NCL Returns to Tradition Muster Drill, Will Royal Follow?

[UKWLDCruise]

My last cruise, November, they had people outside the doors and were intercepting people before they walked up or down to their muster station and ticking them off.  

[Starry Eyes]

3 hours ago, Mick B said:

Hi,

 

Would that work for everyone?

 

I normally board the ship around noon and either go and do the muster first (if they are there as sometimes they don't start until 1pm), then have a bite to eat in the WJ or do the WJ then the drill. At this point in time my sea pass card is still on my cabin door which is still locked off until around 2pm, sometimes earlier. I do not normally have a drink at first lunch, although we do enjoy a glass of wine in the Champagne bar which they normally allow if you give them your details.

I think the e-muster should include having your sea pass card in hand to prove you have come from your stateroom, then after doing the drill, allow it to purchase items.

The only problem is now you are asking everyone to wait until after 2pm to do the drill making it more crowded again.

 

I still think a better way to do this....

Upon arrival on board the ship you do not go into the inside of the ship yet, but go along the deck to a member of crew who will show you a life boat drill and put your details in the system. Then afterwards you go to your actual muster station where another member of crew ticks you off to confirm you know where to go. (A member of crew could look after several muster areas at a time and save on staff as he could just move to wherever he is needed).

Again, the only problem is this doesn't prove you would know your way there from your cabin. I keep going on about this, but isn't this the most important thing. Remember it may be dark, there may be a power failure, lights may be on emergency settings only and the lifts won't be working so you need to know how to get to your muster station asap.

 

Another issue is anyone using the Royal Up who is still waiting for their new cabins to be given to them may now end up in a different part of the ship and therefore having a new muster station altogether, now do they need to do a new muster to prove they now know the new way to their life boat?

 

Maybe anyone that does the muster before the rooms open (and therefore not having a sea pass card) must return to the muster station with it to prove they now know the route and then get signed off.

 

At the end of the day safety for ALL on board must be the top priority. However, enjoying the maximum time you have on board is the trade-off.

 

I really hope they can keep the e-muster and just find a way to tweak it a bit more in order to make sure everyone who uses it gets the same standard as before the shutdown.

BTW does anyone else agree with me about the importance of knowing your way from your cabin to your life boat. Remember, although you may get familiar with the ships layout as time goes by, the emergency may come on the first night.

 

Mick.

 

 

There is no particular reason to believe that people will be in their cabins when an emergency occurs, so nor are they supposed to return to their cabins if they are elsewhere.  A daytime emergency is as likely as a nighttime emergency.  Furthermore, in an actual emergency addition evacuation routes such as crew stairs would be available; these are often the fastest routes as marked on cabin doors, yet these cannot be explored during the drill. Thus I don’t see much point concentrating on cabins; concentrate on destination. 

 

[DallasGuy75219]

3 hours ago, Mick B said:

Hi,

 

Would that work for everyone?

 

I normally board the ship around noon and either go and do the muster first (if they are there as sometimes they don't start until 1pm), then have a bite to eat in the WJ or do the WJ then the drill. At this point in time my sea pass card is still on my cabin door which is still locked off until around 2pm, sometimes earlier. I do not normally have a drink at first lunch, although we do enjoy a glass of wine in the Champagne bar which they normally allow if you give them your details.

I think the e-muster should include having your sea pass card in hand to prove you have come from your stateroom, then after doing the drill, allow it to purchase items.

The only problem is now you are asking everyone to wait until after 2pm to do the drill making it more crowded again.

 

I still think a better way to do this....

Upon arrival on board the ship you do not go into the inside of the ship yet, but go along the deck to a member of crew who will show you a life boat drill and put your details in the system. Then afterwards you go to your actual muster station where another member of crew ticks you off to confirm you know where to go. (A member of crew could look after several muster areas at a time and save on staff as he could just move to wherever he is needed).

Again, the only problem is this doesn't prove you would know your way there from your cabin. I keep going on about this, but isn't this the most important thing. Remember it may be dark, there may be a power failure, lights may be on emergency settings only and the lifts won't be working so you need to know how to get to your muster station asap.

 

Another issue is anyone using the Royal Up who is still waiting for their new cabins to be given to them may now end up in a different part of the ship and therefore having a new muster station altogether, now do they need to do a new muster to prove they now know the new way to their life boat?

 

Maybe anyone that does the muster before the rooms open (and therefore not having a sea pass card) must return to the muster station with it to prove they now know the route and then get signed off.

 

At the end of the day safety for ALL on board must be the top priority. However, enjoying the maximum time you have on board is the trade-off.

 

I really hope they can keep the e-muster and just find a way to tweak it a bit more in order to make sure everyone who uses it gets the same standard as before the shutdown.

BTW does anyone else agree with me about the importance of knowing your way from your cabin to your life boat. Remember, although you may get familiar with the ships layout as time goes by, the emergency may come on the first night.

 

Mick.

 

 

You are wayyyyyy overthinking and overcomplicating this.  Even before COVID, on all the Royal ships I was on the muster stations were dining rooms, lounges, etc, and they did not take you to the lifeboats (or the area where you'd board them) after accounting for everyone at the muster station. 

[Mick B]

Hi all,

I just think if there was something special the e-muster could do that improves on saving lives over the old way, then that would be a valid reason to keep it.

 

As for returning to your cabin in an emergency, although I have not suggested this, one reason my wife would have to return is for her tablets for a medical condition. These would not normally be taken out of the cabin during the day as she would only normally take one at evening dinner, so unless the emergency was then, she would need to either return to her cabin or get staff to do so, depending on where that cabin was and where the emergency was.

 

As I said in an earlier post, we spend nearly a third of the day in our cabin, not just at night, but also returning to get changed and showered and to use the loo etc.

So there is a good chance of being in your cabin during an emergency which is why I think it is a good idea to know how to get to your muster station from it, and by using the normal walkways and stairs and if the e-muster app could be used for this in some way then surely that can only be a positive thing and a good reason to use it and keep it.

 

Also, I think at a bare minimum in either case, you should have to attend your actual life boat station during the muster drill unless for some reason it not possible, but then why would it not be possible? I too have had the drill in the pub, theatre and other places, but have also been myself to find it just to be sure, but that's just me. Not everyone seems bothered, but surely they should be.

 

Mick.