Drones on Cruise Ships - What you need to know

[mike foy]

Drones on Cruise Ships, what you need to know
Latest Company into
Of course, even the cruise lines that allow drones, forbid their use onboard.

Carnival
Drone(s) are allowed, but must be held in the custody of the Chief Security Officer and must be checked out/in by the owner for PORT USE ONLY.
(So take out the batteries with you to your cabin for charging.)

Celebrity Cruises
No uses of drones whilst on board, they can be used ashore only and have to be stored in the passenger cabins.

Disney
Forbidden

Holland American Line (HAL)
Forbidden
(However I did email them and they did say
‘If you have a booking number, we can reach out to ship security and request an exception for the drone to be brought onboard.’) so that’s a result

MSC
Drones are listed on Banned items.
(I never received a response for an exemption to their rule)

Norwegian Cruise Line
Drones are listed on Banned items.
(have managed to find an email address and awaiting a reply)

Princess Cruises
Drones are listed on Banned items.
(I have just emailed them)

Royal Caribbean
Guests are welcome to bring drones on their cruise for use on land only and outside of the port area. However, drones are not to be operated onboard the ship at any time, nor on Royal Caribbean’s private destinations: Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas or Labadee®, Haiti.
While onboard, drones must be stored safely in the stateroom. Drones used on the ship will be confiscated until the end of the cruise. A Guest Conduct Policy warning will be issued and guests may be subject to disembarkation at their own expense for onboard drone usage.

Guests assume full responsibility for understanding all local authority rules related to drone usage and for obtaining any required permissions for drone operations. Different countries may have different rules. Any liability, including environmental damage from drone usage, is the guest’s responsibility. Royal Caribbean assumes no liability for guest drones that may be confiscated by local authorities for violating local laws or for any accident or injury resulting from a guest drone flight.

As more information comes in, I’ll update you all

I hope this helps.

 

[spsphotos]

There is a logical reason for banning the use of drones aboard a cruise ships. These ships travel at an average of 20-30 knots. (23-35mph). Drones will have a hard time keeping up given the speed and winds. There is a good chance you'd lose it. As for ports, many ports are crowded tourist spots and drones can become annoying if not dangerous. Image dozens of drones flying around a port. Would be chaos IMHO.

 

[Dmcvey]

As rare as they are.....battery fires. Ships don't let you use anything heating related. Just imagine one battery failure....

 

[Dmcvey]

This might be why....

 

[mike foy]

There is a logical reason for banning the use of drones aboard a cruise ships. These ships travel at an average of 20-30 knots. (23-35mph). Drones will have a hard time keeping up given the speed and winds. There is a good chance you'd lose it. As for ports, many ports are crowded tourist spots and drones can become annoying if not dangerous. Image dozens of drones flying around a port. Would be chaos IMHO.

I can certainly see that drones should be banned from being flown over a ship, whether it is cruising along or in port for all the reasons you mentioned but there is no reason to ban them from being transported. I don’t mind handing over my drone as I embark as long as I get it back when I disembark at a non-company owned play area and can fly my drone under the rules of the country I am visiting, I shall address the fire risk in the other post.

 

[mike foy]

As rare as they are.....battery fires. Ships don't let you use anything heating related. Just imagine one battery failure....

Yes, there is a very small risk of a lipo battery catching fire, so they could ask for the drone batteries to be stored in a fire-proof bag and the batteries to be placed in one of these bag when charging.
I would rather be on a ship with a lipo battery fire than in an aircraft under similar conditions and yet airlines don’t ban lipo batteries.

 

[Jan Smith]

Drones on Cruise Ships, what you need to know
Latest Company into
Of course, even the cruise lines that allow drones, forbid their use onboard.

Carnival
Drone(s) are allowed, but must be held in the custody of the Chief Security Officer and must be checked out/in by the owner for PORT USE ONLY.
(So take out the batteries with you to your cabin for charging.)

Celebrity Cruises
No uses of drones whilst on board, they can be used ashore only and have to be stored in the passenger cabins.

Disney
Forbidden

Holland American Line (HAL)
Forbidden
(However I did email them and they did say
‘If you have a booking number, we can reach out to ship security and request an exception for the drone to be brought onboard.’) so that’s a result

MSC
Drones are listed on Banned items.
(I never received a response for an exemption to their rule)

Norwegian Cruise Line
Drones are listed on Banned items.
(have managed to find an email address and awaiting a reply)

Princess Cruises
Drones are listed on Banned items.
(I have just emailed them)

Royal Caribbean
Guests are welcome to bring drones on their cruise for use on land only and outside of the port area. However, drones are not to be operated onboard the ship at any time, nor on Royal Caribbean’s private destinations: Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas or Labadee®, Haiti.
While onboard, drones must be stored safely in the stateroom. Drones used on the ship will be confiscated until the end of the cruise. A Guest Conduct Policy warning will be issued and guests may be subject to disembarkation at their own expense for onboard drone usage.

