Do you take your own gear on your cruise?

[pitbullgirl]

My husband and I travel on "non dive trips" with our regulator, computer & mask at a minimum. On some cruises, like our upcoming February Princess cruise :), we're also taking our BC, fins and wetsuit.

 

The BC, fins and wetsuit all fit perfectly in our 26" checked bags, with ample room for all our clothes (including evening dresses :D) without weighing more than 50 lbs. As a matter of fact, I just weighed my checked bag at home, as I usually do a "trial run", and it weighs 30 lbs.

 

We ALWAYS bring our regs, computer & mask in our carry-ons.

[Ottawa_cruise_man]

I now swim with a BP&W, and it's night and day as far as buoyancy control and freedom of movement. That said, I will never rent a BCD, so it comes with me regardless of any penalties for weight. The dive is the destination, so why have a less than perfect dive? :)

[jt_83]

Just got back from my first cruise and took everything but tank, weights, and wetsuit.

 

It was a huge pain lugging everything around the ports. I did not have a roller bag, which in hindsight would have made things easier.

 

If/when I cruise again I plan on leaving the BC at home depending on how the ports I dive in are set up. It's just so awkward to carry. If I went on a trip to a regular resort or specifically a dive trip, I would bring all my own stuff.

[Ottawa_cruise_man]

I thought about that, especially when I had to sacrifice my clothing because of the weight of my gear. But when I was under water, and diving in a new location, the last thing I wanted to do was dive with someone else's gear. It's bad enough not knowing if the tank is good (beware of Cuban dive shops: I heard and saw the end result of water. They remove the water filter because they can't get replacement cartridges. I had a regulator rust on the inside because of that...).

 

I did learn this nice bit of info for Canadian travellers that want to take sports gear with them: Air Transat lets you take extra sports gear with you on top of your normal suitcase load: you can take another bag and I think even your tank with you (it has to be depressurized, though), all at no extra charge. Check out their web site for their policy on that. I can tell you that the next time I go on a diving trip, I will be checking to see if Air Transat goes there.

[Riverqueen05]

Your mess bag is great! Can I ask where you got it?

Thanks!!

[Ottawa_cruise_man]

Your mess bag is great! Can I ask where you got it?

Thanks!!

I think it came from Costco. :)

[2wallace]

Myself, DW, and two DS (13 & 16) always take our own equipment (except tanks and weights). With 4 divers, it is a lot, but we manage to get it in 2 rolling dive bags. Just feel much safer knowing how our own equipment operates and be familiar with it.

Although we don’t fly, and thus do not incur the extra charge, I would still recommend bringing your own. Seen too many instances of poorly maintain equipment, and although you may not ever have a problem, do you really want to take any extra chance with your safety?:eek:

[Host Star]

yes,,, I always bring my own equipment.. pack it in a small rolling duffle and squeeze a few extra things in with it..

[Ottawa_cruise_man]

 

Balconies are a real good reason to reserve so you have a place to dry out gear between stops!!!

 

Oh yes: balconies are a MUST! I will be cruising next year, and will be having stops 3 days in a row. I will need every second of air drying power that balcony can offer!

If a balcony is not in the mix for you, divers can buy a hanger that has a fan incorporated in it: it will dry your gear our very quickly. Just hand it up, and plug in the adapter into a 110V outlet.

 

Nice bags - I might get me one! :)

 

what backpacks were you talking about?

[Ottawa_cruise_man]

Myself, DW, and two DS (13 & 16) always take our own equipment (except tanks and weights). With 4 divers, it is a lot, but we manage to get it in 2 rolling dive bags. Just feel much safer knowing how our own equipment operates and be familiar with it.

Although we don’t fly, and thus do not incur the extra charge, I would still recommend bringing your own. Seen too many instances of poorly maintain equipment, and although you may not ever have a problem, do you really want to take any extra chance with your safety?:eek:

Wow! Your whole family dives: you are so lucky! I love it when families do stuff together. :)

[mystkittsdivebuddy]

A good list of pro's and con's from previous replies, and really it comes down to how comfortable you are in your own gear V unknown rental gear.

 

Not all rental gear is "crappy", we use Cressi integrated BCD's, all our regulators were replaced this year and include dive computers, our masks are good soft seal ones and we only use full foot fins designed for diving.

That said, I have seen some pretty bad rental gear around.

 

It is very easy these days to book direct with an operator in your port of call. That way you know who you are diving with, you can email them and ask questions, you can look on Tripadvisor or Scubaboard and ask other divers questions about them.

