Lifeboat drill question

[dukemha]

I may be confused....I thought I had read somewhere that the lifeboat drill is conducted differently aboard the Equinox and Solstice, that they don't require people to go to an assigned deck for the drill prior to departure. Are they held in the theater or somewhere other than on deck? Just curious.

[Phxazzcruisers]

You go to an assigned location, WITHOUT your life vest, and watch a video presentation. That is all there is to it, but you are checked by cabin # when you arrive at the location. It is much easier than before

[ppppp98]

Originally Posted by Phxazzcruisers

You go to an assigned location, WITHOUT your life vest, and watch a video presentation. That is all there is to it, but you are checked by cabin # when you arrive at the location. It is much easier than before

Thats now on all Celebrity ships so?

[carlyshenk]

Is that on all the ships or just the new ones?

[ellbon]

on the solstice we took our life jacket. i was in the theatre due to my forward cabin. so i had a nice seat. after about 15 minutes you are done and time for sail away.

[dukemha]

Thanks everyone. That helps to know what to expect.

[Wine-O]

Originally Posted by ellbon

on the solstice we took our life jacket. i was in the theatre due to my forward cabin. so i had a nice seat. after about 15 minutes you are done and time for sail away.

We took our life jackets also, but I now understand you don't take your life jackets -- just go to wherever your muster station is located, and watch a short film.

[europe10]

This may be a stupid question. During the life boat drill do they TAKE you to the ACTUAL LOCATION of your life boat or do they just TELL YOU where it is and leave it to people to find the exact location during the cruise?

[Phxazzcruisers]

At one time they took you to your actual lifeboat, but they no longer do that. You no longer need to wear your life jacket to the drill nor do you go stand under your lifeboat. If there really was an emergency the chances of the people actually going to an assigned lifeboat rather than the closest one is rather slim......

[europe10]

Thank you for that reply. Does this mean, in an emergency, you just go to ANY life boat or are you theoretically ASSIGNED a specific life boat and you should go there IF POSSIBLE?

[Texed]

Originally Posted by europe10

Thank you for that reply. Does this mean, in an emergency, you just go to ANY life boat or are you theoretically ASSIGNED a specific life boat and you should go there IF POSSIBLE?

In a real emergency, you would go to your assigned meeting place with your life jacket, and they would escort you to your lifeboat.

[cruisingdelt]

Originally Posted by Texed

In a real emergency, you would go to your assigned meeting place with your life jacket, and they would escort you to your lifeboat.

Absolutely correct. Just off the Connie, great cruise on a great ship, and we reported to the muster station without life jackets, as requested. They gave us a quick demo on the life jackets and escorted us to our life boat boarding location.

[Texed]

Originally Posted by cruisingdelt

Just off the Connie, great cruise on a great ship.

Good to hear. We will be on Constellation for Christmas/New Year's.

[tom_uk]

I thought that the muster drill on our Solstice cruise (28 September) was very poor, for the following reasons (IMHO):

a) no-one has had any practice at putting on their life jackets;
b) the count of cabin occupants was very casual, wasn't finished before the video presentation started, and there was no re-check of missing people;
c) the area where we were stood (in or near the Photo Gallery, deck 7) became very crowded as more & more people arrived at that muster station (B2); we were definitely stood shoulder to shoulder, heel to toe. In fact there would not have been room for everybody if we'd all been wearing life jackets, which may be the reason why they're not worn;
d) as a result of the crowding only those stood at the front had a good view of the video screens on which the safety presentation was shown - many people didn't have a view of it at all;
e) the sound was very quiet;
f) and at the end, the CD launched into a presentation about Celebrity's commitment to save the oceans. Laudable, I'm sure, but not what the lifeboat/muster drill is for.

All-in-all this was the worst muster drill I've attended. Even MSC did it better. I could become quite worried as to what would happen if mustering at emergency stations was required. And it can - think of the Star Princess fire in 2006 - the general emergency alarm was sounded at 3:20am, and passengers were kept at their muster station for some hours. The report into the fire says that "the results of the initial head counts were not received by muster control until 1.5 hours after the GES had sounded, and the rolls calls....had to be repeated several times... and took between 2 and 3 hours".

