What, if anything, will you do or take, as a result of the Concordia tragedy?

[FlaParrotHead]

While I am sure there have been comments in the other (many) threads, I have a question for everyone.

 

What, if anything, will you add to your "must take" list of things?

 

What, if anything, will you do (or not do) on your next cruise?

 

I suspect that the industry, over time, will be giving some consideration to situations like this were a percentage of the life boats and rafts were not able to be launched, putting added burden on those that can be.

 

Certainly, for me, more thoughts of what to do if something happens and family members are separated, can't get to the cabin, or can't get to the assigned muster station, etc.

 

Now we cruise to have fun, to not worry, and to trust those operating the ship we are on - and those have not changed. I'm just curious to hear from others about things they may do now that they didn't think about before.

 

B&B

 

 

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[Gypsywych]

I told my husband that he would be keeping water proof copies of our passports in his wallet from now on. Just in case...:o

[Dee777]

It will be business as usual on Friday when I board the Spirit for 15 days. I will go to the muster drill, I will pay attention, note my surroundings and carry on with my vacation. I will not be taking anything different than I usually do on a cruise. I am more concerned with flying to get to San Diego than I am to be on a ship :)

[dmarie1623]

I only plan on adding a flashlight.

[Fergus]

One thing I will CONTINUE to do is cruise on a line where the primary language is the one I understand best. I have a friend who cruised on Costa a few years ago and she said it was very frustrating not to be able to understand general announcements, etc. (none were done in English.) Can you imagine what it would be like to be in the Concordia's situation and not be able to understand safety directions, updates on what is happening, instructions on what to do to save your own life?

[MSRussell]

I will also be taking a flashlight and a loud whistle.

I am not looking forward to anything happening, but still.....

Since my first cruise I have also slept in thin sweat shirt and sweatpants.

[FlaParrotHead]

While I always take a small super bright LED flashlight, I think I'll upgrade to make sure they are waterproof and that everyone in our group has one. I also think that I'll keep wallets, cash, passports, and cell phones in a ziplock Baggie, in the cabin safe, ready to grab at once if getting life jackets, of course neither of these do any good if we can't get back to our cabin for whatever reason.

 

Just a few of my thoughts, so far.

 

B

 

 

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[ValerieChance9]

we also talked about adding flash lights to a lanyard with water proof lanyard pouches. if you have children a plan needs to in place. we talked to our 13 year old daughter just in case. have a plan even though it may not go as planned!

[Cupcrazy]

The only thing I plan to do is copy scan my passport and keep it the "cloud". But that's for more than just cruising. Other than that every thing will be the same.

 

I already pay attention at the Muster drill. I just wish they did them on out on the deck again rather than the show room. It was fun to put on my life jacket and head up there. And it made for some fun photos after.

[nofishforme]

Nothing, nada if my number is up it's up im gonna enjoy my cruise in two weeks and not give this a second thought .. but my thoughts and prayers go out to all the passengers and familys on the concordia

[Cjlovestocruise]

As others have said, we are going to put passport, money, wallet, ect. in a Ziploc in the safe.

The other thing is – I always look to make sure that the lifejackets are in the closet, but next time I am going to take it out, try it on, and adjust the straps. I am a “big girl”, and would hate to be trying to adjust that while in an emergency, or worse – find out it don’t fit.

[WeatherGeek]

I signed up for a STEP account today on the state dept's website. It was easy to put my trip details in for my cruise coming up on Thursday. If it means my local US embassy can help me out faster, great. If not, well it was worth a try. Other than that....nothing really. I've always checked to make sure we have the right amount and size of life vests in our room. We always try them on to make sure they fit and are not broken. I might pay more attention to how to get to my muster station, but I think the reality is that people will probably go to the nearest lifeboat in a panic instead of proceed to your designated lifeboat in an orderly fashion. I would like to think I would stay calm and proceed to my station, but until faced with that situation, I honestly have no idea how I would react.

[Cinderose]

I signed up for a STEP account today on the state dept's website. It was easy to put my trip details in for my cruise coming up on Thursday. If it means my local US embassy can help me out faster, great. If not, well it was worth a try.

