I’m heading to Nassau on a cruise in three weeks and was thinking about bringing my DJI Mini 3 to capture some shots of the port and ships.
I’ve been there a few times before but never thought to bring my drone.
Does anyone know if flying is allowed? I’ll do my own research before the trip, but if anyone has firsthand experience flying their drone there, I’d appreciate any insights.
Thanks!
I’d almost guarantee that your cruise line won’t let you bring a drone onboard. I’m sailing with Virgin next week, and they’re pretty clear about their drone policy—definitely not allowed.
Sal said:
I’d almost guarantee that your cruise line won’t let you bring a drone onboard. I’m sailing with Virgin next week, and they’re pretty clear about their drone policy—definitely not allowed.
That’s disappointing… thanks for the heads-up.
Do you know if cruise lines just hold the drone until the end of the trip, or do they not allow it at all?
We usually cruise with Princess but also do Celebrity and others. I expected restrictions on flying while onboard, but I didn’t think they’d ban bringing a sub-250g drone entirely. I’ll have to check their policies.
@Rin
Good idea to check. I did a quick search—Princess doesn’t allow drones at all, but Celebrity does. Virgin doesn’t allow them either, but they’ll hold it for you and return it after the cruise.
Sal said:
I’d almost guarantee that your cruise line won’t let you bring a drone onboard. I’m sailing with Virgin next week, and they’re pretty clear about their drone policy—definitely not allowed.
I asked Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) if I could bring my Mini 3 Pro just to store it in my cabin without flying it at ports, and they flat-out said no.
That said, people on cruise forums have mentioned that if you bring it anyway, the worst that happens is they take it at boarding and give it back when you disembark. I ended up bringing mine and just keeping it in my cabin with no issues.
I definitely wouldn’t count on being able to take it off the ship, fly it, and then sneak it back onboard, though.
For whatever reason, cruise lines really don’t like drones.
You can register your drone for the Bahamas here:
https://caabahamas.com/drone-registration/
The rules are pretty similar to the U.S., but like others said, expect pushback from your cruise line. They seem to universally dislike drones.
I flew my drone in Nassau while the port was under renovation. Had no issues at the time.