Guests assume full responsibility for understanding all local authority rules related to drone usage and for obtaining any required permissions for drone operations. Different countries may have different rules. Any liability, including environmental damage from drone usage, is the guest’s responsibility. Royal Caribbean assumes no liability for guest drones that may be confiscated by local authorities for violating local laws or for any accident or injury resulting from a guest drone flight.

As more information comes in, I’ll update you all

I hope this helps.

You can add Seabourn to the forbidden list and Viking to the list of lines that permit drones aboard (but only to be flown on shore, not from the ship, and not in port areas). From my own experience communicating with Holland America, the ship's security will confiscate drones found in checked or hand-carried luggage and will not return them until final disembarkation. This is the first I have heard about exceptions, but I will ask again before our next cruise with them.

 

[shawgod]

Does anyone know the rules for Viking Cruise lines? I am going on a cruise up the Mississippi River next year. Most of the river I can normally fly the drone on I know. I live on the Mississippi River so I know I can fly it where I live and I can go down the Mississippi to fly without problems.

 

[Gary C]

Probably because cruise ships are crowded and they are afraid of liability issues. Of course, you can probably fly from the pier or shoreline and get some nice shots of the ships going by.

 

[RoarRoar]

I’m going to throw my two cents in here in this topic. I’ve been on a bunch of cruises and over the past 5 years I’ve always had a drone with me. All of these are on a line where they are “banned”.

I usually bring a small drone. A mini is perfect. Usually my spark gets dusted off for this. I pack it in a small case. Not a giant hard sided case just something small enough to throw in a beach bag or a backpack for coming and going from the ship.

Most cruise lines will tell you no because they don’t want you flying from the deck or over the deck etc. I know the lipo thing but my electric toothbrush has a lipo and nobody bans that or asks for it to go in a special toothbrush bag.

I study where I’m traveling to see where I could possibly fly from, look for other drone content from those places on social media and have even gotten in touch with other creators to see if they had any advice of where to fly.

The big thing on a vacation like this is do you or will you have time to even fly on your port day. If you are a person that needs an hour to set up your gear just leave the drone home. If you can check your weather, maps, do a quick preflight check and go for a little zip around then I recommend bringing it. I often go on these trips with family and friends and can’t dedicate a ton of time to my drone so I need to be quick and precise.

Finally the worst thing is that they confiscate the drone, they then give it back. If you are paranoid about that don’t bring it. If you are someone like me that just likes to add a few drone shots to family travel videos by all means go for it.

The funny thing is that on a cruise line that “banned” drones they have asked me if they could use one of my shots for their social media. They even gave me a small gift as a thank you (yes I know 107 I have that).

For the most part the cruise line security could care less about a small drone on board. They are more concerned with actual illegal items.

I know I’m a little more gutsy than others but this is my advise to anyone questioning the decision.

 

[TxRailbird]

Thanks to the OP for the compiled information.

We are onboard Ruby Princess headed back to Galveston as I type this.

We have sailed on Carnival in the past with no issues related to bringing, storing and using my Mini 2. The UAS stays in the cabin and in its case at all times unless we are debarking in a country that allows use by non-residents.

For this trip, I brought the Mini 2 since we had a day planned in Roatan, which has laws similar to the USA. There were absolutely no issues embarking nor debarking at Roatan. We had a great day day exploring portions of the island with minimal tourist traffic thanks to a friend who lives there.

Returning to the ship we ran into issues. We were among the last people to return to the ship - on time, but there were just two people behind us and they pulled in the gangway after we crossed. Security jumped into action as the case went through the scanner. I made a token effort to keep it in my possession but knew better than to make a scene there. I did request to retrieve the memory card, which was allowed. They filled out paper work, I reviewed and signed and we returned to the room.

I saw the security guard the next day and inquired as to whether she was taking good care of my bird, telling her it was the first night it had ever spent without me. She was not amused.

I'm trusting it will be available for pick up as we leave the ship tomorrow. Two things about the whole experience have been troubling though:

1) Carnival and Princess are operated by the same corporation, along with Norwegian. How do the differing policies make sense?

2) The form I signed is very reassuring it will be held securely and returned to me at the end of the cruise. But, the information for debarking has the standard "not responsible for the condition any confiscated items are in when returned." I realize now I should have taken a moment to take a photo of the drone and accessories safely in the case before handing it over.

The lesson learned (or maybe reinforced) is to never expect consistency in policies regarding our little flying machines. If you are foolish enough to launch it from a ship moving 20+ knots in areas that typically have windy conditions, you get what you deserve.

It would seem the right angry person could do much more damage with a selfie stick than with a drone, but that's not me. And the fire risk from batteries extends to at least a half-dozen other electronics we carry.

