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Btrax - 9/17/2014 5:34 PM 
i always bring my own reg. Don’t mind using rental bc or tank, but i always bring my own reg and dive computer, fins, and mask. maybe a 3 mil depending on water temps.
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I used the gear provided by a dive operator contracted by a cruise line in Aruba a number of years ago. it was my lifetime dive #5. My first dive after my open water certification. The dive was on the wreck of the Antola which rests at 60’. As I descended at 42’ as the wreck was coming into view I tugged on the inflator to actuate the shoulder dump valve. Instead the inflator came apart in my hand and left me with no buoyancy control, requiring me to swim to the surface. At the surface I was lucky enough to come up near another dive boat and was assisted aboard. All was well but might not have been. I was provided with another BC for the second dive of the day and got back on the horse right away. That was the last trip that I used any reg or BC that was not my own other than during skills exercises.
One further note:
The Divermaster was my divebuddy on those dives and just kept diving while I was forced to surface.
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"anyone have advice or stories about using the scuba gear provided by the cruise ship?"
I don’t know of any cruise lines that provide gear, if you book a dive thru them it will actually be with a local shop and having seen some of the gear used in third world countries I would lug my own. It’s bad enough that the tank on your back may never have been hydro’d and the O-ring is suspect!
One more caution, when returning to the ship you may need to go thru that countries version of TSA, last year returning from a dive we had a run in with the Greeks TSA, a dive knife is a weapon!
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If you are diving at Nassau, the operator most of the cruise lines use is "Stuart Cove’s." They have good equipment they rent to the tourists. First time I went, I took nothing and rented everything. No issues. I did one trip where I took everything except weights and tank. Pretty much sucked dragging that stuff from the pier on the little shuttle bus, back to the port and through customs. I also did one where I only took mask, fins, booties, safety sausage and a shorty. It really depends on what you feel like lugging around and how much extra room you have in your luggage. The mask, fins, booties, shorty was the nicest for me. I had a mask that I knew fit and I like my fins, but I didn’t have to lug that stainless steel black plate and reg set with me everywhere. The shorty was useless on one trip because we were doing the shark dive and they insist you wear full wetsuits for that, so I ended up renting that.
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IMHO
I would at the very least take your own regs.
I even drag my own fins on vacation, which is a little over-kill.
But they fit in my large checked baggage everything else fit in a 21"
roll on. Maybe dive with the well respected Stuart Cove rental gear would be an option.
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Agojo - 9/18/2014 7:20 AM
At 100+’ doing swim throughs in Cozumel it was comforting to have all my own gear except the tank and integrated weights. I’ve had rental gear that was so worn and malfunctioning it should have been trashed.
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At a minimum, I would take my own reg set, mask and computer. Maybe my own wetsuit if i knew the water was going to be cold. If my plan was to dive in more advanced locations ( for example; Cozumel ) I
would bring all of my own gear. Often, the rental gear is used six days a week, sometimes twice a day. Sometimes, problems with this gear go undetected until its too late. I am more relaxed and have more fun when using my own gear.
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MDW - 11/12/2014 7:19 AM
I have tried several options when travelling, from taking nothing but my prescription mask and regs to taking literally everything except tanks. On a cruise, I have found that taking most of the stuff I need with me is easier than on a trip that includes plane travel. Once you get it to the ship, it’s easy to keep in your cabin. I have gone to the method of using a light weigh sidemount setup for travel, which weighs very little and takes up minimal space (less than a carry-on, and maybe 15 lb total). Here’s what I use (and recommend):
- 15’ of webbing, made into a Razor style harness
- small (12 lb) wing
- 6 D rings
- 2 regs, each with 1 2nd stage and a button gauge
- optionally, one inflator hose on one of the regs (I don’t bother, as it’s easy to oral inflate a 12lb wing)
- 2 cam bands and 2 stage straps to make the rental tanks sidemountable
- mask, fins, shorty or 3mm, computer, compass
- Nautilus Lifeline (don’t trust the boat to not leave me at sea)
Then I just take the rental tank and maybe a couple lb of weight from the operator and I’m all set.
On a 2-tank trip, take both tanks on both dives. Breathe half of each on the first dive and the other half of each on the second dive. This will help mitigate any risks from poorly maintained rental tank valves as well as disappearing dive buddies, as you will always have 2 fully redundant and independent breathing sources attached to your body no matter where the other guy swims off to.
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