Muster

[dgs1956]

2 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Yes, I think that is the cause of the delays that I referred to in my previous post. If we have been told in several announcements and in Horizon that the muster is at, say, 4.15pm, then we make sure that we are in our muster venue by 4.15pm. We don’t wait for the alarm to sound before we start to make our way there. Perhaps that also explains why passengers stroll in to shows up to ten minutes after they start as well 😉

Unless I'm mistaken, is it not that you are supposed to wait until you are called to make your way to the Muster Station so its a bit more realistic? I can understand anyone with walking difficulties heading off early.

[daiB]

13 minutes ago, dgs1956 said:

Unless I'm mistaken, is it not that you are supposed to wait until you are called to make your way to the Muster Station so its a bit more realistic? I can understand anyone with walking difficulties heading off early.

No that has never been said or written as far as I know. The staff are waiting in the venues long before the signal is given. 

[Eglesbrech]

8 minutes ago, daiB said:

No that has never been said or written as far as I know. The staff are waiting in the venues long before the signal is given. 

I agree, most folks head down for the time mentioned on the TV screen and the information leaflet, they don’t wait for the signal.

 

You must be recently back off a cruise (and yes I know that would apply to most months of the year for you 😉). Hope you had fun.

[Selbourne]

26 minutes ago, dgs1956 said:

Unless I'm mistaken, is it not that you are supposed to wait until you are called to make your way to the Muster Station so its a bit more realistic? I can understand anyone with walking difficulties heading off early.

In a real life emergency then yes, but when it is a planned passenger muster drill at a set time, which has been advertised in advance and confirmed by way of several announcements, then I personally feel that it is a common courtesy to other passengers and crew to be at the relevant muster station no later than the publicised time so that many hundreds of other people aren’t kept waiting for you. But that might just be me. 

[daiB]

1 minute ago, Eglesbrech said:

I agree, most folks head down for the time mentioned on the TV screen and the information leaflet, they don’t wait for the signal.

 

You must be recently back off a cruise (and yes I know that would apply to most months of the year for you 😉). Hope you had fun.

Last weekend, yes enjoyed it very much including the missed port so we got an extra sea day, result. 

We had a trip to Ghent and visited a new port in Cherbourg. Found a new cafe in Lisbon, and explored a different area of Amsterdam. Lost in the Casino on cruise one and won in cruise two.

So all good.

 

Some of our friends greet us by saying, “Oh you are on land at the moment”.

[Selbourne]

2 minutes ago, daiB said:

Last weekend, yes enjoyed it very much including the missed port so we got an extra sea day, result. 

We had a trip to Ghent and visited a new port in Cherbourg. Found a new cafe in Lisbon, and explored a different area of Amsterdam. Lost in the Casino on cruise one and won in cruise two.

So all good.

 

Some of our friends greet us by saying, “Oh you are on land at the moment”.

We have booked a cab to Ghent for our next call at Zeebrugge Dai. Any tips for wheelchair users on good places to go or places to avoid?

[Eglesbrech]

5 minutes ago, daiB said:

Last weekend, yes enjoyed it very much including the missed port so we got an extra sea day, result. 

We had a trip to Ghent and visited a new port in Cherbourg. Found a new cafe in Lisbon, and explored a different area of Amsterdam. Lost in the Casino on cruise one and won in cruise two.

So all good.

 

Some of our friends greet us by saying, “Oh you are on land at the moment”.

I knew we only missed you by a week. Glad you enjoyed it all, there is usually something new to see no matter how often you visit  a port (with a few exceptions).

 

Off topic but what was the new port in Cherbourg like, curious as we are there next week.

[daiB]

18 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

I knew we only missed you by a week. Glad you enjoyed it all, there is usually something new to see no matter how often you visit  a port (with a few exceptions).

 

Off topic but what was the new port in Cherbourg like, curious as we are there next week.

Quite a small ‘old town’ a new shopping mall and a large maritime museum next to the cruise terminal. OK for us but others may want to go further afield Bayeaux or the Normandy landing beaches.

[eddie11]

We enjoyed Cherbourg but it has fond memories as it was our arrival port for x-channel ferries to go camping with the children.  We tend to just wander and lunch.  Excursion to eg the landing beaches, Mont St Michel or Bayeux May suit others more

 

Back to muster

I am reminded of our incredibly delayed flight to Barbados to join Azura.  We arrived at the airport at what felt like 4am to us, having been up since 6 the previous morning.  As they worked really well at the airport to get us on coaches&  away, OH & I looked at each other & said - oh no.  Check in & then muster.  Aaargh

Well, check in was smooth as smooth, with almost more desks than pax seeking attention and muster was a breeze.  Senior officers were on hand to deal with us bleary eyed folk, basically in bus loads as we arrived, 30 or so at a time.  So slick!  Made me wonder if it might be better to do this every time?  Early, middling and late folk could be instructed, would probably take in what was being said better than in hoardes of hundreds and the whole thing might be over sooner.

