Concealed Carry on a Cruise Ship?

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Redlg155

Redlg155

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The wife and I are thinking of taking a cruise sometime in the future, which lead me to wondering, anyone carry on a cruise ship?

I would think most cruise lines would have rules against it, but how far they go through with luggage searches and metal detectors on individuals I have no idea.

Also, would a ship docked in a foreign port be subjected to the host nations rules?

I just hate the though of being unarmed. Heck, I don't even know if the ship has armed security officers to deal with any problems with "pirates" on the high seas.

Good Shooting
Red
 
I'd say you can probably forget about it.

Searches/metal detectors are near-arline in intensity these days.

You're biggest threats, assuming this will be a carribian or gulf cruise presumably will be terrorisim, and much more likely, crime/muggings on one of the destination islands.

In the case of terrorisim, I feel that it is much more likely to be a bombing or suicide crash on the entire ship, something a pistol would do little to prevent. An "Achillie Lauro" style takeover where a gun might do some good is a much lower probability.

The greatest threat will be local crime at the places you visit. And you won't be able to carry in the other countries anyway. And if you do, winding up in thier prisions will make you wish you were mugged by a local instead.

My $.02
 
Careful, they might think you are the pirate!
Having been on only one cruise in my lifetime, I would leave the sidearm at home. Where are you going to hide it when you go ashore of a foreign country? Your cabin? You will definately lose it there! The cabin stewards probably have an inventory of everything you own once you step off ship. Not to mention how are you going to get it on board? You drop your luggage off at the dock, and then it is searched before being taken aboard. I'm sure with the security these days, your going to have to walk thru a metal detector.
My trip 15 years back, I was going to bring back some Cuban Cigars for a close friend. Changed my mind right before I bought them. Glad I did. I would have put them in my suitcase, and they lined everyones suitcases up on the pier and had the dogs walk by them sniffing. I'm sure they were looking for drugs, but you never know if the dogs were trained to sniff out cigars! :scrutiny:
 
Wife & I went on a cruise about a year ago.There is no luggage search when boarding.You DO however have to leave the bags in the terminal when pre boarding,they are taken to your cabin.Its not like flying,you CAN lock them.On board I don't see a problem, as long as you don't print or otherwise cause some sheep to see it.You will NOT be able to take off the ship in another country,IIRC,they do a cursary insp/search,(no pat down)when re-boarding to see that you aren't bringing anything that would be illegal in the states.Also when getting off the ship on return, the bags ARE searched/X-rayed to see of you are bringing back things un-claimed on the customs form,you do have to pay a duty/tarriff for anything over a certain amount.
The best thing to do ,I guess, would be to call cruise agency and ask what their policy is for a CCW carrier(anonymously)before booking.
Hope this helps.
 
Alternative Equivalent to a Carabean Cruise:

1. Sit out in your back yard in high summer with a cooler of alcoholic beverages close by;
2. Take a motor boot out to the local lake and scream around for a few hours;
3. Go to a public beach where there are a lot of near- naked fat people.

About the only advantage a cruise ship has over these is that all of the above factors are combined with close police supervision added for good measure.
 
Alternative Equivalent to a Carabean Cruise:

1. Sit out in your back yard in high summer with a cooler of alcoholic beverages close by;
2. Take a motor boot out to the local lake and scream around for a few hours;
3. Go to a public beach where there are a lot of near- naked fat people.

About the only advantage a cruise ship has over these is that all of the above factors are combined with close police supervision added for good measure.
And the food. Cruises have good food. With that said I've been on two cruises to the Carribean; I won't be going on three.
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Ok..sounds like a pain. I'll figure out a way to nix the idea.

I'm going back to the original plan. A guided Elk hunt for me!:D

Good Shooting
Red
 
My wife and I took a cruise to Alaska several years ago, leaving
out of Victoria B.C. Luggage is subject to search and everybody
passes through a metal detector before boarding the ship.
Leave your weapons home and enjoy your trip.
 
