Required muster drills before sailing

[Norwaylin]

This recent tragedy in Italy should call attention to the fact that Muster Drills should be done BEFORE SAILING! If everyone who schedules a cruise tells the cruise line that they will only sail on a ship that does a pre-sailing Muster Drill, the cruise lines may change. I have been on six cruises and all of them had the MUSTER DRILL PRIOR TO SAILING. Not everyone saw the seriousness of safety drills, but hopefully they will now realize its importance.

 

Is it just cruises overseas that do the drills after sailing? My cruises were out of Miami, San Juan and New York to the Caribbean, Mexico and Bermuda. I had dreams of taking a Med cruise, but I am not so sure about it anymore.

[mistymoon]

P&O cruises certainly hold their emergency drills before sailing

[CruiserBruce]

This recent tragedy in Italy should call attention to the fact that Muster Drills should be done BEFORE SAILING! If everyone who schedules a cruise tells the cruise line that they will only sail on a ship that does a pre-sailing Muster Drill, the cruise lines may change. I have been on six cruises and all of them had the MUSTER DRILL PRIOR TO SAILING. Not everyone saw the seriousness of safety drills, but hopefully they will now realize its importance.

 

Is it just cruises overseas that do the drills after sailing? My cruises were out of Miami, San Juan and New York to the Caribbean, Mexico and Bermuda. I had dreams of taking a Med cruise, but I am not so sure about it anymore.

 

This has been discussed thoroughly on the boards. The International laws say muster shall take place within 24 hours of sailing. It seems most do it this way, in US ports or foriegn ports.

 

What happens, as it did with us, when the sailing is at midnight (not some foriegn port, but San Juan), and people are still arriving at 10pm, like my in-laws?

 

Lets not over react and start demanding things.

[aohkay]

There were also other factors in this particular tragedy besides Muster...losing power early on, supressed and incorrect announcements, and the Captain abandoning ship. IMO, I think the lack of a Muster Drill takes the back seat on this one. And, I do think the Muster Drills are important.

[bbwex]

Ships departing U.S. ports must do a muster drill before departure. Not required by SOLAS, but required by the U.S.C.G. Many lines do it before departure regardless of the port. My guess is that those that have not been doing so in the past, might just change their procedures now. But bear in mind that this ship had various embarkation points, and most of the passengers had already had a muster drill when this accident occurred.

 

What was THE biggest mistake here? Boy, such a lot to choose from!! Not abandoning ship immediately -- I venture to say that with a 165 foot gash below the waterline that this ship was doomed from the outset. What about not issuing an immediate mayday to get assistance? What about lying to port authorities about what the problem was as is now evident? By the time they started to abandon ship, the muster drill would have been useless to those with lifeboats on the high side of the ship anyhow.

[jocap]

The only time I've had a muster after sailing was on a ship which was still waiting for passengers to fly in, after midnight, before sailing. The muster was held the next morning, and was the strictest I've ever attended.

Jo.

[Capt_BJ]

Ships departing U.S. ports must do a muster drill before departure. Not required by SOLAS, but required by the U.S.C.G.

 

Sorry but you are wrong

 

On a cruise out of Miami which did not depart until 8pm the drill did not happen until the next day and this was perfectly in accordance with SOLAS as enacted in US Code of Regulations as enforced by USCG

 

USCG Captain retired sends . . .

[mr green]

On one ship we were on the drill was postponed until the following day because the Super Bowl was being played, when the drill would normally have been held.

 

john

[cruisefan0110]

Muster drill or not, when you have a captain such as the Concordia, the passengers will never be safe.

[seamonkey]

You can attend all the muster drills needed and still may not be able to get to your own boat.

 

After attending your muster you should take a walk around the promenade and see which boat is closest to your cabin....on BOTH sides of the ship.

 

Take a look at the DECK number.

 

Think about the number of levels you need to get to IN the DARK.

 

It's the same when you enter a plane....Count the rows from the exit.

 

In the end...People will forget and life will go on....Forgetting to do anything they should do.

[zacc]

When the muster drill is performed is a mute point if the officers and crew are not dedicated to the safety of the passengers. Don't mean to be disrespectful but anyone one who thinks holding the muster drill pre sailing or not allowing drinking before the muster would have made a difference in this disaster is just wrong.

[Ashland]

On one ship we were on the drill was postponed until the following day because the Super Bowl was being played, when the drill would normally have been held.

 

john

Hmmm...misplaced...priorities....IMHO !!

[gerryl12]

We have always done Muster Drill before sailing, but that was not the real problem here.

 

From reading so far

- passengers not properly informed

- those in charge not leading (first off)

- no mayday given

- waiting too long before deciding to abandon ship

- and on and on and on....................

 

We were on one cruise where they had a fire warning in an incinerator (chimney?) and the captain came on right away and told everyone before they even had it all checked out. Ended up being a false alarm, but we weren't lied to.

[smeyer418]

Just to reinforce what actually happens, I too have done a drill the next day out of NY. The ship arrived late and most of the boarding took place after dark(the sailing too)...the drill was held the next morning. In the scenario where the drill was held on the deck, the choice would require that the sailing be delayed completely or two drills one inside and one the following day outside. So lets not throw out the baby with the bathwater because of one bad captain.