Two weeks before a charter, the preference sheet comes back with one line: "Mr K enjoys cigars." You are in Palma, you have a budget, and the chief stew wants a humidor stocked before the guests fly in. Where you buy, what you buy and what you may legally carry are now your problem.
Building a Cigar Preference Profile
Record it, keep it, and update it after every trip:
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Marca and line smoked before | The single most useful fact you can hold |
| Vitola and strength preferred | Robusto after lunch, Churchill after dinner is a common pattern |
| Cut (guillotine / punch / V) | Get it wrong once and it is remembered |
| Lights their own, or you light it | Preferences are firm and personal |
| Who else smokes in the party | And, crucially, who does not |
Sourcing and Buying Ashore
- Buy from authorised, established merchants with a proper humidified shop. Never from street vendors, taxi drivers or hotel touts.
- Inspect before purchase: even colour, firm but slightly springy feel, intact wrappers, no pinholes, no ammonia smell.
- Get a VAT receipt and code the purchase to the correct charter or owner account. Cigars are a high-value, closely audited line.
- Budget: premium cigars commonly run from roughly EUR 15 to EUR 50 each, and rare or aged stock far more. Never buy at that level without written authority from the chief stew or purser.
Customs and Import Restrictions
- Tobacco is dutiable and restricted in most jurisdictions, with limits on quantity carried across borders. Yacht-in-transit stores rules differ from personal allowances.
- Cuban cigars in particular are restricted in some jurisdictions — most notably, United States law has long restricted the purchase, import and possession of Cuban-origin goods, and the rules have changed more than once. Requirements vary by country, by flag and by the nationality of the people aboard.
- Never make this call yourself. Cigar purchases, carriage and declaration must go through the captain and the yacht's agent before you buy or move stock. Get the decision in writing.
- Declare stores accurately. Undeclared tobacco is a customs offence with consequences for the vessel, the captain and you.
Health Context, Stated Once
Smoking tobacco, cigars included, carries serious health risks including cancers of the mouth, throat and lung, and cardiovascular disease. Cigar smoke is not a safe alternative to cigarettes, and second-hand smoke is harmful. State this factually if a guest asks. Do not moralise, do not lecture a guest, and do not promote smoking. Your professional duty is to deliver the service the guest has chosen, safely and competently.
Crew Alcohol and Tobacco Policy
- Crew are subject to the yacht's alcohol and drugs policy, usually including zero or near-zero tolerance while on duty, and to designated crew smoking areas and times.
- Never smoke guest stock. Cigars in the humidor are the owner's or the charter's property. Taking one is theft and has ended careers.
- Do not smell of smoke when you return to guest service. Change your shirt, wash your hands, and check.
Onboard Notes
If you do not smoke, that is irrelevant to your competence. Learn the vocabulary, keep the log, and let the merchant advise.
When in any doubt about a border, a purchase or a declaration, ask the captain. It is never your decision to make.