Muster Drill?

[mosiegirl]

First time MSC cruiser here, can someone please tell me more about how the Muster Drill is done on the Seascape?

[JamieLogical]

You will be instructed to return to your room to watch the drill on your stateroom TV. At the end of the drill, a code will be displayed on your TV. You need to call a number from your stateroom telephone and enter the code displayed on your TV. After you have entered the code, wait for your deck number to be called over the PA. When your deck number is called, go to your muster station and have your card scanned. Note that the elevators are disabled during muster, so you and everyone else will have to take the stairs. Once you have reported to your muster and had your card scanned, you don't have to return to your room right away, so you can wait for the elevators to be re-activated.

[ajoneen]

13 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

watch the drill on your stateroom TV.  call a number from your stateroom telephone and enter the code. deck number called. go to your muster station and have your card scanned. 

 

Is there a time limit on the muster drill?  

So if I have a few cocktails ready and chill on my balcony to wait for the craziness to subside- 

I have what 30- 40 mins to check in?

[JamieLogical]

2 minutes ago, ajoneen said:

 

Is there a time limit on the muster drill?  

So if I have a few cocktails ready and chill on my balcony to wait for the craziness to subside- 

I have what 30- 40 mins to check in?

 

They need 75% of the passengers to complete the muster before the bars and elevators can re-open, so if you don't do it sooner than later, you will be contributing to the delay in those things for the rest of the passengers. Also, they will make annoying announcements very frequently reminding people to complete the drill.

Edited August 23, 2023 by JamieLogical

[ajoneen]

2 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

They need 75% of the passengers to complete the muster-you will be contributing to the delay 

 

I don't want to muck up the works- just not be in a cattle call.  so just 1 cocktail on the balcony after  watch and call?  

division of labor.

Best use of resources...

[jules815]

14 hours ago, ajoneen said:

I don't want to muck up the works- just not be in a cattle call.  so just 1 cocktail on the balcony after  watch and call?  

division of labor.

Best use of resources...

I like the way you think!  (We'll be on Seascape in just over 2 weeks.)

 

[morpheusofthesea]

Don't really know for sure, but those with mobility issues and need an elevator should wait for the muster drill the following day and use the elevators.

[GA Dave]

20 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Don't really know for sure, but those with mobility issues and need an elevator should wait for the muster drill the following day and use the elevators.

Actually, if you are disabled, the crew in front of the elevators can activate one for you. I have seen many people in wheelchairs, scooters, and knee walkers allowed to use the elevators during muster on MSC ships.

[Lupush]

I've seen some horror stories over the Seascape muster drill.  Not going until March, but this is stressing me out.

[morpheusofthesea]

The muster drill boils down to 'easy-peasey'. Much prefer it to the old fashion way of standing around for up to an hour in close proximity to others coughing and sneezing not covering their mouths. Watch the video, dial #881 on the phone to register you saw video, go down to muster station and have key card scanned by crew in PINK ball caps. Done. 

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, Lupush said:

I've seen some horror stories over the Seascape muster drill.  Not going until March, but this is stressing me out.

 

Horror stories? Mostly you just have to be aware that the stairways will be crowded and you may have to wait in line to get your card scanned. I haven't heard of any murders or fist fights or anything that should be causing you undue stress.

[GA Dave]

3 hours ago, Lupush said:

I've seen some horror stories over the Seascape muster drill.  Not going until March, but this is stressing me out.

No, this is a horror. Hope and pray we never go back to this.

[Lupush]

13 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Horror stories? Mostly you just have to be aware that the stairways will be crowded and you may have to wait in line to get your card scanned. I haven't heard of any murders or fist fights or anything that should be causing you undue stress.

Standing in a crowded stairwell shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of strangers might be your idea of an enjoyable way to start your vacation, but it's certainly not mine.  Your sarcasm is not appreciated.

[Brighton Line]

Nose to Ass, constantly being yelled at to be quiet. Yelled out not to use cell phones. Yelled at to move back further, and keep the front clear.

 

Hey, back in 1995 we had the Mustard Drill at 10a after we sailed late the night before. They had to check you off on paper and as the officer turned the paper on his clipboard it blew overboard. Had to wait for another set of papers and start all over again checking names. Of course, when we got to the part about not throwing things overboard we let him have it.

Scanning keycards is so much simpler now.

