Cruisin' with a SAK

RedRamage · **on:** August 21, 2007, 04:18:59 PM

Hey all,

I just got back from a very nice Caribbean Cruise. A very nice relaxing time. We missed Hurricane Dean by about a day and a half, so we had a few choppy nights, and some overcast days, but other than that, it was a great time.

I just wanted to report on my SAK carrying experiences for your information. I'll divide this into two sections: First, traveling on a plane... or the "Boy is this stupid" section. Then second, the traveling on a boat... or the "Wow, actual common sense?" section.

Traveling on a Plane:
Now, I'm well aware that Knifes are a major no-no on planes since 9/11. I always planned to put my Cybertool in my check luggage. I was a little concerned that it might get "lost" out of my suitcase but I still intended to bring it. However, to ensure that I was aware and in compliance with all the TSA rules, I went to their website and printed off the 11 page list of what stuff was and wasn't allowed on a plane. (BTW, both my Cybertool and my later pickup make it through without a problem.)

Now, here's the stupid part: Knifes are forbidden. No questions, no matter length, no matter nothing... it's a knife? Not allowed. However, the TSA has gotten a little less strict on other things, like nail clippers, files, scissors. Yes, that's right. A scissors is allowed! As long as the blade is less than 4 inches, then it's allowed. Metal? No problem. Sharp point? No problem. 2 inches mini-blade on a Classic? DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!!

Traveling on a Boat:
I check with my Cruise Line before hand and these were the rules: If the blade of the knife is longer than 4 inches, the knife will be confiscated when you attempt to board the ship. The knife will be held in the security office and returned to you when you exit the boat at the end of the cruise. Anything shorter than 4 inches is not a problem. This was on the Royal Caribbean line. I also checked with a Security Officer before I left the ship for the first time on a island. He confirmed the same policy.

My Cybertool made it on board without an issue in my checked luggage. I was able to take my Cybertool on and off island without an issue. I did have to stick the knife if with my bag to go through the X-Ray machine, but they allowed it every time without even a hiccup.

Major Kudos to Royal Caribbean for a sensible policy.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #1 on:** August 21, 2007, 04:40:40 PM

I could take a plane ride for a few hours without a SAK or multi, but I don;t think I could go days on end on a cruise ship without one!

Of course I doubt I'd ever get caught out on a cruise ship...

Good to hear that you had a great trip overall! Where did you go?

Def

I'm Still Bison · **Reply #2 on:** August 21, 2007, 04:44:38 PM

Maybe the gov't should turn over operations of the TSA,to Royal Caribbean....nah, too sensible. Glad to see you made it out of there in time.
Did you have any chances or need to put the Cybertool to work?

RedRamage · **Reply #3 on:** August 21, 2007, 05:20:31 PM

Where I went:

We left from San Jaun, Puerto Rico. One day at sea, and then to Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Martin, St. Thomas, and then back to Puerto Rico. As I mentioned above, we missed Hurricane Dean. The hurricane hit St. Lucia as we were traveling from Antigua to St. Martin, so we got lucky there.

As for the Cybertool:

I took GREAT pleasure in using it multiple times. My wife gave me a hard time when we left saying that I was stupid to bring a SAK cause I'd never need it on the trip. So whenever I did use it, I made sure to mention that it's a good thing we had this handy tool with us! (Which of course earned me a number of punches.) And in reality it was good to have it along... as we all know. I used the scissors to but a number of things... used the blade to cut off the old luggage tags from the airport and ship. I used the pliers to fix a clip on a free charm bracelet we got.

The most creative use though goes to the tweezers. I pulled about the shower head and used the tweezers to remove the low-flow gasket so I could take a decent shower.

BTW, shopping for SAKs wasn't a great experience. A number of places has a VERY small selection of Wenger knifes. It wasn't until I got to St. Martin that I found and Victorinox, and that was a pretty limited selection too. In St. Thomas I finally found a shop that had a number of Victorinox. I ended up adding a Pioneer to my collection from there.