sharm, ocean club and info wanted please!!

Hi, a newbie to this site with my first question. I am a single person
travelling to sharm from gatwick in december and have a couple of
questions if anyone could help?

I have booked for a 5 day package with ocean college diving and have
seen a couple of reports here about them which seem to be good. Whats
the boat like does anyone know and also the food? Also when paying
what do they prefer to be paid in? stirling, dollares, egyptian?

as my flight is early am from gatwick they said I can book in the night
before which will be great for me. I called them to ask about hand
luggage as usually I like to carry my regs with me but since all the
recent scares someone told me they are weighing hand luggage as well
and i usually cram a bag with loads of stuff but may not get away with
it this year! If I check in main baggage the night before I asked them
about my carry on bag and they said I dont have to have that with me
when I check in my main case but the person I spoke to wasnt too sure
and had to keep asking someone else.(I am flying with Thompson fly)
and windered if anyone has checked baggage in the night before recently
and could tell me a bit more?

I have a 25K allowance with the extra allowed for diving and hopefully
I can take everything I want but are they really strict with this limit
does anyone know?

sorry for all the questions but I like to know possibles b4 I leave!

ice-maiden <twylight_zone@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

> I have a 25K allowance with the extra allowed for diving and hopefully
> I can take everything I want but are they really strict with this limit
> does anyone know?

Thompson will sell you extra baggage allowance on the day but
it is cheaper if you buy it before hand.
Personally I don't put important things like regs in hand
luggage for somebody else, stowing their duty frees to drop
on my head. They get wrapped in my 7mm suit.

I'm always over weight on kit so it annoys me when I'm paying
the excess but the guy in the queue ahead of me is obviously
carrying 30Kgs of body fat I don't have.
<sigh>
but I pay.

nigelH



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

>
> I'm always over weight on kit so it annoys me when I'm paying
> the excess but the guy in the queue ahead of me is obviously
> carrying 30Kgs of body fat I don't have.
> <sigh>
> but I pay.
>
I know its not fair!!! I dont weigh that much so I think eople should
be weighed WITH their luggage!!! I am hoping that if I limit my clothes
my kit will come in at 25K

On 4 Dec 2006 00:59:28 -0800, "ice-maiden" <twylight_zone@yahoo.co.uk>
wrote:

>Hi, a newbie to this site with my first question. I am a single person
>travelling to sharm from gatwick in december and have a couple of
>questions if anyone could help?
>
>I have booked for a 5 day package with ocean college diving and have
>seen a couple of reports here about them which seem to be good. Whats
>the boat like does anyone know and also the food? Also when paying
>what do they prefer to be paid in? stirling, dollares, egyptian?

OK food at the Hotel, decent buffet style meals on their boats. You
will definitely need Egyptian Pounds (LE) for the boat each day, the
meals at the hotel can be paid for on a card at the end of the stay if
you prefer. Bars and restaurants in town expect LE. I recommend the
Sinai Star in Old Sharm and the Camel Club Bar in Naama Bay.

I've always found the boats to be well run, clean and tidy. They do
seem to have a little side line in selling people Nitrox courses,
often to people who're going to get no benefit at all from the devil
gas - plump Americans capable of sucking a 15l tank dry in 20
minutes, so unless you're routinely finding your dives limited by deco
stops, resist.

If you've got the depth qualification then do try and get to dive
Thistlegorm and Dunraven. Both are longer than normal trips and
there's a supplement you'll pay for that, but the dives are excellent.

>as my flight is early am from gatwick they said I can book in the night
>before which will be great for me. I called them to ask about hand
>luggage as usually I like to carry my regs with me but since all the
>recent scares someone told me they are weighing hand luggage as well
>and i usually cram a bag with loads of stuff but may not get away with
>it this year! If I check in main baggage the night before I asked them
>about my carry on bag and they said I dont have to have that with me
>when I check in my main case but the person I spoke to wasnt too sure
>and had to keep asking someone else.(I am flying with Thompson fly)
>and windered if anyone has checked baggage in the night before recently
>and could tell me a bit more?
>
>I have a 25K allowance with the extra allowed for diving and hopefully
>I can take everything I want but are they really strict with this limit
>does anyone know?
>
>sorry for all the questions but I like to know possibles b4 I leave!
-------------------------------------
York BSAC Web Page:
http://www.york-diving.co.uk

Also when paying what do they prefer to be paid in? stirling, dollares,
egyptian?

> Did a liveaboard from Marsa Alam in October and everything was >priced in
> Euro's

"ice-maiden" <twylight_zone@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1165236392.826172.154360@73g2000cwn.googlegro ups.com...
>
>>
>> I'm always over weight on kit so it annoys me when I'm paying
>> the excess but the guy in the queue ahead of me is obviously
>> carrying 30Kgs of body fat I don't have.
>> <sigh>
>> but I pay.
>>
> I know its not fair!!! I dont weigh that much so I think eople should
> be weighed WITH their luggage!!! I am hoping that if I limit my clothes
> my kit will come in at 25K
>


and women kept off planes top make more room for blokes ...

Rick Hughes wrote:

> There is another reason for taking kit on as handluggae - in an unheated
> hold should your regs have any water in them this will freeze, and possibly
> result in damage - that is the reason I carry mine on.

