Read About: Cruise Ship Safety

Thanks.

Nice article.

Keith

Thanks for posting.

RCI has lifeguards now.

Cheers for the link.

Laura, thanks for the link :). So, here is our tale of woe from a recent cruise on a major mass market line (on which we have cruised many times). The Muster drill was held inside (not unusual) and we went to our assigned lounge where we were seated in a corner section of an alternative restaurant. The Muster Drill primarily consisted of watching a video...but in our section of the restaurant the video screens were not in view (and no way to see the screen). So, like many in our section, we smiled, listened, and learned very little about what to do in an emergency. Since we have cruised over 1000 days, this was not a biggie...but DW did remark that if there was a real emergency she did not want to imagine what would happen. About 10 days later (we were doing a back to back) we again attended a muster drill in that same restaurant and were directed to another location where it was again impossible to see the video. There was absolutely no instruction on how to put on a life vest (something we already know). And then, having been on the ship for over 2 weeks I decided to look for our life jackets in our cabin...and honestly had no clue where to look (finally found them in a basket hidden far under one of our beds).

We have been to well over a hundred muster drills (on 14 lines) and some have been held on deck, where we had to learn how to don vests..and there was no nonsense. Now, things have changed (on several lines) and the drills have become more of a joke than a real safety drill. We do understand the reasoning behind changing how the drills are conducted (such as not carrying life jackets) but think that some lines have turned the process into a fiasco. Technically they are complying with SOLAS.....but we really wonder what would happen in a true emergency.

Hank

If you haven't been instructed in how to put on a life jacket, e.g. if the video show it is not visible, then the muster drill does not conform as it is a SOLAS requirement that instruction on putting on a lifejacket is given during the muster drill. If the video isn't visible then instruction obviously hasn't been given.

If that happened on a cruise ship I was on I would talk to reception about the issue, and also write a letter addressed to the Safety Officer (A senior Deck Officer).

VP

Hank;

I agree with the basic premise of your post, and would like to post my observations, somewhat in support of your observations, and somewhat not.

1. I am not a fan of the indoor muster locations, for various technical reasons, but I understand how they came about. (knowing that I am in opposition to 98% of CC)

2. I am not a fan of not bringing or donning the life jacket at drill. As I posted on a Princess thread about their recent change in policy no longer requiring the jacket to be brought to drill, I said I thought that not only should the jackets be donned at drill, but that the passengers should be shown how to stow the jacket again (wrapping up the straps), and that no one should be released from drill until they have shown their secured jacket to the crew. (again, putting myself against 100% of CC)

3. SOLAS does not require instruction in life jacket donning at the muster drill, provided that there is an instructional video available on the ship's TV system at all times.

4. I have not seen some of the "trendier" safety videos, but from what I've heard on CC, I'm not a fan of them either. However, having said that, I stand by my previously stated belief that passengers only need to know 3 things about mustering in an emergency: how to get to the muster station, what to bring with them, and shut up and await instructions.

Obviously, the USCG has not done a port state control inspection of your last ship, or they have seriously fallen down on the job, as the ability to see information presented at muster is a prime concern in the design of indoor muster locations, and this should have been caught by their inspectors and raised as a non-conformity for correction by the line.

I know from your posting history that you are passionate about cruising, and if you or your DW truly feel that things like placement in a muster station in regards to viewing, or the videos themselves, or muster procedures themselves need improving, I would ask that you contact the USCG Cruise Ship National Center of Expertise (CSNCOE) at: csncoe@uscg.mil, and tell them your observations and concerns. This is a group of USCG inspectors, maritime safety experts, cruise line executives, and other plank owners who formulate "industry best practices" and will always listen to the public.

If you haven't been instructed in how to put on a life jacket, e.g. if the video show it is not visible, then the muster drill does not conform as it is a SOLAS requirement that instruction on putting on a lifejacket is given during the muster drill. If the video isn't visible then instruction obviously hasn't been given.

