Life jackets?

[satxdiver]

We are currently on the Ruby Alaskan cruise out of Seattle. We were required to being our life jackets to the briefing and to put them on. I really do wish they would follow CCL and not require us to drag them to the briefing.

[floridalover5623]

I agree. Putting it on once isn't practice. It is only "trying it on". To be worthwhile a passenger should actually repeat putting it on over and over again, which would require doing it as many times as necessary to be able to do it without thinking about it. I doubt that many people in an emergency would remember what they did at the muster drill days ago. Fortunately, today's life jackets are not difficult to figure out. Besides, unless the ship was going to sink in a couple of minutes, people will have plenty of time to either figure it out or have someone show them how to put it on.

From watching some of the passengers I think you may be right about a lot of them need the practice to put it on. Although you don't have to be brilliant to figure it out they seem to need help with just about anything.

[Potstech]

On Princess, you are required to carry your life jacket to the safety drill. If you wear it to the assembly point, they make you wear if for the rest of the cruise. At least that's what the told us :)

 

 

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Now we all know how stupid untrue false idiotic comments get started.

[Colo Cruiser]

For some people that is not the case as even right after the demo at the muster they need assistance from the crew to do it correctly.

 

 

 

Exactly. Remember everyone is an expert. :rolleyes:

They will be the first ones crying in a real emergency and demanding compensation.

Edited August 1, 2017 by Colo Cruiser

[KristyMisty14]

Now we all know how stupid untrue false idiotic comments get started.

 

Oh come on, if someone actually believes that you'd have to wear them the whole cruise then you have to question their common sense a little. I personally like a little sarcastic humor and in my opinion, I'm sure the poster was going to 25 great responses, so what's wrong with one that posed a little humor (may not be your kind of humor but to each their own)

[Pickels]

Princess has you practice putting on the jacket during the drill

 

I think it's a good idea, a bit annoying but, required. Some will have no problem putting on an LJ, but, I'm sure there are others who, for whatever reason, would have a problem. God Forbid, if there is an emergency, why wait until the last minute to find out you don't know how to put it on.

[SantaFeFan]

I think it's a good idea, a bit annoying but, required. Some will have no problem putting on an LJ, but, I'm sure there are others who, for whatever reason, would have a problem. God Forbid, if there is an emergency, why wait until the last minute to find out you don't know how to put it on.[/quote]

 

If they have a problem in the relaxed environment of a muster drill, they will have a much bigger problem putting them on in a high stress situation such as an abandon ship scenario. The only time we would ever be required to put them on in an emergency is the imminent chance of the ship sinking. And ships rarely sink in mere minutes unless a huge explosion has destroyed much of the hull. In virtually all possible situations, people will have time to get assistance from someone if the act of putting on a life preserver is beyond their capabilities.

 

As an owner of an ocean going sail boat, with several long distance overseas trips over the years, I took several safety and survival courses to be prepared in case of an emergency. One point made clear in these courses was that an emergency at sea almost always evolves, rather than happening suddenly, typically taking some time to become life threatening. That is a good thing in that it allows the safety personnel to have the best chance of assisting everyone, including those who can't figure out their life jackets. Remember how much time the Costa Concordia had before it became life threatening? And that was a pretty severe situation considering how much damage the ship received. It was about an hour before the ship even started listing, and a couple more hours before the situation became dire. It took six hours to evacuate all passengers.

[Hercanacky]

Are they different larger jackets provided or extensions for bigger than average folks?

[floridalover5623]

Are they different larger jackets provided or extensions for bigger than average folks?

They might have extra large ones but the straps that are on the regular ones expand very large. I don't think there's anyone they wouldn't fit.

[wineglass]

This emphasis on life jacket drill is a result of Costa Concordia.. a large number of the passengers claimed there was no drill and they didn't know where the jackets were or how to use them, nor where their lifeboats were. The crew was disorganized and unable to help passengers. The Capitan was the FIRST person off the ship, not the last. The last were those that stayed in their cabins and drown when she rolled on her side. Learn to se your jacket, and use your seatbelt on the plane flying there too!

