Can You Smoke Cigars on a Cruise Ship? Rules by Line

Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess and Celebrity allow cigars in indoor cigar bars or lounges on ships that have one. Holland America allows cigars only on outside decks, and Viking bans smoking.

Cruise Line	Cigars Indoors?	Casino	Outdoor Decks	Cabins and Balconies	Source
Royal Caribbean	Yes (Cigar Bars)	Cigars limited to Cigar Bars and outdoor areas (general casino smoking in designated areas; none on UK/Australia departures)	Designated outdoor areas allowed	Prohibited ($250 USD cleaning fee)	Royal Caribbean Smoking Policy
Carnival Cruise Line	Contract allows designated casino/night club spaces	Per-ship cigar rules not confirmed	Designated exterior deck areas allowed	Prohibited ($500 charge per violation; risk of disembarkation)	Carnival Ticket Contract
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)	Yes (designated cigar lounges)	Prohibited in casinos	Designated outdoor areas allowed (only option on Sun, Star, Pride of America)	Prohibited ($250 USD fee; Garden Villa guests may use private garden/sun terraces)	NCL Smoking FAQ
Princess Cruises	Yes (cigar lounges and nightclub section)	Non-smoking except designated slot machines while playing; tables non-smoking	Portion of open decks allowed	Prohibited ($250 fine per occurrence)	Princess Onboard Experience FAQ
Celebrity Cruises	Yes (cigar bars, if the ship has one)	Cigars limited to cigar bars and outdoor areas (general casino smoking where the itinerary allows)	Designated outdoor areas allowed	Prohibited (cleaning fee applied)	Celebrity Conduct Policy
Holland America Line	No	No cigars (general casino smoking for active players in designated areas; none on Noordam and Zuiderdam)	Outside decks allowed where smoking is permitted	Prohibited (US$250 fee per day; risk of removal)	Holland America Smoking FAQ
Disney Cruise Line	No (guests asked to refrain from public pipe/cigar use)	Not published	Portions of open-air decks (cigar status unstated)	Prohibited ($250 folio charge)	Disney Cruise Line Terms
Virgin Voyages	Unconfirmed for Deck 6 room	Prohibited in casino	Designated areas only	Prohibited (smoking/vaping banned in cabins/balconies)	Virgin Sailor Conduct Policy
Viking (Ocean and River)	No	Not published	No smoking fleetwide	Prohibited	Viking Ocean Policy

If you want to smoke cigars indoors, target lines that maintain dedicated cigar lounges.

According to the NCL Smoking FAQ, Norwegian Cruise Line permits cigar smoking in designated cigar lounges on ships that have one. Cigarettes, pipes, e-cigarettes and vapor devices are not permitted in the NCL cigar lounge. Norwegian Sun, Norwegian Star and Pride of America have no cigar lounge. On those three ships, cigars and pipes are allowed only in designated outdoor areas. NCL also explicitly bans cigar and pipe smoking in its casinos.

Royal Caribbean allows cigar and pipe tobacco in Cigar Bars and designated outdoor spaces, as stated in the Royal Caribbean Smoking Policy. The Royal Caribbean UK Smoking FAQ notes that indoor smoking is permitted in the casino and in dedicated cigar clubs on Freedom Class and Voyager Class vessels. Outside these venues, interior public areas remain smoke-free. You cannot smoke in dining rooms, theaters, regular bars, hallways, elevators, or on the jogging track. On Oasis-class vessels, Central Park and the Boardwalk are strictly smoke-free zones.

Princess Cruises also accommodates indoor cigar smokers on select ships. The Princess Onboard Experience FAQ states that designated smoking areas generally include cigar lounges, a section of the nightclub, and portions of the open decks. Princess restricts casino smoking: table games and the casino bar are completely smoke-free, with smoking allowed only at designated slot machines while actively playing.

Celebrity Cruises limits cigar and pipe smoking to designated outdoor areas and indoor cigar bars on vessels equipped with them. The Celebrity Conduct Policy notes that smoking in the casino depends on the specific sailing itinerary, with signage identifying active smoking areas.

Carnival Cruise Line addresses tobacco rules through its contract terms. The Carnival Ticket Contract prohibits cigars, cigarettes, pipes, and vaporizers except in specific designated exterior deck areas and designated casino or nightclub venues. If you plan to bring sticks along, consider packing them in one of the best cigar travel cases.

Not every cruise operator permits indoor cigar smoking. Holland America keeps cigars on outside decks, and Viking bans smoking.

Holland America Line enforces an outdoor-only rule for cigar smokers. The Holland America Smoking FAQ states that cigar and pipe smoking is never allowed inside the ship. You may smoke cigars only on outside decks where general smoking is permitted. Holland America keeps staterooms, public lounges, and verandahs non-smoking. While casino smoking is limited to active players in designated areas on most ships, it is completely prohibited in the casinos on Noordam and Zuiderdam.

The Disney Cruise Line Terms and Conditions state that ships are primarily non-smoking, reserving portions of open-air decks as designated smoking zones. Disney specifically asks all guests to refrain from smoking pipes and cigars in any public areas.

The Virgin Voyages Sailor Conduct Policy notes that smoking or vaping inside cabins or on balconies is prohibited, permitting smoking only in designated areas. Virgin also insists that cigars must be properly disposed of and never thrown overboard. According to the Virgin Voyages Onboard Policies FAQ, casino smoking is banned, though a designated smoking room is situated nearby on Deck 6.

