Is it good idea to rent diving equipment in Cuba?

Is it good idea to rent diving equipment in Cuba? How mach it could
cost?

Petr wrote:
> Is it good idea to rent diving equipment in Cuba? How mach it could
> cost?

I was in Cuba last month. We stayed at Breezes Jibacoa for a week.
Breezes used to include all your diving at no extra charge but now they
charge $30 per dive for equipment, air, a guide and the boat. Cheap
cheap cheap. The gear was all in very good repair. Bring your own
wetsuit if you are an odd shape but otherwise you can rent everything
you need.
Of course if you own your own gear bring it with you. Most airlines
give an extra baggage allowance for sporting gear whether that is golf
clubs, skis or SCUBA equipment. Check with your travel agent.

Cam

<cam.barr@beer.com> wrote in message
news:1110396588.343354.175730@f14g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
>
(snip)> Of course if you own your own gear bring it with you. Most airlines
> give an extra baggage allowance for sporting gear whether that is golf
> clubs, skis or SCUBA equipment. Check with your travel agent.

I realize that most airlines have an extra baggage allowance for scuba gear.
However, I pack all my gear in my regular checked luggage (regs, mask and
computer in carryon) and I've never been charged or challenged in that
regard.

<cam.barr@beer.com> wrote in message
news:1110396588.343354.175730@f14g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
>
> Petr wrote:
>> Is it good idea to rent diving equipment in Cuba? How mach it could
>> cost?
>
> I was in Cuba last month. We stayed at Breezes Jibacoa for a week.
> Breezes used to include all your diving at no extra charge but now they
> charge $30 per dive for equipment, air, a guide and the boat. Cheap
> cheap cheap. The gear was all in very good repair. Bring your own
> wetsuit if you are an odd shape but otherwise you can rent everything
> you need.
> Of course if you own your own gear bring it with you. Most airlines
> give an extra baggage allowance for sporting gear whether that is golf
> clubs, skis or SCUBA equipment. Check with your travel agent.

Do most airlines "give" this extra baggage allowance for free? That's news
to me.

Greg Mossman wrote:
<snip>>
> Do most airlines "give" this extra baggage allowance for free? That's news
> to me.
>
>

I think it depends on the airline. Most I've traveled will include the
equipment as one of your two allowed checked bags. If you want your
gear to be your 3rd checked bag then you'd have to pay extra.

Bryan

"Bryan Heit" <bjheit@nospamucalgary.ca> wrote in message
news:d0o1l4$c3u$1@news.ucalgary.ca...

> <cam.barr@beer.com> wrote in message
> news:1110396588.343354.175730@f14g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...

>> Of course if you own your own gear bring it with you. Most airlines
>> give an extra baggage allowance for sporting gear whether that is golf
>> clubs, skis or SCUBA equipment. Check with your travel agent.

> I think it depends on the airline. Most I've traveled will include the
> equipment as one of your two allowed checked bags. If you want your gear
> to be your 3rd checked bag then you'd have to pay extra.

Right. So how are they giving you an extra baggage allowance? That's what
confused me. cam.barr made it sound like I was missing out on something by
not getting my extra baggage allowance. Maybe something was lost in
translation.

Thus spake "Greg Mossman" <mossman@qnet.com> :

><cam.barr@beer.com> wrote in message
>news:1110396588.343354.175730@f14g2000cwb.googleg roups.com...
>>
>> Petr wrote:
>>> Is it good idea to rent diving equipment in Cuba? How mach it could
>>> cost?
>>
>> I was in Cuba last month. We stayed at Breezes Jibacoa for a week.
>> Breezes used to include all your diving at no extra charge but now they
>> charge $30 per dive for equipment, air, a guide and the boat. Cheap
>> cheap cheap. The gear was all in very good repair. Bring your own
>> wetsuit if you are an odd shape but otherwise you can rent everything
>> you need.
>> Of course if you own your own gear bring it with you. Most airlines
>> give an extra baggage allowance for sporting gear whether that is golf
>> clubs, skis or SCUBA equipment. Check with your travel agent.
>
>Do most airlines "give" this extra baggage allowance for free? That's news
>to me.
>

When we flew to Cozumel in November, we were told not only no such
"allowance", but no overage was permitted. If the bag topped 70, it
didn't fly, no fees, no fudging.

