chengkp75

The muster drill has just as much to do with a fire, a man overboard, or an environmental hazard as with abandoning. Muster is about accountability, whatever the emergency. Having untrained people moved to known, controllable locations, where they can be counted, is what the muster is all about. Yes, a muster is critical to an abandonment, but it is just as critical to any other emergency, and should be considered a separate function from abandoning ship. Look at a fire onboard. Many fires are dealt with using the "Code Bravo" call, where only the fire and emergency teams respond. Then there are fires where the On Scene Commander recommends to the Captain, and he/she agrees, that the fire is large enough that an accounting of passengers, and getting them out of the way of emergency teams is recommended, and passengers will be called to muster. The On Scene and the Captain know that the likelihood of abandoning ship at this point is miniscule, but need to get a pax count. Finally, there are the fires that get away from the second example, and there is no hope for the ship, or the fire has spread so widely that it is difficult to keep the vast number of passengers onboard, so the Captain signals for the passengers to leave the ship. As I've said, there are hundreds of instances where the muster was called when no though whatsoever was given to abandoning ship, it was for accountability.

Your second bullet point argues against your statement that muster is "step one in abandoning ship". Muster is about accountability. Period. Many times there have been fires on ships where the Captain has had no intention of abandoning ship, but the muster provides him with an accurate count of passengers, and a knowledge of who, and very likely where, to look for. The Star Princess is a classic example of how the passengers were held at muster for long hours, but due to the widespread smoke from the fire, it allowed the crew to know who was missing. The Captain never had a thought about abandoning ship. Sometimes passengers are called to muster stations due to a reported man overboard, just so accountability can be obtained. It's not "lining up to abandon ship", it is about getting you out of the current emergency, say a fire, but has nothing to do with a future emergency like the fire getting out of control and having to abandon ship. And, probably a better lesson to learn from a muster drill is not so much "where to go", but how to get there from where I am now. This is a "mental drill" I've proposed here on CC to follow during muster drill. Think of a place on the ship where you have spent time. Then think of the path from that spot to the muster location. Then impose a fire between the two, and think of how to still get to the muster location going around the fire. This is the greatest lesson to take away from a muster drill.

How many times have you heard over the plane's PA, while still at the departure gate: "all passengers take their seats", and then an airline employee comes down the aisle and counts heads? Sounds like a "muster drill" to me.

What you think of as an exaggerated claim is likely from a US viewpoint. Having traveled the world, and seen it from many of the least desirable locations, it would not surprise me to have a local customs agent threaten to shoot a passenger, let alone a dog.

I think the statement wa certain countries won't allow a service dog to come ashore. That is quite different than "do not allow service dogs". The country may allow "native" service dogs, and even service dogs imported that have met a quarantine requirement (I know the UK used to require a 3 month quarantine for any dog), but not a dog brought on a cruise ship. And, law enforcement in various countries have various authorities, perhaps even to shooting dogs that violate quarantine. I know that Maine Game Wardens have the authority to shoot any dog on sight if it is running deer or moose and are close enough to cause an imminent threat to the animal's life. US Dept of Agriculture has the right to "dispose" of any animal that is thought to have been imported without following the required quarantine.

Sorry, Bruce, but that is not correct. Asking what task the dog is supposed to perform is one of the two questions allowed under the ADA. This is not quite correct. SCOTUS has ruled in Spector v NCL, that only certain aspects of the ADA apply to foreign flag cruise ships, and further that SOLAS can trump the ADA where necessary for safety. SCOTUS ruled that since Congress did not specifically mention foreign flag cruise ships in the ADA, that under international law, the "internal policies and procedures" of a foreign flag cruise ship are not subject to the ADA. This means that should a cruise line decide to enact a set of rules for service animals onboard the ship, provided the customer is made aware of these rules prior to purchasing the cruise, that are more restrictive than the ADA, then that is legal, even when in US waters. SCOTUS gave Congress the "out" by saying that if Congress revised the ADA to mention foreign flag cruise ships, then the ADA would fully apply. In the 17 years since Spector, Congress has not decided to amend the ADA. Just as if you tried to board a plane without the required visa for the country you are going to, the airline would deny boarding, if a country doesn't allow service dogs, even if the dog is not going to set paw on soil, the ship has entered the country, and the cruise line can deny boarding as the person not meeting the requirement for traveling to the country the cruise is purchased for.

Some fees charged by CBP go to CBP for their operations, some go to other government agencies; some goes to Agriculture to pay for inspections, some goes to Army Corps of Engineers for harbor maintenance.

