[amsat-bb] Ham Radio are permitter on Carnival Cruises

Sat Jan 16 18:38:04 UTC 2016

Bear in mind a couple of things. First the website may not be completely
updated or accurate. Second and most important, the FINAL WORD aboard a
ship rests with the CAPTAIN....even in the corporate world....It can say on
their website...bring your KW and your Az/El and feel free to set them up
anywhere on the ship you please. When you get there, the Captain, for any
reason he deems sufficient, which means he woke up on the wrong side of the
bed to he just doesn't understand it, can say NO.  Confiscation would come
if you are found using it after you are told no. The Captain is also the
chief of police, judge and jury aboard the ship he is charged with keeping
safe. You may be told by a reservation specialist that you can being and
use. Once aboard you may find it different. Just because the Captain of the
Carnival Inspiration let Jimmy Ham operate last year does not mean the
Captain of the Liberty will.

My suggestion is for the *organizers* to contact Carnival, preferably at a
management level, if there is a group booking code, they will know you are
a large group, explain AMSAT and that you respectfully request the
opportunity to operate low power ( unless you are seriously bringing a KW).
Get some names of who you spoke with. When the lead organizer gets aboard,
find the Cruise Director and introduce yourself and go through the request
to operate again. If they seem reluctant, use the names.  Its going to be
best to have a single point of contact make the request for the group
rather than 200 hams asking the same question over and over. typically you
won't get access to the Captain although there are times when he makes a
presentation to those interested passengers or you may find him at dinner (
sometimes its not the actual captain but a staff captain) and you may be
able to snag him then and ask directly.

I would not operate without actual permission, you may find your gear
locked up until the end of the trip.

73,
John - AG9D

On Fri, Jan 15, 2016 at 3:43 PM, Douglas Phelps <dphelps1 at ameritech.net>
wrote:

