sgian dhu

[rettie]

My husband is taking his highland dress outfit on our Alaskan Cruise, will he be allowed his Sgian Dhu? (Small knife which is slid inside socks).

We are cruising on Celebrity Century 2nd June.

Thanks

[Elaine0138]

No, not if it has a metal blade, my son has one but it has no blade the handle is fused, it looks just the same. I think you can also get ones with a bit of plastic instead of the blade now

[ali-ali-oh]

My husband is taking his highland dress outfit on our Alaskan Cruise, will he be allowed his Sgian Dhu? (Small knife which is slid inside socks).

We are cruising on Celebrity Century 2nd June.

Thanks

 

My DH had his confiscated by shore side security when on our last sailing from Southampton. I had packed it in his sporran in the luggage as I had many times before without incident. It was picked up when the luggage was scanned I guess. An announcement was made over the PA in the boarding area and I had to go to the naughty room to open the case and remove it. We got it back from X security as we disembarked at the end of the cruise, but I'm glad we weren't getting a flight connection as this could have delayed us and it was too sentimental to leave without claiming back.

 

We have done many cruises with X and he has taken and worn it every time before, but I guess, as the song says, "times they are a changing". For our next cruise we have got a fake one from eBay that looks the same when worn but as the previous poster has written the handle and sheath are fused and it does not contain a blade.

 

I wouldn't risk it again. I am sad that this part of his ceremonial dress is no longer allowed and I know there are other religions that require something similar and I don't know how security treats that now, but I guess the safety of the passengers (or how it is perceived) has to be priority. Your DH may have no intention of ever using it but that's not to say someone else seeing it wouldn't, although I'd like to think X doesn't attract that kind of pax in their demographic, but you never know. That said, I think you could do a lot more damage with one of the steak knives in the Tuscan grill than you ever could with my DH's tiny blade.

 

Hope that helps.

[Been There, Planning That]

My husband brings a rubber fake one we'd purchased for our three year old grandson when he served as ring bearer at his aunt's wedding. Looks real though.

 

Ruth

[ghstudio]

My husband is taking his highland dress outfit on our Alaskan Cruise, will he be allowed his Sgian Dhu? (Small knife which is slid inside socks).

We are cruising on Celebrity Century 2nd June.

Thanks

 

I think others have answered your question.....but my response to your question when I read it was: "I hope not", not because I am worried about your husband, but because it would make me question the value of security scans, etc.

[texmex.ferr]

We purchased a fake Sgian Dhu for my husband to us on our cruise in March, in case we had trouble at customs etc with scanners. I'm not sure where he packed it on the way out, but we got through all security measures on our outward journey.

 

When we left the ship to come home, we'd packed some things, which would normally only go in hold luggage, in our hand luggage the night before disembarkation because we were going to a day room in a hotel before we caught our flights back to the UK, so we could re-pack properly at the hotel. One of the items in the hand luggage was DH sporran and inside the sporran he'd put the sgian dhu. We got to security at Miami, and yip sure enough we were stopped with the hand luggage, the case was opened and they eventually found the sgian dhu, we told them it was a fake, they tried to pull it apart from all angles, we even said they could keep it, we didn't want it back, but still they persisted on trying to get into this thing. Eventually they gave up, gave us it back and let us repack it into our hand luggage and off we went.

 

When we arrived in Heathrow, we had to go through security again with hand luggage, and they never even questioned it.

 

Texmex

 

ps. we also had a CPAP machine (medical equipment) with us too and that was opened and searched at Miami airport too, but again only on the way home.

[olemissreb]

Oh man! I wish you guys were sailing on the Millie on June 28th! I love seeing a man in their "Highland Best"!

 

Hope you can find a suitable substitute for his Sgian Dhu.

[rettie]

Tnanks all. I have e-mailed Celebrity.

Surprised it got through hand luggage scanner at Heathrow, I once forgot I'd put our bottle opener in a flask, they found it & it was confiscated.

We always put that & hubbies Sgian Dhu in the hold. I never even take liquid on flights now, can live without make-up for a few hours! Get astounded by the amount people have in their wee poly bags.

I remember the days when I could take my knitting on a flight LOL!

4wks to go YIPEE!!

[ghstudio]

I remember the days when I could take my knitting on a flight LOL!

4wks to go YIPEE!!

 

As luck would have it...and strange as it may seem....knitting needles are NOT banned on flights....you can take them along....in fact, as far as I can see, you could even take metal ones that you've sharpened. This was one of the items banned at first, but they apparently had so many complaints, they removed knitting needles from the banned list. Does that make you feel safer on planes???

[rettie]

Thanks for that, didn't realise was no longer a ban as I think they can do just as much damage as a knife. Still think I'll skip the knitting!!

