dumb question i dont remember them covering this though

[02transam]

the wife wants to goto Jamaica for the honeymoon but id rather go somewhere a little more friendly(if you know what i mean). anywho the question is can i carry on a cruise ship? i dont remember them covering this in my class. what about knives?

[rm9792]

We went to the Bahamas last year on Carnival. They actually tell you no firearms and it is in the literature. There were no metal detectors I can recall on the ship but there were some at the port before boarding. You will also have to deal with customs and i wouldnt suggest lying to them. You really wont need it on board, there is no where to go and there are a lot of cameras.

[boomerang]

can a state own water ways?

Yes, but if the cruise is going to Jamaica, it has to leave Texas waters.

The flag of the ship also has legal implications. Plus they probably can boot you just for violating cruise line house rules.

[seamusTX]

You cannot carry a weapon on a cruise ship. Ports have security equivalent to an airport. They make you walk through a metal detector, and they X ray your bags.

- Jim

[seamusTX]

There's no state law that says you can't try to sneak past security. In general, it is criminal trespass (for example, bringing booze into a movie theater), but PC 30.05 and 30.06 have the effect of requiring specific notice in order to make carrying a handgun by a CHL an offense.

If they catch you on the ship, they will probably lock you up and turn you over to authorities at the next port.

I would be surprised if it was not a federal offense to try to defeat port security.

BTW, the state has jurisdiction some miles out into the ocean. How far depends upon whether you're talking about ships, oil platforms, etc. Crimes committed on boats in the ocean are prosecuted in state court all the time.

- Jim

[anygunanywhere]

I really can't say if the ship stays in Texas waters.

That said, Never, never, ever, never, ever, never think about taking a firearm with you on a cruise ship.

Think foreign prisons, tender American. They will eat you alive.

Jamaica is a dump. They are waiting for you to screw up. The crooks are everywhere.

I took a knife with me ashore in Jamaica last April. You will have to empty pockets, be searched, and go through metal detectors to get back on-board the ship. Jamaican Customs will keep whatever of your they like and you have nothing to say about it.

Try the Grand Caymans.

Anygunanywhere

[seamusTX]

If you want to go to the Carribean, how about Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands? You can't carry there, though.

[Later} According to this document, it is a federal felony to smuggle a weapon onto a cruise ship: http://feinstein.senate.gov/06releases/ ... al0309.htm

- Jim

[KBCraig]

With the exception of some one-day dinner cruises (which are glorified river boats, not "cruise liners"), there are no cruises that stay in Texas or U.S. waters. The first stop will always be a foreign port. You can't take a cruise from Galveston to New Orleans or Orlando, or even out-and-back from Galveston.

Here's why: U.S. law prohibits foreign-flagged passenger vessels from going directly from one U.S. port to another. Once they set sail, they have to make a call at a foreign port before putting in at a U.S. port. U.S.-flagged vessels could do it, but then they'd be subject to American wage and labor laws -- which would leave them uncompetitive.

[LarryH]

[Later} According to this document, it is a federal felony to smuggle a weapon onto a cruise ship: http://feinstein.senate.gov/06releases/ ... al0309.htm

- Jim

The press release mentions "passenger vessel, such as a cruise ship". Does this law also prohibit carrying a weapon on your own boat? Or does "passenger vessel" mean a boat/ship that carries passengers for hire?

[seamusTX]

Cruise ships are defined legally. I don't know the definition, but I know one when I see one.

You can have a firearm on your own boat, but there are all sorts of legal aspects that I'm not aware of.

You can also bring weapons on the Galveston-Bolivar ferry if you are otherwise carrying legally. They have random security screening, and in the past they had a couple of people arrested for unlawful carry.

- Jim

[57Coastie]

KBCraig's very pertinent discussion of foreign-flag vessels raises some points worthy of a little more thought if you are even thinking about taking a weapon, concealed or not, aboard a cruise ship. Free advice: if you are thinking about it be sure you arrange for your lawyer to go with you on the cruise -- not just any lawyer, but a lawyer experienced in local, state, federal, foreign and international law, because when you step aboard you will be entering a legal thicket. Depending upon where the ship is located at any particular time you may be subject to all five of those bodies of law at once, and two or more of those legal systems may be inconsistent as to some particular matter, and you are then in another body of law, which is how these conflicts are sorted out by whoever it might be that is called upon to sort them out. That makes six. And then we have what might be considered a seventh, a treaty which may be in force between the U. S. and the nation whose flag is flown by the cruise ship, although technically this treaty might better be considered a part of both federal and international law.

For whatever reason, and there are many, it is a fact that you can expect a cruise ship to fly a foreign flag, and, as pointed out, federal law (the Jones Act) prevents it from carrying you and your bride from one U. S. port to another U. S. port. Federal law reserves that trade to U. S.-flagged ships. The law of the nation whose flag is flown follows its flag, and it is always in force on that ship, no matter where it is, so, for example, if you are aboard a Norwegian-flagged ship you are subject to Norwegian law. Not only may local, state and federal law apply depending upon on the location of the ship, but sometimes federal law follows you wherever you are, be you in international waters or even, sometimes, a foreign country. No matter where you are, whether on a cruise ship or not, you may be either restrained by, or protected by, international law, but you will probably find as many opinions on this as there are lawyers.

And then when your cruise ship calls at a foreign port, you become subject to yet another system of law, if not several.

I would reckon that all this suggests that you drop the question of whether you can carry a weapon aboard a cruise ship, leave your lawyer ashore, and then think about other things on your honeymoon.

Jim