Safety drill

So, after the subject of the fire I was discussing our up and coming with Miss W.

She voiced concern that drill includes the hand on shoulder walk to the life boats (our last SS was 2006)

So is it still the same drill or is it like the SB one where you gather, get your name checked and get a little lecture on procedures? Then are free to go...

It was hand on shoulder on the Spirit a few months ago.

Why is she concerned about that?

Boarding day is her 21st birthday ..... She doesn't want to waste a minute.... (And no it's not about alcohol, she'll have been legally allowed to drink for 3 years by then)

She wasn't impressed that boarding was her actual birthday..

SS is out of step with every cruise line I have experienced regarding the drill muster. It's a waste of time and energy. I just shake my head watching people going along with the program. Barking "shoulder to shoulder" and having you stand for as long as they wish.

And yes, I have been on a SS ship when a real life muster was called. It could not have been less organized.

Oops

Folks with mobility issues are mustered in their own group. They do not join the hand-on-shoulder parade. In the event of an emergency, they would be the last to be taken to lifeboats so as to NOT cause a traffic jam.

Folks with mobility issues are mustered in their own group. They do not join the hand-on-shoulder parade. In the event of an emergency, they would be the last to be taken to lifeboats so as to NOT cause a traffic jam.

ahhh, but it all depends on whether they said they had mobility issues with SS....

just like being fit and able to kayak or whitewater raft... (dont get me started on that one with SB)

grrr... the folks on our muster could not walk up stairs.....they were stopping every 2-3 steps to pant ... grrrrr

That is unfortunate. Maybe you could suggest they ask for the slower group assistance. I do not take offense when directed to "the gimp corner". It works out best for all involved.

SS is out of step with every cruise line I have experienced regarding the drill muster. It's a waste of time and energy. I just shake my head watching people going along with the program. Barking "shoulder to shoulder" and having you stand for as long as they wish.

I agree that SS conduct of the drills is shambolic. Trying to pack everyone into Panorama is a recipe for huge discomfort and for having some people unable to see. Fortunately, I have never experienced a real emergency on any cruise line.

Oregon50 and Observer --

While I do dislike the crowding in the Panorama Lounge, Bar or show lounge, I think it is preferable to standing outside at a muster station on deck waiting for stragglers to show up. My days at sea date back to the Andrea Doria when we were the closest (but not fastest) ship to her location, so I do appreciate all life boat drills!

What do you consider to be a well organized life boat drill?

One where there is no drill. You meet in a common area, go through the motions and adjourn. It is the marching to lifeboat stations and treatment thereof that I find objectionable. Common area being MDR, Terraza, showroom, etc. An EMT might find the drill to be educational or entertaining, I do not. The past two years I've sailed with six different lines. Only one goes through this stupid procedure. And as I mentioned, only one required a live action muster and it was amateur hour.

One where there is no drill. You meet in a common area, go through the motions and adjourn. It is the marching to lifeboat stations and treatment thereof that I find objectionable. Common area being MDR, Terraza, showroom, etc. An EMT might find the drill to be educational or entertaining, I do not. The past two years I've sailed with six different lines. Only one goes through this stupid procedure. And as I mentioned, only one required a live action muster and it was amateur hour.

Good luck to you in a real emergency.

Personally I'm happy to go along with the SS approach, it certainly beats that used on the Costa Concordia.

Good luck to you in a real emergency.

Good luck to everyone in a real emergency.

That is unfortunate. Maybe you could suggest they ask for the slower group assistance. I do not take offense when directed to "the gimp corner". It works out best for all involved.

Yeah right :cool:

If people can't admit they are not up to certain excursions (eg unable to ride a bike but put themselves on a cycling tour) they certainly won't take it too well being told they aren't up to walking... This is one of the main reasons I avoid a lot of ships tours... Not the cost. Almost all of our tours have been negatively impacted by someone who wasn't up to the task.... Despite the booking guide saying high level of fitness/ adventure activity. Our tour in Delos was cut very short because a gentleman with a walking stick fell, the booking was for high level of physical activity and will involve uneven ground, numerous stairs....

On our SB whitewater the persons actually put lives at risk..... There was a disclaimer that said if you are not physically able SB reserves the right.... However, the persons concern couldn't even walk to the raft without falling, that was when they should have not been allowed to participate, they were incapable of sitting in the raft and maintaining their balance... And we had to fish them out of the water (grade 2 rapid so not much) just before a grade 4 rapid....

