What will you do to to make your next cruise safe in an emergency?

[ASIWISH]

I will say, the flashlight is a tremendous suggestion, but I might add that a waterproof one might be an even better idea.

[mescat4]

lots of discussion about leaving stuff for emergency in cabin safes (passport, cash, credit cards, emergency meds, etc.) In case of power failure- will the safes still work? Newer HAL safes work on a 4 digit PIN and appear to need power. Older safes on S class worked with a credit card swipe- but they may need power to work memory and mechanism. Plus, will the room key work for cabin entry if there is a power failure?- I'm afraid in a Concordia type emergency, most planning goes out the window-but I guess if planning makes us feel safer its probably better psychologically for us to do it.

 

Ev

[bellebaby]

lots of discussion about leaving stuff for emergency in cabin safes (passport, cash, credit cards, emergency meds, etc.) In case of power failure- will the safes still work? Newer HAL safes work on a 4 digit PIN and appear to need power. Older safes on S class worked with a credit card swipe- but they may need power to work memory and mechanism. Plus, will the room key work for cabin entry if there is a power failure?- I'm afraid in a Concordia type emergency, most planning goes out the window-but I guess if planning makes us feel safer its probably better psychologically for us to do it.

 

Ev

 

I think the safes are battery powered. They should work.

 

B

[sail7seas]

Unfortunately I have - many years ago. I had replacement credit cards in 48 hours (but i was in the U.S.) I don't know how you could get replacement cards to Europe as quickly

 

 

That is a long time to wait if you are in wet clothes, have no cash, no life sustaining medications (if you require them), passport, or credit card. No funds gives you no choices IMO To wait a full two days, where? How would you get food? how would you even make phone calls to ask for help?

 

Travel Insurance seems to be disappointing many of these guests, as well.

 

 

Good ideas being passed along here. One question for those who are keeping a few essentials in a bag. Are you going to tote this with you everywhere you go during the cruise? or perhaps leave it in your cabin, med's passport, extra cash. When the announcement to abandon ship comes and you are at the far end of the ship from your cabin. While you are fighting your way back to your cabin I will be boarding one of the first lifeboats.

People in case of an emergengy do not let personal effects cost you your life. This being at home or on a plane, train auto or cruise ship.

Swissmyst if you are on my lifeboat and we are not picked up for many days. People are starving and we have to resort to unimaginable measures. Sure hope you are not to tough and stringy, because there will not be any drawing of straws. You would probably wish that the low class riff raff would quit cruising.:rolleyes:

 

 

I will always carry a small purse and never leave my cabin without cash, a credit card, copy of our passports and small supply of our must have medication in small ziploc. That fits in even the smallest evening purse. I've always been one who carries at least a small pocket book at all times and I will continue to always do so but will have those necessities always with us.

 

I have always traveled with a small penlight flashlight for our cabin. I will be adding one of the small keychain flashlights to the contents of my purse.

 

I sincerely hope we will all be doing what makes us comfortable to provide for ourselves in case of an emergency and find we sail safely for many years without ever needing to have done any of this pre-planning.

 

But, better safe than sorry.

 

[sail7seas]

I think the safes are battery powered. They should work.

 

B

 

Yes, I think they are battery operated.

[sail7seas]

I have not yet been able to bring myself to read the Costa Board but I will sooner or later.

 

Does anyone know how helpful/how prompt the U.S. Consulate/Embassy was in assisting U.S. citizens replace their passports etc?

 

Have there been any comments comparing their performance vs that of other countries?

 

 

 

[sail7seas]

The point that Swiss Myst was making is that there are plenty of people out there that don't believe that rules or guidelines for some situations apply to them. Regardless of how trivial they think they are. And the type of rule or guideline is irrelevant. I can see where someone might believe that if someone disregards the smoking rules (or whatever), who knows whatever other rules they think don't apply to them. I see it happen all the time. I manage a full service restaurant in the hub terminal at a major airport. The airline's guideline is to arrive for your flight two and a half hours before departure. But, all the people who don't think that this guideline applies to them are the ones who bxxxxx and moan when their order isn't at their table three minutes after ordering. Don't follow the "rules,' don't expect something to go your way. These people are examples of troublemakers, regardless of degree.

 

 

 

She made her point IMO

[IRL_Joanie]

lots of discussion about leaving stuff for emergency in cabin safes (passport, cash, credit cards, emergency meds, etc.) In case of power failure- will the safes still work? Newer HAL safes work on a 4 digit PIN and appear to need power. Older safes on S class worked with a credit card swipe- but they may need power to work memory and mechanism. Plus, will the room key work for cabin entry if there is a power failure?- I'm afraid in a Concordia type emergency, most planning goes out the window-but I guess if planning makes us feel safer its probably better psychologically for us to do it.

 

Ev

I question leaving any of your essentials, i.e., passports, credit cards, medicines, etc., in your stateroom, whether in a safe or not....