 

i expect there’s a reason why not but ...

 

 

[dgs1956]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

In a real life emergency then yes, but when it is a planned passenger muster drill at a set time, which has been advertised in advance and confirmed by way of several announcements, then I personally feel that it is a common courtesy to other passengers and crew to be at the relevant muster station no later than the publicised time so that many hundreds of other people aren’t kept waiting for you. But that might just be me. 

So they don't advertise real life emergencies in advance then? I am still of the view that the announcement is made and then you are to proceed to the muster point. If not then why would there be staff stationed along the route? It is not a "drill" if everyone turns up long before the event, it would just be an explanation of a procedure. Surely the idea of it is to simulate an emergency.

 

Generally, the muster drill is taken in simple instructions:

1. An announcement is normally made to passengers, informing them that a mandatory muster drill will begin shortly.
2. Then, another announcement is made, informing crew and passengers, that the "general emergency alarm" is about to be sounded for exercise purposes only.
3. After the alarm has been sounded, passengers are told to then make their way to their muster station.
4. Upon reaching their muster station, passengers are informed of the use of life jackets, lifeboats, etc.
5. A final signal is made, informing that the muster drill is concluded.

 

Edited November 10, 2019 by dgs1956

[Denarius]

5 hours ago, dgs1956 said:

The muster drill is a pain but has to be done. We always wait until we are called to go to the muster station and when we get there we find its full. We're not slow on our feet so the only explanation is that the majority of people have arrived well before the call goes out.

So do I. I always thought that part of the exercise as far as the staff were concerned was to assess how long it took all passengers to get to their muster stations after the alarm was sounded.

[eddie11]

That might well be the case.

 

If it is, they could do it better eg by not being explicit about the time in the Horizon; by asking people not to arrive early, etc

 

By the same token, would pax be asked to return to their cabin on hearing the general emergency signal, to collect their medication and a head covering, before going to their muster station?

 

Its obviously not an easy thing to perfect.  Perhaps what we have is as good as is possible?  
 

Crew organising the lifts would help the less mobile get away more easily after muster... but lift etiquette is a whole new topic, worthy of its own thread!  I’m not brave enough today

 

 

[eddie11]

28 minutes ago, Denarius said:

So do I. I always thought that part of the exercise as far as the staff were concerned was to assess how long it took all passengers to get to their muster stations after the alarm was sounded.

Not requiring pax to take lifejackets now  blows that one out of the water (poor pun noted but unintentional)

[jeanlyon]

6 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

If people turned up on time it could be over and done with in 15 minutes. I think that clarity about when to turn up would help with this.

 

I know it is required by law but I question how useful the muster drill, having been in a real evacuation it had no resemblance whatsoever to the drill! 

If everybody turned up at the same time, say 4.15, it would be total chaos.  our muster station is the theatre.  We were there early and the front 2 rows were full.  It took another half an hour before everyone arrived.  How on earth could that many people all arrive at the same time?   I can't imagine what it would be like if it was for real.

Edited November 10, 2019 by jeanlyon

[Vampiress88]

19 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

It's a recent thing that was trialled on Ventura I believe then fleet wide. 

I will find out for definite tomorrow... 

Did I mention I'm going on a cruise... 😊

Andy 

Yay! 
have fun

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, dgs1956 said:

So they don't advertise real life emergencies in advance then? I am still of the view that the announcement is made and then you are to proceed to the muster point. If not then why would there be staff stationed along the route? It is not a "drill" if everyone turns up long before the event, it would just be an explanation of a procedure. Surely the idea of it is to simulate an emergency.

 

Generally, the muster drill is taken in simple instructions:

1. An announcement is normally made to passengers, informing them that a mandatory muster drill will begin shortly.
2. Then, another announcement is made, informing crew and passengers, that the "general emergency alarm" is about to be sounded for exercise purposes only.
3. After the alarm has been sounded, passengers are told to then make their way to their muster station.
4. Upon reaching their muster station, passengers are informed of the use of life jackets, lifeboats, etc.
5. A final signal is made, informing that the muster drill is concluded.

 

I understand the point you are making, but I don’t believe that the logic holds when it’s a planned muster at an advertised time as most passengers are already at their muster station before the alarm sounds. For staff to be able to assess the true behaviours (and timings) in an emergency the muster would have to be completely unannounced and passengers would need to return to their cabins to collect life jackets, head coverings etc. In reality, what we have on embarkation day isn’t a muster drill at all. It’s a passenger safety briefing, thinly disguised as a muster drill in order that passengers are familiar with where there muster station is.

