Why do Ships Sail during Muster???

[teeredi2cruise]

Just curious. It is disappointing to see the ship already gone usually while we are at the drill. Anyone know why this is?

[David148]

I think it has something to do with the Coast Guard circling the ship to make sure the ship is doing the muster drill, i could be wrong tho. lol but yes i hate it. i wish we all had to do the muster drill FIRST and then when its over they get the go ahead to set sail! Would be lots more FUN! Cuz while the ship is moving out of port and we are stuck standing on deck doing the drill , i feel like im missing views or waving goodbye or something fun lol

 

-David

[salty dingo]

I think the reasons are:

• They want to have the drill before the ship sails but sometimes it takes longer to complete it
  
• Sometimes it may take the crew longer to assemble and they start the drill later than planned
  
• The ship sails when the port authority tells them to, especially in a busy port like Miami
  

I would like the drill to be completely over 15 minutes before sailing. Usually, she sails close to the time the drill ends.

[cuyahoga11]

I have only been on 6 cruises but all of my sailaways have been after muster.

[Kurbanfan]

We have never sailed during muster.......

[Maxax]

Yeah...I've heard of that happening too...but so far...on all of my cruises...we've always sailed away AFTER the muster!

[*Mach*]

Interesting timing! John Heald addressed this question on his blog today:

Mr Pete

 

Well, that’s a good question and I am sure you already know the answer is certainly Carnival does not want to purposely upset anyone at anytime so to suggest that is a little silly isn’t it.

 

However, I understand your frustration. The ship’s captain certainly given the choice would not want to hold the Emergency Drill while the ship is pulling away from the side of the pier. We realize that this is part of the “experience” and whenever they can the ship’s command will not let go the lines until the drill is completed.

 

However, that is not always possible. There are many scenarios in which this can’t be helped. The main one is traffic. If all the guests are onboard the port authorities may tell the captain he has to leave now………or miss his slot and wait to much later which in some cases would effect dining times and even the on schedule arrival in the first port of call. Traffic doesn’t just mean cruise vessels but commercial traffic as well. This is applicable to all ports especially Port Everglades and Miami.

 

Then there is the fact that by law….United States Coast Guard law…each and every guest must know how to save their life. If this means that just a few minutes before sailing time we still have 100 or more guests still arriving from late flights then the captain will wait until they have boarded before starting the drill…….because that is as I said………the law.

 

So, while I promise you that we always do our best to hold the drill before sailing there are times when this is not possible and as important as enjoying the sailaway experience is I am sure Sir that you will agree with me that is nowhere near as important as making sure everyone knows what to do in a real emergency.

 

http://johnhealdsblog.com/2009/06/16/judge-john/#comments

[Cruisin' Ron VA]

This has happened to me a few times. A bit annoying but I get over it once I suck down a few mudslides and FL is getting smaller and smaller as we sail away.

[DarthGrady]

Mine have been hit or miss. Sometimes they sail during the drill, sometimes its a good bit afterwards. I really appreciate it when they have it early enough so that I can take the life vests back and make it up to the observation deck above the bridge.

[brt49]

I think it is a legal issue, but also when are you going to have everyone on the ship out of their room at the same time?

[teeredi2cruise]

Interesting timing! John Heald addressed this question on his blog today:

 

 

Mr Pete

 

Well, that’s a good question and I am sure you already know the answer is certainly Carnival does not want to purposely upset anyone at anytime so to suggest that is a little silly isn’t it.

 

However, I understand your frustration. The ship’s captain certainly given the choice would not want to hold the Emergency Drill while the ship is pulling away from the side of the pier. We realize that this is part of the “experience” and whenever they can the ship’s command will not let go the lines until the drill is completed.

 

However, that is not always possible. There are many scenarios in which this can’t be helped. The main one is traffic. If all the guests are onboard the port authorities may tell the captain he has to leave now………or miss his slot and wait to much later which in some cases would effect dining times and even the on schedule arrival in the first port of call. Traffic doesn’t just mean cruise vessels but commercial traffic as well. This is applicable to all ports especially Port Everglades and Miami.

 

Then there is the fact that by law….United States Coast Guard law…each and every guest must know how to save their life. If this means that just a few minutes before sailing time we still have 100 or more guests still arriving from late flights then the captain will wait until they have boarded before starting the drill…….because that is as I said………the law.

