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Muster Drills

appgirl

By appgirl,
in Royal Caribbean International

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rummenroman

rummenroman

Posted
Posted

On our recent Mariner cruise we were held up by a couple who thought they could skip the muster. They were greeted with a not so nice round of applause when they were escorted to their muster station by a cruise. The wife had a look of "i told you so" and her hubby had the "tail between legs" walk. So even if they don't scan your seapass (Oasis and Allure) they still know if you are there or not!

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The Martins

The Martins

Posted
Posted

I'm sure this has been addressed, but I don't remember reading it...

 

The new muster drills do not make any sense to me. If the ship was truly in trouble, why would you muster in say, the Schooner bar, rather than the location of the lifeboat you are supposed to be in? I also do not think it is wise to not rehearse the donning of a lifejacket.

 

I know everyone prefers the current SOP, but it doesn't make sense to me.

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bus man

bus man

Posted
Posted
On my first cruise (and my next two: Same ship, same cabin - weird, I know), our cabin was right by a crew staircase and we absolutely were directed to use it - JUST for the drill, and in case of emergency.

 

What you were told was nonsense.

 

I completely agree, and felt that way at the time, too. Passengers should become familiar with their closest route of escape, and how will they do that if they're prohibited from using it?

 

If someone from RCI is reading this, I hope they will pass the word to the ships' crews to allow passengers to use ALL stairways and exits for the drills. In a real emergency, it could be a matter of life and death.

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Tagsalong

Tagsalong

Posted
Posted

However, on Princess you can skip the second, third, fouth, etc. on B2Bs, and they even allow the bars to stay open during muster. This was our experience on the Emerald Princess in September, 2010. Maybe because they advertise many of their B2Bs as a single cruise. But you still have to get and carry your life vest to Muster on the Carnival Family of Cruise Lines.

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negc

negc

Posted
Posted
I'm sure this has been addressed, but I don't remember reading it...

 

The new muster drills do not make any sense to me. If the ship was truly in trouble, why would you muster in say, the Schooner bar, rather than the location of the lifeboat you are supposed to be in? I also do not think it is wise to not rehearse the donning of a lifejacket.

 

I know everyone prefers the current SOP, but it doesn't make sense to me.

 

Do you think that you could access the lifeboat "you are supposed to be in", if conditions make that impossible or unsafe (fire, severe listing etc)? In a real emergency, the important thing is to listen to and follow the instructions of the crew and there are frequently situations where immediate evacuation of the ship is not necessary, but passengers have to be assembled and given appropriate instructions. Better that the muster stations be in locations that can comfortably accommodate the passengers in a relatively calm and safe environment than outside unnecessarily exposed to the elements.

Where you muster is much less important than knowing to listen to and follow the directives of the crew. As far as rehearsing how to don a lifejacket, the crew demonstrates this fairly simple procedure at every drill. It is not rocket science to listen to and absorb the information that it is provided.:) If you are unsure of the procedure, I am sure a crew member will be happy to assist you.

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negc

negc

Posted
Posted
I think the original question was do you have to take your life vests with you to the muster drill ??? Im still wondering if this is the case or not..

 

On Disney you have to...

On Carnival you do not...

RCCL ?????

 

 

Thanks for the help :)

 

The answer is NO. They abandoned this requirement some time ago on all the ships in the RCI fleet. I believe some other lines have since followed suit.:)

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CodyC815

CodyC815

Posted
Posted

Earlier this month on the Navigator we were held up by a group trying to avoid the drill. We were on the side facing the sun and a man behind me fainted. I suspect he had been hitting the bars before hand and that didn't help with his hydration. The crew used a deck chair as a stretcher and took him down to the medical bay. We were stuck another 10 minutes while they searched for the people. I don't think they realize how much they inconvenience the entire ship just to avoid a 10 minute drill.

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Capt_BJ

Capt_BJ

Posted
Posted

technical comments

 

SOLAS recommendations call for a muster drill b4 sailing on a cruise of under 7 days, or within 24 hours of sailing on a cruise of longer duration; and on a cruise of longer duration there should be a muster drill once week.

 

But these are SOLAS recommendations.

 

US has accepted and has USCG enforce most SOLAS recommendations as regulations for boarding pass' in US ports.

 

But now come the loopholes

 

* ships boarding pass' outside of the US apply SOLAS how?

 

* a ship boarding pass' in the US and people are on back to back ... is that a (or two) 7 day cruise or a 14 day cruise (doesn't matter a drill is required either way technically) But I doubt USCG inspectors are going to chase this one down .... there's just two few slipping thru the cracks there too matter much

 

it is like ignoring the airline safety brief .... should they MAKE YOU PUT DOWN YOU MAGAZINE?

 

BUT know this: when the inspectors are on board they do grade the ship on how they conduct the drill. Finding non-compliant pass' with the OK of the cruiseline is a big no no. If the cruise line doesn't give a hoot ... what else don't they give a hoot about? Oh, that main engineroon fire fighting system is installed wrong and has never been tested or trained on ..... oops (not a made up one btw ... just rephrased)

 

Looking at it from the other side the muster drill is one last time to validate the emergency muster lists ... the one that would be used if the computers were all down because of no electrical power. How would you like to wake up and find you were on the ship and the lifeboats were not ... cuz you - he he he - made whoopie while the muster drill was held.

