The /MM is only for ships in international waters. Once you're in territorial waters or docked (or even anchored offshore), you're "in the country" of whoever's waters those are and you're not /MM per ITU regulations.
apparently NCL doesn't allow it either. just wanted to bring an HT (which is also a GPS) for perhaps some sat qso's (not onboard). but their list of prohibited equipment seems pretty clear.
I think this is more about Carnival wanting to make $ from ship to shore calls. If people have ham rigs or satphones they are loosing money.
I don't seriously think that is their agenda. Its more of a mindset of prohibiting everything unless it is specifically approved. Safety of the passengers and all that.
Bill has it correct I suspect. Having been on quite a few cruises in the recent past, I can't think of single reason why I would even want to bring a ham radio on board. There is so much other stuff to do! Having said that, I seem to remember the last time this subject came up, there was a post about one of the Princess Captains who was a ham and who had a pretty good station on board his ship... Little hazy on the details.
I can't how someone having a sat phone or handheld 2M is a safety hazard. I guess the lawyers needed something to justify their employment.
Corporate Lawyers are paid handsome salaries to protect their employers from litigation and monetary loss. So yes, they write the rules. It's the same no matter what industry or business. With that said, they can be fired as easily as they were hired. Makes sense for them to cover all risk scenarios and eventualities including those posed by shipboard owners and users of electronics devices. Any incident big or small could be a career ender for them. Business Rule #1 ; Thou Shalt Cover Thine Own Behind!
Because the vessel is an extension of its home country, in that case, The Bahamas, a British Commonwealth Country in its own right! The Boat becomes an Extension of the Bahamas when it clears the Mouth of the Mississippi River below New Orleans, Louisiana in international waters. If you were on a British Vessel, then no additional licence is required in your case just as on an US Vessel, no addition licence is required in my case but we are covered by CEPT in Europe and some dependencies as well as some automatic reciprocal agreements.
