If you are a proud owner of a drone and are planning a cruise trip sometime soon, you are probably wondering whether you can bring your drone with you—I did some research and here’s what I found.
This depends on which cruise line you are sailing and what type of drone you wish to bring. The only cruise lines that allow drones are Caribbean cruise and Carnival Cruise, and for Carnival, only camera drones are permitted. In both cases, the drone is only allowed to be used on land and away from port areas.
Now that you know that there is a possibility you may be able to bring your drone on your next cruise, continue reading to find out which cruise ships allow this.
Which Cruise Ships Allow Drones, And What Are The Rules?
There are only two cruise lines that allow passengers to bring drones on their ships. These cruise lines are the Carnival cruise line and the Royal Caribbean cruise line. The Carnival cruise line allows for only camera drones to be on board.
Even though both of these cruise lines allow you to bring a drone aboard the ship, you are still not allowed to operate the drone on the ship. If you want to use a drone, you need to wait till you are safely on land and away from any ports.
On both cruise lines, they require you to store your drone or drone camera in your cabin at all times. Royal Caribbean has also added that drones are not to be used at their private destinations either. these destinations are :
- CocoCay
- Bahamas
- Labadee
- Haiti
They further state that if a drone was to be used onboard the ship it would 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.
Passengers will assume full responsibility understanding all the local authority rules and guidelines when it comes to the use of drones and for obtaining any required permission to be able to fly a drone.
Different countries have different rules regarding the use of drones so any liability including any environmental damage, that may have been caused by the guest using the drone, is the guests’ responsibility.
The Royal Caribbean cruise line does not assume any responsibility for any guest drones that may have been lost at sea due to the guest flying their drones or the confiscation of drones by local authorities because of the guest violating local drone laws. They also don’t take responsibility for any injuries resulting from the use of drones. So if you do take your drone onboard, do it at your own risk.
Things To Consider Before Taking Your Drone On A Voyage
You need to make sure you do your research, not just on which cruise lines will allow it, but also at every step of your journey. Each port and country will have its own laws on drones. That being said, do your research on this:
- The rules and regulations of the cruise line you will be traveling with and confirm with them if you are allowed a drone on board.
- You should also check drone laws at all the ports your cruise will be stopping.
- Check all countries and islands for drone laws and policies. Bringing a drone on a cruise is not worth being detained in a foreign country.
But why don’t most cruise lines allow drones on their ships? Well, there is a simple answer to this question. Many cruise lines view drones as being a safety and security risk.
For the same reason as to why you are not allowed to fly drones near airports or near other aircraft, the cruise lines are afraid that the radio signal from the drones might mess with the instruments of the ship.
On land when flying a drone one of the rules is that you are not allowed to fly near large groups of people, likewise, a cruise ship is usually crowded with a number of people so it is not a big surprise that they are worried about the certain risks of flying a drone in that sort of environment.
Which Ports Are Drone Friendly, And What Are The Laws?
If you are traveling with Carnival or Royal Caribbean, is it ok for you to use your drone anywhere and in any port? No. Drone laws are different at different ports around the world.
You must be sure to learn all the rules for each and every port before taking your drone out and flying it. It is the responsibility of the passenger who wishes to fly the drone to ensure that the port allows the use of drones and that they have the right license to operate their drone in that port if it is needed.
The drone friendly ports that will allow guests to fly drones are:
- Aruba
- Roatan in Honduras
- Cozumel in Mexico
These ports may allow drones to be flown but the general drone guidelines will still apply at all times. You should always keep your drone within sight at all times, do not fly your drone over large crowds and you should not fly your drone at night.
What Happens If I “Accidently” Fly My Drone In An Unauthorized Port or Cruise Line?
You may be wondering what the cruise line might do if your drone had to accidentally take off during the voyage. Well, it is not really possible to accidentally fly a drone but if that were to happen, in most cases the drone would be confiscated and returned to the owner at the end of the cruise.
If while flying the drone, the drone was in an accident of some kind the drone will be confiscated and turned over to the appropriate authorities to handle the situation.
Flying your drone in a restricted area on the shore may also result in the drone being confiscated and in the case of local authorities they may never give it back. So if the island ports you will be visiting do not allow the flying of drones it is essentially useless to bring a drone on a cruise as you are not allowed to fly drones on the ship either.
So if you are not allowed to fly a drone at one of the ports then it is not worth bringing the drone along with you because if you are caught flying a drone you might either face legal trouble or lose your drone forever which is not worth it.
Can I Operate A Drone On A Cruise Ship If I’m A Licensed Pilot?
Whether or not you have a license or not the rules for flying a drone on a cruise ship are company policy and it does not matter whether or not you have a license, the answer is no, drones are not allowed to be flown on a cruise ship.
If you want to ask for special permission from the cruise line to be able to fly your drone on the ship then it is best to contact the cruise line directly and not assume that because you are a licensed pilot that they will be ok with you flying a drone while on the ship.
What Is The Best Drone to Bring on a Cruise?
So now that you know if the cruise line you will be on allows drones or does not allow them, now you may be asking yourself a very important question. What is the best type of drone to bring on a cruise if I am allowed to bring one?
- DJI Mavic Air- The DJI Mavic air is a brilliant drone to travel with as it is nice and light so it will not have a huge effect on the weight of your luggage. It is also very small and compact so it will fit into your carry on luggage without a hassle. While it may be a small drone it still has a 20 minute flight time while still being able to shoot in 4k goodness.
- GoPro Karma- The GoPro Karma is a very nice drone to travel with as it is nice and compact which makes for easy storage. The drone has one amazing feature that makes it really useful for travel. You can take the GoPro camera off the drone and put it on the stabilizer and now you are able to take awesome videos while you enjoy yourself on the ship.