Modern aircraft have holds that are the same pressure and temperature
as the cabin. I've *always* taken mine as checked in luggage and have
*never* had a problem. Freezing will not damage them anyhow!

- Keith

"Keith S." <I'm_pink_therefore_I'm_spam@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:n6Fdh.392$Dr3.19@newsfe2-gui.ntli.net...
> Rick Hughes wrote:
>
>> There is another reason for taking kit on as handluggae - in an unheated
>> hold should your regs have any water in them this will freeze, and
>> possibly result in damage - that is the reason I carry mine on.
>
> Modern aircraft have holds that are the same pressure and temperature
> as the cabin. I've *always* taken mine as checked in luggage and have
> *never* had a problem. Freezing will not damage them anyhow!


This is incorrect - modern holds can be heated .. but they are not unless
specifically requseted, it costs a lot of money to heat the hold, and
charter airlines do not heat holds unless by request - and then with a hefty
charge.

I travel almost every week of the year for my business ... and can assure
you that on many occasions when I open my case the contents are very cold
indeed - certainly not from a heated hold.

I have also exported dogs ... and there is a long process you have to go
through to ensure that the hold heater is requested for the trip, and there
are many instances of animals in transit being frozen to death by the
journey when the crew have failed to turn the heater on.

But it's your personal choice - carry them or check them in ... I'll carry
mine.

The other advantage of carrying them on is that it does not contribute to
the luggage allowance of checked baggage.

"ice-maiden" <twylight_zone@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1165222768.281616.5320@j72g2000cwa.googlegrou ps.com...
> Hi, a newbie to this site with my first question. I am a single person
> travelling to sharm from gatwick in december and have a couple of
> questions if anyone could help?
>
> I have booked for a 5 day package with ocean college diving and have
> seen a couple of reports here about them which seem to be good. Whats
> the boat like does anyone know and also the food? Also when paying
> what do they prefer to be paid in? stirling, dollares, egyptian?
>
> as my flight is early am from gatwick they said I can book in the night
> before which will be great for me. I called them to ask about hand
> luggage as usually I like to carry my regs with me but since all the
> recent scares someone told me they are weighing hand luggage as well
> and i usually cram a bag with loads of stuff but may not get away with
> it this year! If I check in main baggage the night before I asked them
> about my carry on bag and they said I dont have to have that with me
> when I check in my main case but the person I spoke to wasnt too sure
> and had to keep asking someone else.(I am flying with Thompson fly)
> and windered if anyone has checked baggage in the night before recently
> and could tell me a bit more?
>
> I have a 25K allowance with the extra allowed for diving and hopefully
> I can take everything I want but are they really strict with this limit
> does anyone know?
>
> sorry for all the questions but I like to know possibles b4 I leave!

Had half a dozen trip there. Ocean BAY better than CLUB and worth the few
extra pounds difference. CLUB is miles out (I know, they do a free transfer
but . . . .) while the BAY is a couple of hundred yards from the resort
centre.

The diving is great, the boats are very comfortable as day boats. You need
only carry your equip TWICE - to and from the dive centre when you check in
and out. Crews helpful, pay for food and drink on the boat 40LE per day. LEs
preferred all over town, DO NOT exchange in the UK. Here you get around 2 -
3 LEs fewer per GBP than you do there, and there are planty of banks in the
circular shopping centre for you to exchange at.

The food aboard is generally of a very good standard esp. considering how
little you pay for it. It can get a bit repetitive, with little variety from
day to day - but hey, 5 or 6 days. Many dive guides pack sandwiches, I
suppose six months' of it is a wee bit much!

Personally have always managed to get all my kit, clothing and toiletries
within 25kg. My regs have always gone in the hold. My wetsuit wraps around
the BCD within which is everything remotely fragile. I have a plastic
biscuit box with slots cut in the sides. The 1st stage sits outside the box.
Hoses wrap around the box, and the 2nd stages go inside the box through
these slots. Plenty of room left inside the box for batteries and chargers
for my camera. Aruond this bundle go my towel, sandals, T shirts, socks etc.
The hold is pressurised, I've never had anything go missing or break, though
this is no guarantee that you won't or indeed that I won't next time!

Happy diving, hope to be there soon myself.

Ken

In article <ydidnZFy-_Z4herYnZ2dnUVZ8qadnZ2d@bt.com>, Rick Hughes
<rick_hughes@btconnect.com> writes
>
>> Thompson will sell you extra baggage allowance on the day but
>> it is cheaper if you buy it before hand.
>> Personally I don't put important things like regs in hand
>> luggage for somebody else, stowing their duty frees to drop
>> on my head. They get wrapped in my 7mm suit.
>
>
>There is another reason for taking kit on as handluggae - in an unheated
>hold should your regs have any water in them this will freeze, and possibly
>result in damage - that is the reason I carry mine on.
>
>
All wide bodied and modern aircraft have to have the cabin and hold
vented together to prevent floor collapse should the hold de-pressurise.
This is done via floor level vents in the cabin walls.
For convenience/econony/weight the air return is often taken from the
hold and returned to the centre top of the cabin.

The hold pressure walls are insulated to prevent condensation, therefor
the hold is usually within a few degrees of the cabin temperature.

This may not be the case with Micky Mouse Airlines flying old crates.
--
Mick Whittingham
'and I will make it a felony to drink small beer.'
William Shakespeare, Henry VI part 2.