 

If that happened on a cruise ship I was on I would talk to reception about the issue, and also write a letter addressed to the Safety Officer (A senior Deck Officer).

 

VP

Actually, SOLAS does not require instruction in donning a life jacket to be at the muster drill. If the ship has an instructional video on the TV, available at all times throughout the cruise, that meets the SOLAS requirement.

However, your advice to contact the Safety Officer, as well as my link to the USCG CSNCOE are good venues for expressing concerns over your safety. If the cruise line or industry doesn't hear about concerns, they don't know they are out there.

Thank you for the link.

1. I am not a fan of the indoor muster locations, for various technical reasons, but I understand how they came about. (knowing that I am in opposition to 98% of CC)

Can I ask why you think an outdoor muster location is better? In case of a real emergency, possibly combined with bad weather I'd think their would be a little less chaos inside. Unless of course people would decide they're safer near the lifeboats no matter what the Captain says.

Can I ask why you think an outdoor muster location is better? In case of a real emergency, possibly combined with bad weather I'd think their would be a little less chaos inside. Unless of course people would decide they're safer near the lifeboats no matter what the Captain says.

Bad weather is a secondary concern to saving lives, which is what the muster is designed to do. The outdoor musters, at the lifeboats, are just that, closer to the lifeboats so there needs to be less herding from muster to boat, should that be necessary, for an emergency where the boats are used. For an emergency where the boats are not needed, or not initially considered needed, an indoor muster has the possibility of being either unusable due to fire or whatever, or having the ventilation shut off if the muster is in the fire zone where the fire is, but below the fire (below more than 1 deck is generally usable, above not usable regardless of decks, since fire wants to travel up). Also, indoor muster stations have less ingress and egress points (and their size), than outdoor musters do, even when the indoor muster meets the minimum design requirement for indoor muster. Additionally, when the lights go out, even temporarily, people feel less trapped when outdoors than when enclosed. And finally, it is easier to muster outside, even in bad weather, determine the nature and scope of the emergency, and then move the passengers in muster groups to inside locations if the weather and the duration of the emergency warrant it, rather than moving folks from possibly blocks of indoor muster stations through the inside of the ship to either alternate muster locations or to the outside deck, which is not designed to handle this crowd, which is why the indoor muster was allowed.

As we're talking about safety - the following is (currently) on www.fws.gov so I hope I'm not breaking any copyright by re-posting it here. I have twice been in a large building on fire and on each case it was the most terrified I've ever been. I have had other events that were -ahem- interesting; I was Captain of a small aircraft with a complete engine failure, I was Captain of a two-deck boat with passengers caught in a storm and had to beach the boat to keep us safe. Being in a building on fire was far worse. Please read. It might just safe your live and the lives of those you love.

Have you ever been in a hotel during a fire? It’s a frightening experience, and you shouldstart thinking about it. For instance,how would you have acted if you had been in one of these fires?

The Thomas Hotel, San Francisco, Ca 20 DEAD

The Gulf Hotel, Houston, Texas 54 DEAD

The La Salle Hotel, Chicago, Ill 61 DEAD

The Wincoff Hotel, Atlanta, Ca 119 DEAD

Of course, there have been hundreds more with thousands of deaths, but Ithink you’re getting the drift. Themajority of those people did not have to die.

My wife has been in the airline industry close to 8 years and whileaccompanying her on a trip recently, I learned how ill-prepared she was for ahotel fire. It’s not her fault: its’ quite common. Hotels, however, have no excuse for beingill-prepared, but believe me, you cannot depend on the staff in case of afire. History has shown some hotelswon’t even call the fire Department. Ihave been a fire-fighter in Los Angeles for over 10 years and have seen manypeople die needlessly in building fires. It’s sad because most could have saved themselves.

What you’re about to read is roughly the same “briefing” I have given mywife on hotel safety. I do not intend to“play down” the aspects of hotel fires or soft soap the language. It’s critical that you remember how to react,and, if I shake you a little, maybe you will.