 

If you are using an "AIR2" or equivalent on your BCD, none of these will fit a standard BCD inflator hose. So ask the operator if they can accommodate you, or if you are willing to take your own hose, ask if they will put this on a set of their regulators.

 

If you do a little research and ask a few questions, you may find that you can leave most of the gear at home, at least you can make an informed decision about what to carry.

Myself, if I am only doing a couple of dives and I know the operators gear is good, I tend to take mask, fins, suit and computer. If I know that I am doing some serious deeper dives (Bianca C in Grenada for instance) then I take my own working, well maintained gear and pay the extra on the airlines.

[grapedinox]

We got back a few weeks ago from a 2 week in the caribbean. We took all of our own gear including weights (I know crazy) but in the long run even after paying luggage both ways on all of it it saved us money taking our own gear. First there is 2 of us and our bags cost us $50 each way for the both of us renting gear on average is $20-25 per person per port for a 2 tank dive we dove at 5 ports out of 11. What got me was the charging for weights luckily we saw on a few web sites prior to going the rent on some ports for weights $1 per lb for me that is $14 for my fiancé that is $20 just for weight. We were very happy to have all of our own gear even though we got asked at each port if we were debarking the ship since we had our big roller bags with us :) We are already booked for another B2B cruise April of 2013 and we will have my 12 year old with us who will be certified next month (class is paid for and he has all of his own gear) we plan to still all take our scuba gear saves us money and gives this lady peace of mind for safety.

[Sailfish]

I lead a dive cruise once a year, and just about everyone in the group takes their own dive gear, including me. But checked baggage fees being what they are, more and more divers going on a cruise are leaving their gear at home. Lately I have been noticing an improvement in the quality of dive gear available at dive shops in the Caribbean. This is good news if you don't have room for your dive gear.

 

I am not sure if business is down due to the economy, however fewer dive shops in ports where you see ships regularly are charging for rental gear, and more and more have "cruise ship" specials that include transportation. They will still impose a fee if you are in need of equipment for the week. But more and more dive operators are including gear for divers on cruises. And the stuff they are using is in good repair - I know because I just returned from an 8 dive port cruise three weeks ago where I had two guys in my group who borrowed BC's.

 

Times have changed, and many dive shops are looking to market their dives to cruise passengers; they want to make their product as attractive as possible so they can generate more revenue, so they now include gear. Most will tell you it's a matter of survival, since business is not as good as it used to be.

 

I used to avoid those dive operators who catered to divers off of cruise ships, but these days more and more offer "cruise ship" specials. If you are an experienced diver, make sure you let them know - it will make a difference in your bottom time.

 

Suzi

[NitrogenJunkie]

If you've ever seen someone puke through their rental regulator, you'd probably think twice about ever using rental gear again. You can soak em in whatever you want, but unless you take it apart you'll never get it all out. If I had to sleep in the hallway because my gear took up too much room, I'd still bring it!

[nancyb715]

My husband and I both dive. We purchased our own equipment before our cruise last year and lugged it in one huge duffel bag. It was awful lugging it around, especially after dives when everything was wet. We have a seperate bag for our regs though.

 

I've seen people with mesh backpaks that have all their gear. Is anyone familiar with these and have any comments about which ones are best? We would probably each need a backpack for our own gear. Putting them all together in one bag was a nightmare! lol We have never needed a wetsuit in the caribbean and we rent weights/tank.

 

We live in Florida so don't have to deal with airline issues. We are going on another cruise in a couple weeks and we're trying to decide what to bring.

 

Thanks for your suggestions.

[Sailfish]

My husband and I have one small rolling duffle and a mesh backpack. He prefer the backpack, but I like my rolling duffle. On dive days, between the two of us, we put both BCD's, wetsuits and fins into the backpack. In my rolling duffle goes all the UW camera gear, both of our regulators, masks, etc. We split up the dive gear in this manner to insure the more fragile stuff is protected. But when we fly, we pack our fins and wetsuits into our luggage and my rolling duffle has the rest of the dive gear. My husband carries on all the camera stuff and computer.

 

Personally, a rolling duffle is the way to go when transporting heavy dive gear in port. Get one that has heavy duty wheels and you will be amazed how easy it is to transport gear on and off the ship. Backpacks are fine if you are strong, since wet gear weighs a lot. But working in tandem in this way makes sense for us.

 

Good luck.

 

Suzi

[Sailfish]

My husband and I both dive. We purchased our own equipment before our cruise last year and lugged it in one huge duffel bag. It was awful lugging it around, especially after dives when everything was wet. We have a seperate bag for our regs though.