The net result was out Kayak expedition was cancelled totally... SB was unsure as to whether they could keep people safe... Our group of 8 consisted of 5 in their late teens and early 20s, and 3 reasonably fit and active parents....

Is it only me or is it always those people who seem to push to the front eg when exiting a plane, getting in a single file in a tour group if required.

No this is not a rant against the less abled, Been there with Mr W, it's about understanding how your abilities and suitability for the tour will affect others.

I personally don't think that the walk to the boat hand on shoulder makes a difference... By all means make you way to the boat and perhaps have someone there Mark your name as well... You know where you start and where you finish... That's all you need

One where there is no drill. You meet in a common area, go through the motions and adjourn. It is the marching to lifeboat stations and treatment thereof that I find objectionable. Common area being MDR, Terraza, showroom, etc. An EMT might find the drill to be educational or entertaining, I do not. The past two years I've sailed with six different lines. Only one goes through this stupid procedure. And as I mentioned, only one required a live action muster and it was amateur hour.

Yes. I am a volunteer EMT, and proud to still be one at my age! I do not find the safety drill to be entertaining. The drill is educational. And yes, it does serve to remind us that bad things can happen when you least expect them. I believe it is better to be informed before the fact than to have to figure it out when a true emergency happens. My time is not so precious that I can't devote 30 minutes to the life boat drill on Silversea. I'm sorry you feel this is not necessary.

The research shows that when you practice a drill you are likely to remember it when you need it.

That's why teams in the hospital practice the code response or regular responders practice CPR.

I will gladly participate in the drill.

I do find it bothersome that other pax don't take it seriously.

I do.

Hope you never need it.

I don't think Mr Oregon is objecting to safety procedures, I think he is objecting to safety procedures done poorly .... well that's the way I read it. It just seemed to me that he was being sneered at for opinions he hasn't actually expressed.

And Mrs W, has made the point that sometimes disabled people seem to compromise other people's safety and indeed the enjoyment of everyone elses excursions and trips by blatently exploiting their position in society as being beyond criticism because they are disabled. Sometimes, some seem to have a sense of superior entitlement I think is her point and I agree with her. After all what heartless person would publicly criticise someone with disabilities in front of other people. We all should if they make everyone else unsafe or if they are being just plain selfish and are taking the rest of us for a ride. Mrs W is asking that they treat others as considerately as they would like to be treated. And she says she has been in that situation and is miffed that others do not behave proper. Amen to that.

Jeff

If it was 30 or so minutes not such an issue, but ours was well over an hour... And as I said it was downright dangerous, especially the trailing life jacket ties...

Continued rehearsal of a procedure is fine, provided that conditions remain constant... Or minor variables are considered.

I think we all learned to walk in line in kindergarten and have had lots of practise at it since then....

Yes by all means make your way to the lifeboat to which you are assigned.... But does it really need to be hand on shoulder....

I am not anti disability, in fact I am passionate about every one having a "fair go". And yes adjustments need to be made to allow for individual abilities. I do this on an everyday basis in my work environment.

Most cruise lines IME post a very good guideline as to what your level of fitness should be so if it says a high level of mobility and fitness then that is important. I like that SS says x number of steps, steep inclines etc.

LOL, maybe at the same time as the safety drill pax should be given a stair climb test... staring on deck 4 climbing up and have cut off times for being eligible for certain day trips.... ;)

Of course you need to do a swim test too ;););)

Oh and this isn't ageist ... On a recent trip I went snorkelling and the other couple were in their mid 20s... When we got to the reef it was not a total success... They didn't realise you needed to be able to swim/have water confidence. I still had a great day as the guide allowed me to head off alone... I did ask the guide later what he would have done if I had been the same (ie needed towing around). He said, oh we knew you were fine.... That's why we put you in the small group of 3 and not the bigger group of 6. We needed to have someone who knew exactly what they were doing.... (Apparently the other 6 could swim but had never snorkelled).

Way to go Jeff. Yes, all cruise lines take muster drills seriously. Only SS forces the ridiculous march and standing at attention for whatever amount of time chosen. No matter how many times they tell you not to take off your vests, people do it and create the hazard described by Mrs. Waldo.