All I can say is that this experience will make a difference as to which cruise lines get our business, not whether I continue to travel and operate my drone legally when on vacation.

 

[JooB]

Some input from Europe:
TUI (Mein Schiff)
You are allowed to bring your drone on the ship and store it in your passenger cabin.
You are not allowed to fly your drone onboard.

Of cause you should keep your batteries in Lipo-Bags. I had no problems bringing my Mini 2 ashore on several caribbean Islands (yes, I followed the local rules) or back on board through the scanner.

 

[Swing4TheRing]

Some input from Europe:
TUI (Mein Schiff)
You are allowed to bring your drone on the ship and store it in your passenger cabin.
You are not allowed to fly your drone onboard.

Of cause you should keep your batteries in Lipo-Bags. I had no problems bringing my Mini 2 ashore on several caribbean Islands (yes, I followed the local rules) or back on board through the scanner.

 

[Riteguy]

I’m going to throw my two cents in here in this topic. I’ve been on a bunch of cruises and over the past 5 years I’ve always had a drone with me. All of these are on a line where they are “banned”.

I usually bring a small drone. A mini is perfect. Usually my spark gets dusted off for this. I pack it in a small case. Not a giant hard sided case just something small enough to throw in a beach bag or a backpack for coming and going from the ship.

Most cruise lines will tell you no because they don’t want you flying from the deck or over the deck etc. I know the lipo thing but my electric toothbrush has a lipo and nobody bans that or asks for it to go in a special toothbrush bag.

I study where I’m traveling to see where I could possibly fly from, look for other drone content from those places on social media and have even gotten in touch with other creators to see if they had any advice of where to fly.

The big thing on a vacation like this is do you or will you have time to even fly on your port day. If you are a person that needs an hour to set up your gear just leave the drone home. If you can check your weather, maps, do a quick preflight check and go for a little zip around then I recommend bringing it. I often go on these trips with family and friends and can’t dedicate a ton of time to my drone so I need to be quick and precise.

Finally the worst thing is that they confiscate the drone, they then give it back. If you are paranoid about that don’t bring it. If you are someone like me that just likes to add a few drone shots to family travel videos by all means go for it.

The funny thing is that on a cruise line that “banned” drones they have asked me if they could use one of my shots for their social media. They even gave me a small gift as a thank you (yes I know 107 I have that).

For the most part the cruise line security could care less about a small drone on board. They are more concerned with actual illegal items.

I know I’m a little more gutsy than others but this is my advise to anyone questioning the decision.

Nice Shot!! You make a lot of common sense. Simply keep it inside a case until you get off the ship and then follow the regulations while on shore. Why ask for trouble? Since we all know the ships are paranoid about flying while onboard, don't do it. And, like you said, if it takes an hour to set up before you fly, don't take it.

 

[mike foy]

Drones on Cruise Ships, what you need to know
Latest Company into
Of course, even the cruise lines that allow drones, forbid their use onboard.

Carnival
Drone(s) are allowed, but must be held in the custody of the Chief Security Officer and must be checked out/in by the owner for PORT USE ONLY.
(So take out the batteries with you to your cabin for charging.)

Celebrity Cruises
No uses of drones whilst on board, they can be used ashore only and have to be stored in the passenger cabins.

Disney
Forbidden

Holland American Line (HAL)
Forbidden
(However I did email them and they did say
‘If you have a booking number, we can reach out to ship security and request an exception for the drone to be brought onboard.’) so that’s a result

MSC
Drones are listed on Banned items.
(I never received a response for an exemption to their rule)

Norwegian Cruise Line
Drones are listed on Banned items.
(have managed to find an email address and awaiting a reply)

Princess Cruises
Drones are listed on Banned items.
(I have just emailed them)

Royal Caribbean
Guests are welcome to bring drones on their cruise for use on land only and outside of the port area. However, drones are not to be operated onboard the ship at any time, nor on Royal Caribbean’s private destinations: Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas or Labadee®, Haiti.
While onboard, drones must be stored safely in the stateroom. Drones used on the ship will be confiscated until the end of the cruise. A Guest Conduct Policy warning will be issued and guests may be subject to disembarkation at their own expense for onboard drone usage.

Guests assume full responsibility for understanding all local authority rules related to drone usage and for obtaining any required permissions for drone operations. Different countries may have different rules. Any liability, including environmental damage from drone usage, is the guest’s responsibility. Royal Caribbean assumes no liability for guest drones that may be confiscated by local authorities for violating local laws or for any accident or injury resulting from a guest drone flight.

As more information comes in, I’ll update you all

I hope this helps.

Additional info Fred Olsen (UK firm) drones are banned but I have emailed them to see if there might be exceptions

 

[dms_gyn]

Hi, In a few days

Drones on Cruise Ships, what you need to know
Latest Company into
Of course, even the cruise lines that allow drones, forbid their use onboard.

