Sleeping in the tropics.

[Cali_diver]

@Wingy we have a running joke, because we only ever find left footed shoes so I am very impressed that you were able to make a pair!!!

 

[Wingy]

 

[drrich2]

A couple of boat owners have also mentioned how contentious the air con in a shared cabin can be.

It's pretty contentious here to, at times in the workplace. Men tend to prefer cooler temp.s than women, and large/obese people cooler than small lean people. A repeat battle I've fought with female co-workers revolves around interesting conflicting reasoning:

1.) I can only dress down so sparsely. People can always dress warmer.
2.) Since American indoor white-collar workplaces tend to be climate controlled, it makes sense to dress for the indoor climate, not the outdoor climate. Coming to work in short sleeves and a dress that doesn't cover all your legs, leaving you open to heat loss, and complaining you're cold, then justifying it because it's summer outside (where you might be exposed briefing going to/from your car for lunch and leaving work) makes no sense.

I think on live-aboards people tend to adopt a broader tolerance level; we all know we're having a short-term exposure to an unusually diverse range of strangers, some foreigners with different customs, so an extra effort to accommodate by all parties goes a long way. It also helps that some of us spend very little time in the room, don't wear much (e.g.: shorts or swim trunks and t-shirt) and get heat sucked off by the water while diving.

@drrich2 sorry but I just have to say .... your explanation of the American mindset is baffling to the rest of the world and sort of makes me wonder what would happen if people declined a LOB cabin share based on that mindset which is completely incompatible with mine.

You need someone whose tolerance range has some overlap with yours. I like 69 or 70 degrees F, but I'm told cold air can aggravate the nasal passages and cause more congestion, so I'm willing to accept a little warmer...but you get over 75 degrees and that's likely a problem in a still room with no fan.

In years to come, you may see a very gradual increase in the American mindset on this. I recently read an article that air conditioning has gotten more popular in part of Europe (I think Great Britain specifically) due to higher than usual temp.s. If climate change or what-have-you drives up summer highs, more people will get used to custom comfort indoors.

No one place is the best fit for everybody. One of the best things vendors and trip reports can do is educate people about what niche they serve. That comes up whenever people post asking about Blackbeard's cruises in the Bahamas, described as 'camping at sea' for a great price. Some people do Blackbeard's, some do the AquaCat or Bahamas Aggressor.

Wingy, you raise a good point by inference, one I don't always see in trip reports. Many American divers do most of their diving in the U.S./Caribbean/Bahamas region, places close to the U.S. that rely on it as a major income source. They're accustomed to and accommodate American preferences. The further one travels from this region, the less likely that'll be the case. Forewarned is forearmed. Whether it's getting to the bottom of whether one needs to pack his own toilet paper in the Philippines (and if so, where), air conditioning (or lack), religious customs not to be offended, will English-only speakers have problems, portion-sizes (haven't heard problems with dive trips, but European restaurants are infamous for smaller portions by American standards)...tell people before they plan a trip.

Sometimes I wish trip reports and destination guides had a little guide at the end, written by a cynic, from the perspective of a chubby American middle class English-only couple getting far from home for the 1st time, laying out the main problems such a person is likely to run across.

 

[Damselfish]

@drrich2 sorry but I just have to say .... your explanation of the American mindset is baffling to the rest of the world and sort of makes me wonder what would happen if people declined a LOB cabin share based on that mindset which is completely incompatible with mine. Im not the only person who's slept in jeans and a jumper on a LOB while trying to find some middle ground and both of us can sleep comfortably. Ive bèen lucky enough to have shared with people who have been willing to do that on all but one LOB trip. Im not sure I'd put up with someone having a "It better have!" attitude and displaying no intention of acknowledging that another person may have a mindset/cultural conditioning that is as important as yours. They paid the same $, flew just as annoying a route to get there to have a very special experience and have the same hopes of having dream diving and fun in an amazing part of the world too. I understand you are profiling an average American mindset and not specifically yourself so this isn't an attack on you personally.

I live where people die in heatwaves too, a week of 42 - 44c temps is enough to piss the entire nation off, and we have wet tropics and a monsoon season right thru to dry heat. We all like air-conditioning when it's ridiculous, but im not going to ever do what my Texan cousin did last week and book into a hotel because the air conditioning had died.

Sorry to steer the thread off into dangerous territory - you can burn me at the stake - but this LOB cabin + air con issue has been on my mind since last komodo LOB I did when I discovered a Swiss lady sleeping in the saloon in jeans jumper gloves and a beanie. A couple of boat owners have also mentioned how contentious the air con in a shared cabin can be.

Why is it baffling? To me, it seems a pretty obvious thing that people are generally more comfortable in the climate conditions (indoor and outdoor) they're used to. I wouldn't expect someone from, say, Indonesia to come to Boston in January and be too comfortable. I understand that different cultures have different approaches to climate control, even in similar climates. And yet from my travels, it appears many people don't really get how miserable many people from other cultures/climates can be when visiting hot & humid places. You can say you don't understand all you want, you can say that you think it's wrong and people should be different - but it doesn't change the fact that they're miserable. It goes both ways.

I don't see attitude in any of these posts, people are saying what works for them, not saying everyone should feel the same way. Why burn them at the stake over it? I've learned not to expect things to always be as cool as I would like. But I'm still going to do my best to choose a place that looks like it will work for us. To paraphrase @drrich2 , information is key, but not always easy to get.

