has anyone taken their drone to the carribeans island without having to get around customs? and is it worth the effort?

Hi tgq1, thanks for reaching out and welcome to DJI Forum. I would suggest you contact directly  the local authority and the airlines customer service to know all the rules and regulations on this matter. Also, kindly check the drone regulations of the countries that you are going to. You may use this link for your reference: http://www.dji.com/flysafe Should you need further help, please don't hesitate to contact us. Thanks for your support.

I never have but one thing I have heard of is when going through the airport make sure your battery's are below 20%

Would depend on which island nation you are going to.

Best bet is contact the airline and the TSA of the airport you are flying into and out off just to get clarification. Also try and get them to point you to written documentation of the rules so you can print them out and bring them with you. Written proof is 100 times better than word of mouth. Hope it all works out and you get some great footage.