Mini 2 on an MSC Cruise Ship

[menu12]

Hi everyone
I'm in the UK and travelling to miami this week to board an MSC Cruise ship for 2 weeks, I want to take my mini 2 to use on the islands, I've spoken to and emailed MSC, they told me it will be confiscated on check in, stored and returned to me at the end of the cruise, I applied for special permission but they basically said no. I told them I only want to use on the island and not the ship, also offered to leave it with security and collect when we get off the ship then hand it back when we re board, but they not having it, and there's notes on my booking showing this.....any advice ?

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Don't take the drone with you. Since there are notes on your booking your luggage may be subject to scrutiny.

 

[edfrombama]

Good morning to all-
menu12- For whatever reason, the cruise lines- at least, all that I'm familiar with- are dead-set against drones, and they follow the same procedure you are facing. There may be exceptions, but not to my knowledge.
I would recommend that you NOT try to sneak your drone onboard. They already have a note on the subject, and they will be looking in your dunnage as you board- count on it.
I would find this ort of thing very frustrating.

good luck to you- Ed

 

[Corrysplace]

I think that's a bit harsh. Not sure what you can do about it though, they are obviously not flexible in any way towards this. I would think that leaving it with security would be an appropriate outcome.
Even having rules that ban them from being able to be used on board but allow them to be carried.
I'll tick this up as just another reason I'd never do a cruise.

 

[old man mavic]

@menu12 its not that the company is anti drone ,but because if they allow you to take it with you ,under the conditions you requested ,then they have set a precedence ,it is just easier to ban them from the ship altogether , having said that ,i am not backing their decision,,just trying to explain the reasons for it, its no different from different countries ,having different regulations regarding drones and there use,

 

[Mid-AtlanticDroneServices]

Easiest path is to not ask permission, just put it in your luggage. Cruise lines don’t typically check luggage. Too late now, though.

 

[shb]

If I went on a cruise ship, I would want to fly my drone on it. Worst that would happen, is I would lose my drone. How fast do those ships go. If they won't let you on board, just go to their pier, and do harrassment flights every day!

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Worst that would happen, is I would lose my drone. How fast do those ships go. If they

The worst that can happen is that the drone hits someone on the ship whilst trying to land on the ship. There is a thread with video, on here or the DJI forum, that shows someone flying from a North Sea ferry/cruise-liner and trying to land the drone on the ship. The video demonstrates the risk to other people and the pilot.

How fast do such ships move? Fast enough to make life difficult for the pilot to safely land or better hand catch the drone. Try landing or hand catching in a 20mph+ possibly turbulent wind.
In that thread the drone was lost to the sea.

 

[PHZ]

One more reason I book airlines to the destinations I want to see. Cruise ships just don’t float my boat.

 

[pachomarinc]

Last april I cruised on Royal Caribbean. It was not allowed to fly, under any circustance (not even on ports), inside the ship. But they did not have that policy of confiscate the drone, so i was able to enjoy it in a few ports of call.

Also, you have to make a little research, bacause the regulations are not the same in every country.

 

[Zbip57]

Easiest path is to not ask permission, just put it in your luggage. Cruise lines don’t typically check luggage.

I don't know which cruise lines you've travelled on, but on Holland America cruises the boarding procedure is as strict as any airport.

Luggage is surrendered during check-in and only later delivered directly to your stateroom. They have plenty of opportunity to scan and inspect every bag before anything is allowed onboard.

Every time you board the ship, your hand luggage always goes through an x-ray machine and you personally must step through a metal scanner. We almost missed the ship once, returning late after a shore excursion. They had already shut down their x-ray machine and scanners and were just about to pull up the gang plank and leave without us. My wife and I instead had to empty our carry-on bags for manual inspection, and we were physically frisked and patted down. For good reasons, security is a BIG DEAL on cruise ships. (Google: Achille Lauro)

Anything listed as contraband, or forbidden to be carried aboard, will certainly be discovered.

 

[Dale D]

Hi everyone
I'm in the UK and travelling to miami this week to board an MSC Cruise ship for 2 weeks, I want to take my mini 2 to use on the islands, I've spoken to and emailed MSC, they told me it will be confiscated on check in, stored and returned to me at the end of the cruise, I applied for special permission but they basically said no. I told them I only want to use on the island and not the ship, also offered to leave it with security and collect when we get off the ship then hand it back when we re board, but they not having it, and there's notes on my booking showing this.....any advice ?