> I started the thread by saying the HAM Radio is allowed on board and the
> Carnival rules says that they may also be used on board.  Permission to use
> the radios is in the rules.  Yes, we will need to get a temporary license
> and send a letter to Panama.
>
>
>
>       From: John Toscano <tosca005 at umn.edu>
>  To: John <w1xq at yahoo.com>
> Cc: "amsat-bb at amsat.org" <amsat-bb at amsat.org>
>  Sent: Friday, January 15, 2016 3:34 PM
>  Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Ham Radio are permitter on Carnival Cruises
>
> I find these recent experiences puzzling in view of the fact that this
> whole subject was provoked by an earlier thread that stated that Carnival
> explicitly listed Amateur Radio gear as ALLOWED on board, NOT SUBJECT to
> CONFISCATION. The last few replies to this thread talk about risk of
> equipment confiscation. When I saw the earlier post about non-confiscation,
> I realized that such a policy MIGHT mean only that you could carry such
> equipment on board the ship, but not a guarantee you could actually use it
> during the cruise. It seemed particularly odd that the cruise line would
> publicly state that our 2-way radio equipment is allowed on board and would
> not be confiscated, because I always assumed that at least that much could
> be taken for granted. Why? For one, because you can carry ham radio gear
> aboard a commercial airline even though it is clearly prohibited to
> actually USE the gear during a commercial flight, and for two, the last
> time I took a cruise, I saw tons of folks carrying hand-held 2-way radios
> on board, even though FRS radios (or other "license-free" radios) are not
> licensed for use outside of the United States. In most cases, I did not see
> them in use aboard the ship, but instead I saw them being carried to/from a
> shore excursion (still illegal to use them off-ship unless the port was in
> US territory). Well, I guess nowadays, you should take nothing for granted.
> The more written documentation you can provide, the happier the outcome is
> likelier to be.
>
> On Thu, Jan 14, 2016 at 1:31 PM, John via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb at amsat.org>
> wrote:
>
> > I too just went on a RCCL cruise in December.  Was stated as not allowed
> > on their list and I asked on board and was told no and if found would be
> > confiscated.
> >
> > Sent from my iPad
> >
> > > On Jan 14, 2016, at 1:28 PM, w4upd <updwrb at bristor-assoc.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > I checked with Royal Caribbean and they were very firm that Ham radio
> > was not allowed on any of their ships regardless what the Captain or comm
> > officer would say. RCCL has it documented in black and white in their
> > brochures and web site of what was not allowed and Ham Radio/Amateur
> radio
> > was specifically mentioned as not being allowed. I then asked via an
> email
> > and got the same answer. Via email they tried to stipulate interference
> > with the on-board equipment, but unlike a plane there should have been no
> > problem. However, not wanting my equipment confiscated (and TSA was
> > checking at the security checkpoints) I chose not to push my luck.
> Anyways,
> > I was more interested in the cruise than operation from sea.
> > >
> > > Reid, W4UPD
> > >
> > >
> > >> On 1/14/2016 1:40 PM, Bryan KL7CN wrote:
> > >> That aligns with my experience -- in my case with a Royal Caribbean
> > (Bahamian) ship, the cruise line was very reluctant -- but the Captain
> and
> > Communications Officer were fine with it.
> > >> I carried extra printed copies of all such correspondence and other
> > documentation with me in a binder -- and it came in quite handy when the
> > cruise coordinator for our group panicked and demanded I justify myself
> > before they would let me off the boat. All was well when I produced that
> > copy of the approval e-mail from the Comms Officer.
> > >> -- bag
> > >> Bryan KL7CN/W6
> > >> On Jan 14, 2016, at 10:32, Lee Ernstrom <lee.ernstrom at rcwilley.com>
> > wrote:
> > >> I wanted to operate the sats on the Norwegian Jewel, also of Bahama
> > registry, so I called Norwegian and asked if it was okay to do so.  I was
> > told emphatically NO! So I left my radio gear home last September when we
> > took our Alaskan cruise.  However, while on board and talking to the
> first
> > officer, I was told that since the cruise line abides by international
> law
> > the captain would have no problem with allowing the use of my portable
> > satellite station.
> > >> Therefore, I concluded that it is better to ask forgiveness than to
> ask
> > permission.  The worst thing that could have happened is that my radio
> > equipment was confiscated which I could have recovered at the end of the
> > cruise.  I really wanted to be able to activate some of those rare CO
> grids!
> > >> Lee (Doc) Ernstrom, WA7HQD, C6AQD
> > >> Sent from my iPad
> > >>> On Jan 14, 2016, at 9:45 AM, Jerry Buxton <n0jy at amsat.org> wrote:> >
> > It's not Bahamian registry guys, I would recommend that you let Clayton>
> > and the organizers get the specific information out before you jump. >
> > There are 10 months to the cruise, right now.  Don't want to miss the>
> > opportunity to hear you on the Foxes!    :-)> > Jerry Buxton, NØJY> >> On
> > 1/14/2016 10:11, John Toscano wrote:>> Plus a $10 application fee, and
> both
> > fees cover only one year at a time (in>> case you plan to take more than
> > one cruise over more than one year's time).>> You need a General Class
> > license or better to apply. And you need to start>> making these
> > arrangements a few months ahead of time, mot at the last>> minute. All
> very
> > reasonable requirements, but just sayin' that this is not>> something you
> > can decide to do o a whim without serious planning.Oh, and>> you are only
> > covered while on board the ship in international waters or in>> the
> > territorial waters of the Bahamas. Again, very reasonable but worthy
> of>> a
> > little pre-planning.>> >> Enjoy your cruise. I have enjouyed several
> > (radioless, alas).>> 73 de W0JT/5>> >> On Thu, Jan 14, 2016 at 9:09 AM,
> > Glen Zook via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb at amsat.org>>> wrote:>> >>> Except the
> > fact that all the Carnival ships are of Bahamian registry and>>> that,
> > under international regulations, one must have a Bahamas reciprocal>>>
> > license to operate aboard the ship.  Such a license is available but
> > does>>> cost $25.00.>>> >>> >>>
> > http://www.waterwayradio.net/intl_operating.htm>>> >>> >>> >>> Glen,
> > K9STH>>> AMSAT 239 / LM 463>>> Website: http://k9sth.net>>> >>> >>>
> >  From: Douglas Phelps <dphelps1 at ameritech.net>>>> To: AMSAT BB <
> > amsat-bb at amsat.org>>>> Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2016 8:59 PM>>>
> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Ham Radio are permitter on Carnival Cruises>>> >>> I
> > just read the complete list of prohibited and confiscated items.
> Under>>>
> > EXCEPTIONS I found the following:>>> >>> - Ham Radios/Amateur Radio
> > Equipment: Permitted to be used on board.>>> Looks like we do not even
> need
> > to ask permission.  Terrific!!!!!>>> >>> >>>
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