Princess Muster

Going on Crown Princess in Nivember after 8 year absence from Princess. I know each cruise line does muster drill different some have you report on deck at lifeboats, other require you to attend an inside venue for a demonstration. How does Princess do this? Our travel companion is in a motorized wheelchair and cannot walk. What will be her procedure for muster?

All Princess musters are held at inside locations and you no longer have to bring your life jacket - demo only. Also you must let the safety video play all the way through on you TV before you can change to another channel

Okay. Good. Thanks. That means we can go a little early so she can actually get in and park her wheelchair

Most muster stations will have an area close to the entrance set aside for wheelchairs and others with limited mobility.

Feel free to bark at any able-bodied person who tries to sit in that area in defiance of the directions they were given to move towards the front of the room.

Okay. Good. Thanks. That means we can go a little early so she can actually get in and park her wheelchair

On almost all Princess ships the muster is held in inside lounges and locations on deck 7. On a few ships deck 6 is also used. Your location is shown on the inside of your cabin door. You can show up early and will be located in a space reserved for wheelchairs.

Tip: If your cabin is on one of the lower decks, 8, 9, 10 maybe even 11, you may find it difficult to get a wheelchair on the elevator as everyone fills them up coming down. Suggest you place yourself earlier in one of the open areas on deck 7 making it easier to reach your muster station. You will find it difficult to return to your cabin after the drill, elevators are full.

Going on Crown Princess in Nivember after 8 year absence from Princess. I know each cruise line does muster drill different some have you report on deck at lifeboats, other require you to attend an inside venue for a demonstration. How does Princess do this? Our travel companion is in a motorized wheelchair and cannot walk. What will be her procedure for muster?

Confirm at your muster check-in/scan, but I do believe they make special note of cabins with guests with mobility issues, in order to provide specialized assistance in the event of an actual emergency.

On almost all Princess ships the muster is held in inside lounges and locations on deck 7. On a few ships deck 6 is also used. Your location is shown on the inside of your cabin door. You can show up early and will be located in a space reserved for wheelchairs.

 

Tip: If your cabin is on one of the lower decks, 8, 9, 10 maybe even 11, you may find it difficult to get a wheelchair on the elevator as everyone fills them up coming down. Suggest you place yourself earlier in one of the open areas on deck 7 making it easier to reach your muster station. You will find it difficult to return to your cabin after the drill, elevators are full.

My experience has been that the elevators are disabled for muster. Most go at least 15 minutes early and I believe passenger services can give you some help if you go when you first board.

Okay. Good. Thanks. That means we can go a little early so she can actually get in and park her wheelchair

prayers with you for after muster with the crush at the elevators. its the most unpleasant part of the cruise . but it's all better from there!

My daughter uses a rollator and braces. We have not experienced the elevators being taken out of service on Princess (this happens on some other lines, but a crew member serves as an elevator operator, making them available to mobility challenged individuals and one other with them.) We do go a few minutes early to avoid the rush (not 15 minutes though). We also ask to be dismissed a minute before the crowd in order to get a elevator. We have had some awful experiences on Princess after the muster drill--in one case, a woman insisted that there was no room for my daughter on "their" elevator. We pushed in anyhow. Interestingly, there was a man in the back with a walker who became a friend for the cruise. He said that if we hadn't pushed on, he was about to tell "Ms. Able-bodied XXX" where she should go. Again, being released a minute or so early is common practice on other lines, but not on Princess....and those other lines often do not permit elevator use after the drill either, except for those using mobility aids.

As above, all muster stations are inside and there is a HA area in any station that includes HA cabins. Feel free to suggest to any able body taking a spot that your person needs to go elsewhere! It is clearly labeled for HA seating. No need for life vests at the drill--the whole thing is on video and demo.

On almost all Princess ships the muster is held in inside lounges and locations on deck 7. On a few ships deck 6 is also used. Your location is shown on the inside of your cabin door. You can show up early and will be located in a space reserved for wheelchairs.

Tip: If your cabin is on one of the lower decks, 8, 9, 10 maybe even 11, you may find it difficult to get a wheelchair on the elevator as everyone fills them up coming down. Suggest you place yourself earlier in one of the open areas on deck 7 making it easier to reach your muster station. You will find it difficult to return to your cabin after the drill, elevators are full.

We had the opposite experience. We sailed twice with our disabled son. Yes, the elevators filled up but people were extremely polite and always made room for him on the elevators. My wife and I took the stairs most of the time so we weren't all trying to crowd into the elevator at the same time. The best bet is not to try to return to your cabin right away. Since you no longer have to take the life jacket with you there is usually no longer a reason to have to go back to the cabin immediately after muster. Take a turn around the Promenade instead. :)

Confirm at your muster check-in/scan, but I do believe they make special note of cabins with guests with mobility issues, in order to provide specialized assistance in the event of an actual emergency.

You need to notify the Passengers Services desk about the need for assistance in the event of an emergency. You should do this as soon as you can after first boarding the ship.

There's a crew member standing by the elevators and will let you

get on one to get to muster. Won't close them for people who need them.

Most muster stations will have an area close to the entrance set aside for wheelchairs and others with limited mobility.

Feel free to bark at any able-bodied person who tries to sit in that area in defiance of the directions they were given to move towards the front of the room.

It's always best to sit as close to the the entrance as allowed to make for a quick escape after the entertainment is over.

Those elevators fill up quickly.

I do think it would be a great idea for Princess to station a crew member at each bank of elevators to assure that passengers with mobility issues, especially those who require assistive devices, are not left waiting until all the able-bodied passengers who rush to cram themselves into the elevators after muster drill get where they are going. For that matter, if Princess can reserve some elevators for arriving passengers on embarkation day, why can't one elevator in each bank be reserved for mobility challenged passengers after muster drill?

I personally have, on several occasions, forced the issue and blocked the crowd from the elevator doors to allow handicapped passengers, who are waiting but can't make their way thru the traffic jam, to board the elevator, because I think it's sad that so many are so "me first" oriented.

All Princess musters are held at inside locations and you no longer have to bring your life jacket - demo only. Also you must let the safety video play all the way through on you TV before you can change to another channel

Yeah, I found out the hard way! Tried all different ways to make TV work and then just gave up and watched muster video and then all ok. With two tv's in the room I had to watch the muster video twice! Wish they would just put memo on screen that you have to watch first!

Pooh