--
dillon

"When the French are against it, you know we can't
be far wrong." - Adm. Bobbie Ray Inman

Greg Mossman wrote:
> Right. So how are they giving you an extra baggage allowance?
That's what
> confused me. cam.barr made it sound like I was missing out on
something by
> not getting my extra baggage allowance. Maybe something was lost in
> translation.

Nothing was lost in translation. We flew with SkyService. Regular
checked baggage limits are 2 pieces, 44lbs total. You are allowed an
extra piece of luggage if it is sporting equipment.
http://www.skyserviceairlines.com/en...portsequipment

Cam

Thanks for the info.
We will go to Santiago area. I'm just wandering if the dive shop rent
condition is the same all over Cuba. I tried to call resort, but this
is not as easy as I thought.
Petr

<cam.barr@beer.com> wrote in message
news:1110463130.617778.62080@z14g2000cwz.googlegro ups.com...
>
> Greg Mossman wrote:
>> Right. So how are they giving you an extra baggage allowance?
> That's what
>> confused me. cam.barr made it sound like I was missing out on
> something by
>> not getting my extra baggage allowance. Maybe something was lost in
>> translation.
>
> Nothing was lost in translation. We flew with SkyService. Regular
> checked baggage limits are 2 pieces, 44lbs total. You are allowed an
> extra piece of luggage if it is sporting equipment.
> http://www.skyserviceairlines.com/en...portsequipment

That's very interesting, but it's from a small charter airline, not a "real"
airline, and one that has a ridiculous European-like baggage limit of 44 lbs
total. Real airlines have baggage limits of 50 or 70 lbs per bag, two bags
per passenger.

Besides, you said:

>> Of course if you own your own gear bring it with you. Most airlines
>> give an extra baggage allowance for sporting gear whether that is golf
>> clubs, skis or SCUBA equipment. Check with your travel agent.

Perhaps it was the "most airlines" part that was lost in translation. As in
"Most airlines give an extra baggage allowance". That could really screw
someone up if they actually believed it, almost as bad as telling people
that they can fly with their hair still wet.

Air Canada allows two 70 lb bags. Scuba gear will be accepted in lieu of
one of the two bags.

http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelin...cked.html#r1s0

Continental allows two 50 lb or 70 lb bags, depending on the final
destination. A dive bag will be included as one of the two bags.

Etc.

P.S. Travel agents lie when they don't know the answer. Airline
restrictions change often, can be complex, and vary widely among the
hundreds of airlines in the business. When in doubt, do not call your
travel agent because "my travel agent said so" is not considered a valid
excuse and you will be subject to potentially expensive surcharges or even
the risk of them denying some of your luggage altogether.

One example of this: Coming back from a group charter in the Galapagos, we
were confronted by a luggage "embargo" in Ecuador. Continental absolutely
refused to take my overweight bag unless I removed 6 kg. I have no idea how
my formerly 70 lb bag got 6 kg too heavy, but it was not because I was
smuggling large amounts of cocaine. Bringing a full set of open circuit
gear, including thick wetsuit, along with a Draeger rebreather and
absorbent, and a camera housing and twin strobes, plus a few articles of
clothing, does not make one a light traveler. Yet I had no problem getting
down there by paying only an extra piece charge. On the way back,
Continental said no. I opened my wallet and prepared to shed lots of cash
for overweight and extra piece charges, but they again said no. I would
have to remove 6 kg of luggage and leave it in Ecuador.

I began to weigh my options, as the hostile line of cocaine-smuggling
Ecuadorians grew behind me. There was no fitting it in my carry-on because
that was already over-stuffed. I could ditch the T-shirts I bought, or
perhaps my pony bottle, my worn booties, the unused aborbent I was bringing
back, what? The travel agent who arranged the group travel had never warned
us about embargos. Who would have thought to ask about an embargo?
Fortunately we resolved the situation. The airline had delayed the luggage
of several in our group by three days, which had really screwed up our
charter itinerary, so when confronted with this faux pas by the group
leader, the airline finally relented and accepted my bags and didn't even
surcharge me. When I returned, I reviewed the Continental website and found
some cryptic language about embargoes from certain South American countries
that might have prompted me to ask further. When in doubt or even when not
in doubt, check the website and/or call the airline itself. Screw travel
agents.