Carnival
Drone(s) are allowed, but must be held in the custody of the Chief Security Officer and must be checked out/in by the owner for PORT USE ONLY.
(So take out the batteries with you to your cabin for charging.)

Celebrity Cruises
No uses of drones whilst on board, they can be used ashore only and have to be stored in the passenger cabins.

Disney
Forbidden

Holland American Line (HAL)
Forbidden
(However I did email them and they did say
‘If you have a booking number, we can reach out to ship security and request an exception for the drone to be brought onboard.’) so that’s a result

MSC
Drones are listed on Banned items.
(I never received a response for an exemption to their rule)

Norwegian Cruise Line
Drones are listed on Banned items.
(have managed to find an email address and awaiting a reply)

Princess Cruises
Drones are listed on Banned items.
(I have just emailed them)

Royal Caribbean
Guests are welcome to bring drones on their cruise for use on land only and outside of the port area. However, drones are not to be operated onboard the ship at any time, nor on Royal Caribbean’s private destinations: Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas or Labadee®, Haiti.
While onboard, drones must be stored safely in the stateroom. Drones used on the ship will be confiscated until the end of the cruise. A Guest Conduct Policy warning will be issued and guests may be subject to disembarkation at their own expense for onboard drone usage.

Guests assume full responsibility for understanding all local authority rules related to drone usage and for obtaining any required permissions for drone operations. Different countries may have different rules. Any liability, including environmental damage from drone usage, is the guest’s responsibility. Royal Caribbean assumes no liability for guest drones that may be confiscated by local authorities for violating local laws or for any accident or injury resulting from a guest drone flight.

As more information comes in, I’ll update you all

I hope this helps.

Hi, in a few days I'm going to Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship and I would like to carry my DJI Mini 3.

I already know about Royal Caribbean drone rules. But my doubt its about use on stops. (far from port, of course).

Does anyone already use this drone (mini 3) or other drone is these coutries and places?

- Cozumel, México;
- Roatan, Honduras;
- Puerto Costa Maya, México;

By the way, I will stay some days on Miami / Fort Lauderdalle area. Do I need any register to use my little drone or just don't fly on no fly zones is enogth?

I'm from Brazil.

Any other tip ?

Thank you.
Daniel

 

[RoarRoar]

Hi, In a few days


Hi, in a few days I'm going to Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship and I would like to carry my DJI Mini 3.

I already know about Royal Caribbean drone rules. But my doubt its about use on stops. (far from port, of course).

Does anyone already use this drone (mini 3) or other drone is these coutries and places?

- Cozumel, México;
- Roatan, Honduras;
- Puerto Costa Maya, México;

By the way, I will stay some days on Miami / Fort Lauderdalle area. Do I need any register to use my little drone or just don't fly on no fly zones is enogth?

I'm from Brazil.

Any other tip ?

Thank you.
Daniel

Been to all three places and I will give you my experiences flying there:

Cozumel: Flying near the port is tough due to heavy winds and a nearby airport. I did fly at "Chankanaab Park" I was told it was a national park. I did fly there and did not have a single issue there at all flying.

Costa Maya: Again very windy did not fly in the port. Took a cab to Mahahual. It's a small beach town nearby and did my best to get a few shots in despite the heavy winds. No issues flying here too.

Roatan: Amazing place. Regret not flying outside the port area there were some interesting little places to launch from but I did fly in the "West End". It was a very cool spot and one of the coolest beach towns in the Caribbean I've ever been to (I lived in the Caribbean for a bit too so this is saying something).

 

[Gibstr]

You can add Seabourn to the forbidden list and Viking to the list of lines that permit drones aboard (but only to be flown on shore, not from the ship, and not in port areas). From my own experience communicating with Holland America, the ship's security will confiscate drones found in checked or hand-carried luggage and will not return them until final disembarkation. This is the first I have heard about exceptions, but I will ask again before our next cruise with them.

Just checked in with Seabourn as I will be traveling, then boarding a ship and then continuing my travels. They have advised me that they will not store and drone and I will not be permitted to board if I have one in my possession.

 

[Droning on and on...]

There is a logical reason for banning the use of drones aboard a cruise ships. These ships travel at an average of 20-30 knots. (23-35mph). Drones will have a hard time keeping up given the speed and winds. There is a good chance you'd lose it.

Of course, while all true and of concern to the drone owner, none of this matters one bumblebee butt to the cruise company or the crew of the ship, nor does it have anything at all to do with prohibiting their use on board.

The prohibition is 100% for one reason: 5000 passengers.

 

[Droning on and on...]

As rare as they are.....battery fires. Ships don't let you use anything heating related. Just imagine one battery failure....

Naaaaahhhhh... If this were a concern, cell phones and cameras would be banned too. There are a lot more of them.