[floridalover5623]

This emphasis on life jacket drill is a result of Costa Concordia.. a large number of the passengers claimed there was no drill and they didn't know where the jackets were or how to use them, nor where their lifeboats were. The crew was disorganized and unable to help passengers. The Capitan was the FIRST person off the ship, not the last. The last were those that stayed in their cabins and drown when she rolled on her side. Learn to se your jacket, and use your seatbelt on the plane flying there too!

I don't believe the lack of using a life jacket was the cause of any of the deaths.

They had plenty of time to put them on.

[Lucy Jane]

Not any more

 

 

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[cbelc]

It might be that injuries caused by rushing crowds with dangling life jacket straps on stairs were more frequent than injuries from sinking cruise ships.

 

 

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[caribill]

This emphasis on life jacket drill is a result of Costa Concordia.. a large number of the passengers claimed there was no drill and they didn't know where the jackets were or how to use them, nor where their lifeboats were. The crew was disorganized and unable to help passengers. The Capitan was the FIRST person off the ship, not the last. The last were those that stayed in their cabins and drown when she rolled on her side. Learn to se your jacket, and use your seatbelt on the plane flying there too!

 

Princess has always had a big emphasis about the muster drills starting long before the Costa Concordia incident.

 

 

What may have changed is the timing of the drills. Now in all cases it must be done before the ship sets sail.

[mrs and mrs]

Now we all know how stupid untrue false idiotic comments get started.

 

only for those who believe them.

[keithm]

On Princess, you are required to carry your life jacket to the safety drill. If you wear it to the assembly point, they make you wear if for the rest of the cruise. At least that's what the told us :)

 

 

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Someone fed you some baloney!

[keithm]

This emphasis on life jacket drill is a result of Costa Concordia.. a large number of the passengers claimed there was no drill and they didn't know where the jackets were or how to use them, nor where their lifeboats were. The crew was disorganized and unable to help passengers. The Capitan was the FIRST person off the ship, not the last. The last were those that stayed in their cabins and drown when she rolled on her side. Learn to se your jacket, and use your seatbelt on the plane flying there too!

Cunard ALWAYS took the drills seriously. Princess does a decent job of showing you how it's done. For those who feel: "Well I've done it plenty of times!" Always better to keep in practice, rather than figuring it out by the lifeboats!

[pwake]

Someone fed you some baloney!

 

 

 

It was a comment from the crew Rep at the muster station when 3 or 4 people showed up for the drill wearing their life jackets despite the instructions to show up carrying them. He got a laugh from the assembled group. It was a good icebreaker, not Princess policy.

 

 

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[KristyMisty14]

It was a comment from the crew Rep at the muster station when 3 or 4 people showed up for the drill wearing their life jackets despite the instructions to show up carrying them. He got a laugh from the assembled group. It was a good icebreaker, not Princess policy.

 

 

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I love when they make jokes like that! Although you are supposed to be learning and understanding should such emergency arise, no need to make it a dreary experience. Plus my favorite thing about going to the life boat drill, is I know right after that is the sailaway party!!! :D

[WVBill]

The problem with muster drills/lifeboat drills/life jacket drills, etc. is that the way they are done makes them fairly useless. If the ship has an emergency during which you can casually walk to your muster station, there will be plenty of time to find your muster station and learn how to put on your life vest. If the ship has an emergency where the lights are out, there's smoke in the hallways and the ship is tossing about, rocking back and forth. THAT's when you're going to need to know from memory, almost by instinct, how to get to your muster station and don your life vest. It would be a VERY rare occurrence but, frankly I doubt if the current drills would have made a dent in the casualty results of the Costa Concordia.

Then again, the training required to make that dent is impractical due to the amount of time it would take and the number of passengers it would simply scare off.

 

Maybe it's my old Navy training mindset but I memorize two ways to get from my stateroom to my muster station and I put on and take off my life vest a couple of times in my room before putting it away. It's not perfect but it's better than nothing. We used to say "you fight like you train" - same applies to emergency drills.

 

To each his/her own.

[cbelc]

I agree. I always know exactly where my muster station is, how to get to it, and where the life jackets are. I have donned plenty of them in the past, and now I pay attention to the demo. I also looked at the airplane folder because I was sitting in an exit row.

 

 

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