Fashionably Late to Safety Drill

[davekathy]

On 1/11/2020 at 2:02 PM, stellarose said:

we waited over 20 minutes for straggers. It held up the muster drill. please don't .

Agree. Fashionably late is only a term in the minds of those that are always late, no matter the event! 🤬

Edited January 13, 2020 by davekathy

[K32682]

I'm always punctual for the safety drill.  Rarely sober but always on time. 

[2wheelin]

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

 

 

Well, your information is incorrect.  On the NCL Sky and Sun, for instance, all musters are held outdoors on deck.  As noted above, it is not a cruise line decision.  SOLAS requires the muster location to be as close to the boat stations as possible.  On older ships, this is done on the promenade deck under the boats.  Some ships only have room on the promenade for some pax at the boats, and then other stations will be indoors (Norwegian Dawn).  Newer ships have smaller promenade decks and larger pax capacity, and there is not sufficient space outdoors for the muster locations, so they are moved indoors to a suitable (meaning the space, power, lighting, ventilation, structural fire protection, and number/size of ingress and egress points is acceptable for the number mustering there, as well as the length of path to the boat station) meets SOLAS and/or class requirements.  No ship that I am aware of has ever changed muster locations after being built (unless there has been a major redesign to the ship (like the stretching of the RCI ship), due to the cost involved in re-doing the crowd management paradigm simulations and the requirements to outfit spaces properly to be a muster location, as well as changing the shipboard documentation and signage.

 

There are benefits and drawbacks to each of the muster types (indoors or outdoors), but passenger comfort never really is taken into consideration, since the use of a muster location is part of a life threatening situation, and at that point, comfort is not even the last concern.

Thank you for reposting this info. I was thinking I would have to do a search and find where you stated this previously but you beat me to it.

[GUT2407]

Princess

Celebrity

Norwegian

Royal Caribbean

P&O

 

all been inside every time.

[DanvilleCruiser]

I was on Serenade do the Seas in November, and the muster drill was outside.  Our room steward actually knocked on the cabin door a few minutes before the official announcement and told us to go to the muster station.

[mammajamma2013]

4 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

Princess

Celebrity

Norwegian

Royal Caribbean

P&O

 

all been inside every time.

We've been on Princess, Norwegian, and Carnival. Norwegian's been the only line on which we've mustered outdoors.

[Hlitner]

Never have we head so much whining about so little of an issue :).  Come on folks, it is just a muster drill and it is held for your safety (and the safety of the crew). It is actually a very important part of going on any ship or boat.  Perhaps you will be a little uncomfortable for a half hour, so suck it up, smile, tell yourself "I am going on a cruise," and get with the program!

 

My wife's cousin (and her partner) were among those on the recent (nearly ill fated) voyage of the Viking Sky that came within 200 meters of being slammed against the rocks of Norway.  The spent over 9 hours at their muster station, had sea water sloshing around their feet and ankles on a dark stormy night, saw a few passengers injured (several with broken bones) and then they were snatched off the deck (at 3am) by a Norwegian Coast Guard helicopter (about half the passengers were evacuated by helicopter).   The crew on that ship performed magnificently, never panicked,  and most of the passengers also did what they were told without panic.  The muster drill not only aided the passengers, but really paid off for the crew who knew their jobs.

 

As to those who have various aches and pains that make mustering a bit difficult, consider what you will do in a real emergency!  If you cannot handle a simple muster drill then perhaps you have made a good case why you should not cruise!  This might sound harsh, but it is simply reality.  Real emergencies (and they do happen) will often mean spending many hours at your muster station, following the crews orders, and trying to boost everyone's morale rather then "whine whine whine.

 

Hank

[pacruise804]

On 1/12/2020 at 9:42 AM, Joebucks said:

No longer will I show up first, but I won't be last either.

 

This whole process is completely outdated, and should go away. I'd love to see some other requirement of learning the details. Maybe even an online quiz. Because no one is listening or knows what is going on during the drill anyways. Then once you are on the ship, you must physically check in to the station so you know where it is. The end.

I thought I've read it posted before that the drill is more for the crew than the passengers. A few of us do pay attention during muster too.

[joepeka]

7 hours ago, Hlitner said:

...... it is held for your safety (and the safety of the crew).

Hank

Which is exactly why we prefer to be in the front so we can actually see the crew demonstrations.

[cruiserking]

We arrive fifteen minutes before to make sure we get a seat. Late is drag. It's best if everyone gets there in a timely fashion so we can can complete the drill and get on with our cruise. 

 

Jonathan

[mek]

It's been 5 years since I was on a Carnival ship.  Do they still have people wear their life jackets to muster?  We are taking a 5 year old on his first cruise and he would get a kick out of putting a life jacket on. Will his child sized life jacket be in his cabin when we arrive?

[Organized Chaos]

On 1/14/2020 at 8:26 AM, Hlitner said:

Never have we head so much whining about so little of an issue :).

 

Anyone who has spent any length of time on this forum knows that that's one whopper of an exaggeration. 😲

 

Regardless of how important the drill may be, there's nothing wrong with people venting about it.

