Muster Drill?

[CruisinCrow]

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I sailed Celebrity many times between July 2021 and September 2022 (including once in the Retreat on the Summit) and all of the musters were as I described. Watched a video in our stateroom and then just went to our muster station at our leisure to have our cards scanned. They did have crew members near the elevators directing people to their muster stations to try to encourage them to get their cards scanned ASAP, but there was definitely no gathering in a specific location at a specific time.

 

We've been on 3 cruises post-covid (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Carnival).  They all did muster station the way you described.  You could go to your muster station to check in at your leisure.  It wasn't a set time.  

The last time we were on MSC was 2020, pre-covid and we still had to take our life jackets to the drill, although all the other cruise lines had dropped the life jacket requirement.  Sounds like MSC has evolved but is still a step behind. 

 

Muster is just one of those things you have to get through.

[luckyinpa]

whats the theory that its best to kill the elevators during muster. certainly not to make muster easier. is it just to give us practice going down a dozen flights of steps. cant imagine the YC crowd up top is a fan of this

[luckyinpa]

whats the theory that its best to kill the elevators during muster. certainly not to make muster easier. is it just to give us practice going down a dozen flights of steps. cant imagine the YC crowd up top is a fan of this

[Essiesmom]

I believe the theory is that in the case of a real emergency the elevators may not be working.  EM

[gizfish]

In a real emergency you may need to find your station without elevator access.  That being said, if you have a medical reason to not be able to do the stairs, tell a staff member, and they should be able to accommodate you (just like they would need to in a real emergency).

[peder]

7 hours ago, gizfish said:

In a real emergency you may need to find your station without elevator access.  That being said, if you have a medical reason to not be able to do the stairs, tell a staff member, and they should be able to accommodate you (just like they would need to in a real emergency).

 

Exactly this. There was a complaint about MSC's muster drill on the NCL forum here--apparently NCL doesn't require you to take the stairs--so the NCLers thought MSC's muster drill was backwards. But all I was thinking about is how many NCL cruisers might end up stranded in the event of a real emergency.

 

Honestly, I think the muster drills are too easy still on MSC. What happens when one of these ships inevitably sinks someday and passengers don't even know how to get their life jackets on? Will the cruise ships share in liability for passengers who die in that situation? Or in situations where passengers drank to excess and couldn't reach the muster stations? Once there's an emergency that directly leads to mass casualties, we'll probably see a much more stringent muster drill and safety practices become mandated.

Edited September 23, 2023 by peder

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, peder said:

Honestly, I think the muster drills are too easy still on MSC. What happens when one of these ships inevitably sinks someday and passengers don't even know how to get their life jackets on? Will the cruise ships share in liability for passengers who die in that situation? Or in situations where passengers drank to excess and couldn't reach the muster stations? Once there's an emergency that directly leads to mass casualties, we'll probably see a much more stringent muster drill and safety practices become mandated.

 

I for one am a big proponent of the post COVID shutdown muster drills.  I prefer the Royal Caribbean/Celebrity style where you are required to show up at your muster station at any time versus having to navigate a sea of people and stairs to get to and from your assembly station. 

 

If you watch the video it shows how to properly put on the life jacket.  The crew at the muster stations will also assist those that show up without a life jacker or if f it is not being worn properly.  

 

 I hope it never comes to an emergency with mass casualties to prove whether you are right and I am wrong or vice versa. 

 

[Essiesmom]

3 hours ago, peder said:

 

 

Honestly, I think the muster drills are too easy still on MSC. What happens when one of these ships inevitably sinks someday and passengers don't even know how to get their life jackets on? Will the cruise ships share in liability for passengers who die in that situation? Or in situations where passengers drank to excess and couldn't reach the muster stations? Once there's an emergency that directly leads to mass casualties, we'll probably see a much more stringent muster drill and safety practices become mandated.

Which is exactly what happened after Concordia.  Except most lines were already doing it.  And it only changed after Covid, because those massed musters were a great venue to spread Covid.

[morpheusofthesea]

5 hours ago, peder said:

What happens when one of these ships inevitably sinks someday and passengers don't even know how to get their life jackets on? Will the cruise ships share in liability for passengers who die in that situation?

Perhaps this extends to other areas as well. Former Captain, author and maritime expert Michael Llyod...

 https://www.tiktok.com/@cruiseshipbook/video/7216419541537099014

 

Edited September 23, 2023 by morpheusofthesea