 

[JamieLogical]

50 minutes ago, Lupush said:

Standing in a crowded stairwell shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of strangers might be your idea of an enjoyable way to start your vacation, but it's certainly not mine.  Your sarcasm is not appreciated.

 

Did you ever do muster pre-COVID?

[Lupush]

3 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Did you ever do muster pre-COVID?

Pre-COVID has nothing to do with present day.  MSC's musters are a mess by many accounts.  If the other lines can figure it out, they should be able to as well.

[JamieLogical]

Just now, Lupush said:

Pre-COVID has nothing to do with present day.  MSC's musters are a mess by many accounts.  If the other lines can figure it out, they should be able to as well.

 

I am just saying... if you coped with muster pre-COVID, then you will definitely be able to handle MSC's muster. No need to stress yourself out about it.

[morpheusofthesea]

2 hours ago, Lupush said:

Standing in a crowded stairwell shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of strangers might be your idea of an enjoyable way to start your vacation, but it's certainly not mine.  Your sarcasm is not appreciated.

MSC is the only (?) cruise line we know of that allows guests to check in at muster station the following day. Thus alleviating the overcrowded fear of close contact. How exactly did the "other" cruise line(s) handle the muster drill ?

P.S. We also made the mistake of switching a MSC booking in March to Hal Niew Amsterdam Pinnacle Suite with a CDC sanitation score of 97 (in March) due mainly for fear of too many spring breakers. DW, a germaphobe, caught Covid and norovirus the last days of the 7 day cruise, fainted and was hospitalized. We racked our brains on what she did different than me and narrowed it to unsanitary practice of the bread basket. We would have been better off keeping our MSC booking in the YC Club. The week following Hal reported an outbreak of over 200 with norovirus. MSC Seaside with  a CDC of 67 did not have any problems.

Edited August 25, 2023 by morpheusofthesea

[JamieLogical]

6 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

MSC is the only (?) cruise line we know of that allows guests to check in at muster station the following day. Thus alleviating the overcrowded fear of close contact. How exactly did the "other" cruise line(s) handle the muster drill ?

 

Post-COVID, the other lines I have sailed (NCL, Celebrity, and Princess) have just required you to watch the muster video online or in your stateroom and report to your muster station to have your card scanned before sailaway. They don't hold a single muster drill at a specific time anymore.

[morpheusofthesea]

12 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Post-COVID, the other lines I have sailed (NCL, Celebrity, and Princess) have just required you to watch the muster video online or in your stateroom and report to your muster station to have your card scanned before sailaway. They don't hold a single muster drill at a specific time anymore.

Must have changed in 2022. We sailed exclusively in 2021 on Celebrity in the Retreat and had to muster in one of the restaurants and watch the video there. Also we became familiar with your great reporting at that time as well. Glad you made the transition to MSC. We do love Celebrity Retreat, but MSC fulfills more of the things on our list, like providing a reserved pergola on the OnePool deck, a  cushioned lounge chair on our balcony, an open suite only restaurant on port days, a clean, bug free out island, a very attentive butler (not one that disappears for the entire cruise when glimpses DW 12 suitcases having booked a Villa), reserved seating in the theatre for all shows, exclusivity of being inside a gated community and (at times) an elevator over ride perk. Perhaps the greatest perk of all on MSC is never hearing 'No'. Have only experienced "Anything you want Mr. Morpheus". Now how can we go anywhere else than MSC ?

[jcpc]

46 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Must have changed in 2022. We sailed exclusively in 2021 on Celebrity in the Retreat and had to muster in one of the restaurants and watch the video there. Also we became familiar with your great reporting at that time as well. Glad you made the transition to MSC. We do love Celebrity Retreat, but MSC fulfills more of the things on our list, like providing a reserved pergola on the OnePool deck, a  cushioned lounge chair on our balcony, an open suite only restaurant on port days, a clean, bug free out island, a very attentive butler (not one that disappears for the entire cruise when glimpses DW 12 suitcases having booked a Villa), reserved seating in the theatre for all shows, exclusivity of being inside a gated community and (at times) an elevator over ride perk. Perhaps the greatest perk of all on MSC is never hearing 'No'. Have only experienced "Anything you want Mr. Morpheus". Now how can we go anywhere else than MSC ?