 

So, while I promise you that we always do our best to hold the drill before sailing there are times when this is not possible and as important as enjoying the sailaway experience is I am sure Sir that you will agree with me that is nowhere near as important as making sure everyone knows what to do in a real emergency.

 

http://johnhealdsblog.com/2009/06/16/judge-john/#comments

 

Wow Host Mach, that's great information and quick too. No wonder you are "Host".:) Thanks. I guess I won't feel as "slighted" the next time it happens.

[David148]

wow its kind of interesting how it happens sometimes and not others. I just thought it was normal all the time because on the 3 cruises i have been on, we have started moving/sailing during the drill lol. Maybe this 4th cruise in sept will be diff! haha :)

 

-David

[falkcor]

Interesting timing! John Heald addressed this question on his blog today:

 

 

 

However, that is not always possible. There are many scenarios in which this can’t be helped. The main one is traffic. If all the guests are onboard the port authorities may tell the captain he has to leave now………or miss his slot and wait to much later which in some cases would effect dining times and even the on schedule arrival in the first port of call. Traffic doesn’t just mean cruise vessels but commercial traffic as well. This is applicable to all ports especially Port Everglades and Miami.

 

you beat me to it :D i was writing a response to that 'other' muster thread. a long response lol.

 

i appreciated the idea of 'slots' being regulated by the ports - it does make sense, and i hadn't entirely thought of it that way... in part because i've been on a cruise that left something like 3 hrs late, waiting for late pax. but, maybe it was 3, instead of 2, because of said 'slots'. i don't know.

 

i find it plausible, but do they they should make every effort possible to not muster during sailaway, even if it means scheduling later 'slots' from the offset, as this seems to happen more often than it should. say, a 1 hr later 'slot' would preclude a lot of muster sail aways. i would think they have the market share and presence in many ports to request such scheduling.

[DGP1111]

< < < If all the guests are onboard the port authorities may tell the captain he has to leave now….. or miss his slot and wait to much later which in some cases would effect dining times and even the on schedule arrival in the first port of call > > >

 

Thanks for posting the JH reply, but I think I could personally stare at the one part for an hour and still not figure it out. In what case(s) might dining times be affected??

 

The one time in FTL that we were late departing on Carnival Liberty, we left the port right about the time the last seating was getting our desserts. There was a long delay due to navigation computer problems, but we all still dined at appropriate time, and all scheduled entertainment went as planned. Someone please clue me in on what I'm missing (which is probably obvious, and I'm being a doof). Thanks. :)

[candigirl41]

If it is because of the coast guard, why do some ships have their muster drills the next morning after sailing?

 

Candi

[*Mach*]

you beat me to it :D i was writing a response to that 'other' muster thread. a long response lol.

 

i appreciated the idea of 'slots' being regulated by the ports - it does make sense, and i hadn't entirely thought of it that way... in part because i've been on a cruise that left something like 3 hrs late, waiting for late pax. but, maybe it was 3, instead of 2, because of said 'slots'. i don't know.

 

i find it plausible, but do they they should make every effort possible to not muster during sailaway, even if it means scheduling later 'slots' from the offset, as this seems to happen more often than it should. say, a 1 hr later 'slot' would preclude a lot of muster sail aways. i would think they have the market share and presence in many ports to request such scheduling.

 

 

Ya' know, there are SO many variables in play here... One of the biggest is CBP's requirement for the entire passenger manifest to be in their hands AT LEAST one hour prior to sailing. So, someone boards an hour late and the sailing is pushed back an hour. So, rather than sailing at 4 PM the next time would be 5 PM.

If there's no time available at 5 then perhaps 5:30 or 6...

John started addressing this issue nearly two years ago as he, and everyone else at Carnival, knows how important the Sail Away is to the entire experience. John ran into a stone wall in his efforts to get around the conflict between boat drill and sail away.

This is one of those issues, much like dress codes, that comes up every few months and are addressed until folks are bored and move onto the next hot button issue!!

:)

[*Mach*]

Thanks for posting the JH reply, but I think I could personally stare at the one part for an hour and still not figure it out. In what case(s) might dining times be affected??

