Spark

[rpfarris]

I hope I'm in the right forum.  🙂

Has anyone taken something like a DJI Spark or a Mavic Air with them on a cruise?  How successful was it?

 

[Loonbeam]

Not those two, but I considered taking one.  Things to be aware of:

 

You cannot use one onboard the ship.  Every line bans them.  Most will let you bring aboard in cases, but check your line to make sure security will not hold it.

 

Every port has different rules for use.  Many do not allow them at beaches or historical locations for various reasons.  And the fines can be harsh.

 

At the time, drones were much bigger so I decided not to bother as I could only use it in a couple of places.   Now with the smaller ones, if I could use at half the ports, I would consider it.   But do your research.

 

[rpfarris]

6 hours ago, Loonbeam said:

But do your research.

Yeah.  I'm going on a 58-day cruise with almost 50 ports in the Mediterranean.  A lot of research...

 

[bobmacliberty]

12 hours ago, rpfarris said:

Yeah.  I'm going on a 58-day cruise with almost 50 ports in the Mediterranean.  A lot of research...

 

What cruise line?  Sounds interesting.  Sorry...can't help with your drone question.

 

[Loonbeam]

Honestly for 58 days I would take a small one.  Has to be some places to use it.  At least in the EU there will be some consistency.

 

Also, 50 ports in 58 days?  Whew....

 

[rpfarris]

23 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

What cruise line?

Silversea.  The ship?  Silversea Shadow.

[rpfarris]

1 hour ago, Loonbeam said:

Honestly for 58 days I would take a small one.  Has to be some places to use it.  At least in the EU there will be some consistency.

You would think, wouldn't you.  I just spent a half-day looking into it.  Here's what I found out:

 

• Morocco - Drones are banned and will be confiscated by customs. Leave it on the ship.

 

• Spain

Max height: 120m, 50m at night. (For small drones like Spark)

Must be in LOS

Cannot be within 8km (5 miles) of airports

Must stay 150m away from buildings, 50m from people

National Parks - Must have prior permission (takes about 1 wk) from AESA

 

• Italy

Max height: 70m

Daylight only

Must be in LOS

Cannot fly near airports

Cannot fly over people not in your party

See ENAC

 

• France

Max height: 150m, 50m above any object or building that is 100m or more in height

Daylight only

Must be in LOS

Usual overflight rules (as in the US)

 

• Monaco

Cannot take photographs or videos without 15 days prior permission. And you must include your flight plan when you put in your request. You can fly, you just can't take pictures. Another non-starter for me.

Cannot fly near Prince's Palace, Place du Palais or within 150m of airport or heliport. Again, you can fly, just can't take pictures without a 15-day prior request.

 

• Montenegro

Each and every flight must be approved.

Flight records must be maintained

Drone liability insurance is required

If you can meet the requirement above:

Max height: 150m

Max horiz distance: 500m

Stay 30m away from people, animals, buildings, etc.

 

• Slovenia

Daylight only

Max height: 150m

Max horiz distance: 500m

Stay 1.5km away from airports

 

• Croatia

Illegal to take any aerial photography for personal use! Leave your drone on the ship. It is possible to take *commercial* aerial photography, but even that has such a byzantine set of regulations, unless you're going to be there for weeks it's not worth it.

 

• Malta

Another place that has too many regulations, as in:

Cannot be flown over any personal property without permission. That's why all the drone footage you see of Malta is flying over water.

Cannot collect images of identifiable individuals, even inadvertently, because of Malta's Data Protection Act.

 

• Greece

Max distance: 50m - Yes, 50m in any direction. There is an application you can fill out for each and every flight you want to take and then you can fly 120m.

Daylight only

Usual overflight rules.

There are issues about overflying personal property. See Drone Laws.

Must have drone insurance.

 

So that's it. I know that some municipalities have their own restrictions. Barcelona, Spain and Rome and Venice in Italy forbid all drones. But at least here is the big picture for Sparks. Larger drones (larger seems to start around 500g in some places, 2kg others - the Spark weighs 300g at liftoff) have more restrictions. For instance, only a couple of places require insurance in the list above *for Sparks*, but many places would require insurance for larger drones.

[Loonbeam]

So basically, no... 😞

 

Or at least probably not worth risking going afoul of all of those rules.

 

[GUT2407]

On 1/6/2019 at 5:24 AM, rpfarris said:

I hope I'm in the right forum.  🙂

Has anyone taken something like a DJI Spark or a Mavic Air with them on a cruise?  How successful was it?

 

I know a few lines have drones on the banned items list, NCL certainly did last cruise we were on.