Contrary to what you have seen on television or in the movies, fire isnot likely to chase you down and burn you to death. It’s the bi-products of fire that will killyou. Super heated fire gases (smoke) andpanic will almost always be the cause of death long before the fire arrives ifit ever does. This is veryimportant. You must know how to avoid smokeand panic to survive a hotel fire. Withthis in mind, here are a few tips:

Where there is smoke, there is not necessarily fire. A smoldering mattress, for instance, willproduce great amounts of smoke. Airconditioning and air exchange systems will sometimes pick up smoke from oneroom and carry it out to other rooms or floors. You should keep that in mind because 70% of the hotel fires are causedby smoking and matches. In any case,your prime objective should be to leave at the first sign of smoke.

Smoke, being warmer, will start accumulating at the ceiling and work itsway down. The first thing you willnotice is THERE ARE NO “EXIT” SIGNS. I’ll talk more about the exits later, just keep in mind when you havesmoke, it’s too late to start looking for “exit” signs.

Another thing about smoke you should be aware of is how irritating it ison the eyes. The problem is your eyeswill only take so much irritation then they close. Try all you want, you won’t be able to openthem if there is still smoke in the area. It’s one of your body’s compensatory mechanisms. Lastly, the fresh air you want to breath isat or near the floor. Get on your handsand knees (or stomach) and STAY THERE as you make you way out. Those who don’t probably won’t get far.

Think about this poor man’s predicament for a moment:

He wakes up at 0230 hrs to a smell of smoke. He puts on his trousers and runs into thehallway only to be greeted by heavy smoke. He has no idea where the exit is. He runs to the right. He’scoughing and gagging, his eyes hurt. “Where is it?” “WHERE ISIT?” Panic begins to set in. About the same time he thinks maybe he isgoing the wrong way, his eyes close. Hecan’t find his way back to his room (it wasn’t so bad in there). His chest hurts, he desperately needsoxygen. Total panic sets in as he runsin the other direction. He is completelydisorientated. He cannot hold his breathany longer. We find him at 0250. DEAD

What caused all the smoke? Asmall fire in a room where they store the roll-away beds. Remember, the presence of smoke does notnecessarily mean the hotel is burning down.

Panic (pan ik). A sudden,overpowering terror often afflicting many people at once. Panic is the product of your imaginationrunning wild and it will set in as soon as it dawns on you you’re lost,disorientated, or you don’t know what to do. Panic is almost irreversible: once it sets in, it seems to grow. Panic will make you do things that could kill you. People in a state of panic are rarely able tosave themselves.

If you understand what’s going on, what to do, where to go, and how toget there, panic will not set in. Theman in the example I used would not have died if he had known what to do. For instance, had he known the exit was tothe left and 4 doors down on the left, he could have gotten on his hands andknees where there was fresh air and started counting doorways. Even if he couldn’t keep his eyes open, hecould feel his way as he crawled, counting the doors. 1... 2... 3... BINGO! He would NOT have panicked. He would be alive today, telling of his “greathotel fire” experience.

The elevator drops you at the 12th floor and you start looking for yourroom. “Let’s see ... room 1236 ...here it is”. You open the door anddrop your luggage. AT THAT VERY MOMENT,turn around and go back into the hallway to check your exit. You may NEVER get another chance. Don’t go into the bathroom, open thecurtains, turn on the TV, smarten your appearance, or crash out on thebed. I know you’re tired and you want torelax, but it’s absolutely essential ... no ... CRITICAL that you develop theHABIT of checking for your exit after you drop your luggage. It won’t take 30 seconds, and believe me, youmay NEVER get another chance.

