Skipping the muster drill?

[MrPete]

And besides we have such a cute collection of pictures in those lovely orange vests .. you can't get that just anywhere you know !!!

 

[Skyev21]

Ok, before you start attacking, etc, I have never done it and am not considering it, but has anyone ever skipped a muster drill (Hid in your cabin, etc). What would happen? Do they do random checks of the cabins?

 

They walked in on my DH & I getting freaky!!! lol!:D

 

They just walk right in!!!:p

 

Watch out!

[calicruise74]

And it always so much fun to see the people that INSIST on blowing the whistles attached to the jackets! ....because they clean and sanitize those after every drill ya know :rolleyes:

[DocF]

What is with morons who either want to skip or have skipped the Muster drill? It is 15 minutes out of your day, and is required by both the US Coast Guard, and International Maritime law. You know which ones you are, the ones that would push their way ahead of everyone else to get to the life boats and be the first ones off the ship in case of an at sea emergency.

 

I really would rather be on an inflatable raft than a lifeboat. The odds of abandoning ship in a glassy, smooth sea are rather small. If there is any kind of sea running, a raft is much more likely to survive than is even a modern lifeboat. This is based on the last three weather-related sinkings in the U. S. Great Lakes fleet. The only survivors from the Carl D. Bradley were on a raft, the only survivor from the Daniel J. Morrell was on a raft. No one survived the Edmund Fitzgerald.

 

Now as to skipping Muster? We happened to have a couple of wise guys who tried that stunt in the spring of 2007 while the Coast Guard was on board. Our muster took one hour and twenty minutes until everyone was accounted for. If I knew who the jerks were, I think I would have thrown them overboard.

 

Doc

[travelntreats]

Ok, before you start attacking, etc, I have never done it and am not considering it, but has anyone ever skipped a muster drill (Hid in your cabin, etc). What would happen? Do they do random checks of the cabins?

I am guilty of skipping but only because my better half was not feeling well and I wanted to stay at their side. Our stateroom attendant did come in and offered some ginger tablets and said he needed us to sign a form stating we did not attend and the reason why. We did not get in any trouble, but it was a necessary violation of the requirement and I certainly would not suggest to others to do so. That drill is important and things may have changed since the last cruise you were on or even a different procedure than the last ship you were on. Take it serious folks in the event you must follow evacuation procedures.

[wawapeg]

On my last cruise we were on the Lido deck when they announced the drill. We purposely took a little time (have learned not to be first - get smushed like a can of sardines....and I feel like I cannot breathe). We went down one deck to our cabins and the stewards were in the hallway checking off the rooms and putting a tag on the cabin doors of those who had taken their vests and left for the drill. We were politely urged to be quick...we were...and we still waited about 5 minutes for the drill to start. I would not miss the drill....I know it is the law....though if there were an emergency I am not sure I would even remember what deck we are to report to! I assume it would be a free for all.

 

Has anyone ever had to evacuate the ship via the lifeboats?? If so, tell us about it!

[Vanessa L]

You've never heard of idle curiosity? Just wanting to know the who/what/when/where/why/how of things?

 

It sells millions of publications a year.

 

Not to mention filling megagazillion bytes on the internet every day! *L*

 

Oh, I get idle curiosity!!! I don't know, it just seems kind of odd to me. It's kind of like, "I'm not going to rob a bank, I would never dream of doing something like that....but, what would happen if I did? Do you know where the secret police buttons are in the bank? Do you know how to disable them? How would you get into the safe if you didn't have the combination? Mind you, I would NEVER rob a bank, I'm just curious." On and on....you know, idle curiosity doesn't sound like someone trying to figure out how to get around something. Idle curiosity is, "What are the juices available on board?" "Are the rooms with port holes smaller than the rooms with picture windows?" Etc. Of course, it makes no difference to me, I don't skip muster drills anymore (though, as I've stated before, when I was young and stupid back in the 80s I skipped them all the time) I want to know what to do in the unfortunate event that something happens. Besides, as others have pointed out, we've gotten where we have a good time with muster drills now, we have some great pics at musters :)

[fig414]

One cruise I actually was taking a nap on the couch and heard the door open and the steward call out and of course I didn't answer. Our last 2 we wait until the last of the numerous announcements and walk down and it is harmless. Just don't go at 1st call.

[marinewifeandproud]

OMG!!! Here we go again. Except last time the lady was like "oops Im a bad girl I skipped the muster drill" UHHHH ok and her point was??...lol Its kind of weird to see the same posts over and over again. Just like the smoking in the Piano bar. Now that was a lengthy post.....by the way just to add fuel to the fire, I still think they should ban smoking in the piano bar. Anyone else ??.....lol Just stirring the pot. :D

 

I'm all for banning smoking......as long as they ban cheap cologne, perfume, nasty drunks, and obnoxious children.

[southbayer]

As they clear out each cabin, they put little flags in the key card slot....

 

They'll knock on each door, if nobody answers, they'll open it and see who is in there, if nobodys there, they put the flag in.

Ok, before you start attacking, etc, I have never done it and am not considering it, but has anyone ever skipped a muster drill (Hid in your cabin, etc). What would happen? Do they do random checks of the cabins?

[mama_hao]

And I Know I am officially on a Cruise when the LIFEboat Drill Begins!!

For the love of Pete (whoever Pete is anyway) don't skip the muster!...It delays my drinking time.........

 

I was thinking both of these. The lifeboat drill is the 'official start of the cruise' until that I could be at any restaurant/bar. But once I put on my oh-so-clean-and-attractive orange vest.... I"M CRUISIN!

[BooBooMonkey]

Don't skip the drill people! Get over it. It is part of the cruise, and is kind of an "initiation rite" to the cruise for us. Take pictures!

