HAM Radio Cruiser

I fully understood the purpose of your original post and appreciate your sharing your experience.

 

I only raised the question about EchoLink as a thought exercise. My cell phone provider provides complimentary data at most ports so there would be no cost for EchoLink use.

 

My postings are not intended to be critical of you in any way and I hope you will read them keeping that in mind.

Thanks for posting back. No big issue about your suggestion. I didn't feel like you were being critical, but simply trying to explain why operating via echolink wasn't the same to me as being able to operate via HF. I take it you are a ham. 73

You are missing the point. It is hard to do research when the information isn't given to you until you get there. I did as much research as I could. I'm just trying to help the next guy who wants to know like I did.

Like others, you've made it sound like I didn't accept the captain's decision. I made an effort to not say anything negative about the captain or his decision which is rather easy because I did accept the captain's decision and didn't complain to him or the security officer or anyone else. Posting information about his decision is not an act of judgement or even a complaint, it is simply trying to share information that isn't publicly available.

I'm surprised by the number of comments on my post. Some of the replies inferred that I didn't respect the captain's decision or that I was disappointed with his decision. My post never criticized or expressed any complaint about the captain. The purpose of the post was purely informational so that other HAM operators would have more information than I had. My compliments to the security office and not to the captain weren't a dismissal of the captain; I simply had no interaction with him. I did with the security officer and I thought he did a good job and should be acknowledged.

Some cruise lines explicitly state they prohibit amateur radio gear, Princess does not. If you don't believe me, search their website then make a call to their headquarters. They simply leave it up to the captain. That's fine, but it makes it difficult to plan. By sharing this information, others who are taking the Golden Princess under Captain Nicolo Bommarco will know his position. (For the record, I've found at least one ham who was given permission to use his HF radio on the Golden Princess a few years ago which is why I was willing to lug my gear around just for the chance. Therefore, it isn't sufficient to say that you can or can't on the Golden Princess or on any Princess ship. The information is letting you know that under Cpt. Bommarco on the Golden Princess you can't. This is not critical of him or his decision, it's informational.)

For the non-amateur radio operators, the licenses granted to amateur radio operators require us to receive permission from the captain to operate. Collectively, amateur radio operator do their best to follow operating practices such as requesting permission from the captain because we are grateful for the airwaves we have for our hobby. We are aware that there is the possibility of interference and we wouldn't want to operate if we there was actual interference. Some were concerned that it might interfere with the ship's communication system, that's a possibility but quite honestly that's probably shielded, using different frequencies, and far enough a way that it isn't the biggest risk. I'd be more concerned that someone's TV in their state room might get some interference. However, the risk of that actually happening is quite low given the power I'd be transmitting on, the fact the ship is made of metal, and the fact I'd be operating from a battery.

Two last comments. The reciprocal license from Bermuda was not so I could operate in Bermuda, it is required because the ship is a Bermuda flagged ship and when in International waters, the rules of Bermuda apply to amateur radio operations. Lastly, someone asked about using Echolink. I think that misses the point of what I was hoping to do in a variety of ways. Echolink would require either cell coverage or Internet service, both of which are limited and costly while at sea. Moreover, it is kind of like going telling someone going to Alaska whose hobby is fishing that there is a great fish market to buy fish at. The person who fishes for a hobby wants to get on a fishing boat and catch the fish himself/herself - that's where the joy is for him/her.

I'm leaving this here so hopefully others will have some information that I couldn't find online prior to my cruise.

I wanted to take my amateur radio gear on the Golden Princess. I contacted Princess's HQ and was told that there were no corporate rules against it but that it was the decision of the captain and that I needed to request permission upon boarding.

I applied for a reciprocal permit from Bermuda, carried my U.S. amateur radio license and a letter to the captain with my equipment. My bag was detained prior to boarding the boat. The security officer was kind enough to take it on board and stow it there until things were clarified with the captain.

The next day I was told it was a "no". No other information was given. I will compliment the security officer, Paul. He was a gentleman and a professional with how he handled the situation and my equipment was safely returned to me after disembarking.

So for the record....Captain Nicolo Bommarco on the Golden Princess (Alaskan Inside Passage) would not allow amateur radio gear.

There is no need for you to leave a comment of "why would you even want to bring that on a cruise." If you say that, then this post isn't for you. It is really for amateur radio operators who enjoy the hobby and want to try operating from the ocean like I did.

All the best!