Emergency Drill

[suzvaneyk]

We are on the Empires of the Mediterranean cruise departing Istanbul in October. The cruise is in port the 1st day and departs the 2nd day at 2 pm. We are arriving in Istanbul on Oct. 5th. I would like to plan a private tour during the day on Tuesday, Oct. 6th. I called Viking and they said that the drill is supposed to be in the evening on the 6th. Can anyone confirm when the drill will be? This is our first cruise and it is my understanding that you need to be there for this; however, we prefer not cut our down in half by wasting time checking in during the day and then getting off the boat to tour Istanbul especially if we have to be back onboard again for the drill. We were thinking of a day tour and then getting on the boat late afternoon maybe around 4 pm or so. Please let me know if anyone has any advice.

 

Suzanne

[roothy123]

We are on the Empires of the Mediterranean cruise departing Istanbul in October. The cruise is in port the 1st day and departs the 2nd day at 2 pm. We are arriving in Istanbul on Oct. 5th. I would like to plan a private tour during the day on Tuesday, Oct. 6th. I called Viking and they said that the drill is supposed to be in the evening on the 6th. Can anyone confirm when the drill will be? This is our first cruise and it is my understanding that you need to be there for this; however, we prefer not cut our down in half by wasting time checking in during the day and then getting off the boat to tour Istanbul especially if we have to be back onboard again for the drill. We were thinking of a day tour and then getting on the boat late afternoon maybe around 4 pm or so. Please let me know if anyone has any advice.

 

Suzanne

 

Hi. I'm on "Empires" getting off when you get on. In your situation I would probably try to plan the tour for reasonably early in the morning (although the jetlag situation may not be so great) through mid to late afternoon on the 6th and then board the ship. From what I've heard boarding has been quite fast, so you could probably board by 4:30 and be in your room by 5:00, although you may not get your luggage (other than carry-on) until an hour or so after boarding. (Not sure how fast Viking does it, but on a similar ship we've generally had to wait about an hour or so, although we've never boarded as late as you would be. You might get yours earlier.)

 

I don't know when "evening" is for Viking, and it's always a balancing act to find a time that doesn't disrupt people's dining, sleeping, etc. That's why the schedule for the drill is somewhat a last minute thing for all ocean cruise lines that don't make the same or similar cruise with same schedule many, many times throughout a season. However, this is what I DO know:

 

As of Jan. of this year, ships have to do their drills pre-departure or "immediately" after departure. On the maiden voyage in April, the drill in Istanbul was held the first day at 5. However, traffic in Istanbul is quite heavy, and I remember reading that a bunch of people didn't make it to the ship in time for the drill. When that happens, a makeup drill has to be scheduled for those who didn't attend the first. I think on the maiden voyage, the makeup was scheduled for 2 pm on the second day, so around departure. That's nice in case you want to take the included tour in the morning, or go off on your own in Istanbul.

 

As for checking into the ship, once you've done that for the cruise, any time you go back out (for example, for a private or ship's tour) it's a pretty quick procedure - not nearly as lengthy as checking in the first time, when you have to put your luggage through an x-ray, get your cruise/room card, sometimes a picture is taken, sometimes your credit card impression is taken, etc. You can (later, maybe not now for October) enter your credit card information into your myvikingjourney account if you want. I just did that. Also, if you have a Viking transfer from the airport to the ship, I think I remember reading that Viking checked people in while they were on the bus at or from the airport. Then they got their cruise/room card (most cruise lines use an electronic card like hotels) in their rooms when their rooms were ready. (I think all rooms are ready by 2pm, but check the Viking website.) If you don't check in until after your private tour, at least your room will be ready for you. If you do that, maybe the tour provider can take your luggage with you and drop you off at the port. It's not far from the places you'll likely be (Sultanahmet area or Taksim area).

 

As for the emergency drill, no, that is something you should not miss, although if you do, it's normally not a huge deal, as there is often a makeup drill scheduled. From what I read, Viking's was fairly basic and efficient, and doesn't take long. Some people didn't like the fact that the life jackets aren't located in the rooms, but really, it makes more sense to have them at the point you would actually need them in an emergency. You do NOT want to have to go back to your room to get them in that case, as there could be confusion, smoke, obstructions, etc. I guess if you think you'll miss the "evening" drill, I would tell Viking that when you check in, although it may or may not get to the people who would most like to know! Often check in is done by contracted port employees, who may or may not relay information to the cruise lines. I'm not sure how Viking handles embarkation in Istanbul, however, so can't really tell you what to expect there.

 

With all that said, I think you should be good to go on your plan.

 

While I haven't been on Star yet (that comes late September) I HAVE done a lot of research on the "Empire" ports, so if you have any questions, I'd be glad to try to answer them. I can also probably answer questions about general procedures on a cruise ship. Viking sounds very similar to the cruise line I've used most, although they HAVE implemented a few new (and in my opinion better) procedures than what other lines have been using in the past.

[id4elizabeth]

As Roothy mentioned on the first (and so far only) departure from Istanbul, there was a drill at 5:00 pm on the first day. We missed this entirely as we went into the old town section of Istanbul to the Grand Bazaar and the Blue Mosque. We had not even heard about the drill as when we checked in and our room was finally ready, we just dropped off our carry-on bags and got off the ship right away to go into town. I don't think we got back until 6 or 6:30 pm. The second day, there was a make up drill (which we thought was the original drill) at about 2:00. We were supposed to be all aboard by 1:00 but I think our included tour did not get back until about 1:30, but since we were on a Viking included tour we weren't worried. There were a lot of people in the "make-up" session drill, so we certainly weren't alone in missing the original one the day before. It only took about 15 minutes. If you do miss it entirely, there's a video on the TV that goes over everything quite extensively. We didn't see this at the time as none of the TVs were working, but it did show up about Helsinki. I would definitely go ahead with your plans - there's so little time in Istanbul to see everything, you want to spend as much time ashore as possible. Worst case, if you miss both drills, someone on Viking's staff can walk you through the procedure.

[algaes]

Take advantage of all the time you have in Istanbul. As mentioned previously, there is make-up muster as well as a video. Alternatively, read the sign on the back of your stateroom door. The front portion of the ship goes to the entertainment spaces and the back portion to the Restaurant. No one goes to outdoor stations.

 

Lastly, do not discuss with shore or ship personnel. They can't/won't give you permission.

 

Signed, a 50 day maiden voyage cruiser who wishes he saw more of Istanbul!!