 

My reasoning for not leaving things like that in the cabin/stateroom and keeping them with me at all times is this; What if you are at a show and you cannot get back to your stateroom.... What if you are in the Lido or any other venue.... You may not, in all likelihood get to those things that you should have in case of an emergency.

 

Just my thoughts on why my stuff will be with me at all times.

 

Joanie

[Max2003]

I carry a copy of the key page in the passport which has the picture, passport number, birth date,etc, which has been folded in half and laminated. This provides a waterproof document about the size of a credit card, which would be very handy if one had to get a replacement passport, that fits handily in a wallet.

 

I have even used it as an ID on occasion.

[kazu]

I have not yet been able to bring myself to read the Costa Board but I will sooner or later.

 

Does anyone know how helpful/how prompt the U.S. Consulate/Embassy was in assisting U.S. citizens replace their passports etc?

 

Have there been any comments comparing their performance vs that of other countries?

 

 

 

 

From the threads I have read, all of the consulate/Embassies have been tremendous. They all visited the hotels and their people that were affected:)

[Viesczy]

In the midst of an event it is best to slip to the edges to observe and not get swept away with the panic stricken masses. Far too often folks end up in the panic stream and they're swept along like cattle in a stampede. That is a bad situation to be in, slide to the edges ASAP.

 

Having a bug out bag is never a bad thing, at home or on vacation. Have your necessaries-meds, money, ID and such for the vacation bug out bag. Light is paramount as the boats are dark w/o power, midnight in a mine shaft dark at times, be sure to have something that is waterproof if at all possible.

 

Also know your locations, know them w/o a thought and be able to move within your environment like you were born and lived every second of your life there as if you don't your life could very well end there. Your adrenaline is going to be flowing, you're going to be panic stricken with the flight need raging in you, so be able to act and not react to/with your environment.

 

I will say this, my only responsibility is to mine. They will survive at my expense, as I will leave none behind while I am still breathing and able to act. This is absolute as it was ingrained into who I am. I will help any but not to the threat of the survival of mine--their survival is first, then my survival, and yours is after that.

 

Derek

[sail7seas]

From the threads I have read, all of the consulate/Embassies have been tremendous. They all visited the hotels and their people that were affected:)

 

 

Thanks, Kazu. That is VERY comforting to know as regards the survivors from all countries.

 

[Hawaiidan]

Consider the hundreds of ships sailiing and the millions of passengers sailing each year. Put emotion aside and realisticaly look at the risk you face on a cruise 5 deaths out of a million.... thats pretty good odds.:rolleyes: Now if cruise ships were being torpedoed, bombed and wrecked every monthly or weekly then I would be concerned. This is in reality an isolated incident

 

Driving to the store in your home town is much more risky!:eek:

 

I dont see any overt or serious risk at all The only thing I think worthy of consideration is the size of the ship one sails on. Biggger in harder to manage in terms of physical size and sheer numbers of people.

 

Thats why I don't sail on ships over 1400 passenger and prefer under 700.

The 3000+ ships are at the edge of what is called span of control for the crew to manage in an emergency.

[Carmeldi]

I'm going to look for a flashlight app. The best ideas I've seen: the flashlight app, and carrying copies of vital documents in one's wallet, because those are things you would have on your person at all times. I think the comments that remind us that the only important issue should be getting off the ship and saving your life, not your passport or credit card are spot on.

 

I just downloaded a free app, Tiny Flashlight. To my iPad and DH's iPhone. It's good on the iPad, but would hardly be available in an emergency, but on the iPhone it's very strong and would be with you. We intend to carry a waterproof small light, too, however. One great feature of the tiny flashlight app, it also has a flashing police car light option. If you were trapped somewhere, it would really get someone's attention.

 

Like most here, we are going to go with added awareness of safety features and procedures, but feeling comfortable that our cruise will be the exciting time we envision.

[GmaPajama]

Because I run a small business, I use an online backup service (carbonite, if I'm allowed to say that here) for just $59 per year. It's occurred to me to add photos of our passports, credit card info, and medication lists to what gets uploaded there. I can now access those files from any computer, in any country in the world. Of course, that won't keep us safe - but it will definitely help us get home should we ever get stuck somewhere without our papers.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

HAL safes are definitely battery powered. On our recent cruise, our safe failed part way through and 2 batteries had to be replaced.

[Lady Chew]

3. Make sure that hubby knows NOT to try and find me!! We will find each other later when we are safe. Better not to meet somewhere and endanger each other or others.

 

I think this is a really good suggestion! Mr Chew & I are not joined at the hip during our cruises, we're both able bodied (so far!) and capable of getting off the ship in an emergency.

 

The 'go bag' is a good idea. Small and lighweight with the bare minimum in it and something that can go over body to keep hands free. VERY light, small backpack or long strap shoulder bag. Also a good idea to have it right beside the safe.