If there are 2 of you sharing a room, BOTH of you locate your exit. Talk it over as you walk towards it. Is it on the left or right ... do you have toturn a corner? Open the exit door ...what do you see ... stairs or another door? (Sometimes there are 2 doors to go through, especially in newerhotels. ) I’d hate to see you crawl intoa broom closet thinking it was the exit! Are you passing any rooms where your friends are staying? If there was a fire, you may want to bang ontheir doors as you go by. Is thereanything in the hallway that would be in your way ... an ice-machinemaybe? As you arrive back at your room,take a look once more. Get a good mentalpicture of what everything looks like. Do you think you could get to the exit with a “blindfold” on?

This procedure takes less than one minute and to be effective, it mustbecome a habit. Those of you who are toolazy or tired to do it consistently are real “riverboat gamblers”. There are over 5,000 hotel fires peryear. The odds are sure to catch up withyou.

Should you have to leave your room during the night, it is important toclose the door behind you. This is veryeffective in keeping out fire and will minimize smoke damage to yourbelongings.

There was a house fire in Los Angeles recently where an entire familydied. It was a 3 bedroom house with aden and family room. That night, theoccupants had left every door in the house open except one, and it had led tothe washrooms where the family dog slept. The house, except for the washroom, was a total loss. When the fire was knocked down, firemenopened the door to find the family dog wagging his tail. Because the door was left shut, the dog androom were in fine shape.

Some doors take hours to burn through. They are excellent “fire stops” so close every door you gothrough. If you find smoke in the exitstairwell, you can bet people are leaving the doors open as they enter.

Always take your key with you. Get into the habit of putting the key in the same place every time youstay in a hotel. Since every hotel hasnight stands, that’s an excellent location. It’s close to the bed so you can grab it when you leave without wastingtime looking for it. It’s important youclose your door as you leave, and it’s equally as important that you don’t lo****urself out. You may find conditions inthe hallway untenable, and want to return to your room. If you’re now in the habit of checking yourexit and leaving the room key on the night stand, you’re pretty well preparedto leave the hotel in case of a fire, so let’s “walk” through it once.

Something will awake you during the night. It could be the telephone, someone banging onthe door, the smell of smoke, or some other disturbance. But, whatever it is, investigate it beforeyou go back to sleep. A popular “Inn”near LAX recently had a fire and one of the guests later said he was awakenedby people screaming but went back to bed thinking it was a party. He dammed near died in bed.

Let’s suppose you wake up to smoke in your room. Grab you key off the night stand, roll offthe bed and head for the door on you hands and knees. Even if you could tolerate the smoke bystanding, DON’T. You’ll want to save youreyes and lungs for as long as possible. BEFORE you open the door, feel it with the palm of your hand. If the door or knob is quite hot, don’t openit. The fire could be just outside. We’ll talk about that later. With the palm of your hand still on the door(in case you need to slam it shut), slowly open the door and peek into thehallway to “assess conditions”.

As you make your way to the exit, stay against the wall on the sidewhere the exit is. It is very easy toget lost or disorientated in a smoky atmosphere. If you’re on the wrong side of the hallway,you might crawl right on by the exit. Ifyou’re in the middle of the hall, people who are running will trip over you. Stay on the same side as the exit, countdoors as you go.

When you reach the exit and begin to descend it is very important thatyou WALK down and hang onto the handrail as you go. Don’t take this point lightly. The people who will be running will knock youdown and you might not be able to get up. Just hang on and stay out of everyone’s way. All you have to do now is leave the building,cross the street and watch the action. When the fire is out and the smoke clears, you will be allowed tore-enter the building. If you closedyour room door when you left, you belongings should be in pretty good shape.

Smoke will sometimes get into the exit stairway. It it’s a tall building, this smoke may notrise very high before it cools and becomes heavy. This is called “stacking”. If your room is on the 20th floor, forinstance, you could enter the stairway and find it clear. As you descend you could encounter smoke thathas “stacked”. Do not try to “run through it” -people die that way. Turn around andwalk up. Now you must really hang ontothe handrail. The people running downwill probably be glassy-eyed and in a panic and will knock you right out ofyour socks!