I'm of the view that being familiar with what you've got to do, and knowing how to do it, can be crucial in ensuring your survival. I'm not sure that I knew either of those things after the Solstice muster drill.

For anyone interested, here's a link to the page on the UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch where the Star Princess fire report can be found. It's an interesting report, especially given that in the end the outcome was pretty good (although two passengers did die). It could have been much worse, and it was thanks to the crew's efforts that it wasn't. But even in that 'successful' incident, the investigation found thing to criticise.

[lisiamc]

Originally Posted by europe10

Thank you for that reply. Does this mean, in an emergency, you just go to ANY life boat or are you theoretically ASSIGNED a specific life boat and you should go there IF POSSIBLE?

In a real emergency, you should do as instructed by the crew. There may not be time to go to your cabin to get your life jacket. The ship may be listing to heavily, so life boats cannot be lowered from one side, and there would be no point in mustering at your pre-assigned station. Being calm and prepared to follow instructions is the best plan I can think of.

Lisa

[sasset]

The conduct of the drill may vary depending on embarkation port. In the past whenever we sailed from a U.S. port the drill was on the day we sailed. When we sailed from a European port it was conducted the next day.

May be coincidence.

[tom_uk]

Originally Posted by sasset

The conduct of the drill may vary depending on embarkation port. In the past whenever we sailed from a U.S. port the drill was on the day we sailed. When we sailed from a European port it was conducted the next day.

May be coincidence.

The muster station drill on Solstice that I referred to a couple of posts ago took place on the first afternoon of the day of embarkation, before sailaway from Civitavecchia.

I've always had muster drill on embarkation day, both with Celebrity and with other cruise lines. But it might well be different in other instances, especially where the cruise could have multiple embarkation ports.

[EmJake's Bubbie]

I am passionate about safety - there's got to be a BetterWay to do a Muster Drill.
I can't imagine a real emergency, 1st time cruisers, no experience w/life jackets -oh, and out for a Good Time.

I make it my business to know where the exits are, # of doors to "count" to the exit (in the event of total darkness) & I never leave my whistle or flashlight behind - they are with me, even on Formal Night! I wish everyone would carry a whistle and a flashlight w/them at AllTimes - accidents Can and Do happen on leisure cruises.

I remember sitting in the theatre, one evening - before the show even began, w/o warning, everything went totally dark (the ship was a quiet, quiet could be) - stayed that way for what seemed like close to 15 minutes. We both had our little flashlights, as did others light theirs up - it helped - everyone froze, not knowing what to do - the Captain came on the speakers in short order, advising us "they are working on it" .... everything resumed to normal, but that experience left an impression on me.

I do love cruising, but I do Not take it forgranted!

[lkb125]

Originally Posted by ppppp98

Thats now on all Celebrity ships so?

Princess and I hope RCC

[raudacruise]

The lifeboat drill thing is a little antiquated. It came into being because of the "Safety of Life at Seas" maritime rules resulting from Titantic. Its been modified/codified etc through the years. The main point of SOLAS is there has to be enough life boats and life jackets for all passengers. A minor point is that each passenger gets safety instructions.

Let's leap forward to now. Iceburgs, ship fires, ship collisions are not common although they do happen. And when it happens on a ship that has had a Coast Guard inspection for SOLAS compliance its normally not a big deal.

The danger today is a little more complicated. What do you do if the ship is boarded and shots are fired? Or someone manages to get onboard with a firearm and goes nuts?

You sure the heck don't want to wander out and go to your muster station. Your muster station should be your bathroom locked and you cabin door locked.

Unfortunately, these days this stuff gets glossed over. Instead, the lines are doing a CYA on doing minimal (which is probably enough) compliance of SOLAS. SOLAS does not address present day dangers. While unlikely more likely than another Titanic.