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Tello on a cruise ship??

Thanks for for the info


I'll add the funny little part of taking my Mavic on our 14 day cruise in February. I took it off at every almost every port, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Martinique, St Lucia etc.....Wouldn't you know it was too dam windy to fly. I have a friend who collects rocks, when ever I travel I bring her back a few. So at each port I pick up a small stones from the beach or the woods and toss it into my backpack. Keep in mind my Mavic is also in there, packed away next to two cameras I carry. I figure if it shows up on x-ray it will just look like another camera. With luck every time I came back on the ship they never saw the drone but they did pickup every dam rock LOL. By the 5th port is became a running joke.

Take your drone, hopefully it won't be too windy to fly. If your going to the Caribbean I would try to fly as early in the morning as you can. The wind usually picks up mid to late morning.


Since when has it been legal in the US for another civilian to confiscate and destroy your property?

FYI, on a cruise your rights go down to Zero. Read the fine print on your cruise contract. US laws don't apply on foreign flagged ships
 
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Thanks for the side story FASTFJR. Glad you had a great experience. We are going to start in Southhampton and head to Ireland and Scotland... should be windy most of the time.
I'm going to stick with the little Tello for this trip and see how it goes. I'm just hoping to get to fly it a bit.
Thanks again for sharing your experiences.
 
I've seen AMAZING photos and videos from people who fly at cruise ports. In addition to checking with the cruise line for the check-in policy, also remember to check the laws in each country/city/province, etc. where you plan to fly from--- You may need a permit or something.

We cruise a lot but I haven't brought my Mavic. I like to drink in port and I never drink and fly. :)
 
I can't even fly my tello inside past my a.c. without it going wild. How do you expect to fly it outside? I tried that once with no wind and the thing went wild. Inside drone only imo. Then you can expect to see nothing but low light warnings. Even tho only $100 this thing is not worth it. I have $30 hubsans that preform over twice as good.
 
I took my Mavic on a Celebrity cruise in Alaska last year, packed inside my roll-around bag.
Got on board without any problem.
Carried it off the ship at ports in the little black Mavic pouch/bag for videos & pics ashore.
The last time I boarded, they x-rayed the pouch and asked what was inside. I should have said it was a remotely-controlled camera for video and still shots.
Actually, I told them it was a drone and gave them assurances that I Only used it shore. They took it and held it until I debated the ship in Vancouver.
 
Don’t take it! Security will see in on the X-ray scanner.
That is exactly right. If you don't have permission to bring it on board, they will find it on scanning your luggage or carry on. And there will then be more trouble than it is worth. Confiscation as the least that can happen. There are some lines that permit a drone when stored at the desk to prevent flying while on board. Other lines forbid them entirely. I have been on both types of cruise lines. And the "forbidders" are adamant. I asked the onboard photography staff to intercede, and they were all in favor of drones, but said they had tried to intercede and failed.
 
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I took my Mavic on a Celebrity cruise in Alaska last year, packed inside my roll-around bag.
Got on board without any problem.
Carried it off the ship at ports in the little black Mavic pouch/bag for videos & pics ashore.
The last time I boarded, they x-rayed the pouch and asked what was inside. I should have said it was a remotely-controlled camera for video and still shots.
Actually, I told them it was a drone and gave them assurances that I Only used it shore. They took it and held it until I debated the ship in Vancouver.
I'd say you were very lucky. Taking it on a line that explicitly forbids them on board at all is clearly a gamble. Just one more thing to think of when booking a cruise with a particular line.
 
This is a perfect example of what drone pilots should be fighting rather than curl up and blindly accept the status quo. I completely disagree with what others commented, that if they say no accept it and move on because it makes it worse for all of us... No, what makes it worse for all of us is accepting these types of biased and ungrounded rules that basically say all drone pilots are irresponsible pilots, and affirming that bias by simply accepting the rule with no challenge.

I'm not saying bring it on board either, but at the very least see how they can meet you in the middle, whether that's by holding it with staff until you get off shore, writing to management, or escalating the request to people who will listen and consider your request.

I have a Tello, among a Mavic and several other drones... Have you guys seen the size of that thing? The weight? It's tiny, considered a toy, not a photography drone, not even the FAA considers it to be a drone that needs to be registered due to its weight. So what's the real risk here folks? Anyone?

I understand a rule that prohibits flying drones on or from the ship, regardless of purpose, but not even taking it on board? That's ludicrous.

