Last month, I posted a thread in the Discussion Forum asking for advice with bringing my drone onto a cruise ship. You can view that thread by clicking >>HERE<<
I was hesitant about bringing it on the cruise, and I ended up going with my gut feeling. I believe leaving it behind was a good decision, because security is very heavy when loading both on and off of the ship.
I sailed on The Harmony of the Seas with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. I really enjoyed the trip, but I also really missed my Spark, which was waiting patiently in the car back on shore in Ft. Lauderdale.
For anyone thinking about bringing their drone (of any size), I would suggest not to do it. It is not worth the time it takes to smuggle it on and off each time you enter or exit the ship, and it for sure is not worth getting confiscated. If you do choose to bring it on, first, let me know how it goes. Second, promise me you will NOT fly it on the actual ship, or near any crowds or anywhere near the ship.
If anyone has questions, please feel free to leave a reply or privately message me!
Thanks!

Leaving it in the car could have gotten it confiscated as well!  LOL

Good thinking!
Would have been a pain to have to leave it somewhere.....
But I also get the feeling

Taking off from a massive metal tub with hugely powerful radar systems is never going to end well, good advice!

Thanks for the info.  Id agree with that. Just not worth the fuss

If you cruise to a US port like to Hawaii, Catalina Island, San Juan, US Virgin Islands, etc.  you can Priority Mail in their medium box ($13.70 I think) to a US Post Office (address to your name, ICO general delivery) or like I did to the rental car company (after I okayed it with their manager) that I was going to use that day (much cheaper than a tour and you get to plan out your stops/flights versus being at the mercy of the tour people).  It takes about 3-4 days anywhere in US.   I took an extra Priority Mail box with me in my suitcase and when the day was done, I dropped it off at the post office before turning the car in.  If your cruise ship does not make port due to weather or such, the rental car company just puts Return to Sender on it and gives it to their mail person.  If no one picks up a General Delivery package within a week or ten days (I think) it's returned to sender.

Rustic17 Posted at 2018-3-22 09:46
If you cruise to a US port like to Hawaii, Catalina Island, San Juan, US Virgin Islands, etc.  you can Priority Mail in their medium box ($13.70 I think) to a US Post Office (address to your name, ICO general delivery) or like I did to the rental car company (after I okayed it with their manager) that I was going to use that day (much cheaper than a tour and you get to plan out your stops/flights versus being at the mercy of the tour people).  It takes about 3-4 days anywhere in US.   I took an extra Priority Mail box with me in my suitcase and when the day was done, I dropped it off at the post office before turning the car in.  If your cruise ship does not make port due to weather or such, the rental car company just puts Return to Sender on it and gives it to their mail person.  If no one picks up a General Delivery package within a week or ten days (I think) it's returned to sender.

Well in my case, I was traveling to foreign ports (Haiti, Jamaica, and Mexico to be exact). But still, there may be little opportunities to fly at or around the port if there are landing strips around, or crowds of people loading on and off the ship. Just be sure to check the map before you send any expensive packages.

I was planning on taking mine but won't. Ive heard people take them on Carnival Cruises and the require you check them out and in like a library book, and sometimes they just disappear between ports. I won't risk it, I may try to smuggle a Tello in my camera bag and just find a quite place on a beach some where and fly for a few minutes and get a few shots and then hide it and get it back on the boat. I believe the Tello will be ok, if I took a mavic pro it would probably never show up at the first port.

Jetta-The-Hut Posted at 2018-3-29 18:08
I was planning on taking mine but won't. Ive heard people take them on Carnival Cruises and the require you check them out and in like a library book, and sometimes they just disappear between ports. I won't risk it, I may try to smuggle a Tello in my camera bag and just find a quite place on a beach some where and fly for a few minutes and get a few shots and then hide it and get it back on the boat. I believe the Tello will be ok, if I took a mavic pro it would probably never show up at the first port.

Yeah I agree. Maybe if you took the Spark and oriented it in a way that you could get it vertically through the metal detector, you would be okay. But not taking it is always a safer way to roll.

Boat cruises are very beautiful and romantic, but above all beautiful, so I also wanted to take the drone on the boat first and also doubted. But then I decided that I would hardly be able to use it, but it would take up space in the luggage. I have read http://www.cruisepackinglists.com/breaking-cold-alaska-cruise-packing-list/ before the trip, so I decided to optimize my luggage. Now I do not have cool pictures from the drone, but I have a lot of pictures on board, a lot of memories and new friends.

HollyMyers Posted at 3-1 07:11
Boat cruises are very beautiful and romantic, but above all beautiful, so I also wanted to take the drone on the boat first and also doubted. But then I decided that I would hardly be able to use it, but it would take up space in the luggage. I have read http://www.cruisepackinglists.com/breaking-cold-alaska-cruise-packing-list/ before the trip, so I decided to optimize my luggage. Now I do not have cool pictures from the drone, but I have a lot of pictures on board, a lot of memories and new friends.

Phone pictures are great too, but they are not the same as drone pictures. But I understand why cruise lines are very hesitant to allowing passengers to bring personal drones because they can be very dangerous in different climates.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines now allow drones to be taken on board and flown only once you get off the ship in port.  I was in Alaska last July for a Princess Cruise...they don't allow drones on board.  I did the six day land portion first with the drone.  I caught an early shuttle from the McKinnley Princess Lodge to Talkeetna where you catch the train to the port.  I mailed the drone to me at General Delivery Ketchikan Post Office with my home address on the From address label.  When I got to Ketchikan I picked up my drone, flew all day, and returned and mailed it home.  If the ship could not dock at Ketchikan for some reason, the PO would mail the package to the From address after 10 days sitting in General Delivery.

Digging this post  back up, went on a cruise and a guy was on the back of the ship -in port- flying a dji spark off the back of the ship, nothing was said, not even though he had a huge crowd of people watching. I just mentioned to him to be careful there were so many interferences on ship the Spark would probably fly off, and what can you do? You can’t get off the ship to chase it!

Which cruise line???

Jetta-The-Hut Posted at 3-9 07:26
Digging this post  back up, went on a cruise and a guy was on the back of the ship -in port- flying a dji spark off the back of the ship, nothing was said, not even though he had a huge crowd of people watching. I just mentioned to him to be careful there were so many interferences on ship the Spark would probably fly off, and what can you do? You can’t get off the ship to chase it!

Wow that is not safe at all. I'd be interested in finding what cruise line this was on, and what port they were at.

Rustic17 Posted at 2018-3-22 09:46
If you cruise to a US port like to Hawaii, Catalina Island, San Juan, US Virgin Islands, etc.  you can Priority Mail in their medium box ($13.70 I think) to a US Post Office (address to your name, ICO general delivery) or like I did to the rental car company (after I okayed it with their manager) that I was going to use that day (much cheaper than a tour and you get to plan out your stops/flights versus being at the mercy of the tour people).  It takes about 3-4 days anywhere in US.   I took an extra Priority Mail box with me in my suitcase and when the day was done, I dropped it off at the post office before turning the car in.  If your cruise ship does not make port due to weather or such, the rental car company just puts Return to Sender on it and gives it to their mail person.  If no one picks up a General Delivery package within a week or ten days (I think) it's returned to sender.

Good thinking.

Rustic17 Posted at 3-9 08:21
Which cruise line???

Carnival Vista

drewhoover Posted at 3-10 11:28
Wow that is not safe at all. I'd be interested in finding what cruise line this was on, and what port they were at.

Carnival ship was the Vista while it was docked in Miami.  The cruise staff was busy setting up  only a few noticed him and the crowd he drew in