 

Having a bag by the safe ready to scoop items into it is a good idea, but we don't always keep our meds in the safe so we'll have to think this through. In the muster drills, don't they always say to go to your cabin and put on something warm & gather your necessities before proceeding to your lifeboat station? That assumes that there is time for that, which was not the case on the Concordia.

We will make reasonable preparations in case of emergency, but we are not going to carry all of our meds & papers with us all of the time. We don't do that at home ... we don't take everything with us when we go out on errands or dinner-and-a-movie or anywhere else we go ... we're not going to live like that, expecting a disaster everywhere we go. Reasonable preprations for emergencies, review & adapt as needed ... then go on enjoying all of the moments life has to offer!

[swin26]

Because I run a small business, I use an online backup service (carbonite, if I'm allowed to say that here) for just $59 per year. It's occurred to me to add photos of our passports, credit card info, and medication lists to what gets uploaded there. I can now access those files from any computer, in any country in the world. Of course, that won't keep us safe - but it will definitely help us get home should we ever get stuck somewhere without our papers.

 

We also upload this infomation plus drivers licenses and health insurance cards. For credit cards, we make sure to copy both the front and back, as contact numbers are on the back. Of course you want to make sure it is on a secure system. If our wallets or purses are ever stolen, we can access our inforamtion from any computer. We also leave a copy at home with someone we trust (in our case, an adult child). When traveling out of the country, we also carry 2 passport pictures with us, just in case we need to have new passports issued, but in this case, they would have been in the safe and not with us. Maybe this is overkill, but it makes me feel better when traveling.

[RMLincoln]

 

 

Having a bag by the safe ready to scoop items into it is a good idea, but we don't always keep our meds in the safe so we'll have to think this through. In the muster drills, don't they always say to go to your cabin and put on something warm & gather your necessities before proceeding to your lifeboat station? That assumes that there is time for that, which was not the case on the Concordia.

There was time to get back to the cabins, in fact some passengeers went to bed. There was approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes between the grounding and the abandon ship 7-blast alarm. The ship was not listing too dramatically then and I think that getting to the cabin and making appropriate personal preparations was possible. If that's the case "next time" no one will know.

 

We will make reasonable preparations in case of emergency, but we are not going to carry all of our meds & papers with us all of the time. We don't do that at home ... we don't take everything with us when we go out on errands or dinner-and-a-movie or anywhere else we go ... we're not going to live like that, expecting a disaster everywhere we go. Reasonable preprations for emergencies, review & adapt as needed ... then go on enjoying all of the moments life has to offer!

 

Yes, we will also make some reasonable preparations and go on living!

[sail7seas]

I think all of us posting to this thread things we will do to take the best care of ourselves in an emergency at sea are indicating we will give forethought and have an idea of what we will try to do means we all plan to continue to cruising.

 

Anyone who has decided to give up cruising probably would not be contributing to this thread.

 

[RMLincoln]

I was on Diamond Princess when it lost all power and was dead in the water off the island of Hawaii at night, about 11pm.

 

The emergency lighting system worked in cabins and hallways, but not in lounges. The cabin door locks worked with the room cards. I'm not sure about the safes but I've heard they are battery powered. The toilets didn't flush.

 

The captain made an announcement that they experienced computer problems, that they were rebooting the computers and getting an auxiliary generator on line. He made about 3 announcement within 20 minutes to keep us posted and calm. He made a statement that I hadn't realize the importance of, that we were in open waters, not within striking distance of any obstacles, because we were drifting! The power was restored to normal within about 25 minutes.

 

But it made me think about flashlights! which we had in the cabin with us, but now I carry a booklight with my book on board! m--

[Taxguy77]

Probably more people reading this thread will encounter an emergency situation in a hotel than on a ship.

DD often reminds us to find the way to the stairs, and an alternate set of stairs when we stay in a hotel.

I have to remember to take a flashlight the next time I travel anywhere.

[kazu]

I have made fun of dh for being too security conscious for years. He always brings the little flashlight - I guess I will no longer discount his concerns.

[DeepWaterMariner]

I use to pack a small flashlight for cruises but got out of the habit. Its probably time to start that practice again. Otherwise, we won't do much different than normal. I've always checked out evacuation routes, even in hotels, looked for the emergency exits on aircraft, just to give me situational awareness. Given our particular situation medically I'm not sure we would have made it off the Costa ship but the odds of us encountering such a disaster in the future are pretty slim so we'll take the risk without much of a second thought. It took an irresponsible captain to put that ship into a catastrophic situation and I'm betting that cruise ship captains will be very risk adverse for a long time to come.

[mudscraper]

Many good suggestions here. Most important when the situation turns bad real fast as in this Costa ship is to remain calm and remove yourself from the panicking crowd. If you are swept up in it either mentally or physically it will be to your detriment. Easier said than done but your survival may depend on staying calm.