We should all be doing more to educate and push the hobby forward, not curl up and allow this bias.
 
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That is exactly right. If you don't have permission to bring it on board, they will find it on scanning your luggage or carry on. And there will then be more trouble than it is worth. Confiscation as the least that can happen. There are some lines that permit a drone when stored at the desk to prevent flying while on board. Other lines forbid them entirely. I have been on both types of cruise lines. And the "forbidders" are adamant. I asked the onboard photography staff to intercede, and they were all in favor of drones, but said they had tried to intercede and failed.


Carnival will let you bring them on board, but no flying off the ship. Had no issues back in May. Got some great footage in Mexico.
 
Carnival will let you bring them on board, but no flying off the ship. Had no issues back in May. Got some great footage in Mexico.

+1 for Carnival as well. I took my MP to Mexico last year and talked to Carnival before we went. It was no problem bring it on the ship but they were clear about no flying while on the ship. Some ports have very visible "NO DRONE" signs posted but once you get out of the port area there are generally good places to fly and take some pics and vids.

To the OP, let us know what you decided to do and how it went.
 
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I really had to dig around to find prohibited items on board and what they do with them . They state that they will be confiscated and distroyed...[emoji23]

Well that’s good at least they aren’t going to DESTROY it. Sorry I had to :D
 
I can GUARANTEE you that a cruise line is NEVER going to confiscate a passenger's $100-$1000 drone and destroy it. They would be sued SO FAST it would make your head spin, and it would be ALL OVER social media, and they DO NOT want bad press - they get enough of that already. Their reputation is everything. People everywhere would start boycotting Princess Cruises if they found that they took your personal property and destroyed it (other than alcohol, drugs or illegal substances).

I'm SURE that they DO confiscate and destroy all alcohol and/or drugs that they can - and they do this all the time.

The very worst they could do is tell you that you have to leave your drone somewhere at the port before you board, but if you had no other options, they would hold it for you rather than make you miss the cruise.

The average family spends far more than $1000 in alcohol & gambling on board a cruise and they DO NOT want to lose out on that money, in addition to not wanting the hassle of lawsuits and VERY BAD PR. Trust me, they WANT you on that ship: they WANT your MONEY!

Of course, if you call to ask them about it before hand, I'm sure they'll say anything they can to discourage you from bringing it altogether.

What’s that old saying, it’s better to beg for forgiveness then ask for permission?
 
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I have taken my MP on flights and cruises. Always hand luggage. On cruises they will confiscate and release item to boarding ramp on shore days by request. Never a problem. I ask to keep the batteries to charge and never encountered a refusal. Crew told me if caught flying on board then disemarkation at next port is policy. No discussion. I dont doubt it. Same policy for any major safety breach

On flights i always ensure batteries are detached. No drama
 
I have a Mavic Pro and a Tello. We are leaving tuesday for a 12 day cruise on Princess Cruise line. Princess Cruise line does not allow any drones on their ships, but I'm considering taking the Tello since it's so small and I would really like to get some aerial shots on shore. I'd really hate to have it confiscated.
Does anyone have any experience with the Tello and cruise ships??
Thanks
Wow! Guess it’s time to unsubscribe from this nonsense. Boycott a cruise line??? Destroying your drone? Obviously you wouldn’t fly it on board unless your an idiot. Worst case anywhere is someone holds it till you get off. Way too many worst case people on here. Put in in your luggage with your big girl panties and have fun when in port. Like anything else on the internet “Don’t Listen” By the way, Carnival flogged me and tossed me in the brig after throwing my drone overboard!
 
As usual this stupid rules came out because a few a holes took their drones on a cruise ship and then decided it was a good idea to fly off a moving ship. One idiot still has his YT video up of him flying his Phantom and then never making it back, it crashed into the water. I still get a laugh every time I think of it.......

Here it is for anyone who missed it.....
 
Hey everyone.... so I’m back from the cruise with no problems at all. Of course the Tello is very small and looks like a toy but no problems getting on and off the ship. The downside to all of it was I hauled that thing all over the UK and was only able to use it once prior to boarding the ship due to wind and time constraints.
I had it in a case in the bottom of my backpack with my other camera and never once was questioned about it. Thanks TrayBoz for all of the information concerning boarding with it. But in the end it was just too windy to use the little thing.
 
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"What's this?"
"It's a Frisbee"
"Nebu"?
"You throw it"
Long Pause....

'Ah si Americano Haha. You go'
 
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