[Eglesbrech]

31 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

If everybody turned up at the same time, say 4.15, it would be total chaos.  our muster station is the theatre.  We were there early and the front 2 rows were full.  It took another half an hour before everyone arrived.  How on earth could that many people all arrive at the same time?   I can't imagine what it would be like if it was for real.

I din’t say at the same at the same time, I said on time. A bit like arriving for a 7.30 show, people come in a bit at a time but they are there for the start at 7.30. At present people dither in 20 minutes late and every one else is left waiting for them.

Edited November 10, 2019 by Eglesbrech
Typo

[Selbourne]

2 hours ago, daiB said:

Quite a small ‘old town’ a new shopping mall and a large maritime museum next to the cruise terminal. OK for us but others may want to go further afield Bayeaux or the Normandy landing beaches.

The City of the Sea museum next to the berth is excellent in my opinion. The Titanic exhibition was ten times better than the one in Halifax, Nova Scotia and the audio tour of the decommissioned French Nuclear Submarine was very interesting (although, sadly, not accessible for obvious reasons). We didn’t use the shuttle and walked (pushing the wheelchair) along the quayside into the town. Quite a short walk and very interesting seeing the fishermen selling their catch. 

[dgs1956]

24 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I understand the point you are making, but I don’t believe that the logic holds when it’s a planned muster at an advertised time as most passengers are already at their muster station before the alarm sounds. For staff to be able to assess the true behaviours (and timings) in an emergency the muster would have to be completely unannounced and passengers would need to return to their cabins to collect life jackets, head coverings etc. In reality, what we have on embarkation day isn’t a muster drill at all. It’s a passenger safety briefing, thinly disguised as a muster drill in order that passengers are familiar with where there muster station is.

Indeed, but your point that passengers that didn't arrive before the time and waited until they followed the announcements lacked "common courtesy" and I wanted to point out that wasn't the case.

[DamianG]

On our August cruise on Ventura lifejackets were not required for the muster drill. We had an aft cabin so we were able to go down to Havana really quickly via an extra crew/emergency staircase opened up at the end of our corridor.

Returning to the cabin took approximately 15 minutes using the public stairways. As such, my suggestion would be to keep the extra staircases open after the drill so that the passengers can disperse quicker.

I suppose that they don’t do this as these extra staircases would need to manned by crew but if they could I think it would help a lot.

[daiB]

3 hours ago, Selbourne said:

We have booked a cab to Ghent for our next call at Zeebrugge Dai. Any tips for wheelchair users on good places to go or places to avoid?

All generally flat but like Bruges lots of cobbles. The main centre is the Korenmarker ((corn market) plenty of cafes, churches and shopping streets all close by. Being Belgium plenty of beer, waffels, chocolate and chips with mayonnaise.

[manonabike]

2 hours ago, Denarius said:

So do I. I always thought that part of the exercise as far as the staff were concerned was to assess how long it took all passengers to get to their muster stations after the alarm was sounded.

The idea of waiting for the announcement before leaving the cabin is so that people know the emergency route from their cabin to the muster station, which often uses crew staircases. When you had to take your life jacket people would be coming from their cabin anyway. Now that lifejackets are not required there is less incentive to start from your cabin and it is less representative of a genuine emergency when passengers would be asked to either go to their cabins in the first instance or to go and collect warm clothing, hats, medication etc. But I can see the huge benefit in reducing the crush at the end.

[Selbourne]

18 minutes ago, daiB said:

All generally flat but like Bruges lots of cobbles. The main centre is the Korenmarker ((corn market) plenty of cafes, churches and shopping streets all close by. Being Belgium plenty of beer, waffels, chocolate and chips with mayonnaise.

Thanks Dai. Sounds good. We enjoyed Bruges but fancied a change this time. We have yet to explore Blankenberge and may well do so on the return From Ghent, unless the light is fading in which case we shall save it for next time. 

[Eglesbrech]

25 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Thanks Dai. Sounds good. We enjoyed Bruges but fancied a change this time. We have yet to explore Blankenberge and may well do so on the return From Ghent, unless the light is fading in which case we shall save it for next time. 

The Ghent altarpiece the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb in St Bravos Cathedral in the centre of the city is well worth a visit if you like art. Be sure to go round the back to see all the panels as most people only look at the front.

[stephen@stoneyard.co.uk]

5 hours ago, Selbourne said:

In a real life emergency then yes, but when it is a planned passenger muster drill at a set time, which has been advertised in advance and confirmed by way of several announcements, then I personally feel that it is a common courtesy to other passengers and crew to be at the relevant muster station no later than the publicised time so that many hundreds of other people aren’t kept waiting for you. But that might just be me. 

I always aim to be at my muster station at the advertised time.  I thought the instruction given were to return to your cabin and collect your life jacket when you hear the signal. That would make me about five minutes late.