 

What is this - Ive never heard of it...?

[cdamion]

By myself: Nothing - already travel with a small flashlight and duct tape (I'll patch up any hull breaches - actually a little bit of duct tape has rescued me more than once for quick repairs to backpack, etc.).

 

With kids: have a definitive plan in place just in case.

[jannandjohn]

The only thing I plan to do is copy scan my passport and keep it in the "cloud". .

been doing that for years, with everything important ..just in case.

certainly not as good as the real things, but makes it easier when you need to know the numbers etc.

[jannandjohn]

I told my husband that he would be keeping water proof copies of our passports in his wallet from now on. Just in case...:o

does he sleep with his wallet ??..things don't always happen when you are awake...

[treasure4two]

My friend Jon, NC Mtn Boys, made this suggestion on our RC:

In light of what happened with the Concordia, I'd like to make a suggestion in case others may like to do the same. Usually we DO make copies of our passports and bring them with us, which we'll continue to do. I thought that was enough. But now I'm reading that others actually scan copies of their passports into their computer and email the scanned document to themselves or multiple email accounts. This can then be accessed anywhere you have an internet connection. Paper can be lost, get wet and be illegible/unusable, etc. You may leave the original document and paper copies on the ship during an excursion and through no fault of your own miss the ship due to some unforseen circumstance...then what? If you can get to a computer with internet, you can access a copy for faster, easier processing to either the next port or back to the departure port. It usually takes something to happen that makes you wish you'd done something differently. Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda. It's just one more safeguard that we're going to start taking.

 

Cheers!

[kbmeow]

While I always take a small super bright LED flashlight, I think I'll upgrade to make sure they are waterproof and that everyone in our group has one. I also think that I'll keep wallets, cash, passports, and cell phones in a ziplock Baggie, in the cabin safe, ready to grab at once if getting life jackets, of course neither of these do any good if we can't get back to our cabin for whatever reason.

 

Just a few of my thoughts, so far.

 

B

 

 

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Let me say on Amazon there are quite a few things that are great for waterproof holders. I got ones for hubby and my passport and he forgot to take it out of his pocket before swimming. Not a drop of water.

[kbmeow]

After what happened with the Splendor I decided we needed flashlights so added that last time. I really think that cruise ships should have glow sticks in each room. I mean they are cheap and easy to replace if someone take one. last a long time and would give light.

[Djonemore]

We always check our life jackets to make sure they are in good order and the right size, we don't bring flashlights... Which I'm going to see that we do from now on, and the zip lock bag for documents is a good idea too! I myself am a firm believe when it comes to following instructions, and keeping calm in intense situations, I'd probably grab a drink, say to myself this isn't happening.. And proceed to my muster station if it's not underwater.

 

Another question: Many including myself say that we check our life jackets.. However onboard the Oasis OTS, life jackets are held at the muster stations, not in staterooms. What are your takes on that?

-Matt

[gelo7]

I will not do anything differently.

[Pushka]

I would grab my iPhone. It has scanned copies of our passports, and our trip plans and flights are stored in a Trip Planner app. It has all my treasured photos. Email addresses. Bank and credit card details. Telephone numbers i would need. The phone has a pass code so everything is secure. It has a flashlight app. And it would be locked in a waterproof satchel. And it would fit in my wristlet which I will always have on me.

 

 

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[Room Service!]

Nothing different.

[yarlenna]

I would not do anything different. As for Oasis having their life jackets at muster - sounds like a wonderful idea. The last thing I want to do in an distaster is looking for things in my room. The life boats are small and there is not a lot of room for people bringing lots of stuff. The only one thing I would go back to my room would be my family. If they are all with me, then I am ready to go where they tell me to go..

[srlafleur]

Yes, it makes sense to have lifejackets at the muster stations, since, at least 2/3 of the time most people aren't in their rooms, and having to go back to their rooms to get anything, including lifejackets, would only add to the chaos. They say the lifeboats also have lifejackets in them, but as we have seen, not all the lifeboats are always accessible. The lifejackets at those muster stations would also not be available. I, therefore, think that lifejackets in the staterooms AND at other locations on the ship would make the most sense.