also external and internal smoking areas on all ships. Smoking on BalconySmoking in CabinDesignated Smoking AreasE-Cigarettes/VapingTUI CruisesAllowedNot AllowedYesAllowed on balcony and in smoking areas Aida Aida cruises allow passengers to smoke on their balconies. AIDASmoking on BalconySmoking in CabinDesignated Smoking AreasE-Cigarettes/VapingTUI CruisesAllowedNot AllowedYesAllowed on balcony and in smoking areas Who are Aida Cruises? Aida Cruises are a German cruise line who are owned by Carnival corporation. Aida cruises do primarily have guests who speak German although English speaking guests are also welcome. Most crew members onboard will speak English. Aida currently have 14 ships and tend to attract a younger cruise passenger. All ships in the fleet feature eyes and lips on the bow which make the ships instantly recognisable. Aida Cruises Smoking Policy Aida are similar to Costa Cruises in the sense that smoking is much more widely accepted than it is on most British or American cruise lines. Aida are a Germany company and Germans smoke more per person on average than people from the UK so this may explain the cultural difference. Aida ships feature a lot of external and some internal smoking areas. Why Don't More Ships Allow Smoking on Balconies? If you were to go back 10 years you'd find that most cruise lines allowed smoking on their balconies. Following 'guest feedback' most have since banned the practise. I suspect that in future Costa, Fred Olsen and Aida will also do the same. In 2013 Cunard, P&O and Disney Cruise Line all banned smoking on balconies having previously allowed this. Smoking on balconies is generally not allowed for two reasons: Safety - It is generally regarded as safer to not allow passengers to smoke on their balconies. The biggest risk for cruise ships is fire and as a result anything that could start a fire is a potential problem. By keeping guests in designated areas when smoking cruise lines can make sure that cigarettes aren't thrown overboard.Other guest's comfort - When passengers are allowed to smoke on their balconies the smoke often drifts onto the surrounding balconies or public areas which can cause a nuisance. Many cruise lines have stated that customer complaints caused by this were the reason that they banned smoking on balconies.