 

The one time in FTL that we were late departing on Carnival Liberty, we left the port right about the time the last seating was getting our desserts. There was a long delay due to navigation computer problems, but we all still dined at appropriate time, and all scheduled entertainment went as planned. Someone please clue me in on what I'm missing (which is probably obvious, and I'm being a doof). Thanks. :)

 

 

Hey, Don!!

I suspect that the problem might be rooted in the duties that some of the staff are required to perform.

I spoke to a Lido Deck waiter who had duties to perform during sail away and docking so that may be the issue... don't know for sure, however...

:)

[OrlandoD]

I suspect that they don't give a fart if we sail during the drill or not. It's just part of the job for staff to be at muster drill and whether or not it interferes with our vacation is irrelevant. We are sailing out of NYC at the end of this month and I will be beyond pissed off if I miss the Statue of Liberty while packed in between smelly cruise-mates waiting to be "released". I do believe the line has 24hours from sail aways to do the drill - that said, when would you like it? I think they have their best chance to get passengers to be cooperative when they first board rather than "the morning after the night before". Can you just imagine trying to do the drill amongst the hangovers?!:eek:

 

I think that this is one part of the cruise experience that has really taken a hit. Sailaway used to be such a party with live music on the Lido. Now we seem to be far more concerned with port scheduling - optimizing the number of trips. (That's why it's such a value) My pre-cruise weekend in NYC is getting to be close to my 5-day cruise price. With such a deal comes some financial squeezing!

 

 

Oh and we have gotten underway sailing away on the last three of our FL port cruises. Not happy.

[kdinkus1]

I, too, don't like missing the sailaway but know it's happens sometimes. So my DH and I usually take our time and make our way to our 'muster' stations and end up somewhere close to the front. That way we can see us pull away from the dock. Being in the front also helps our get away faster! PS... We never are so slow that we hold the drill up! Wouldn't dare! :(

[GottaLuvCruising]

In more than two dozen cruises, this has happened just a few times, but I share the OPs frustration. It's not the end of the world, but we do really enjoy watching sailaway from our balcony...like the official start of our vacation. So I would prefer they complete the muster drill before we sail when at all possible.

[kelz66]

Just curious. It is disappointing to see the ship already gone usually while we are at the drill. Anyone know why this is?

 

Why? are you missing photo's of the shipping port and storage containers piled up on the way out? :p

 

None of the bars are open so you are not missing any fun.

 

By the time it is done the ugly areas are gone and the scenic views are just coming into view.

 

No big deal. :p:cool:

[Shipshape7]

We've sailed out of New York several times, but always at 4 o'clock. This time, though, sailaway is scheduled for 5 o'clock. Passing the Statue of Liberty and sailing under the Verrranzano bridge are considered highlights of the cruise by many. Even if they start the drill on time, its going to be a tight schedule for those of us with early dining. I understand the problem, but I can certainly sympathize with first time out of NY cruisers -- especially if they get stuck at a muster station that is inside or on the wrong side of the ship. I hope they understand if a lot of people are late for dinner on the first night.

[Pegs222]

On our cruise to Hawaii, we had our Muster Drill the next morning. We were told they have to have the Muster Drill in the first 24 hours after sailing. When we left from Vancouver, we were about an hour late and we had already sat down for dinner when we sailed away. I guess sail away is not as important as it is to some and since they do not make that big a deal of it, it isn't.

[cuted126]

We've sailed out of New York several times, but always at 4 o'clock. This time, though, sailaway is scheduled for 5 o'clock. Passing the Statue of Liberty and sailing under the Verrranzano bridge are considered highlights of the cruise by many. Even if they start the drill on time, its going to be a tight schedule for those of us with early dining. I understand the problem, but I can certainly sympathize with first time out of NY cruisers -- especially if they get stuck at a muster station that is inside or on the wrong side of the ship. I hope they understand if a lot of people are late for dinner on the first night.

 

I was gonna say the same thing about sailing from places like New York.

 

However,this has only happen once for me. I hope it stays that way!

[Traveler353]

Some people really do sweat the small stuff. To think that something as petty as this would ruin a cruise for someone. That said, I think out of 5 cruises only 1 sailaway was held during the drill.