I've been on liveaboards where the public areas were kept way colder than I preferred, because it kept the kitchen cooler or kept things dehumidified and made the boat happy and better smelling, or whatever. I put on warmer clothes. (It is still a fact that it's easier to dress warmer, you can only strip so naked. ) I've slept in those public areas when the cabin A/C wasn't really working. We deal. I'm fortunate that I don't have to worry about sharing a cabin with a stranger - only have to deal with thermostat wars with my spouse. But perhaps this is something that LOBs should actually try to match up people better where they can. Do any do that?

 

[chillyinCanada]

I've had a room temperature problem with an assigned roommate.

Maldives, hot hot hot.

She had her Canadian winter pajamas with her and wore them every night. Fleecy long sleeved top bound at the cuff and matching bottoms.

I, on the other hand, had only my little sleeping teddy type jammies.

 

[outofofficebrb]

I, on the other hand, had only my little sleeping teddy type jammies.

you had me at “teddy type jammies”. I have really lucked out on my roomies. Most of the time, the snoring sounds like someone sawing logs with a chain saw while on a freight train (thanks, mr ooo) or just boring pajamas.

 

[Cali_diver]

I've had a room temperature problem with an assigned roommate.

Maldives, hot hot hot.

She had her Canadian winter pajamas with her and wore them every night. Fleecy long sleeved top bound at the cuff and matching bottoms.

I, on the other hand, had only my little sleeping teddy type jammies.

I have had to dash out of my room in the middle of the night one too many times for any teddy type sleepwear!

 

[DBPacific]

The little sleeping pod rooms within a room sound really interesting! For me, I'm used to sleeping in both hot humid summers (70-80+ F) and below freezing. As long as I have decent airflow to prevent the feeling of a suffocating heat and I can rig up an extra mosquito net layer, I'm a happy camper.

@drrich2 The male-female temperature preference difference is a reason why, though I'm fine with co-ed bunking if it's in a group with other ladies too, I tend to prefer to not share a room with guys. Comfortable temperature for most men is right at the sinus-aggravating sniffling-causing temperature for me no matter how much I bundle up, and my sinuses like to overreact and pull a temper tantrum if they get even mildly unhappy. It's enough to pretty much end any thoughts of doing a dive the next day

 

[Centrals]

Comfortable room temp for me is around 25C. And with low humidity and good ventilation, a fan is all I need for a good night sleep.
If mossie around then a net is a must!

Sharing a room with a stranger can be problematic.

 

[Wingy]

Why is it baffling? To me, it seems a pretty obvious thing that people are generally more comfortable in the climate conditions (indoor and outdoor) they're used to. I wouldn't expect someone from, say, Indonesia to come to Boston in January and be too comfortable. I understand that different cultures have different approaches to climate control, even in similar climates. And yet from my travels, it appears many people don't really get how miserable many people from other cultures/climates can be when visiting hot & humid places. You can say you don't understand all you want, you can say that you think it's wrong and people should be different - but it doesn't change the fact that they're miserable. It goes both ways.

I don't see attitude in any of these posts, people are saying what works for them, not saying everyone should feel the same way. Why burn them at the stake over it? I've learned not to expect things to always be as cool as I would like. But I'm still going to do my best to choose a place that looks like it will work for us. To paraphrase @drrich2 , information is key, but not always easy to get.

I've been on liveaboards where the public areas were kept way colder than I preferred, because it kept the kitchen cooler or kept things dehumidified and made the boat happy and better smelling, or whatever. I put on warmer clothes. (It is still a fact that it's easier to dress warmer, you can only strip so naked. ) I've slept in those public areas when the cabin A/C wasn't really working. We deal. I'm fortunate that I don't have to worry about sharing a cabin with a stranger - only have to deal with thermostat wars with my spouse. But perhaps this is something that LOBs should actually try to match up people better where they can. Do any do that?

The last 4 words of your response say everything...did you read my post entirely? Did you skip the part about sleeping in jumper and jeans and meeting in the middle? Where did I say anything was wrong or people should be different? One thing i will say - your response is the only one in this thread thats been a personal attack - I very respectfully stated this was not a personal attack on @drrich2 . I used the phrase burn me at the stake expecting what you chose to do, go on a personal attack. I did not say anyone was wrong and people should be different. I'm not that sort of person. I don't put words in peoples mouths. Im speaking specifically about air con wars.

By saying people don't understand how miserable people from other climates are you appear to have echoed my "baffled" comment - seems you are baffled by people not understanding why you are miserable, indeed it does work both ways..

We work in 24c aircon buildings and public buildings are all set to 24c. Personally I find that a bit cool as i have about zero body fat to keep me warm, 26c would suit me all year round but I know that's not gonna happen, so, we deal as you say. Because I say a mindset is the polar opposite to mine on climate does not mean anywhere I stated its wrong/you should yield to my way or its the highway, but here we are. AFAIK LOB cabin shares are allocated without the boat owner sitting there going hmm, we can't put this Australian in with that American and we can't Put that Czech in with the South African because they come from different climates so we will match the Australian and the South African and the American and the Czech. Am I supposed to happily freeze all night and not have it impact somewhat on my time on board because as I said, im hoping to have an awesome trip too. Im thankful that there has been common ground found if odd - Linda in a sheet me in Jeans Jumper all the blankets - I'm saying I'd be unhappy sharing with a person from anywhere who said the aircon better be polar! Because that clearly shows that person has no regard for anyone else's comfort and is unwilling to come to a compromise regardless of it being at the cost of another person's experience.
As other responses have said, shared cabins with complete strangers randomly assigned can be problematic. How problematic depends on each parties willingness to 'deal'.