Drone Videos of Cruise Ships

If you want to see what a modern cruise ship REALLY looks like, you have to check out this drone video by contributor Upper Cut Productions.  He captured the footage on a DJI Inspire 2 drone working on a British reality TV show about cruises.  The ship captured here is the 2012-vintage Royal Princess, operated by Princess Cruises.  It has capacity for 3,600 passengers.  One of the Royal class of cruise ships, the Royal Princess is 330 meters (almost 1.1k ft.) long and displaces over 140k tons.  

The complex shape of Chile's Patagonian coastline created large numbers of spectacular fjords, which have caught the attention of cruise ship operators and travelers around the world.  Some of these travelers are also drone pilots.  Contributor Exclusive Aerials was onboard the cruise ship Crystal Serenity with a DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone when he created this magnificent video of the ship cruising this remarkably beautiful area on its southern Pacific coast.

The Caribbean cruise ship market is the world's largest, and most of these ships are based in Miami, Florida.   The city's port is now dominated by the large fleet of cruise ships operating in the Caribbean waters as well as points further north.  Visually, the picture of these behemoth vessels set against the glitter of Miami is impressive.  In this video, contributor Silkview took his DJI Phantom 4 drone out to "chase" the Norwegian Epic heading out from the Port of Miami into the Atlantic Ocean.   

The Caribbean Sea and the area to its north represents the largest cruise market in the world.  Every day, dozens of these massive ships ply these waters with hundreds of thousands of passengers on board, departing en masse at various ports of call around the region.  In this aerial video, contributor Bud's Eye flew his DJI Mavic Pro drone over a Carnival Cruise Line ship at berth in Grand Turk Island.  Grand Turk is one of the more popular berthing spots for these floating cities.

The Oasis of the Seas, operated by Royal Caribbean, is an examples of the new generation of gigantic Oasis-class cruise ships.    This mammoth ship is 360 meters (almost 1,200 ft), weighs 225k tons, and can carry 6,300 passengers. It is, quite literally, a floating city. Contributor Droneview filmed the mighty ship sailing from Florida with a GoPro Hero 4 camera mounted on a 3DR Solo drone.  The drone captured the ship heading out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a Caribbean cruise.  

Disney entered the cruise industry in the 1990's to complement its theme park investments.  The company currently operates four cruise ships, which provide a family friendly onboard environment filled with Disney branded entertainment.  Contributor Stratus Imagery was able to capture one of these ships, the 84k ton Disney Magic, as it entered the harbor of Liverpool in western England.  The ship is 300 meters (just under 1k ft.) long and can carry about 2.7k passengers in addition to 950 crew members.  

The immensity of the lower Amazon River in Brazil is such that even very large cruise ships can access it and cruise some ways up from its mouth on the Atlantic Ocean.  Given the lack of road infrastructure in this vast region, many travelers find that this is in fact the easiest and most comfortable way to see the Amazon rainforests.  In this video, contributor Exclusive Aerials was able to fly a drone over the cruise ship Crystal Serenity as it was cruising the mighty river at sunset.  

Due to the lack of roads, a popular way to explore Alaska is by cruise ship.  Dozens of large passenger ships regularly travel between the large cities on the West Coast of the USA and Canada and various points on the Alaskan waters.  In this video, top contributor Exclusive Aerials traveled aboard a cruise ship with a drone.  He was able to capture some amazing footage of fjords, glaciers, icebergs, and the overall beauty of the pristine northern paradise sometimes referred to as the Last Frontier.

The Crystal Serenity, a 250 meter (820 ft) cruise ship operated by Crystal Cruises, made seafaring history in 2014 by being the first cruise ship to run the fabled Northwest Passage Arctic Ocean crossing.  Contributor Exclusive Aerials was onboard the 69k ton ship when it made its historical passage, and created this stunning video (which was carried on national TV) from the trip.  The opening of the Northwest Passage is one of the less harmful consequences of the global warming phenomenon.  

When it was opened in 1912, the Panama Canal represented one of the great feats of engineering up to that time.  Its original size limited its ability to handle the most modern ships.  It is currently in the process of being widened to accommodate bigger vessels.  The 80 km (50 mi) waterway hacked out of the Panama Jungle connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.  In this video, a drone gives us an aerial view of two cruise ships using the locks in the canal to cross it.  

This drone video by FergTas manages to accomplish two things.  It will give you (a) a beautiful bird's eye view of one of the world's largest cruise ships and (b) an equally epic view of the Tasmanian capital city Hobart, which said ship is approaching.   If you look at a map of this Australian island state, you'll also get an appreciation for the navigation skills of the captain of this 167k gross ton displacement ship: the approach to the Hobart may be the world's most complex.