They will run over anything in their way, including a fireman. You’ll feel as though you’re going upstreamagainst the Chicago Bears, but hang on and keep heading up towards theroof. If for some reason you try one ofthe doors to an upper floor and find it locked, that’s normal, don’t worryabout it. Exit stairwells are designedso that you cannot enter from the street or roof. Once inside, however, you may exit at thestreet or roof but cannot go from floor to floor; this is done for securitypurposes. When you reach the roof, propthe door with something. This is the ONLYtime you will leave a door open. Anysmoke in the stairwell may now vent itself to the atmosphere and you won’t belocked out. Now find the windward sideof the building (the wet finger method is quite reliable), have a seat and waituntil they find you. Roofs have provedto be a safe secondary exit and refuge area. Stay put. Firemen will alwaysmake a thorough search of the building looking for bodies. Live ones are nice to find.

After you check your exit and drop the key on the night stand, there isone more thing for you to do. Becomefamiliar with your room. See if yourbathroom has a vent; all do, but some have electric motors. Should you decide to remain in your room,turn it on to help remove the smoke. Take a good look at the window in your room. Does it open? Does it have a latch, a lock? Does it slide? Now open thewindow (if it works) and look outside. What do you see? A sign,ledges? How high up are you? Get a good mental picture of what’s outside,it may come in handy. It’s important youknow how to OPEN your window, you may have to close it again.

Should you wake up to smoke in your room and the door is too hot to openor the hallway is completely charged with smoke, don’t panic. Many people have defended themselves quitenicely in their room and so can you. Oneof the first things you’ll want to do is open the window to vent thesmoke. I hope you learned how to open itwhen you checked in. It could be darkand smoking in the room. Those who don’twill probably throw a chair through the window. If there is smoke outside and you have no window to close, it will enteryour room and you will be trapped. Thebroken glass from the window will cut like a surgeon’s scalpel. At the Ramada Inn fire, an airline captain ona layover threw a chair through the window and cut himself seriously. Don’t compound your problems. Besides, if you break out your window with achair, you could hit a fireman on the street below.

If there is fresh air outside, leave the window open, but keep an eye onit. At this point, most people wouldstay at the window, waving frantically, while their room continues to fill withsmoke, if the fire burns through. Thisprocedure is not conducive to longevity. You must be aggressive and fight back. Here are some things you can do in any order you choose ... if the roomphone works, let someone know you’re in there. Flip on the bathroom vent. Fillthe bath with water. (Don’t get intoit - it’s for fire fighting. You’d besurprised how many people try to save themselves by getting into a tub of water- that’s how you cook lobsters and crabs, so you know what happens!) Wet some sheets or towels, and stuff thecracks of your door to keep out the smoke. With your ice-bucket, bail the water from the bath onto the door to keepit cool. Feel the walls - if they arehot, bail water onto them too. You canput your mattress up against the door and block it in place with thedresser. Keep it wet - keep everythingwet. Who cares about the mess. A wet towel tied around your nose and mouthis an effective filter if your fold it in a triangle and put the corner in yourmouth. If you swing a wet towel aroundthe room, it will help clear the smoke. If there is a fire outside the window, pull down the curtains and moveeverything combustible away from the window. Bail water all around the window. Use your imagination and you may come up with some tricks of you own. The point is, there shouldn’t be any reasonto panic - keep fighting until reinforcements arrive. It won’t be long.

