Boarding with scuba gear

[plevi23]

My son will be diving on this cruise and bringing his own scuba gear. He has a mares rolling suitcase for his gear. Does he have to leave that bag with a porter or are you allowed to roll it onboard yourself?

[cruzegirl]

I know people who have rolled theirs on and myself, I have had them check it to bring to the cabin later.... It's always been there and been fine.... :D

[bruce-r]

He can haul it all the way to the cabin by himself if he chooses.

 

Have him leave his dive knife at home if he has one. He will not need it and in fact they are not allowed in Cozumel or Grand Cayman. If he does take it, it is very likely that the ship's security will take it away from him when he re-boards the ship after his first dive. He will be able to get it back at the end of the cruise.

[aceparty]

We have never takin gear on the ship, so is it safe? We have never had a problem with luggage, Other then a bottle of rum that they took from us, But two sets of dive gear can be worth a lot of $$$$. We was told to take our octo in our carry on.

 

No dive knife??? In the north east that is a required item for a padi diver to have at least one knife on you.

 

We never takin a real dive in the carribean other then discover scuba in Aruba and St. Thomas.

 

We will dive this time on the RNS Rhone in tortola and somewhere in St. Thomas.

[bruce-r]

We have never taken gear on the ship, so is it safe?

Yes. The main reason people pack any gear in carry on bags is for flying. If a checked piece of luggage is delayed or lost, you'll still have your dive gear and camera.

 

 

No dive knife??? In the north east that is a required item for a padi diver to have at least one knife on you.

Really. You just don't need a knife for diving in the warm, clear Caribbean, unlike diving in the cold, limited visibility conditions in either the NW or the NE. If you really feel like you need something to cut with, shears are a much better choice anyway.

 

 

We will dive this time on the RNS Rhone in tortola and somewhere in St. Thomas.

I recommend going with http://www.admiraltydive.com in St. Thomas. You can see my St Thomas UW photos Here if you are interested.

[kmtoner]

I've been diving for 26 years and have never once used a knife for anything underwater. (They sure are handy for cutting cheese and salami, though.) Plastic tank bangers work better for getting attention than banging knife to tank. Blunt safety scissors (at any dive shop) work better for cutting through u/w fishing line. Leave the knife at home.

 

I remember a St. Thomas dive I took on cruise back in the late 80s. On the choppy boat ride back from the dive site I watched 3 young divers comparing who had the biggest, sharpest blade as we bounced along. Crazy.

[river_sand_bar2]

Along with the leaving the dive knife at home, don't bring gloves as well. Their idea is that if you don't have gloves, then you wont be picking things up and touching the coral.

 

Leave the gloves at home...

[bruce-r]

Along with the leaving the dive knife at home, don't bring gloves as well. Their idea is that if you don't have gloves, then you wont be picking things up and touching the coral.

 

Leave the gloves at home...

Totally agree with this one.

[S&M in Pgh]

The dive gear bag will need to fit through a standard x-ray machine. The cruiselines run all carryon bags through one so if he can carry it on the plane, fine, but if it is too big for the airline, they will simply take it from him at the x-ray machine and give ti to a porter anyway. Personally, I would repack the regulator and mask into a carryon. Just safer for them as a carryon item.

 

As already stated, you don't need a knife. If he has fears of entaglement, shears are the best bet. If he thinks he needs one for self defense against sharks, then he will be really disappointed. In 20 dives I have seen 3 sharks, 1 sleeping nurse shark and 2 reef sharks no bigger than 5 feet who swam away the second they noticed us.

 

Depending on where he will be diving, he may not even be able to wear gloves. In some marine reserve areas, they are not allowed. It is their way of keeping us from touching the coral.

 

Mike

[SantaAna,CA]

Being the opposite of a light packer, I usually have a few bags, especially if I'm on a two-week cruise. Since I travel solo, I was worried about juggling all my suitcases, and my dive bag, through airports, especially since these days they resemble a gulag. On my last cruise, I took advantage of a luggage service and shipped my dive bag ahead of me to Barbados. It arrived in time. The only problem I had was, I put a TSA lock on the bag (supposedly, these are easily opened by security in any airport), and they had to call my hotel, saying they would have to cut the lock to inspect it. Oh well, not a big deal. When I got to the ship, they took all my bags (except for my carryon), and all of them arrived in my cabin in short order.

 

The company I used was called Luggage Free. It cost an arm and a leg (I used it both ways), but not having to worry about another large suitcase was a relief. I never have any worries about security on Seabourn.

 

P.S. I have never needed a dive knife in the Caribbean...I always dive with a divemaster and several others and stick to them like glue.

 

Jane

[cmdchiefthom]

I have a large Armor rolling dive suitcase, that carries two full sets of gear, and video lights, frames etc. It's been all over the world with me by air, and I've never had any problems with the airlines, or cruiselines handling it for me. I carry two separate mesh duffles as well. I check the bag on the plane, as well as with the porters at the pier. Once my luggage arrives in my stateroom, I break the gear out, wrap each reg, mask, etc, inside a BC, strap it all together with a weight belt, and drop it in the duffles. Add towel, bottled water, a snack or two, teeshirt, logbook, wallet and anything else I need in the waterproof pockets, sling it on my shoulders, grab the video system, and off I go. Simple. I will say that in the days before digital equipment, my camera equipment put me over the airline weight limit a couple of times, and I did have to pay for the excess weight, but the most I ever paid was around fifty or sixty bucks, and that was usually at smaller regional airports, not the biggies like MIA, FLL, or LAX. I also find it interesting that for instance in places like Tahiti, all your luggage is weighed together, not individually. So with a limit of 200 pounds of checked baggage per couple, they put all of it on the scale together, and if you under 200, your good to go. Here in the states, I find the check-in agents are more likely to weigh each piece invidually, and charge you for any weight over 50lbs per piece. I guess its a way to make an extra corporate buck.:rolleyes:

 

As for a knife, the military insists on having your "diving tool" with you when performing diving operations. Just one of those things. I've always used a flat tip dive tool, with a serrated edge, and actually nowadays, I use something similar, a small 5' survival tool, the Coast Guard issues on their issue lifevests. Seems not to be a problem flying in check luggage, but it has been an issue on cruise ships. So I just leave it home now when cruising.

[billeelou]

the really only use I've ever had for one is to reset the depth indicator on my depth gauge....:) ....Carry on your own gear, period. I can go a week without clothes or toothpaste, but to miss my dives!!! no way!

 

My bag with two sets of Gear knighthawk, fins, masks, regs, booties, and Wetsuit( shorties) is 49.5 lbs....