Life Jackets

[TERRIER1]

I read somewhere on this thread that the life jackets are not in the room. What happens at 2 am in the morning if things go bump in the night and the ship is listing. Where are you suppose to get your life jackets. On our previous cruises they have always been in the room. Giving that this cruise personnel don't seem to know what they are doing I am not comfortable with not having a life jacket readily accessible. Where are the jackets? Is this an acceptable or standard practice? Thanks.

[sitraveler]

Lifejackets are stored in lockers near the lifeboats. (so they say)

 

There are additional on the lifeboats.

 

I don't know the actual standards for this, but it does give a larger storage space in the closets.

[rjscott]

When you attend the safety drill, you will be informed that the lifejackets will be handed out at your muster station in the event of a true emergency. Given what happened on the Costa Concordia, with a stampede back to cabins for passengers to retrieve their life jackets, and some of those same passengers dying in the corridors, I guess this might make sense.

 

Becki

[kathy9]

I do get the the OP's point though ....if it is the middle the night it would be nice to grab your life jacket to bring with you. It would not hurt to have extra life jackets in my opinion.

Kathy

[rjscott]

Kathy, don't really disagree with you. ;)

 

Becki

[coasters]

In emergency, we are always advised to retrn to cabin get your meds and appropriate clothes. i'd prefer to have life jackets in cabin.

Imagine the chaos in an emergency with thousands trying to get life jackets "distributed"..

We purchased our own adult jackets at West Marine for 28.00 each. Small carry on perfect fit for the 2.

Will request jackets when we board.

Were promised (last cruise) the request would be honored.

We will see.

[shipnc]

We were on a recent Star sailing and the life vests are indeed in locked bins on the wrap around deck. I thought it somewhat problematic to have to rely on someone to unlock all the bins and distribute life jackets in the panic of a real emergency, but I found it even more disturbing that our muster stations were at interior rooms. Does anyone believe that in the event of a real emergency people are going to congregate in the theater or restaurant in an orderly fashion and wait to be escorted out onto the life boat deck? Star is not the only ship to do this, but I much prefer the old fashioned muster by your lifeboat with your life preserver on concept.

[roothy123]

If you've ever participated in a drill with hundreds of people trying to get down the same halls and stairs, each with his/her life jacket, you know it's a slow process. The way I see it, without life jackets, it would go almost twice faster, and there wouldn't be the chance of someone tripping on one of those long ties dangling on the floor. Therefore, Viking's procedure makes perfect sense to me. Besides, what's been done in the past is not necessarily what should be done in the future. If there's a better way to do something, why not embrace it? Works for me. I'd probably do better just stumbling out of bed and going to my muster station without having to turn on the light and fumble for my jacket.

 

By the way, I did look up the SOLAS regs months ago when the life jacket question was first mentioned. I didn't see anything specific about where life jackets must be kept. There also wasn't anything about whether they had to be taken to the muster drill or could be left in your room. Oceania often required that you take them with you, but Celebrity never did. I think there's a bit of leeway. What has changed post-Concordia is that the drill has to be done before the ship departs or immediately afterwards. In the past, cruise lines were given a lot longer - maybe within 24 or 48 hours?

 

I was curious for those who have cruised on an itinerary in which the ship leaves on embarkation day at night. Was the drill done in late afternoon or after dinner? We board in Venice and leave at midnight, so I'm wondering when the drill will be.

Edited September 5, 2015 by roothy123