muster drill - galaxy

first time celeb cruiser and i thought the muster drill was handled much better then on hal where everyone goes to their lifeboat station and stands around til everyone shows up

on the galaxy everyone goes to a preassigned muster station- ours was the casino (however it was closed) there is some seating -interestingly enough attendance was not taken but we were assured that all cabins had been checked- and then we are all walked as a group to our lifeboats and after a few minutes the drill is over

we were told that in the event of an emergency we are to go to the muster station and not directly to the lifeboats-- as stated some lifeboats might be inoperatve due to the ememgency and by going to the muster station the life boat usage is assessed by the crew and you are then led to working lifeboats

imo this is a great way to handle this situation-- no standing around on the deck in all kinds of weather waiting for stragglers and in the event of an emergency standing around for lifeboats that might not function

anyone know of a cruiseline that handles this situation any better

Hi Lou

On my Princess Cruise last summer we went to the muster station which was the theatre, took a seat and listened to the talk and then it was all over. We never had to trek to the life boats and stand around waiting. So in my opionion Princess handled it better as far as the convenience of the passanger was concerned. Maybe it wasn't better concerning safety issues.

Ronda

During the muster drill, either the cabin attendant or the assistant checks each room they are assigned and assures it is empty. The usual marker used on Celebrity seems to be a towel hung over the cabin doorknob. After checking all cabins, the attendant reports their area checked and usually is assigned to standby in a hallway near their assigned cabins.

Once all the cabins and non-muster public areas have been reported clear, the second part of the drill (the strangely timed life-vest demonstration) proceeds, then the transfer to the boat stations.

In addition, a count is done as guests leave the muster stations and proceed to the boat decks. Once all muster stations report in, the officers should be reasonably certain all guests have been accounted for.

The crew usually then walks/talks through the boat loading drill after the passengers are released.

All in all, it does seem the drill procedures on Celebrity are set up to minimize guest discomfort, though I'd imagine the crew would love to have cattle prods to get everyone to back up when they are trying to fit everyone neatly on the boat decks ;)