cruise ship diving and medical issues

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Alternatively.. never take cruises....:wink:

Or... don't book through the ship. I've dived many times while on a cruise, always arranged my diving directly with the shop. Never had to deal with a cruise ship asking me to fill out the RSTC forrm. And the added benefit is that by having direct contact with the shop long before the trip, all the necessary details can be sorted out well in advance... no surprises.
 
Ok, I’ll be 70 in August and I’m a newbie diver. I consider myself in good physical condition, and I have no health issues, don’t take any medications, and don’t consume alcohol. I’m not overweight and exercise every day and swim 1/2 to 1 km regularly 4X/week. I’m not delusional though, I’m still an older guy, but I’ve never had anyone tell me they consider me too old to do anything. Do I need to bring medical documentation affirming my medical condition in order to dive when travelling to dive destinations outside of Canada?
 
Or just answer no to all medical questions :D
Agreed unless you have a note!
 
Ok, I’ll be 70 in August and I’m a newbie diver. I consider myself in good physical condition, and I have no health issues, don’t take any medications, and don’t consume alcohol. I’m not overweight and exercise every day and swim 1/2 to 1 km regularly 4X/week. I’m not delusional though, I’m still an older guy, but I’ve never had anyone tell me they consider me too old to do anything. Do I need to bring medical documentation affirming my medical condition in order to dive when travelling to dive destinations outside of Canada?
70 is the new 40! I’ve never seen a Dive shop discriminate based on age!
 
Ok, I’ll be 70 in August and I’m a newbie diver. I consider myself in good physical condition, and I have no health issues, don’t take any medications, and don’t consume alcohol. I’m not overweight and exercise every day and swim 1/2 to 1 km regularly 4X/week. I’m not delusional though, I’m still an older guy, but I’ve never had anyone tell me they consider me too old to do anything. Do I need to bring medical documentation affirming my medical condition in order to dive when travelling to dive destinations outside of Canada?

Bring it; better to have it and not need it.

My mom turns 70 next week. She always brings a doctor signed copy of her diving medical form with her on dive trips. She's rarely been asked for it, but it's not worth getting into an argument over: if a shop insists they want a doctor-signed form because of her age, she just hands it to them... problem solved.
 
There was a related thread about a dive shop requiring an official stamp or seal on paperwork from a doctor. Answering "no" makes it possible to avoid all these problems.

While I am the picture of perfect health, I think I would still answer "no" unless I were suffering a condition that I felt that the DM/captain should know about because it may be actionable in some way -- something that could affect the way they respond in an emergency. Examples might include diabetes and asthma.
 
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"if I become incapacitated while diving, you have my permission to just leave me in the ocean."
You joke, but I once had a DM object when I started looking for his weights and releases. "Just leave me down there!", he said. He was in his 50s, approximately. At the time I said OK, but thinking back on it, I couldn't leave an incapacitated diver at depth, even if they explicitly asked me to.
 
You joke, but I once had a DM object when I started looking for his weights and releases. "Just leave me down there!", he said. He was in his 50s, approximately. At the time I said OK, but thinking back on it, I couldn't leave an incapacitated diver at depth, even if they explicitly asked me to.

Yup, better to bring them up, get them a psych eval, and then they can go back in the water if they want to... when you're not there!
 
actually Dominica this last February denied a Guy (through the cruise ship)he was 70 he was able to dive St Thomas and Bonaire though

I've heard stories like this. Part of the reason I always book directly with the shop, so we know well in advance if they have any issues with taking any type of divers.
 

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