[Organized Chaos]

1 hour ago, mek said:

It's been 5 years since I was on a Carnival ship.  Do they still have people wear their life jackets to muster?  We are taking a 5 year old on his first cruise and he would get a kick out of putting a life jacket on. Will his child sized life jacket be in his cabin when we arrive?

 

No, you don't wear your life jacket anymore. If your son wanted to, I don't know if they'd mind or not.

[pacruise804]

10 hours ago, mek said:

It's been 5 years since I was on a Carnival ship.  Do they still have people wear their life jackets to muster?  We are taking a 5 year old on his first cruise and he would get a kick out of putting a life jacket on. Will his child sized life jacket be in his cabin when we arrive?

You don't take your life jackets to muster anymore.  I would check your cabin for the appropriate sized life jackets just to be sure.

 

I probably wouldn't have your son take the jacket to muster (potential tripping on the straps, something extra to carry in the potential heat and crowds), but I think he should be able to try it on in the cabin - and might be a good idea to help him pay attention during the drill if there is a "test" after to show Mom and Dad how smart he is 🙂 

[Vexorg]

Some of the older RCCL ships still do muster outside.  My cruise on the Vision of the Seas had its muster drill on the Promenade deck.

[Organized Chaos]

53 minutes ago, Vexorg said:

Some of the older RCCL ships still do muster outside.  My cruise on the Vision of the Seas had its muster drill on the Promenade deck.

 

I don't know how many, but plenty of Carnival's ships muster outside. Middle of summer, south Florida heat, crammed in worse than sardines. Fun stuff! Don't forget your deodorant. 😉 We did our first winter cruise last month. Up until then, we always took summer cruises because of school. Doing the muster drill outside in the cooler weather was such a welcome relief. It still sucked because it ran behind and we were stuck at muster when we sailed away, but at least it wasn't miserably hot.

[wwcruisers]

7 hours ago, Vexorg said:

Some of the older RCCL ships still do muster outside.  My cruise on the Vision of the Seas had its muster drill on the Promenade deck.

 

Not just older ships. Last March, we mustered outside, on Independence of the Seas. Just like in the 'olden days' when we first started cruising -- except we weren't tripping over dragging life vest straps (thank goodness)!😏

[simplelife]

On 1/11/2020 at 6:14 PM, Organized Chaos said:

 

I know what you mean. Some people see the word "late" and they snap. You don't want to be late, you just don't want to be first. We learned our lesson after our very first muster drill. Hurried to get there as soon as they made the announcement and got shoved back against the wall with 4 or 5 rows of people squeezing us in like sardines when it was 95°. Now we wait. Not so long that we hold up the process, but long enough to make sure we aren't in the back. Last month on the Valor, we were in our cabin when they made the announcement. We waited a couple minutes, then headed to our station. There was still a mass of people flowing out the door, so we waited just around the corner, out of the way of everyone. Multiple crew walked by, including those with muster duties, and none of them rushed us out the door.

Somebody has to be first

[Organized Chaos]

4 hours ago, simplelife said:

Somebody has to be first

 

It just won't be us. 😉 Looking at the overall picture, a vast majority of passengers are still going to go as soon as the call goes out, and I seriously doubt that'll ever change. We're not holding up anything doing it the way we do because there are still dozens & dozens of people who arrive well after us. And I'm just talking about when we muster outdoors. We're just taking measures not to be miserable. Indoors is a different story.

[cruiserking]

There is no such thing as "Fashionably Late to a Muster Drill". If you arrive late you will end up standing for 30-minutes while you wait for the other latecomers. Plus it's irritating for everyone who arrived on time to have to wait additional time. 

 

We usually get there about fifteen minutes before it begins to make sure we can grab a seat. 

 

It's a safety drill. Get in, get out, enjoy your cruise. 

 

Jonathan

Edited January 19, 2020 by cruiserking

[lenquixote66]

One day the cruise lines might decide to have the Muster Drill on TV and quiz the passengers on what they saw.

 

Just a thought

[chengkp75]

8 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

One day the cruise lines might decide to have the Muster Drill on TV and quiz the passengers on what they saw.

 

Just a thought

Would not comply with SOLAS requirements.  SOLAS requires a physical muster, so everyone knows where to go.  Placement, timing, and composition of the muster drill is set forth by SOLAS, not the cruise line, though most cruise lines will add additional "information" to the drill, most of which has nothing to do with the muster.

[lenquixote66]

10 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Would not comply with SOLAS requirements.  SOLAS requires a physical muster, so everyone knows where to go.  Placement, timing, and composition of the muster drill is set forth by SOLAS, not the cruise line, though most cruise lines will add additional "information" to the drill, most of which has nothing to do with the muster.

I did not know what SOLAS is so I googled it.Perhaps one day things will change or maybe not.😀

[Underwatr]

QM2's lifeboats are over the largest outdoor promenade I'm aware of. The muster stations are still inside, close to where one would board a lifeboat. But I'd argue not as close as possible (which is OK with me, having seen north Atlantic weather).

Edited January 19, 2020 by Underwatr

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

I did not know what SOLAS is so I googled it.Perhaps one day things will change or maybe not.😀

I rather doubt that there would be an elimination of a physical muster any time in the foreseeable future.