Can I take "Spare Air" on the cruise ship?

[divinmule]

So I think I have already found my answer to this question but I thought I would see what info you guys might have for me.

 

We are cruising the Legend in Jan. We plan to dive all four ports.

 

My husband and I always carry our Spare Air when we dive. I notice Carnival prevents dive cylinders or compressed air from being carried aboard. I assume this means even my small "spare air" cannister?

 

Just wondering if it could be checked such as a dive knife and then signed out for the day of the dive?

 

anyone have any experience with this?

 

thanks

Lari

[mkbruce]

I don't know about the SpareAir, but as for knives, I usually leave the knife at home and bring scissors instead. These are actually more effective than knives for cutting fishing line and aren't an issue with security.

[Dive Master]

So I think I have already found my answer to this question but I thought I would see what info you guys might have for me.

 

We are cruising the Legend in Jan. We plan to dive all four ports.

 

My husband and I always carry our Spare Air when we dive. I notice Carnival prevents dive cylinders or compressed air from being carried aboard. I assume this means even my small "spare air" cannister?

 

Just wondering if it could be checked such as a dive knife and then signed out for the day of the dive?

 

anyone have any experience with this?

 

thanks

Lari

 

 

 

I contacted my Carnival PVP with the same question.She contacted someone else at Carnival and they told me "NO WAY". Supposedly some idiot took a very old pony bottle (not hydro'd or VIP in years) and the thing blew.

 

The only reason I even keep the Spare Air is for cruising.Many dive professionals don't like them---false since of security they say.I know mine (3 cu. ft.) will get me up from 60 feet but I would not trust it for anything deeper.I always take a 19 or 30 ft pony with me when possible.I do feel that something is always better than nothing.My next cruise is on HAL (owned by Carnival Corp) but I can find anything saying I can't take the Spare Air---may try and sneek it on as the car will be parked at the terminal if they won't allow it.

 

I wish I was on the Legend with you guys---great itinerary.My wife won't dive and wants an afternoon in Key West so we will be on the Ryndam out of Tampa in February.Where is Eastover,SC? I live off SC HWY 11 (Cherokee Foothills Scenic Hwy). I am usually diving Lake Jocassee every weekend May through October--nothing quite like diving the Mount Carmel Baptist Church Cemetery !!!!!

[divinmule]

I spoke with Carnival today and think I have a plan. The technical support department told me to take it to the port and carry it in. Then tell security that I need to see the Chief Security officer of the ship or the guest services manager of the ship. Then I am to give them the tanks to keep and then we sign them out when we are going diving and return them when we return to the ship.

 

I am not yet convinced that this is going to work. I can still see them telling me no at the port and they don't care who told me what. But since we are driving down we may still go ahead and give it a try. I have names of the folks that gave me the ok. And like you said if I get an absolute NO! I can just go leave it in the truck.

 

The other part I wonder about is if I do have them hold it between dives...what does that mean for my cleaning after dives. Sort of hard to soak it for thirty minutes if I don't have it in my posession.

 

I may just not be worth the effort. But I love to have it with me. Doesn't have to necessarily get me to the surface just needs to give me abit of a back up to either start heading upward or calmly get to my buddy...or gives me an alternative to give to that panicked diver that has a problem and thinks my octo looks pretty darn good to them.;)

 

Like I told the nice lady I spoke with...I could ride a motorcycle with no helmet or drive my car with no seatbelt...but it may not be the best plan. So Carnival should encourage safe diving practices...she agreed but of course others on the boat may not.

 

We are right between Columbia and Sumter SC. We love lake Jocassee...can you say Brrrrrr!!!

[Capt_BJ]

TECHNICAL REPLY

 

So Carnival should encourage safe diving practices...she agreed but of course others on the boat may not

 

hmmmmm

 

The real issue is comes down to fire at sea. I'm sure you can imagine the additional issues with a fire on a ship at sea versus at your home.

 

ANY form of a compressed gas is a MAJOR increase to a basic fire risk. Add THAT to the already INCREASED risk of being on a ship in the first place .....

 

No ... we do not like gas bottles around the ship ... only in the one place we know about

[divinmule]

TECHNICAL REPLY

 

So Carnival should encourage safe diving practices...she agreed but of course others on the boat may not

 

hmmmmm

 

The real issue is comes down to fire at sea. I'm sure you can imagine the additional issues with a fire on a ship at sea versus at your home.

 

ANY form of a compressed gas is a MAJOR increase to a basic fire risk. Add THAT to the already INCREASED risk of being on a ship in the first place .....

 

No ... we do not like gas bottles around the ship ... only in the one place we know about

 

I agree I sure don't want to be on a boat on fire. Not my idea of a nice vacation. Although I think banning smoking onboard might be a great consideration as well for minimization of fire risk.

