rocketry
Contributor
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.
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.