What navybankerteacher says is correct, it is something that is inherently understood by all mariners, just as missing family milestones, holidays, births and deaths are inherently understood to be part of a mariner's life. However, cruise ship crew training, particularly for the vast majority of crew, who are assigned duties related to the passenger muster, goes beyond what normal mariners expect. You accept that you need to train and practice to save your own life and the life of your fellow crew (who are trained to help you as well), but having to place yourself in harm's way for people who don't give a fig about you, or would lift a finger to help you, is something else. Given a lot of passengers' attitude towards the safety drills and the crew in general, it would not surprise me for crew to feel "save the ship, the hell with the passengers" or "why should I give up my time for these ungrateful people". That, of course, is not right, but it is human nature. And, as I've said many times, until there is a real emergency, regardless of how much and how well you've trained, there is no way of telling whether an individual will run into the fire or away from it.

Breakaway class. It's a kind of bungee jump over the side.

Just so you know, there is no "ship approved" power strip or adapter. Cruise lines don't "approve" anything.

Yes, Getaway is the same. No, the 4 main generators feed a common bus at 10,000 volts, which is then supplied to propulsion, thrusters, and AC chillers. Power is then stepped down to 480v for engineering and heavy hotel use (galley and laundry). It is then stepped down to 220v for lighting, and smaller hotel equipment, and then to 110v for outlets. When I talked about "larger" and "smaller" generators, the terms are relative. The Breakaway has 2 generators with a capacity of 16.4Mw each, and 2 generators with a capacity of 14.8Mw each. The difference is that the larger engines have two more cylinders (14 as opposed to the 12 in the smaller engines).

Depending on the required speed for those cruises, yes.

NCL already has this. 😉

Okay, here's the deal. This is a problem that ships with only 4 large diesel generators, like the Breakaway, have. Every 12,000 running hours, the engine is completely torn down for overhaul. This is about every 2.5 years. Taking one engine out of service will result in the ship not being able to attain full speed. Typically, cruise lines will plan itineraries that can accommodate an engine out of service, well in advance, and none of the passengers know that it is out of service, as the cruises continue as advertised. Ships that have 5 or 6 smaller engines (totalling the same total power), can accommodate one out of service easier than a ship with 4 engines. Apparently, this is not the case here, but I won't comment on refunds, obc, or any other guest relations issues, as that is not my area of expertise. As for cancelling one cruise now to accommodate the overhaul, this is not possible, as the overhaul takes about 3-4 weeks to accomplish, so you would have to cancel that many cruises. They are likely not waiting on parts, but this takes a lot of time to load parts, tear the engine down completely (think of taking every single part out of your car's engine and inspecting it), clean the parts, inspect them for condition, install new parts, and reassemble the entire engine. This normally takes the entire ship's engine crew, and several contract workers, and a tech rep to accomplish this in 3-4 weeks. As for a safety concern, the ship can get back to port with only one diesel generator running (albeit slower and behind schedule), so there is no worry over this. As I've stated, taking an engine out of service for overhaul happens on every cruise ship, every year, and in most cases, no one is even aware of it, except for the engine crew doing the work, and perhaps a sharp eyed passenger who sees an engine manufacturer's tech rep eating in the buffet. They are not having "engine problems", this is scheduled maintenance that is required to keep the engines running without failures for years.

A lot of that depends on what schedule the mariner is working. Ships hold weekly fire and boat drills. If a deck or engine crew member is working the 8-12 or 4-8 watches (they work two 4 hour watches during those hours day and night), then if the fire and boat drill is held at 1300 hours, they have to get up from either sleeping or resting, and partake in the drill. The lucky 12-4 watch would have the drill during working hours. That would mean (for working 8 months a year) 2-3 hours per drill times 32 times a year, for 60-100 hours unpaid training/drills per year. On cruise ships, some crew work nights (1800-0600), so every drill comes in the middle of their sleep period. Many hotel staff work "split shifts" (a few hours in the morning, and then a few hours in the evening) with a rest period in between, and if the training or drill is scheduled during their rest period, then they are again going to have 60-100 hours a year of unpaid training/drills. And, on cruise ships, the training is typically scheduled so as not to interfere with the crew member's working hours, to minimize disruption of guest services. Training on cruise ships usually adds another hour per week. I would say that cruise ship crew do about 60-80 hours, on average, of unpaid training/drills per year. Shoreside training will depend on the crew member's rating, with officers requiring more hours than ratings. A minimum of 40 hours every 5 years, up to 200 hours every 5 years, along with any required training for advancement.