[bbappel]

On our third ever cruise - Baltics, 2004 in Helsinki, I found the most wonderful fork & steak knife set, so I bought several, put them in my backpack and went merrily back to board the ship. Put my bag into the scanner, and am ready to keep moving when, according to my husband, the guy doing the scanning gets all big-eyed and rewinds the scanner. They held the knives until we packed our bags the last night and then they brought them to me, let me put them in my suitcase, and they took the bag away again immediately. What was I thinking? Well, it was just a nice practical souvenir.

 

Beth

[mzk90]

I think they have updated their terms to say no knives of any type!

[ghstudio]

I think they have updated their terms to say no knives of any type!

 

If you are referring to my comment on Knitting needles, the following is taken directly from the TSA web site:

 

Knitting needles are permitted in your carry-on baggage or checked baggage.

 

Items needed are permitted in your carry-on baggage or checked baggage with the exception of circular thread cutters or any cutter with a blade contained inside which cannot go through the checkpoint and must go in your checked baggage.

[UpcountryTravelers]

Are you saying you can't take a sgain dhu in your checked luggage? I have always taken mine, and my most formal one is a hand-made one-of-a-kind. I know they don't allow knives on one's person through the scanner, so I always put my sgain dhu and my pocket knife in my luggage. Never had a problem on any of the below listed cruises.

 

Bummer

[Eglesbrech]

My husband never takes a real skean dhu when we travel anymore. He has one which on top is silver with a proper stone but just plastic beneath the line of his hoes. Much safer all round and no issue at customs.

 

There is a wide variety of fakes on offer now, you can even get the them with a bottle opener on the bottom or a small " hip flask" type of container for whisky- very useful on a cole Hogmany!:)

[texmex.ferr]

My husband never takes a real skean dhu when we travel anymore. He has one which on top is silver with a proper stone but just plastic beneath the line of his hoes. Much safer all round and no issue at customs.

 

There is a wide variety of fakes on offer now, you can even get the them with a bottle opener on the bottom or a small " hip flask" type of container for whisky- very useful on a cole Hogmany!:)

 

The kind you describe is what we took with us this year, and still security at Miami tried to prise it apart, and it is made of plastic, ok, hard plastic, but plastic just the same....

 

ps. we are in Forth Valley too.

[DebbieMacG]

You can't take a proper one on no, it's a knife.

 

Even the fake ones sometimes cause your bags to be held as they look like a knife on the scanner even though they are fake :(

 

My husbands not wearing Highland dress on our next cruise he says he attracts too much attention :eek: he's a big guy and 6ft 4ins and looks amazing, whatever I'm wearing doesn't matter because it could be a sack compared to him lol

 

And the answer to the question you all want to ask a Scotsman is " no he doesn't". :eek:

[Eglesbrech]

The kind you describe is what we took with us this year, and still security at Miami tried to prise it apart, and it is made of plastic, ok, hard plastic, but plastic just the same....

 

ps. we are in Forth Valley too.

 

Interesting re Miami, we have never had a issue but we have also never been through that particular airport. Thanks for the advice.

 

Look forward to meeting you on the ship. You will know what Eglesbrech means then! You may even live there or are you a son / daughter of the Rock?

[rettie]

Thought I'd let everyone know we have had a reply from Celebrity and just as I thought the answer is "fake" only. I asked the question as other half was the one disputing it.

Looking forward to this our 1st cruise & visiting our 49th US State. Also meeting up with Canadian cousins on the cruise I haven't seen for 29 yrs.

Rettie

[texmex.ferr]

Interesting re Miami, we have never had a issue but we have also never been through that particular airport. Thanks for the advice.

 

Look forward to meeting you on the ship. You will know what Eglesbrech means then! You may even live there or are you a son / daughter of the Rock?

 

We've not booked any future sailings, we did sail on Eclipse round the Caribbean 23 March to 6 April and that's where we had the Miami experience. Enjoy your forthcoming cruise and maybe we'll meet you on a future one.

 

Texmex

 

ps we are from Wasp country, if you know you're football.

[texmex.ferr]

Thought I'd let everyone know we have had a reply from Celebrity and just as I thought the answer is "fake" only. I asked the question as other half was the one disputing it.

Looking forward to this our 1st cruise & visiting our 49th US State. Also meeting up with Canadian cousins on the cruise I haven't seen for 29 yrs.

Rettie

 

 

Enjoy your upcoming cruise and your family reunion.

 

Texmex

[Eglesbrech]

Wasps- know exactly where you are. Over the new bridge!

[texmex.ferr]

Wasps- know exactly where you are. Over the new bridge!

 

Correct!!!:)