A poll taken by Cruise Critic found that more than half of the people who take cruises feel that smoking should be banned from balconies, while under a quarter of respondents believe that smoking should be banned everywhere, according to USA Today.
Changes in smoking policies have recently been announced by many cruise lines, including Disney, Seabourn, Cunard and Royal Caribbean.
The survey asked those who go on cruises whether smoking on a ship balcony should be prohibited. Over 500 people responded to the survey, with 54 percent agreeing that smoking shouldn't be allowed on balconies and 24 percent said that smoking should be banned on all areas of the cruise ship. The respondents who said that smoking should be a personal choice comprised only 18 percent of responders.
Cruise Critic is the world's largest cruise review site and online community.
Disney announced its ban on smoking in August, though it won't go into effect until November 2103. Passengers will no longer be able to smoke on balconies. Electronic cigarettes are included in the ban. The policy change was prompted by passenger feedback, according to a Disney spokeswoman.
Royal Caribbean followed Disney and announced a ban on smoking in the beginning of September. Asia-based ships, however, will be excluded from this ban.
"Smoking onboard cruise ships is a highly debated and contentious issue within the cruise industry, and cruisers have very strong opinions on this topic, as revealed in this survey," Adam Coulter, the U.K. editor of Cruise Critic. "Taking into account this feedback from Cruise Critic members, it could be predicted that going forward, many more cruise lines will look to implement increasingly stringent regulations towards smoking.
"However, whilst a large number of cruisers support this ban, it will be interesting to see the impact this has across the industry within the future," Coulter added.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