 

That said, stuff can happen! Last cruise, our boys were 4 rooms away from us, but next to our (adult) friends' room. DH and I knew the couple, but the boys had just met them after boarding. We were all in our rooms unpacking at the time the muster alarm was sounded. Our friends were first-time cruisers, and our boys are just good little sailors and follow instructions, even though they had done this before!

 

When the sound went off for the muster, we knew you didn't have to leave the cabin at the absolute first time you hear the alarm. We had a lot of unpacking to do! When we walked down the hall and knocked on their doors, neither the boys or our friends answered! Mind you, this was maybe 10 minutes after the first notice about muster! Not like we were hanging back or trying to delay anyone! We've been on a few cruises, and have noticed it is not a good idea to run up there at the first notice (because of people like "us"...LOL...not really, we're not muster jumpers/late musterers [is that a word?] :p.

 

Not sure what to do at this point?! We went up to our muster station, and the crew had hand-held devices to record who was at muster (this was Costa). Now, we're worrying where our kids are, and hoping we're not in big trouble, and (again) worrying where the heck our boys are! Muster was painless and not as long as we thought it would be considering Costa does it in 5 languages!

 

Turns out, the boys went with our friends, and when asked, both our friends and the boys said they were "together" (aka parents/children), and there were no questions asked! Kind of funny considering our friends are 10 years younger than us, and it would be a stretch for them to be old enough to be our kids' parents! It was funny at the time, but Next time, I'll give the kids better instructions about going to muster with US!!!

 

That is my only sort-of-kind-of funny muster story :cool:.

[Jilpo]

Why do you have to wear the life jacket? I've only been on one cruise - we had to go to the theater for the drill - I didn't see any life boats nearby - and it wouldn't have been bad at all except for the fact that it was devilishly hot and I sure didn't need an extra layer on. So what is the reason you can't just carry it?

[yearnin4cruisin]

You'd be surprised at how many people have trouble putting them on properly; that's why you need to do it to make sure you know how.

[DreadPirateRobert]

Guess I'm nuts but I actually enjoy Muster. First of all it is a sure sign that the cruise is about to begin. You get to meet people in an unusual situation. It's pretty hard to put on airs or take yourself too seriously with a big orange life jacket on so most people I see are pretty relaxed. I just don't think it's that big of a deal.

Then again the 5 or 6 drinks I've had since boarding might just have an impact on my opinion of Muster. That's it. Maybe instead of banning drinking during Muster they should require it. :D

[gill_boo]

To me its an annoying part of the trip but I have never skipped it.

 

However, on my last 3 cruises, they started sailaway while we were still doing it and that bummed me out to miss sailaway.

[big_duck]

Why do you have to wear the life jacket? I've only been on one cruise - we had to go to the theater for the drill - I didn't see any life boats nearby - and it wouldn't have been bad at all except for the fact that it was devilishly hot and I sure didn't need an extra layer on. So what is the reason you can't just carry it?

 

Actually, our last 2 cruises we were instructed to carry the lifejacket to muster, instructions on proper wearing were given during the drill.

[mamasue]

I've never skipped a muster drill... but I must admit.... on our last cruise... the life jacket was so dirty smelly and skanky that I didn't put it on.... I was hiding at the back... nobody noticed!! If someone had asked me to put it on... I would have!!

Also.... in a real emergency.... skanky or not.... yes I would wear it... I'd even blow the horrible whistle!!:rolleyes:

[pnjkeith]

Ok, before you start attacking, etc, I have never done it and am not considering it, but has anyone ever skipped a muster drill (Hid in your cabin, etc). What would happen? Do they do random checks of the cabins?

 

We just sat on our balcony and closed the curtains. No one ever checked and we skipped the muster drill. I HATE THE WAY CARNIVAL DOES IT! We found the Princess way of setting in a lobby much more enjoyable!

[BND]

So, hating the way it's done is the justifiable reason to skip something that is required? I love how "proud" some people are whenever they buck the system as if it's a badge of honor. It's 20 minutes out of your life. Most of us spend more time than that commuting to work, but we still do it.

 

 

Hello, it's not supposed to be a party, it's supposed to be about learning about safety. Geesh, is everything in life supposed to be "enjoyable"? If you think that way, you'll have a tough time dealing with reality.

[calicruise74]

We just sat on our balcony and closed the curtains. No one ever checked and we skipped the muster drill. I HATE THE WAY CARNIVAL DOES IT! We found the Princess way of setting in a lobby much more enjoyable!

 

Because thats what its all about...making it enjoyable.:rolleyes:

[RoofingPrincess]

However, on my last 3 cruises, they started sailaway while we were still doing it and that bummed me out to miss sailaway.

Mine too! Is this a regular thing on Carnival? Because that's the only place it's happened to me... on my RCCL and Princess cruises, we had plenty of time after muster to put away our lifejackets and get a drink before they sailed....

[spaceflower77]

I would never consider skipping the drill... it's a bit of a nuisance, however, the lifevest pics of everyone in the hallway are pretty funny. when you photograph it, the reflective tape shows up really brightly -- I love our muster pics AND it's important. I agree with the other post... have fun with it, it's very short and then go have a drink... or hell -- take one with you!

[fargodakota]

Well, I’ve had to wear those big puffy orange life jackets more than a few times and they can be a pain to put on and do it correctly.

I think it would be funny to watch people who have no idea who to do it try and mess it up. I know we liked to laugh at the new guys onboard when they messed up putting them on.

As for the smoking….yuck!

[greatful]

Ok, before you start attacking, etc, I have never done it and am not considering it, but has anyone ever skipped a muster drill (Hid in your cabin, etc). What would happen? Do they do random checks of the cabins?

 

Hummmm someone thinks it's time to stir the pot :) Are you the one who revives the "jeans on formal night" threads every now and then when you are bored?