Muster Drill and Debarkation

[coops]

Hi all,

' Its been 6 years since I have been a Carnival cruise. Do they still do the muster drill outside on deck? Princess has there's inside and no wearing the life jackets till the last minute. Have some friends cruising with us and trying to let them know what to expect. And

what time is a safe time for flights out of Miami? Thanks for any info.

Dawn

[Yazoo cruiser]

It must vary on each ship, we have been on 3 different Carnival ships in the last 10 months and each one did it different. On one it was held completely in an inside room. On another, it started inside and then we were taken to our lifeboat stations and the 3rd we met at the lifeboat station.

[tbjl24]

Depends on the location of your muster station and the class of ship you are sailing.

 

On the Fantasy class ships(Inspiration, Imagination, etc) there are some muster stations in the lounges, while some are outside on lido.

 

The newer classes(Spirit, Conquest, Destiny, etc), I believe they have ALL muster stations on one particular outside deck.

[wrf2e]

It must depend on which sailing you are on. We did a b2b on Imagination and the first leg we had to first go the the muster station and then we were moved to the life boat deck. On the second leg we just went to the muster station and that was it.

[DocF]

Usually, the Muster is rather perfunctory. On one cruise, though, the Coast Guard was aboard and we had to actually assemble at the lifeboat stations in life jackets and have a complete head count. This amounted to an 80 minute muster rather than the more usual 30 minutes.

 

Doc

[amymom2twins]

How well do the kids hold up during this drill? I worry that my two 5 year olds will get very bored and start acting like well.....5 year olds! Any suggestions on how to entertain them during the drill?? Or is that typically not a problem.

 

 

Thanks for all the help so far,

 

Amy ;)

[rhorhorho]

If it's in a lounge bring a coloring book or something, it doesn't take long. If you have to go out on deck and stand at the lifeboat stations I would suggest that you get there but hang back until the last minute. That way they are not in the middle of two rows or people. Nothing like staring at a strangers backside for 30 minutes (think about their height).

 

We have also promised our little guy ice cream after the muster drill (before dinner - whooo hoooo) a real treat in his world. Just be a smart mommy (prepared) and I'm sure it will be fine.

[JLK22]

We have also promised our little guy ice cream after the muster drill (before dinner - whooo hoooo) a real treat in his world. Just be a smart mommy (prepared) and I'm sure it will be fine.

 

Great idea! I didnt think of that. I am glad I read this thread, for some reason I thought the muster drill was only 5 -10 minutes, I didnt realize it is closer to a half an hour. I have a 9 year old who is VERY active (to say the least) and has a very hard time hanging out in one spot and "doing nothing" for more than a couple of minutes. He has a hand held video game (sound can be turned off) that I will probably encourage him to bring to the muster drill jsut in case he has gets a bad case of "ants in his pants." (I saw this as a suggestion on a Disney web site for how to help kids tolerate standing in the longer lines...and it worked great!)

[habby]

How well do the kids hold up during this drill? I worry that my two 5 year olds will get very bored and start acting like well.....5 year olds! Any suggestions on how to entertain them during the drill?? Or is that typically not a problem.

 

 

Thanks for all the help so far,

 

Amy ;)

 

On all of our most recent five cruises we reported directly to our muster stations, life vests and all.

 

I would suggest finding some way to position yourselves directly in front of whoever is giving the instructions during the drill. I'm sure your fellow passengers will understand. I know I pay attention more when I'm physically in front of the instructor (and I'm over 50!), and the drill is over before I know it.

 

 

To the OP regarding return flights, Carnival recommends scheduling a flight no earlier than 11:30 if flight leaves from Miami, 1:00 if flying out of Fort Lauderdale.

[coops]

Thanks to all of you for the replys. Wish they did it like Princess. Inside the lounges and you can sit. But for half an hour my dh will have to adjust. Thanks again.

Dawn

[cruisin' again]

Great idea! I didnt think of that. I am glad I read this thread, for some reason I thought the muster drill was only 5 -10 minutes, I didnt realize it is closer to a half an hour. I have a 9 year old who is VERY active (to say the least) and has a very hard time hanging out in one spot and "doing nothing" for more than a couple of minutes. He has a hand held video game (sound can be turned off) that I will probably encourage him to bring to the muster drill jsut in case he has gets a bad case of "ants in his pants." (I saw this as a suggestion on a Disney web site for how to help kids tolerate standing in the longer lines...and it worked great!)

 

My son has issues with that as well...and will also have a complete melt-down if he gets too hot in a crowded area as well (he has a psychiatric diagnosis). I have told the crew at the muster station of his situation in the past and they made sure we were 1) at the front, so the people weren't crowding him and 2) if it got to be too much, they would take us to the lounge for the remainder of the drill.

[QLUVS2CRUZ]

On my Carnival cruises we've had the muster at the life boat station. On RCI had it in a lounge. We did wear the life jacket each time, though you can carry it to the spot, which is a little safer, since it's hard to see around them. As for children, I'd just hang back a bit and walk around a little before having to sit or stand at your meeting point. The ice cream bribe is also a fantastic idea!

 

Your ship will usually dock in Miami pretty early, and if you do self-assist debarkation, you can be off the ship by 8:30AM. If you are flying out of Miami, you can have an earlier flight...I think someone posted they made a 10:30 flight out of FLL but it was close, but I'd think a 10:30 or 11:00 flight out of Miami is definitely do-able if you get off the ship in the first group.