 

My ships held muster twice a day every day underway and I'm proud to say I never lost a sailor.

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sillygrandma6

sillygrandma6

Posted
Posted
To be sure, the muster drill is not my favorite part of the cruise. But I'm can't wait for my next one!

 

Tom, I see you are cruising on Voyager in Feb. Would you lease post after your cruise and let us know if you actually go to Falmouth. We are on the same Itinerary in late March and not sure if we will actually get to Falmouth. On our first Western Caribbean cruise our Itinerary showed Ocho Rios.....but, after departing the Captain informed us we would be going to Montego Bay instead.......what a bummer......and, a real disappointment! So, am hoping you will be able to report a stop in Falmouth on your cruise!!

 

Thanks......

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yahootelemundo

yahootelemundo

Posted
Posted

its mandatory , but since you dont have to carry the life jacket showing your cabin number they dont know if u attended or not

 

how do they enforce it?

 

oh right , you tell the guy your cabin number.

 

option number 1- I told u the cabin number and u wrote it wrong , I was there ,,,,

option number 2-Tell your friend to please give the cabin number of the person that is not attending

option number 3- Its a secret :D

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BeachChik

BeachChik

Posted
Posted
However, on Princess you can skip the second, third, fouth, etc. on B2Bs, and they even allow the bars to stay open during muster. This was our experience on the Emerald Princess in September, 2010. Maybe because they advertise many of their B2Bs as a single cruise. But you still have to get and carry your life vest to Muster on the Carnival Family of Cruise Lines.

 

You do not need a life vest for the Muster on Carnival ships either. I don't think they would even know if you were there. They didn't count, didn't ask our room number or ask to see our room card.

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negc

negc

Posted
Posted
its mandatory , but since you dont have to carry the life jacket showing your cabin number they dont know if u attended or not

 

how do they enforce it?

 

oh right , you tell the guy your cabin number.

 

 

On Oasis and Allure, and eventually fleetwide, they scan your seapass card. Voila, they know exactly who is in attendance. I must ask though why some people think that this is some kind of game to see if you can outsmart the crew and skip the drill.:confused:

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jonbgd

jonbgd

Posted
Posted

* a ship boarding pass' in the US and people are on back to back ... is that a (or two) 7 day cruise or a 14 day cruise (doesn't matter a drill is required either way technically) But I doubt USCG inspectors are going to chase this one down .... there's just two few slipping thru the cracks there too matter much

My ships held muster twice a day every day underway and I'm proud to say I never lost a sailor.

Excuse me Captain I have a question for you as I respect your opinion

 

Between the Tarawa and Iowa, Ive done a couple muster drills in my career and maybe a GQ and a little DC. So these civilian muster drills are pretty quick but important.

But I did a B2B on a 4day to a 5Day cruise we had the same cabin and same muster station(MDR 5th deck starboard)We were excused after we signed in for our 2nd leg........ Were they wrong for letting us go?

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Merion_Mom

Merion_Mom

Posted
Posted
Excuse me Captain I have a question for you as I respect your opinion

 

Between the Tarawa and Iowa, Ive done a couple muster drills in my career and maybe a GQ and a little DC. So these civilian muster drills are pretty quick but important.

But I did a B2B on a 4day to a 5Day cruise we had the same cabin and same muster station(MDR 5th deck starboard)We were excused after we signed in for our 2nd leg........ Were they wrong for letting us go?

 

I am neither THE Captain nor A Captain, but I was on a B2B2B2B and was required to attend each Muster Drill.

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jonbgd

jonbgd

Posted
Posted
I am neither THE Captain nor A Captain, but I was on a B2B2B2B and was required to attend each Muster Drill.

Thanks MM..... But I was hoping to get a response from a retired Captain of the USCG As he might have a little more knowledge of the regs than a civilian cruiser:D But re-reading his post i think I got my answer:o

And AS I posted before I have had to do both muster drills on my Carnival B2B and I was surprised they said we could leave

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mikeblum

mikeblum

Posted
Posted

i am suprised that some folks think that this is NOT MANADATIORY...it's your life that they are responsible for for 1 week...YES YOU MAKE IT YOUR BUSINESS TO BE THERE FOR THE DRILL...WHAT ELSE COULD YOU BE DOING...YOU CAN'T BE IN YOUR ROOM AND YOU CAN'T BE SITTING BY THE POOL AND YOU CAN'T BE SITING AT A BAR...it makes no sense to be foolish and not attend...or are you handicapped and can't deal with the large crowrds...LIFE SHOULD BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY...MAKE IT YOUR BUSINESS TO ATTEND AND EVERY ONE...IT'S 10 OR 15 MINUTES...

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B-52

B-52

Posted
Posted
Excuse me Captain I have a question for you as I respect your opinion

 

Between the Tarawa and Iowa, Ive done a couple muster drills in my career and maybe a GQ and a little DC. So these civilian muster drills are pretty quick but important.

 

 

Like the daily "Morning Muster" ;)

 

Did a lot of GQ.....

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