My irritating talk with Cunard

[rocketry]

I am planning to sail on the Queen Mary 2, a 8-night Caribbean cruise leaving from Fort Lauderdale on April 2, and returning to NY on April 11, stopping in Bonaire, Grenada and St. Kitts.

Let me preface this story with another story. I will keep it brief, but I had a scary entanglement situation here in the Northeast that concerned my buddy, who got caught up in some line he could not get out of. Without my dive knife, we would have had a very serious situation.

Since then, I value my dive knife and vowed never to dive without one.

ME: hello, I am planning to book your dive excursions in both Grenada and Bonaire, for cruise M704 in April. However, I need to bring a dive knife on board. I need to have some assurance that it will not delay my embarkation and that It will not be confiscated.

CUNARD REP: sure, no problem. I have never heard of any problem with confiscation. As long as it is marked DIVE KNIFE, no problem.

ME: fine. then I need your supervisor to sign a letter that explicitly allows me to bring this knife aboard for diving, and I would like you to fax me that letter.

CUNARD REP: hold please

CUNARD REP: I just checked with my helpdesk. They informed me of this: dive knife not recommended, not essential, not allowed on board.

ME: I hung up

I am planning to take this further. Yes, I realize that this tropical diving does NOT require a dive knife, and I am crazy for even raising such an issue. But, the very fact of her words got me very irritated. Who is the cruise line to tell ME what is ESSENTIAL to preserve my life? Diving is not like a hike in the woods, or a beach excursion, where not much is at stake. The cruise line offers a diving excursion, and, I think, should realize that there are much more at stake.

-------what should I do? Should I escalate this issue on the basis of principle? What do you think.

again, because a dive knife is REALLY not necessary, I probably will overcome my phobia and not bring it aboard. Her 'helpdesk''s comment, however, has irritated me so much, that I may just take it further.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Dude, no need for hyperventilation!

There are a variety of other options to a knife.

They all fall into the category of "line cutters"...

A "Z-knife" is one, but it uses the "K-word", like dis hyah:
http://www.diveriteexpress.com/tools/cutting.shtml

Perhaps a better option is one of the plastic units with an enclosed blade, like the one here (scroll down to "titanium line cutter" and "(cold water) cable cutter" - which is what I was referring to...):
http://www.omsdive.com/cuttool.html

It would be tough to terrify the Steward if he's slow bringing your wine with one of these, and it shouldn't get many second glances by the civvies either. OTOH, it goes through spiderwire, monofilament, and nets like, well, a hot knife through buddah!


Cutting Implement Safety and No BS with the Uninformed! Woo Hoo!

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Consider the person working at the help desk who is probably clueless about diving as is their supervisor. Both get asked all kinds of questions from divers who dive 1-2 times a year, and probably think you fit that category.
Take a pair of sissors. Problem solved.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I'd go with a Z-knife. I have one on my harness along with my knife. I'd simply take off my knife, but leave the cool "line-cutter" on the harness. If asked about it I would simply call it that ... a "line-cutter" in case I get tangled while scuba diving. I'd say nothing about a knife.

 

[rocketry]

I'm not hyperventilating

yes, I was thinking about line cutters. I know, I'm crazy.

 

[nucem]

Get a pair of paramedic sissors for about $3, they will cut almost anything. You also have the option on keeping it in your BC pocket and not tell anyone.

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

Another board member a year or so ago mentioned that they don't check you when you leave the vessel, and the restaurants usually have lots of steak knives. If you happen to accidentally borrow one for a dive excursion, the security folks will return it to the kitchen for you when you return.

But you didn't hear this from me...

 

[PalatkaBoy]

I don't know about checking the luggage but if you carry it on, assume they will find the cutters or knife, if stowed. I carried a z-knife strapped to my BC and nary a word was said about it.

 

[DennisW]

They will not allow a knife to be brought on board a cruise ship. Line cutters and shears are another story.

 

[Tom Winters]

The kind of sanitized diving you'll get on a cruise ship, you wouldn't need any kind of cutting doodad anyway.