I am a frequent traveler, but I have always banned cruises from my life. You may be able to guess my reasons, but essentially, I love the freedom of hanging around for as long as I like for my photography and never wish to be told those dreaded words...."Be back to the ship by 6 PM." I want to hang around for the sunset, the evening meal on the quai, etc.
I am presently planning a trip to the middle east in March,2023. I tried to apply for a permit to fly but it was impossible. Itinerary includes Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Israel and Jordan. The UAE rules there are so strict that they have totally banned drones and the fines are $10,000 USD and a year in jail!!! They were recently the victims of Huthi rebel drone attacks.

Sometimes, you just have to leave the drone at home. Or, just fly to your destination and to heck with the cruise ship companies.

You could fly in Miami though!

Dale
Miami

 

[Mid-AtlanticDroneServices]

I don't know which cruise lines you've travelled on, but on Holland America cruises the boarding procedure is as strict as any airport.

Luggage is surrendered during check-in and only later delivered directly to your stateroom. They have plenty of opportunity to scan and inspect every bag before anything is allowed onboard.

Every time you board the ship, your hand luggage always goes through an x-ray machine and you personally must step through a metal scanner. We almost missed the ship once, returning late after a shore excursion. They had already shut down their x-ray machine and scanners and were just about to pull up the gang plank and leave without us. My wife and I instead had to empty our carry-on bags for manual inspection, and we were physically frisked and patted down. For good reasons, security is a BIG DEAL on cruise ships. (Google: Achille Lauro)

Anything listed as contraband, or forbidden to be carried aboard, will certainly be discovered.

I've traveled on Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Neither checked luggage routinely. I know that because I've heard about how people might hypothetically get 3 liters of alcohol on board. They might have ample opportunity, but I doubt they are checking much. I wouldn't actually risk my $1500+ drone, mostly likely.

 

[Hodge]

I unfortunately booked on a cruise line that explicitly said they do not allow drones on board.
However, checking with Princess Cruise Line they do allow drones to be brought on board, but prohibit their use on the ship of in the port. They are more expensive that what I booked so I'm still weighing my options.

 

[mobilehomer]

You have two options - abide by the rules; or - use other transportation. In the long run, either is no big deal.

 

[Zbip57]

I've traveled on Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Neither checked luggage routinely.

I unfortunately booked on a cruise line that explicitly said they do not allow drones on board.
However, checking with Princess Cruise Line they do allow drones to be brought on board, but prohibit their use on the ship or in the port.

I suppose it depends on which cruise line and where you're travelling to. For example, the only time I'm ever asked to take my shoes off and pull the belt out of my pants loops before stepping through an airport scanner is when I'm flying to the USA. Only Americans have this strange fetish with shoes and belts.

Way back in 2013 I brought my original Phantom-1 with us on an Adriatic cruise on Celebrity Cruise Lines sailing out of Venice. Back then, drones were still a relative novelty. But even way back then Celebrity ran all carry-on bags through an X-ray machine.

"Please open that case for us. What the heck is that thing?", they asked. It's a radio-controlled multi-rotor helicopter that carries a GoPro camera for making aerial videos. "No way! That's so cool! How much does it cost, how far/fast can it fly, and where I can get one..." Back then everybody was intrigued, and I never received any grief from anyone. But even back then the security guys said it was okay to bring it onboard, but I better not try flying that thing from the ship.

In Kotor I flew it out from the shore to get some shots of the ship. The security scanners are right inside those doors where the orange tenders unload passengers as they're ferried back to the ship. When we got back later the security guys said they had seen the drone flying. "That's so cool!"



Kotor was also the scene of (one of) my most regrettable droning failure(s). The Phantom was quite heavy, and required a lot of other accessories. I schlepped all that gear around in a hard case where ever we went, plus carried a tripod on which to mount my video monitor.



We hiked (carrying all that stuff) halfway up to the old fortress that sits at the top of the cliff overlooking the walled city, with the intention of flying the drone from there. The view was spectacular with the modern cruise ship in the harbour in stark contrast to the ancient walled city below. And just as I was taking off, the bell in the nearby chapel tower started ringing as I flew the drone around it. It was awesome!



Unfortunately, out of breath from our climb and in a hurry to get set up and go flying, when I pressed the buttons on the GoPro to start the video recording I accidentally pressed it twice, switching the GoPro from video mode to camera. So when I pressed the shutter button to start the camera recording, it only snapped one photo of my crotch!

D'oh!



Anyway, here's the video:

 

[Gibstr]

I am a frequent traveler, but I have always banned cruises from my life. You may be able to guess my reasons, but essentially, I love the freedom of hanging around for as long as I like for my photography and never wish to be told those dreaded words...."Be back to the ship by 6 PM." I want to hang around for the sunset, the evening meal on the quai, etc.
I am presently planning a trip to the middle east in March,2023. I tried to apply for a permit to fly but it was impossible. Itinerary includes Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Israel and Jordan. The UAE rules there are so strict that they have totally banned drones and the fines are $10,000 USD and a year in jail!!! They were recently the victims of Huthi rebel drone attacks.