Across both ocean and river itineraries, Viking markets a completely smoke-free environment. The Viking Ocean Cruises Policy and the Viking River Cruises Policy both plainly state that the line features "No smoking." If you demand a daily smoke while vacationing at sea, Viking is not for you.

Every line listed here bans cigar smoking in staterooms and on private verandahs, apart from Norwegian Cruise Line's Garden Villa terraces. Lighting a cigar in your room can result in fines or disembarkation.

Carnival Cruise Line enforces financial penalties for violations. Under the Carnival Ticket Contract, the line assesses a $500 charge per smoking-policy violation. Carnival treats any physical evidence of smoking, such as lingering smoke odor, ash, tobacco residue, or discarded butts, as a violation. The contract gives Carnival the authority to disembark all guests occupying the stateroom without issuing a refund.

Five other lines publish a $250 charge, and Celebrity publishes a fee without an amount:

• Royal Caribbean: The Royal Caribbean Smoking Policy applies a $250 USD cleaning fee directly to the guest's SeaPass account for stateroom or balcony smoking.
• Norwegian Cruise Line: The NCL Smoking FAQ charges a $250 USD cleaning fee to the onboard account. Garden Villa guests may smoke on their private garden and sun terraces.
• Princess Cruises: The Princess Onboard Experience FAQ mandates a $250 fine per occurrence charged to the stateroom folio.
• Disney Cruise Line: The Disney Cruise Line Terms and Conditions assess a $250 fee to the guest's folio.
• Holland America Line: The Holland America Smoking FAQ imposes a US$250 cleaning fee per day and warns that repeat violators face removal from the vessel.
• Celebrity Cruises: The Celebrity Conduct Policy applies an onboard cleaning fee to any guest violating cabin rules.

If you are packing cigars for an upcoming sailing, read our guide on how to pack cigars for travel.

Federal regulations govern bringing tobacco back through a U.S. port of entry. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) duty information, returning U.S. residents aged 21 or older may import tobacco only within their personal exemption. When arriving from countries other than an insular possession or beneficiary nation, that allowance permits up to 100 cigars and 200 cigarettes duty-free. Under the smaller $200 exemption described on the CBP Exemption Types Page, travelers may include only 10 cigars and 50 cigarettes. Tobacco brought in beyond your legal exemption is subject to detention, seizure, and customs penalties.

Cuban cigars are subject to strict sanctions. On the CBP Canada and Mexico Travel Guidance, CBP states plainly: "Cuban cigars are prohibited."

This import ban stems from trade sanctions enforced by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Under OFAC FAQ 720, individuals subject to U.S. jurisdiction may buy and consume Cuban-origin tobacco in a third country. The consumption must happen entirely outside the United States. Effective September 24, 2020, authorized travelers may no longer import Cuban-origin tobacco products into the United States for personal use. Under OFAC FAQ 720, a Cuban cigar bought during a port stop cannot come back into the United States with you. For more context on these trade restrictions, review our explainer on why are Cuban cigars illegal and our overview of where to buy Cuban cigars abroad.

If you fly to your embarkation port, review our resource on lighters on planes before traveling.

Cruise lines leave noticeable gaps in their publicly published smoking documentation. When planning a trip, be aware of what the lines do not state online:

• MSC Cruises: MSC's cigar lounge, cabin fine and casino rules could not be confirmed on an official MSC page.
• Carry-On Quantity Caps: Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess, Celebrity, Holland America, Disney, Virgin Voyages and Viking do not publish a limit on how many cigars you can bring aboard.
• Carnival Casino Specifics: Whether cigars are allowed in a specific Carnival ship's casino could not be confirmed on Carnival's published pages.
• Specific Ships With Cigar Bars: Celebrity does not publish a complete list of ships that feature indoor cigar bars on its conduct policy page. Royal Caribbean names "Cigar Bars" in its general FAQ but mentions specific Freedom and Voyager Class cigar clubs only on its UK site.
• Virgin Voyages Lounge Details: Virgin Voyages does not publish whether cigars are permitted inside the Deck 6 smoking room.
• Age Conflicts: Royal Caribbean states a tobacco age limit of 21 on U.S. departures and 18 elsewhere in its FAQ. Celebrity's conduct policy sets 18. Norwegian Cruise Line and Princess do not state a minimum tobacco age on their smoking FAQ pages.

Based on each line's published smoking policy, book Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess, Royal Caribbean or Celebrity if you want to smoke a cigar indoors. Norwegian offers dedicated indoor cigar lounges that explicitly exclude cigarettes and vapes on ships equipped with them. Princess provides indoor cigar spaces on select ships, and Royal Caribbean maintains cigar venues on select vessels like its Freedom and Voyager Class ships.

Avoid Viking entirely, as its fleet is strictly smoke-free. Holland America is an outdoor-only option for cigar smokers. If you smoke a pipe, or you sail on Norwegian Sun, Norwegian Star or Pride of America, Norwegian's cigar lounges will not help you.

We would change this pick if Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess or Royal Caribbean removed cigar lounges from their published smoking policies. Never attempt to smoke on your stateroom balcony. Cruise lines enforce smoking policies with fees up to $500 and the threat of removal. Before you book, open your line's smoking policy in the table above and confirm your ship has a cigar lounge or cigar bar.