Meeting point in case of evacuation of ship?

[morningglorymish]

Since this is our first cruise (2 adults 2 children )I have a few questions on an emergency evacuation of the ship.

First I read that the life vests are in the cabins. Is that true?

Second ,if that is the case does the entire family meet at the cabin for life vests or should we have some sort of a plan.

Sorry, but I happened to see a movie yesterday and the family was separated during an evacuation from the ship.

I'm thinking we have a plan for a meeting place outside my home in the event of a fire.

I know there are muster stations and that will eventually be our meeting place.

I'm picturing my son on one deck, my daughter on another ,my husband on one deck and myself on another.

I'm not particularly worried about this but once you actually do think of it... it does not hurt to be prepared.

I also read that it is important to attend the muster drills and that many people don't take it seriously.

I think I read too much, but I also read that a cruise ship went down in 16 minutes.

I do not share this with my family but , thought it would be a good idea if I at least had a plan and mentioned it at the muster drill to my family.

[Big Al B.]

Yes, the life jackets will be found in your room. Just in case, there are also life jackets to be found throughout the ship. We always attend the muster drill, but there are some who skip it I am sure. I think that whether you would meet back in the room or not would depend on the nature and location of the emergency. The crew are well trained in all the procedures and would be giving directions. (That would determine if you could meet somewhere - your room would be best) I've never read about the ship that sank in 16 minutes and can't imagine that happening to today's larger liners. Be aware of how to put the jackets on, know where your muster station is and enjoy yourself on your cruise :). BTW, nothing to be sorry about.

[springtxbill]

If you are close to your room, you would go get your life jackets. If not go to the muster station and they will have extras there. :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have agreed that if we are in different areas of the ship when the alarm sounds, that we would get back to the cabin right away and if possible wait for the other one. If the announcement is made to report right away to the lifeboats, then that would be where we would meet.

In 2003 when we were on the Rotterdam, we had a very tiny fire. But the alarms did go off and the cabin came over the PA system and asked all passengers to report back to their cabins and wait for further instructions. We were already at our cabin so I quickly emptied out the safe and grabbed our medical bag while DH got out the life jackets. Within a few minutes the captain came back on and said that the fire was out and the emergency was over.

We have always attended life boat drills - even before that happened.

[Cotton]

I know none of you would skip Muster drill, but I wish everybody would realize that is not a 'choice' activity on cruise ships. It's mandatory!

 

I know some folks think it's fun to hide out and not attend the muster drill. YEP, it's a big aggrevation, and I've been through it on all ten cruises, and I hate those orange vests.......BUT I do it because it could save my life.

 

On Carnival, the cabin stewards will knock loudly on your door, and then unlock it to check and make sure you leave the cabin to attend muster drill. If you're in another area of the ship, the crew will make sure nobody's left in a bar, etc.

[98Charlie]

You didn't mention the age of your children. If they are in a youth program during an emergency the staff will be with them.

 

The instructions that we have seen or heard during the muster drill (yes, I actually paid attention :D ) indicate that children under the care of the staff will go to a meeting point with the staff. If you will have young children in one of the programs, you may want to ask the staff exactly how emergencies are handled.

 

For your own peace of mind I would suggest that you plan on a family meeting after the muster drill. Discuss how you would handle an emergency. If the children are older, you don't want them going to the muster station while you go to the cabin or vice versa. Decide what is best for your family.

 

A family meeting would be a good time to reassure younger children that the crew in the children's program will take care of them in an emergency and reunite them with the family as soon as possible when it is safe to do so.

 

Have a great cruise,

 

Charlie

[Luckyroot]

We were already at our cabin so I quickly emptied out the safe and grabbed our medical bag while DH got out the life jackets.

 

 

You know thats a great idea, I would probably never have thought to grab important things like medical bag.

 

Going to make ANOTHER list! (but I promise it'll be short and sweet) :D

[Happy ks]

Young children will have wrist bands that will let the kids club crew know where to take the children. It will have their muster station on the band, or will be a certain color so they know where the parents will be. Don't worry too much, the crew is put through drill every week, they will know what to do. The most important thing to remember when in an emergency is not to panic, it causes confusion and pandemonium. Muster drill is boring, sure, but you will know where to go and what to do if there is an emergency. Pay close attention and have your kids pay attention, too.

[Ehpride]

I figure that we'll attend the drill and know where our station is and meet there if there's an emergency. But we're all adults. With kids, I think it'd depend on their age.

[morningglorymish]

Thank you. I knew my fellow planners would have the answers I was looking for.

[Ellya]

Well if it were me I would have the kids (don't know their ages so it's a little hard to answer):

 

a) follow the directions of the nearest staff member regarding whether or not passengers are directed to cabins vs. muster stations.

 

b) if directions are to go to cabins, then go there and meet with you.

 

c) if the directions are to go to muster stations, then you should all go there.

 

The last thing you would want is for part of your family to be directed by crew to the muster stations and have the remainder in danger sitting in your cabin. Even if your kids ended up at the wrong muster station, crew would be there to reunite them with you. Just like in a fire, you want everyone out of the house, not sitting in their bedrooms waiting for you. If it seems confusing, just tell the kids to find the nearest crew member and get help.

[K&RCurt]

On our HAL cruise we were told that in the case of the alarm sounding we were to return to our cabins, Don life vests and report to muster stations.

 

ALL kids on board (regardless of if they were enrolled in the Club HAL kid's program) had braclets with their name, cabin # and Muster station #. The instructions were given that if you were not with your kds at the time of the alarm sounding, just go through the standard procedure and the ship's staff would take care of getting any unaccompanied kids to their muster stations.

 

They wanted to avoid parents searching the ship for their kids instead of reporting to their stations.

 

It's a good theory but I know I would be a nervous wreck not knowing where by kid was during an emergency.

[ROCruiser]

This gave me so much ideas. It is really best to have a plan. I was really worried one time when my son was no where to be seen during the drill because he was with his cousins. They made it to the drill but were way at the othere end of the station where I couldn't see them.

 

As for the life jackets, make sure you check if you have the right sizes and number of jackets in your room. When my son was little, they didn't have a child size jacket in the room, I had to ask for one. Last August on Elation, we had 4 people in the room and there were only 2 jackets. They brought us the other 2 before the drill.

[harrodsfan]

Have been on a cruise when we hit a reef. It was formal night and a lot of passengers were in the show lounge. We lost power and lights and so were instructed to go one floor down to the muster stations. I did run back to my room to get our passports and medicines and was able to very quickly change.

I met my 82 year old mother at our muster station where there were more than enough life preservers for all.

Suggest you have a plan to follow the instuctions of the crew.