Your photo does not have a brand name visible, so I can't say for sure, but I found an identical one from "Bestten", and it clearly mentions "300 joules of protection", which is a measure of surge protection. Before using on a ship, check the printing on the back (can't read it in the photo) to see if this is written there, and if so, it is surge protected, and is dangerous to use on ships. What mess? As you point out, there are outlets available in the cabins for charging. Is it the cruise lines' responsibility that you "need" a phone, tablet, e-reader, ear buds, and all the other "essentials" of modern life? How many charging ports should be in each cabin? What if I have more than that? Do I complain? "Tradition and stalling"? Try cost to benefit analysis. Does the benefit of water bottle filling stations and USB ports outweigh the cost of installing?

This is universal across the maritime industry, not just cruise ships, and for every one of the 1.6 million mariners around the world. Even on US flag vessels, where nearly everyone is unionized, drills and training are unpaid. As it should be. This is something that transcends pay, and something that most people, even experienced cruisers don't understand, that the ship is your universe when out at sea, and if there is a fire, you can't just walk out of the building and let someone else deal with it, or just let the building burn, there is virtually no place to go other than the ship. Lifeboats and life rafts are there as a absolute last resort, as you are far more likely to perish in one of them than you are in a disabled ship. Whenever I was required to take training, even that required by law to retain my job, at shoreside facilities, it was always on my dime. And, the only time I begrudged it was when I had to take a 40 hour firefighting course 6 months prior to my retirement, that was valid for 5 years.

And, as Andy has said, better than I, that there is an amount of passenger training involved as well, basically to understand the signal and what to do when it sounds, and also the "show up, shut up, listen up" that is what is required of passengers. The part of the muster drill that involves crew training, also requires passenger input, because as I've said, that training is how to handle unruly and unwilling passengers. Do you know that crew drills and training (and there is additional training that takes place for nearly every crew member outside of the formal weekly drill), if it occurs outside of the crew member's normal work hours, are unpaid? So, while you may consider that you are due compensation for training the crew, what about compensation for the crew training to save your life? From Carnival's ticket contract: "Guests must attend the mandatory safety briefing at the commencement of the cruise and any subsequent briefing ordered by the ship’s officer during the cruise." "Guest agrees during the course of the voyage to follow the directions of the ship’s Master, or his authorized officer"

Basically, if you are more than 15 miles offshore, there won't be any cell signal other than the ship's. If you can't see land, you won't have cell reception.

Yes, the charges are either per port call, or per Gross Tonnage, or per capacity (not occupancy). Taxes and fees are known long in advance, and they divide it by historical occupancy to get the original charge per pax, and it is refunded if the occupancy goes up, but is swallowed by the line if occupancy goes down.

higher than expected occupancy, hence the per capita charge is less.

You give them that right when you agree to the ticket contract. Under the authority of the flag state, which is what law prevails onboard the ship, especially when not docked in a port (though in many cases it still has jurisdiction). The Captain is given the authority to enforce flag state law onboard the ship. And, again, the ticket contract says that by purchasing the cruise you agree to pay the fine if the Captain decides it is warranted. They can place an "innkeeper's lien" to keep your luggage until you pay. They cannot stop you from disembarking, but you'll do so without your luggage. Then they can go for a claim against you in court, based on the ticket contract. Except, again, the ticket contract gives the Captain the only opinion that matters. Once again, it is the Captain's decision as to how fair he will be in enforcing.

Guess what? That's what you get when you book a cruise on a foreign flag vessel, you are not protected by laws of the US, unlike airlines who may have to compensate for a diversion, but who are regulated by the US government. And, since virtually all of the major cruise ships are foreign flag, this applies to them all.

This is correct. RCI does not allow anything with a cord and power outlets. "Pure" USB hubs, which can charge up to 7 or more devices, are allowed with a cord, since the power output is limited. My best solution is a plug adapter to adapt the 220v outlet to US 110v, then a "pure" USB hub for any electronics. This frees up any and all US110v outlets for things like hair dryers, or things that don't use a USB port. If absolutely necessary, bring a simple rubber "outlet splitter" that has one male plug and 3 female plugs.

That would be because the check in one can go to government databases using facial recognition software, while the one taken at the ship is for the onboard account, and the crew member who rings up your purchase, or flags you on or off the ship does not have this, and they use the "mark 1 eyeball" to match your present appearance to the one standing in front of them.