 

But back to the topic at hand. I know they allow medical grade O2 and have a plan in place for that. So I was just hoping they would be able to do the same for a 2lb cannister of compressed air. Then just allow me to sign it out when in port for the dives.

 

We will see... I may just decide to forgoe taking it.

 

lari

[scubadiver888]

The only reason I even keep the Spare Air is for cruising.Many dive professionals don't like them---false since of security they say.I know mine (3 cu. ft.) will get me up from 60 feet but I would not trust it for anything deeper.I always take a 19 or 30 ft pony with me when possible.I do feel that something is always better than nothing.My next cruise is on HAL (owned by Carnival Corp) but I can find anything saying I can't take the Spare Air---may try and sneek it on as the car will be parked at the terminal if they won't allow it.

 

As dive professional I would agree that it promotes a false sense of security. If you are interested in the number I can give them to you.

 

I spoke with Carnival today and think I have a plan. The technical support department told me to take it to the port and carry it in. Then tell security that I need to see the Chief Security officer of the ship or the guest services manager of the ship. Then I am to give them the tanks to keep and then we sign them out when we are going diving and return them when we return to the ship.

 

I am not yet convinced that this is going to work. I can still see them telling me no at the port and they don't care who told me what. But since we are driving down we may still go ahead and give it a try. I have names of the folks that gave me the ok. And like you said if I get an absolute NO! I can just go leave it in the truck.

 

The other part I wonder about is if I do have them hold it between dives...what does that mean for my cleaning after dives. Sort of hard to soak it for thirty minutes if I don't have it in my posession.

 

I may just not be worth the effort. But I love to have it with me. Doesn't have to necessarily get me to the surface just needs to give me abit of a back up to either start heading upward or calmly get to my buddy...or gives me an alternative to give to that panicked diver that has a problem and thinks my octo looks pretty darn good to them.;)

 

What are you going to do if the local officials won't let you leave the dock area with the SpareAir? You might be forced to bring it back to the ship and miss your shore excursion. What if the dive operator has a problem with you bringing a SpareAir on the boat? If I was going for a week to one place I only need to clear the SpareAir with the people who take me there, the local officials and the dive operator. On a cruise you are dealing with many different local officials and many different dive operators.

 

What if they store the cylinder at the bow but in the port you are diving at you disembark from the stern? I have seen someone miss a shore excursion because this happen with their dive knife. By the time security got back with his knife we had left. Same thing could happen to you.

 

Bottom line, might be more hassle then you think.

 

Like I told the nice lady I spoke with...I could ride a motorcycle with no helmet or drive my car with no seatbelt...but it may not be the best plan. So Carnival should encourage safe diving practices...she agreed but of course others on the boat may not.

 

We are right between Columbia and Sumter SC. We love lake Jocassee...can you say Brrrrrr!!!

 

Realistically, you cannot compare SpareAir with a helmet or a seatbelt. If you have an accident on a motorcycle or car, the helmet or seatbelt just works. There is no training for you to make it do its job correctly.

 

With SpareAir, you need to deploy it, you have to remember to turn it on before you get in the water or turn it on when you deploy it. Do you get the regulator in the unit serviced regularly? Do you practice deploying it? Do you practice out of air situation in a controlled environment?

 

One of the reasons PADI does not train people on the use of SpareAir or pony bottles is because they believe new students have enough information to deal with. Task loading them with a SpareAir or pony bottle is too much. Instead, your training is supposed to make you safer than if you were trained to use a SpareAir. I would recommend you trust your training and stop trying to supplement it with gadgets like SpareAir.

[Laurie S.]

I fully agree.

[YouShouldBeHere]

Why don't you let all but 20 or so psi out of your spare air and just fill it off your main tank before you dive? There's not much danger in an empty cylinder.

[scubadiver888]

Why don't you let all but 20 or so psi out of your spare air and just fill it off your main tank before you dive? There's not much danger in an empty cylinder.

 

The problem isn't the real danger of transporting a SpareAir onboard a cruise ship. The problem is the perceived danger of cruise ship staff, authorities at the various ports, dive operators at the various ports and security concerns.

 

If they don't know anything about SpareAir they aren't going to let it on "just in case" something goes wrong. If they do know anything about gas cylinders, they will ask you to drain it completely and remove the valve. The transportation of pressurized cylinders have regulatory constraints (i.e. paperwork) that many people won't want to deal with. If you remove the valve it stops being a pressurized cylinder and anyone can transport it with no regulatory concerns. At that point it is just a hunk of metal.

 

If you take the valve off the cylinder, security at the ship can look inside and be sure you are not transporting explosives or other restricted substances. It becomes no different than carrying a thermos or steel water bottle. However, if you remove the valve and go to a humid place like the Caribbean, you risk the chance of moisture in the cylinder. This will lead to rust and the demise of the cylinder.