Stavanger in southern Norway is a prime port of call for cruise ships sailing through the Scandinavian fjords, one of the world's major cruise ship markets.  In 2016, this Nordic port handled a cruise ship nearly every other day, amounting to about 300k passengers over the course of the year.  In this spectacular drone video, top contributor and drone pilot Brent De Bleser captures the hustle and bustle of this busy port as these floating behemoths ply its icy waters.  

Top contributor Icarus Aerial created this beautiful drone video of the cruise ship HMS Queen Elizabeth, a Vista-class cruise ship operated by Cunard.  With a length of just under 300 meters (around 950 ft.), these Panamax-sized ships can carry over 2,000 passengers.  The ship's design allows a very high percentage of the cabins to have outside views.  As of early 2019, the Queen Elizabeth is one of three ships operated by the famed line, which retired the Queen Elizabeth 2 in 2008.

The main harbor Antigua is in the town of St. John's, in the northwestern corner of the island.  The town has a population of roughly 22,000 in 2018, and is home to nearly one in three residents of the country.  It's also served as the capital of the country (called Antigua and Barbuda) since it became independent from the UK in 1981.  In this video from Iaian Jordan, you'll get a bird's eye view of the cruise ships MSC Armonia and MS Serenade Of The Seas docked in the harbor at sunset.

Wrangell is a remote town in southeastern Alaska with a population of around 2,300.  It is situated on the northern end of Wrangell Island,  one of the larger islands amongst the 1,000+ that make up the Alexander Archipelago.  The town and island of Wrangell were initially populated by the Tlingit, a native people who settled into the archipelago thousands of years ago. In this 4K video by Drone Alaska, you'll get a bird's eye view of this beautiful part of America's 49th state.

The Faroe Islands have gone from being a largely unknown North Atlantic atoll to an emerging tourist destination, and one way this is manifesting itself is with the cruise market.  With a comparatively under-developed lodging infrastructure, cruise ships offer a great way for passengers coming from Europe to see these volcanic wonders.  In this video, top contributor DroneDirector was able to use a drone to capture the MV Columbus steaming its way through the Faroes.  

Check out this stunning drone video of a major cruise ship heading out of port in Key West, Florida.  Contributor Courtice was able to use his DJI Phantom 4 drone to fly over the Vision-class ship operated by Royal Caribbean during the legendary Key West sunset.  In service since 1997, the 280 meter (just over 900 ft.) ship can carry over 2,400 passengers.  Modified in 2005 to increase its gross tonnage to 83k tons, the ship has a cruising speed of 22 knots.  

Contibutor Mike Miguel created this remarkable drone video of one of the world's largest cruise ships docked in Norway.  It's the MSC Preziosa, a Fantasia-class vessel launched in 2013.  The ship is about 330 meters (1.1k ft.) long and holds up to nearly 4,000 passengers and a crew of close to 1,400.  It was not able to pass through the Panama Canal when it was launched, but it can now post-widening.  Based in Switzerland, MSC is the world's largest privately owned cruise ship operator.

This drone video by Jpcorzo will show you how Miami's cruise ship traffic relates to South Beach. It follows a cruise liner as it heads out to sea from the cruise ship berths on Dodge Island in Biscayne Bay.  Since the early 1900's, ships have been able to head directly to sea through the Government Cut channel, which essentially chopped off the southern tip of Miami Beach, creating Fischer Island in the process.  Passing through the Cut, South Beach is on the ship's left.  

Contributor Rescuebcn used a drone to aerially film a cruise ship in the port of Gerona in northeastern Spain.  It's the Marella Explorer, a Century-class ship operated by Marella Cruises.  Launched in 1996, it's a fairly large ship by Mediterranean Sea standards - 260 meters (about 850 ft.), displacing about 77k tons and with capacity for just over 1,900 passengers and about 900 crew.  The port is Palamós, which sits on the Costa Brava in the province of Girona in Catalonia.  

Contributor reggiesurfsax created this marvelous aerial view of a sight in Long Beach, California, a 30 minute drive south of downtown LA at the rare times when traffic is light.  It's the RMS Queen Mary, once one of the world's greatest cruise ships.  Launched in 1934, she was the flag ship of the famed Cunard line, and was considered the most glamorous way to cross the Atlantic Ocean before the jet age.  The 310 meter (just over 1k ft.) ship has been moored in Long Beach Harbor since the 1960's.