Muster drill - check in?

[Copper10-8]

................. I think scanning cards would take a little longer, but would be more effective.

 

It's in the works/coming for HAL

[Boytjie]

It's in the works/coming for HAL

 

That is good news! Scanning cards will be more accurate and hopefully speed things up.

[sail7seas]

It's in the works/coming for HAL

 

 

That is good news. :)

Hopefully it will speed up the 'attendance taking' and will certainly eliminate anyone answering 'here' for someone else who may not actually be present.

 

Most of us agree it is annoying to mill around all that time waiting for the 'society arrives late' crowd. :rolleyes:

[sail7seas]

On Princess last May it was not. Just check at the front desk, while on your first leg.

 

john

 

We have done a number of b-to-b on HAL since the tightening of Lifeboat Drill rules and each and every time we have been required to attend the drill for each segment we were sailing.

 

Can't speak for Princess but I am very sure about HAL and our experience with b-to-b.

[cranethie]

We were on deck for a very long time at San Diego for the recent Amsterdam Panama Canal cruise muster. So much more detailed than our NZ sailing the year before on the

Zaandam.

 

Along with many announcements from the Captain/Officer of the Watch? on the loud speakers, names and cabin numbers were called and marked at my station - pronouncing them was a bit of a problem for some of the crew - at times had to be double checked by crew more familiar with english.

 

Maybe scanning room cards would be the way to go - not sure in an emergency tho.

[NoobCruise]

Scanning cards is the faster way. We were scanned as we went into the lounge, before the drill started!:)

 

john

 

That sounds more comfortable too. We stood at our muster stations under our lifeboats for the whole thing. Thankfully it didn't take too long, maybe 20 or 30 minutes.

[mr green]

That sounds more comfortable too. We stood at our muster stations under our lifeboats for the whole thing. Thankfully it didn't take too long, maybe 20 or 30 minutes.

 

This way when the drill begins, the roll has been taken. it saves time.

 

john

[Cinder Again]

I usually make contact with the clipboard holder when I get to the muster station, giving them my name and cabin #. MY experience is that they call the names of the folks if they haven't "checked in" with him prior to the drill instructions. It speeds things up if they have even half their group check in prior to roll call.

One time I was traveling with my mother in a wheelchair and an officer saw her and said "right after me, Madam, you will be first in the boat" to her. I was gratified to see that he was planning his groups evacuation, should the need arise. Clearly, they take it seriously. It still astounds and saddens me how many folks were lost on the Concordia, so close to shore.

Even before the Concordia, I have taken the drill seriously. I always thought that sending folks to the theater instead of their stations was a bit short sighted, since they just showed a movie, and you would be no closer to knowing where your station really was. (Princess, I think) I AM glad to leave the life jackets behind, they are such a tripping hazard and I've seen folks have close calls on the stairs. I've noticed people disburse quicker, since they don't have to return to their cabins, and can go off in other directions around the ship.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I would love to see HAL scan everyone's ID's as they report for the lifeboat drill. I feel so sorry for some of the crew members who can't pronounce some of the passenger names.

We do the sam thing as Cindy does -- as soon as we arrive at our station, we check in with the person marking off the cabin numbers. I have noticed that quite a few people do this as well.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Is it mandatory to go to both lifeboat drills on a b 2 b?

 

On Princess last May it was not. Just check at the front desk, while on your first leg.

 

john

 

Until the Concordia accident, there were a few times on our back-to-back (Collectors) cruises were we did not have to report to the second lifeboat drill.

But that all changed after Concordia. Now we do have to report to all lifeboat drills.

HAL is taking lifeboat drills more seriously than before. Our Noordam 2011 lifeboat drill was a joke. People standing around enjoying their cocktails -- talking -- showing up late. Some people never did come to the drill.

[sail7seas]

Same for us........

Prior to Concordia, HAL had started to lean toward not requiring attendance at second Lifeboat Drill for those doing b-to-b.

 

When we sailed Boston to Montreal to Boston, we did not have to attend the Montreal Lifeboat Drill.

 

That changed in the snap of a finger with that terrible Concordia event.

[RuthC]

I've taken several Collector's cruises over the last few years, most prior to the Concordia and once after.

Only once in all those cruises was I exempt from the second muster drill. It was fun while it lasted, I will say!

Although I don't feel I get anything out of the drill anymore, I do know that my going is an example to others who are just starting out cruising. They might not understand why they have to go while others don't. HAL doesn't need to set up that situation.

[sail7seas]

We were chatting with a Captain about lifeboat drill some time ago.

He knows how much we have cruised and out of the blue asked 'What is your lifeboat number?" We answered and he said we wouldn't believe how many do not know their boat number and even worse have not noticed that number is clearly indicated on their key card.

What's a Captain to do?

ALL he can do is enforce mandatory attendance and insist on quiet so anyone who is interested in the possibly life saving instruction can hear it.

 

[estebofarr]

On our last Collector's Voyage it was not mandatory, (pre-Concordia) and this time I supposed it would be from what I've read. I like to doublecheck everything.

[NoobCruise]

We were chatting with a Captain about lifeboat drill some time ago.

He knows how much we have cruised and out of the blue asked 'What is your lifeboat number?" We answered and he said we wouldn't believe how many do not know their boat number and even worse have not noticed that number is clearly indicated on their key card.