I am one of four hundred passengers that have witnessed a real life muster on a SS ship. It was chaotic and had little resemblance to the dog and pony show they force upon you the first day. Some folks believe in the TSA and tooth fairy, too.

One thing I've noticed on aircraft is that there is a sort of nonchalence by many passengers during the pre-flight safety demonstration. However, you can tell which passengers are ex-Air Force or have an aviation background - they look for the exits, floor lights and read the safety card!

While the precise mechanics of the lifeboat drill may seem simplistic, even childish, the drill, at least temporarily, focuses passengers' minds on location of and access to muster stations and at least they will have learned where the life jackets are and some will even take the trouble to work out how to put them on. As for following Indian file - look at it this way: on a stormy night in the middle of the ocean during a complete power failure, is maintaining contact with the person in front really such a bad idea?

It is those that fail to take a few minutes to register the safety advice that are the potential hazards in a real emergency.

But done badly and illogically it can both give a false sense of safety and actually confuse both of which effectively increases rather than decreases danger.

To me familiarisaation is the key. For example the idea that seems to me to be reinforced (that I have never understood) is that in a real emrgency everyone assigned to a particular muster station is going to be at the same part of the ship at the same time if "muster stations" is announced. Or that everyone is going to congregate in the theatre and then march in a well organised and well orchestrated manner and not against the flow of anyone going in the opposite direction, from the theatre to the assigned muster station, one muster station at a time.

In a real emergency everyone will be going in different directions possibly chaotically and in a state of panic. To me it seems more important to encourage people to make sense of where their muster station is from anywhere in the ship and practise a couple of times putting on their safety vest. It also needs to be really reinforced that people do not go back to their suites to collect their money and passports or other stuff. Perhaps if this were going to be taken more seriously then perhaps passengers should be forewarned that there will be a live drill during the first sea day and that all passnegers should wear their vests and muster when they hear the instruction to ensure they get their bearings. Also, perhaps at the drill briefing the audience should be asked that all those with even relatively slight mobility issues are grouped together, drilled seprately and perhaps given a different colour vest so they can be easily identified and assisted in a real emergency.

On the recent BA near catastrophe for example people getting their cases from the overhead locker and taking them with down the chute could have caused danger to other people. Although unpopular I wondered afterwards whether they should have been more publicly criticised.

I agree ... that people not taking it seriously do endanger people ... and whilst I haven't been on a ship that has been in trouble, I have been on a plane over water when an engine died .... and then the second engine started spluttering ...... so I understand the real fear and the importance of understanding exactly what you are going to do if need be.

Jeff

One thing I've noticed on aircraft is that there is a sort of nonchalence by many passengers during the pre-flight safety demonstration. However, you can tell which passengers are ex-Air Force or have an aviation background - they look for the exits, floor lights and read the safety .

Yep and having a substantial level of status that is me...

I do count rows, I do read the safety card but I don't follow the bland guidelines safety bribing provided..

1. I look where I am

2 I look where other exits are

3. I count rows

4 I look at the vagaries of the particular aircraft door ( pull in and drop down or throw out?)

fwiw knowing where the station for the boat is is more important than walking hand in hand with another pax... (Or hand on shoulder). What if I was alseep and took a while to be cognisant and by then they had evacuated the lounge area... Would my fellow pax be expected to wait for me to get there... I hope not

I have a friend who is an FA and she was horrified in a recent emergency that everyone was clutching their carry ons and in business class refused to remove their heels.. ( heels kill slides)

are inevitably bogged down by babblers, the entitled, the juiced up and latecomers who just refuse to participate as directed. Hopefully, some common sense would prevail in a real emergency and the muster is certainly a way to acquaint people with procedure but as is often the case, there are those who feel that the rules don't apply to them......and you WILL often notice them throughout the cruise in one annoying way or another. Pay attention and co-operate and it won't turn out to be such a dread for all of us.

We have many days on Silversea, but only on two ships, the Spirit and Shadow. As others have mentioned, on Spirit we are required to assemble in a specific location (in our case usually the theatre), names checked from list, watch life jacket demonstration, and then march out single file, hand on the shoulder of the person in front of you, to the life boat station.

However on Shadow, we assemble outside at the life boat station. While there attendance is taken and life jacket demonstration conducted. No grade school marching. This is how every other cruise line we've been on does it.

Why the different procedure between the two ships?