There isn’t an elevator made that can be used as a “safe” exit. In all states, elevators by law, cannot be considered an “exit”. They are complicated devices with a mind oftheir own. The problem is people onlyknow one way out of a building - the way they came in, and if that was theelevator, they are in trouble. Elevatorshafts and machinery extends through all floors of a building, and besides,with the shaft filling with smoke, there are hundreds of other things thatcould go wrong and probably will. Everyone tries to get on the elevator in an emergency. Fights break out and people get seriouslyinjured. Smoke, heat and fire do funnythings to elevator call buttons, controls and other complicated parts. Case in point:

Hotel guests in a New Orleans hotel were called on their room phones andnotified of a fire on the upper floors. They were in no danger, but asked to evacuate the hotel as aprecaution. Five of the guests decidedto use the elevator. It was discoveredlater that the elevator only went down about three floors and then for somereason started going up. It did not stopuntil it reached the fire floor. Thedoors came open and were held open by smoke obscuring the photo cell lightbeam. Besides the five guests in theelevator who died of suffocation, firemen noticed that every button had beenpushed, probably in a frantic attempt to stop the elevator.

Fires have killed many people, including firemen. Several New York firemen recently used anelevator when responding to a fire up on the 20th floor. They pushed 18, but the elevator went righton by the 18th floor. The doors cameopen on the 20th floor to an inferno and remained open long enough to kill allthe firemen. The doors then closed andthe elevator returned to the lobby. Handoperated elevators are not exempt. Someelevator operators have been beaten by people fighting over the controls. If you have any idea that there might besmoke or fire in your hotel, avoid the elevator like the plague.

It’s important I say something about jumping because so many people doit. Most are killed or injured in theprocess. I cannot tell you whether ornot you should jump. Every fire,although similar, is different. I cantell you, however, what usually happens to “jumpers”.

If you’re on the 1st floor, you could just OPEN the window and climbout. From the second floor you couldprobably make it with a sprained ankle, but you must jump out far enough toclear the building. Many people hitwindow sills and ledges on the way down, and they go into cartwheels. If they don’t land on their head and killthemselves, they’re injured seriously. If you’re any higher than the 3rd, the chances are you won’t survive thefall. You would probably be better offfighting the fire. Nearby buildings seemcloser than they really are and many have died trying to jump to a buildingthat looked 5 feet away, but was actually 15 feet away.

Panic is what causes most people to jump. There was a fire in Brazil a few years ago where40 people jumped from windows and all 40 died. Ironically, 36 of those jumped after the fire was out. Many people have survived by staying putwhilst those around them jumped to their death. If you can resist panic and think clearly, you can use your own bestjudgment.

Believe it or not, most hotels will not call the fire department untilthey verify whether or not there really is a fire and try to put it outthemselves. Should you call thereception to report a fire, they will always send the bellhop, security guard,or anyone else that’s not busy to investigate. Hotels are very reluctant to “disturb” their guests and fireengines in the streets are quite embarrassing and tend to draw crowds.

In the New Orleans hotel fire, records show that the fire departmentreceived only one call, from a guest in one of the rooms. The desk had been notified of fire 20 minutesearlier and had sent a security guard to investigate. His body was later found on the 12th floorabout 10 feet from the elevator.

Should you want to report a fire or smell of smoke, ask the hoteloperator for an outside line for a local call. Call the fire department and tell them your room number in case you needto be rescued. You need not feelembarrassed, that’s what we’re here for. We would much rather come to a small fire or smoking electrical motelthat you smelled than be called 20 minutes later after 6 people have died. Don’t let hotel “policy” intimidateyou into doing otherwise. The hotel maybe a little upset with you, but really ... who gives a damn. The fire department will be glad you called:you may have saved many lives. Besides,it’s a great way for us to meet people!

Well, the rest is up to you. Onlyyou can condition yourself to react in a hotel emergency. You can be well prepared by developing thehabits we’ve talked about.

Great information. Laura thank you for posting the link.

Keith

Thanks for the info. I always check where the emergency exits are when I enter a hotel room or cabin.

I can't tell you the number of times I have been in a hotel at night when the alarm has gone off and the hotel has just turned the alarm off. When I have phoned the reception they have told me it was a false alarm & I can go back to bed

This makes me so angry, they are training people to ignore alarms! Good practice is to react like an alarm is real everytime it goes off.

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Thanks again, Chief!