What's a Captain to do?

ALL he can do is enforce mandatory attendance and insist on quiet so anyone who is interested in the possibly life saving instruction can hear it.

 

 

The "quiet" was an issue. Most of the people around us just chatted away making it hard to hear. It was only my 2nd cruise, the first being almost 10 years ago. I wanted to hear what they said!

[G&G]

We sailed on the Ryndam in December. Everyone was required to be at lifeboat muster. They annmounced it many times over PA and yet those of us on time, which were few, had to wait, standing in the sun, for those inconsiderate ones who were late and had to be hunted down. My mom is 87, cannot stand for long periods of time. We were there for an hour. It would be absolutely unbearable in the summer.

 

May I ask what could be delaying these people? Just plain rudeness. Most showed up with drinks in their hands, after being rounded up from various bars. Every cruise it is always the same. I don't know the answer. I know the staff was equally upset.

 

Please cruisers, take this seriously. I hate these drills too but they are mandatory so just be there on time. Happy, safe cruising.

 

AMEN. We have been on many HAL cruises and this is always a hassle with passengers being late. A terrible way to begin a cruise. I only wish HAL would not make you stand out on the deck. At least you don't have to wear the life jackets like we used to. Now if they would just move it inside like other cruise lines. :confused:

[hrhdhd]

I always thought that sending folks to the theater instead of their stations was a bit short sighted, since they just showed a movie, and you would be no closer to knowing where your station really was. (Princess, I think)

 

Princess muster stations are indoors. As has been discussed on another recent thread, because the muster station is indoors doesn't make it any less a muster station. In the case of an emergency, that's where you'd report.

[RuthC]

... because the muster station is indoors doesn't make it any less a muster station. In the case of an emergency, that's where you'd report.

However, on most of the HAL ships, it would then make it difficult for many people to get from the muster station to their lifeboat in a real emergency.

The public rooms are at least one, and most of them two, decks above the lifeboat deck, so those with mobility problems (of which HAL has a good number sailing) would be in real trouble trying to get down two decks.

[hvsteve1]

One reason I think the Concordia changed the policy on b-to-b and multi-segmented cruises was that one of the problems with evacuating that ship was, because of the multiple embarkation ports on the one cruise, some pax had been through the drill and others had not. It's just easier to have everyone do it every time. On our Regent cruises, which were a few years back, I seem to recall the muster stations all being in the theater. I don't know if they still do it that way. I know on last year's O'dam cruise they were also fussy about people paying attention. One of the officers going from station to station got in a big thing with a guy in our group who had his back to the presentation and was reading a book. The passenger got really bent out of shape when the officer started scolding him for not paying attention.

[celle]

One reason I think the Concordia changed the policy on b-to-b and multi-segmented cruises was that one of the problems with evacuating that ship was, because of the multiple embarkation ports on the one cruise, some pax had been through the drill and others had not. It's just easier to have everyone do it every time. On our Regent cruises, which were a few years back, I seem to recall the muster stations all being in the theater. I don't know if they still do it that way. I know on last year's O'dam cruise they were also fussy about people paying attention. One of the officers going from station to station got in a big thing with a guy in our group who had his back to the presentation and was reading a book. The passenger got really bent out of shape when the officer started scolding him for not paying attention.

 

This happened a long time ago, but . . .

 

I emigrated from the UK to NZ in 1968, on a ship that was half-cargo and half-passengers. The journey took almost 7 weeks.

 

We had lifeboat drill before we left every single port. At every lifeboat drill, we had to show a crew member that we could put on our life-jacket properly, and we had our attendance recorded. While it was a nuisance initially, we soon accepted it as just part of each departure.

 

That system ensured that new passengers knew what to do in an emergency. I expect there would have been some first-rate grumbling if the same procedure had been followed on Costa Concordia, but it would have prevented the new arrivals from being totally clueless when the accident occurred.

 

Having been in the Las Vegas Hilton fire some time ago, I always check escape routes when in a hotel and on a ship I always do a "dry run" of the route from my cabin to my lifeboat station (even before the lifeboat drill).

[Typhoon1]

It's in the works/coming for HAL

 

Great news, The crew members do indeed have a difficult time with the names. When we arrive, we just walk over to him, so he can check us off.

[hrhdhd]

However, on most of the HAL ships, it would then make it difficult for many people to get from the muster station to their lifeboat in a real emergency.

The public rooms are at least one, and most of them two, decks above the lifeboat deck, so those with mobility problems (of which HAL has a good number sailing) would be in real trouble trying to get down two decks.

 

I am not disagreeing with you. But different lines have different procedures, and a cruiser needs to understand each line's procedures rather than compare them to another line's and assume the worst.

[jtl513]

A related question. Does the muster drill always take place before sailaway - i.e. while the ship is still at the dock?

When we sailed out of Seward at 8:00p we had our drill the next morning, but that was many years before the Concordia sinking, so I don't know what is done for late departures now.

[Himself]

I was on the NA two weeks after the Costa tradgedy and it was make clear that if one refused to attend the drill they would NOT be permitted to sail. I learned later that someone on the Westerdam refused and was taken off the ship before they sailed. The Westy was in port with the NA. It was strictly inforced in Vancouver both weeks I was on the Volendam and nothing changed when I was on the NA in November.