 

I've seen people with mesh backpaks that have all their gear. Is anyone familiar with these and have any comments about which ones are best? We would probably each need a backpack for our own gear. Putting them all together in one bag was a nightmare! lol We have never needed a wetsuit in the caribbean and we rent weights/tank.

 

We live in Florida so don't have to deal with airline issues. We are going on another cruise in a couple weeks and we're trying to decide what to bring.

 

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

There are many different types of mesh backpack dive bags. My husband's folds up into a tiny bag that we pack along with the rest of our dive gear. Friends in our dive group have the kind that also can be used like a rolling duffle. We also have a few people in the group who have study mesh backpacks that they carry-on the flight. My husband spent $30 for his; but the more study ones will run you around $100. The ones that doubles as a rolling duffle go for about $200.

 

For us, the "travel" mesh backpack (which folds into itself) is our preference; we pack into our rolling duffle on the way, and use it only on dive days. You have to decide what works for you best. I am a small person, so a backpack is not practical. I like my rolling duffle.

[nancyb715]

Suzi,

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like you have a great system that works for you guys. I agree, I think the rolling duffle bags would work for us and I will look for the heavier rollers. Thanks for the tips.

 

Happy diving!

 

Nancy

[Kryssa]

My husband I both packed up all our gear in our mesh backpacks for this past cruise and let me tell you by day 3- our shoulders were messed up! And we are relatively young (late 20's.)

 

Some of the walks are LONG and we even went up and down the hill outside the Mahogany Bay, Roatan port. I am not the most fit person, but it was worse on my shoulders than it was the cardio from walking up the hill.

 

Next time we will bring rolling mesh backpacks :)

[Ottawa_cruise_man]

Not all rental gear is "crappy", we use Cressi integrated BCD's, all our regulators were replaced this year and include dive computers, our masks are good soft seal ones and we only use full foot fins designed for diving.

That said, I have seen some pretty bad rental gear around.

 

 

If you are using an "AIR2" or equivalent on your BCD, none of these will fit a standard BCD inflator hose. So ask the operator if they can accommodate you, or if you are willing to take your own hose, ask if they will put this on a set of their regulators.

 

If you do a little research and ask a few questions, you may find that you can leave most of the gear at home, at least you can make an informed decision about what to carry.

I think that for the first year or so, rental gear is not an issue - my worries are more with the regulators than with anything else. Such a crucial component of your diving gear - you really shou8ld buy a good one and take it everywhere with you.

Mind you, there is one exception: I went diving in Cuba, and they are notorious for removing the water filter on tehir comressors, so the air you breath is wet. That moisture can cause rusting inside your first stage. won't be going back there again without verifying the condition of the compressors.

 

If you have a BC system you want to bring with you, in all likelihood, you'll bring you reg set too - especially if you have the AIR2 setup.

 

I have yet to see a place that rent BP/W gear - and thus I am cursed with carrying that stuff with me. :(

[Ottawa_cruise_man]

 

We live in Florida so don't have to deal with airline issues. We are going on another cruise in a couple weeks and we're trying to decide what to bring.

 

I'd be taking my tanks with me too then! hehe! I live in Canada, so cruising means flying... Sigh...

[ScubaCruiser54]

I've been booking my own dives from cruises for years. I have reviewed dive operators on various websites and I have actually made email contact and phone calls to operators. They checked out great on boards and said all the right things on the phone. Yet, I have had a couple where we rented gear from operatorsd who said they had great gear that provided questionable and unsatisfactory gear.

 

I now bring my own gear with the exception of weights and tanks. If I am going to dive for the fun of it, then I am going to make sure my gear is good to go and properly inspected.

 

I have had operators tell me that their gear was replaced every 12 - 18 months with new gear, but when you miss your dives and they don't refund your money, it tends to tick you off. If you have your own gear and you don't mind the extra bag, take it. :)

[2wallace]

Wow! Your whole family dives: you are so lucky! I love it when families do stuff together. :)

 

Sorry, have been absent for a few weeks! Yes, the whole family diving is great! Had to convince my wife, took two years and involved me teaching her how to swim (not that bad at all)!

 

Leave tomorrow for an 8 day cruise with four dives scheduled! Can't wait! :)

[2wallace]

Everyone looking for dive gear bags, we use the Cressi Moby XL. It is last year’s model (I think), but can still find it online! Since we have four divers, we have two and can get everyone’s equipment in the two bags. Even has big enough roller wheels for sand, as we discovered in Grand Turk last year!

 

Hope this helps,

Keep Blowing Bubbles,

Ken