My wife and I took a cruise to Alaska several years ago, leaving out of Victoria B.C. Luggage is subject to search and everybody passes through a metal detector before boarding the ship. Leave your weapons home and enjoy your trip.
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My better 1/3 and I took a cruise in Alaska several years back. But we took a small ship cruise -- about 60 passengers. Since the ship and crew were US, it left from Alaska and returned to Alaska. No need to visit Canada :barf:

And no searches nor metal detector at the time. Dunno if it has changed since then. That cruise line did (and probably still does) have a strict no guns policy. If you want to go to Alaska for wildlife and scenery, and aren't into the casinos, bars, shows, etc, then a small ship cruise might be more your speed: http://www.cruisewest.com

Not cheap, however. The economics suck on small ships.
 
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I think I saw a bear at 1000+ yds when I went on a BC --> AK cruise.

Can my M1A do it? (if I ever straighten out the muzzlebrake??)
 
IIRC from the cruse we went on there was somthing in the brocure about weapons to the effect of, weapons could be checked and secured at the Pursers desk for the duration of the cruse. Basically locked into a safe deposit box, except you cant get them out for Captians Dinner like your diamonds. I'd check the cruse line's policies on line.
 
Yeah, I had locks on my luggage back in September. However, you don't think they might stick them on a x-ray scanner conver-belt and set aside the ones with suspicious items inside? What about them just breaking off the locks and telling you they thought it was a security threat. Just leave it at home. That is what I had to do. Actually I left it in the car at my uncle's house, no sense in traveling to Los Angeles unarmed.
 
Maybe you could suggest an armed cruise to the company? Call it "Packin in Panama" or "Carrying in the Caribbean"
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I'm imagining the (somewhat) whimsical idea of a 'custom' cruise by armed tourists up and down the east african coast from Suez to Maputo or Durban. Sail the unfriendly seas :)

Due to our schedule, all passengers are required to qualify on our range no later than the day after departure. Open carry is allowed and we will be offering training workshops. Passengers are encouraged to bring rifles and automatic weapons. Feel free to shoot any somali pirate trying to board our ship.
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Somehow I doubt that the International Maritime Bureau would complain too much about a private 'Q' cruise through those waters every once in a while, though something heavier than a rifle might be prefered. :D

Cheers,
ErikM
 
My wife and I just returned from an Alaskan cruise last week (Holland America). While waiting to get on the ship, I saw all the luggage getting x-rayed. Also when you got back on the ship at each port, your "carry-on" items get x-rayed and you go through a metal detector.

They didn't seem to care about knives though. My CRKT M16-10K never set off the metal detector, and the one time it got x-rayed when it was in my backback, it didn't raise any interest. I certainly wasn't going low-key either. All the t-shirts I brought were gun-related. Bushmaster, two ar15.com BRC shirts and a Front Sight shirt. Hopefully I irked a few gun-grabbers. :)

BTW, major thumbs-up for the cruise. Absolutely amazing scenery, plus we saw a bunch of wildlife, especially humpback whales and bald eagles.
 
My uncle, who has been an LEO longer than I've been alive, had to check his carry peice at the door when he went on a cruise. He wasn't happy about it at all and wanted to go home but my aunt made him get on the ship. This was all before the terrorist attacks and I don't think the ship was going too much farther than Puerto Rico.
 
Keep in mind that on a Carribean cruise, weapons and in some places ammunition is illegal, i.e. Bahamas, Jamaica.
 
Hmmm..not to mention the obvious concealed carry difficulties if one were so inclined to take a Hedonism type cruise. :D

Good Shooting
Red
 
GUNS ALREADY ON BOARD MOST SHIPS

Most of the cruise ships already carry some pump shotguns for trap shooting off the fantail. Granted adding the movement and roill of the ship to the already fast moving clays makes for an interesting challenge.

So if anything pops up that requires a firearm, borrow one of theirs. (just kidding) The facts are that every port you go to is a potential risk of getting in international level trouble for carrying. On the other hand a cruise is really great and takes about a day for most folks to unclench from the everyday life.

If you do the back yard alternative suggested above make sure you pick up a bunch of those paper umbrellas to put in your shirt pocket when you finish a drinkl. That's the only way I can keep track of how many Mai Tai's or Margarita's or Blue Bahamas I've had. When I run out of umbrellas I use ice cubes instead.

Have fun either way.

Don P.
 
cruise ships are private so they probably won't allow them. thing is, you can carry in disneyworld, and disney has cruise ships so they might allow it on theirs....

what about an ASP or pepper spray? would those be legal?
 
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