[Elecraft] Cruise Operation

[dyarnes]

I just completed a cruise on Holland America’s Westerdam.   I thought about trying to take a KX2 along (I’ve operated on cruise ships before), but their policy is discouraging.  You can operate in the territorial waters of Canada and the U.S., and I guess maybe even Holland, but not in other territorial waters.  Somehow, I thought there might be a work around on this from the Captain, but decided not to try.  Well, I did bring an HT, but never used it!  

Holland America’s policy is sort of intriguing.  It seems they don’t have a basic problem with operating, so long as you don’t obstruct things, but it also seems they are concerned about operating privileges in various countries.  In other words, does the operator have the necessary reciprocal permissions under CEPT or otherwise.  If that’s the case, I sort of see their point as it could be problematic for the ship.  However, it also seems that one could provide the necessary documentation to show permission.  I suppose that could be just too complicated for them to deal with.

I also interpret their policy to NOT be prohibitive if you are on the open sea!  On many cruises you are not really sure just how far out you are as you can often see land in the distance.  However, there are usually several “at sea” days, and on a trans-oceanic cruise you should be relatively safe.  On the Westerdam, the TV system has a channel that constantly shows the ship’s current position, so a little navigation skill could allow you to determine your distance from any country.  Even my cell phone indicated when we were “at sea”!  Hi.  

In essence, given their stated policy, I guess I could have done some operating.

Oh Well!

Dave W7AQK