@morpheusoftheseaI'm not sure what ship/sailing dates you sailed in 2021, but I believe Celebrity resumed their sailings from a U.S. port in the July 2021 timeframe.  I sailed two Edge sailings in September 2021 and our muster drill was held as @JamieLogicalstates (i.e., watch a video and report to your muster station any time prior to ship departure to get your card scanned).  I again sailed on two Summit sailings in November 2021 and my experience with muster was still the same.  Prior to Covid, however, you had to report to the muster station en masse and watch a video/listen to instructions there.

 

I am trying my first MSC Yacht Club sailing in two weeks and am looking forward to it very much.

Edited August 25, 2023 by jcpc

[morpheusofthesea]

4 minutes ago, jcpc said:

@morpheusoftheseaI'm not sure what ship/sailing dates you sailed in 2021, but I believe Celebrity resumed their sailings from a U.S. port in the July 2021 timeframe.  I sailed two Edge sailings in September 2021 and our muster drill was held as @JamieLogicalstates (i.e., watch a video and report to your muster station any time prior to ship departure to get your card scanned).  I again sailed on two Summit sailings in November 2021 and my experience with muster was still the same.  Prior to Covid, however, you had to report to the muster station en masse and watch a video/listen to instructions there.

You all are probably right. Funny thing about memory, we tend to remember the the bad times more than the good times. 

[JamieLogical]

51 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Must have changed in 2022. We sailed exclusively in 2021 on Celebrity in the Retreat and had to muster in one of the restaurants and watch the video there. Also we became familiar with your great reporting at that time as well. Glad you made the transition to MSC. We do love Celebrity Retreat, but MSC fulfills more of the things on our list, like providing a reserved pergola on the OnePool deck, a  cushioned lounge chair on our balcony, an open suite only restaurant on port days, a clean, bug free out island, a very attentive butler (not one that disappears for the entire cruise when glimpses DW 12 suitcases having booked a Villa), reserved seating in the theatre for all shows, exclusivity of being inside a gated community and (at times) an elevator over ride perk. Perhaps the greatest perk of all on MSC is never hearing 'No'. Have only experienced "Anything you want Mr. Morpheus". Now how can we go anywhere else than MSC ?

 

I sailed Celebrity many times between July 2021 and September 2022 (including once in the Retreat on the Summit) and all of the musters were as I described. Watched a video in our stateroom and then just went to our muster station at our leisure to have our cards scanned. They did have crew members near the elevators directing people to their muster stations to try to encourage them to get their cards scanned ASAP, but there was definitely no gathering in a specific location at a specific time.

[JamieLogical]

56 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Must have changed in 2022. We sailed exclusively in 2021 on Celebrity in the Retreat and had to muster in one of the restaurants and watch the video there. Also we became familiar with your great reporting at that time as well. Glad you made the transition to MSC. We do love Celebrity Retreat, but MSC fulfills more of the things on our list, like providing a reserved pergola on the OnePool deck, a  cushioned lounge chair on our balcony, an open suite only restaurant on port days, a clean, bug free out island, a very attentive butler (not one that disappears for the entire cruise when glimpses DW 12 suitcases having booked a Villa), reserved seating in the theatre for all shows, exclusivity of being inside a gated community and (at times) an elevator over ride perk. Perhaps the greatest perk of all on MSC is never hearing 'No'. Have only experienced "Anything you want Mr. Morpheus". Now how can we go anywhere else than MSC ?

 

I wouldn't say I have completely given up on Celebrity, but it is hard to justify their current pricing, especially when all the reports on the CC Celebrity forums are about services and quality being cut or there being upcharges for things that used to be included.

[jcpc]

14 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I wouldn't say I have completely given up on Celebrity, but it is hard to justify their current pricing, especially when all the reports on the CC Celebrity forums are about services and quality being cut or there being upcharges for things that used to be included.

I totally agree with you.  I have sailed exclusively with Celebrity since its inception and have attained their highest loyalty status (for what it's worth (actually it's not worth much anymore)....LOL).  I have decided to give MSC Yacht Club a try next month.  I cannot justify paying the amount of money Celebrity is now asking.  My last sailing on Celebrity was July 2023 in a SkySuite and while we had a great time and service was good (mainly because we knew tons of crew members as we sail Summit frequently) I definitely could see things rapidly going downhill.  Time to see what else is out there.

Edited August 25, 2023 by jcpc