Sometimes, you just have to leave the drone at home. Or, just fly to your destination and to heck with the cruise ship companies.

You could fly in Miami though!

Dale
Miami

Yes, the middle east is difficult. Eygpt drone can be secured at custom for when you leave, Jordan same but you can get permission from the film commission but alot of work and very costly(require military present on your flight etc, lots of supervision) Israel was easily through a flying club around $53 cdn includes insurance.

 

[Bob Dempsey]

my wife is a cruise travel agent - we found MSC was the strictest— we just got back from a 2 week cruise on Celebrity in Europe - no problem with them. The rule is you can bring it but you cannot fly from the ship or near the ship. We are planning more cruises with celebrity because we can take drones. Thinking about an old farts with drones (my Facebook group) Alaska trip.

 

[Jonathan Atkin]

re: drones and cruise ships. First, I am an avid drone pilot. I am also a well known maritime aerial photographer. While passengers are not permitted to use drones (and I'll get to that) many of the cruise lines have brought professional drone companies aboard their ships for marketing videos. However, consider the mega ships carrying 3-5000 passengers. It is easier to simply say no. If Princess has varying rules, kudos to them. Your mileage may vary as one might gather..and rules can change on a dime. And yes, most cruise ships scan and send all luggage through xray machines for every time anyone re-boards. Liquor is not a lipo battery. LOL

Obviously, LIPO batteries are a major concern. cruise ship staff has neither the time or expertise to determine if your batteries have been discharged to 30% or ensure you are bringing batteries in LIPO safe bags. While airlines publish Lipo battery limitations, cruise ships view batteries no matter what the technology as flammable. To permit drone batteries to be brought aboard and kept separately would require creating steel safety housings in the cargo area to store them. It is too much of a headache. I have suggested to several cruise lines developing a "Shore excursion" offering a drone permitted cruise for a small group, where the cruise line handles the drones with batteries removed on embark, and provide at shoreside, with all the permitting at various ports already cleared in the "tour group." A money maker as a "private tour." However, most drone pilots want to be on their own, so I don't think it would really work...but perhaps an introductory class for novices could work. Or the ship could supply 6 or 10 Phantom 4 drones and make it a real money maker. As for launching drones from a ship, it is not the vessel's speed as much as the massive turbulence that a ship sets up as she plows through the air. I regularly fly robust helicopters over my client's ships. There is an aerodynamic bow wave, turbulence admidships and more disturbance towards the stern. Good chance the drone would land, crash, go into the water or hit someone on the Lido deck or in the pool. In ports, without the local country's permitting, it's not gonna work. As for many ports in the Mid-east, they are military controlled and a drone in the port would face severe penalties. One drone team, contracted by a cruise line to fly the drone off the ship, attempted to do so in the SUEZ canal. Someone was really dumb. they were fined heavily and drones were confiscated by the Egyptian authorities..or at least temporarily. In the Port of NY much of the same issues abound including that NYC is officially a "no drone city." The passenger ship terminals in the Port are owned by the Port Authority of NY/NJ and have massively strict protocols for any drone usage within their jurisdiction. Not to mention concerns of NYPD, NYPD Aviation, NYPD Marine Intelligence and Sector NY USCG.
Caribbean nations also have changing and variable rules and it behooves to be aware of their rules way ahead of any travel by any means.

Just my two cents.

 

[Zbip57]

It should be stressed, my Kotor drone flight was done way back in 2013, when flying cameras were still just a novelty. Even back then I always took care to find a relatively isolated location to fly from and tried hard not to harass any of the "natives".

Cruise lines compete and pay for port access. You can imagine that some locations welcome, or even depend on, the economic beneift of a sudden influx of 3-5000 tourists landing on their shores, whereas others bitterly resent the daily flood of ignorant tourists tramping through their streets. Imagine if even only a small percentage of those thousands of daily tourists insist on flying their drones at all the popular viewpoints.

The days when drones were just a curiosity are long gone. Nowadays you're much more likely to be met with paranoia and outright hostility. That hostility can be expected to cascade back onto whichever cruise line unloads these unwelcome visitors.

It is perfectly reasonable that cruise lines forbid flying drones from their ships, and it is understandable that some find it easier to forbid bringing them aboard at all.

Enjoy your cruise as a means to discover new locations. Then plan your own transport to return someday to places where you wish to legally fly your drone.