Life boat drills

[English_in_Spain]

HAL should really get their act together and be consistant on all ships.

For the last couple of years we did not have to attend the second life boat drill.

Then this past November -- suddenly we now have to attend the second one.

 

Were you in the same cabin?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes

We always book our cruises well in advance so that we have the same cabin.

[Caribbean Chris]

On Celebrity Eclipse in late 2010, we had to report to the Tuscan Grill restaurant. It seemed disorganized and pointless. How would that clue passengers in to where they should report? The card on the door had more useful info.

 

On the plus side, I walked the deck every day and always saw groups of crew (spa, cooks, stewards) having drills at one of the outside storage lockers.

[Boytjie]

YES, for sure. That is the good part that you know exactly where to go in the case of emergency. I imagine that's probably the best reason why the conduct the drill the way they do.

 

While I have no issue with the drills outside by the muster station, the musters inside do exactly the same thing: they gather people in the location they are supposed to be in case of an emergency. You don't do the muster drill in one location and then go somewhere else in case of an emergency.

[brfan]

I'm sure there would be people giving instructions and guiding guests in the event of a real emergency. Crew drills constantly for every possible situation. There are traffic controllers stationed in all stairwells, people assigned as in charge of each life boat..... and lots of Officers who continuously train. In the event the speaker system operates, no doubt it would be used to give directions.

 

But you probably knew all that......... ;)

 

Why the sarcastic response? I was just curious as I can see people running around panicking and not listening if their station wasn't available and just going to any lifeboat rather than the one officers/crew are trying to direct people. At least if you met in a lounge like some of the other lines do, they can take the group as a whole to the correct life boat rather than trying to catch individuals as they arrive in a state of panic.

[RetiredMustang]

HAL should really get their act together and be consistant on all ships.

 

For the last couple of years we did not have to attend the second life boat drill.

 

Then this past November -- suddenly we now have to attend the second one.

 

KK,

 

It may not be a HAL issue. In Feb 2010, we did a B2B on Noordam out of Ft. Lauderdale, and did not have to do the drill on the second leg. In Feb. 2011, we did a B2B on Ryndam out of Tampa, and we were told that the U.S. Coast Guard had recently changed its requirements and that B2B passengers now had to do both drills.

 

Dave

[Boytjie]

Why the sarcastic response? I was just curious as I can see people running around panicking and not listening if their station wasn't available and just going to any lifeboat rather than the one officers/crew are trying to direct people. At least if you met in a lounge like some of the other lines do, they can take the group as a whole to the correct life boat rather than trying to catch individuals as they arrive in a state of panic.

 

Same issue if your assigned lounge is not accessible. ;)

[sail7seas]

Why the sarcastic response? I was just curious as I can see people running around panicking and not listening if their station wasn't available and just going to any lifeboat rather than the one officers/crew are trying to direct people. At least if you met in a lounge like some of the other lines do, they can take the group as a whole to the correct life boat rather than trying to catch individuals as they arrive in a state of panic.

 

 

Sorry you read my response as sarcastic. I really meant the 'meaty' part of the message as legitimate information.

 

My wink was becaue "I" took YOUR question as being sarcastic :D.

The written word on the internet can sometimes be misinterpreted as we can't see facial expression, body language etc

[GeriatricNurse]

Sorry you read my response as sarcastic. I really meant the 'meaty' part of the message as legitimate information.

 

My wink was becaue "I" took YOUR question as being sarcastic :D.

The written word on the internet can sometimes be misinterpreted as we can't see facial expression, body language etc

 

 

Judy, you got that right! ;)

[Carmeldi]

What happens with people who use wheechairs or walkers? Do they use elevators? Must they make arrangements ahead of time to do that?

[Himself]

I am just hoping that with the tragedy on Coata, people will take the drill a little more seriously and keep their comments to themselves during roll call and the drill.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I'm sure there would be people giving instructions and guiding guests in the event of a real emergency. Crew drills constantly for every possible situation. There are traffic controllers stationed in all stairwells, people assigned as in charge of each life boat..... and lots of Officers who continuously train. In the event the speaker system operates, no doubt it would be used to give directions.

 

But you probably knew all that......... ;)

 

And if the speaker system doesn't operate, there probably are battery-operated bullhorns for each boat leader to use to keep his/her group informed. The officers also have walkie-talkies to stay in touch with the Bridge.

[sail7seas]

And if the speaker system doesn't operate, there probably are battery-operated bullhorns for each boat leader to use to keep his/her group informed. The officers also have walkie-talkies to stay in touch with the Bridge.

 

 

Yes. Good point.

[hal lover]

I am just hoping that with the tragedy on Coata, people will take the drill a little more seriously and keep their comments to themselves during roll call and the drill.

 

I soooo agree with you! I have been on many cruise's and I would love to hear the instruction's EVERY time, but some just think that their conversation's are more important. Although every drill may be similar, there could be different instruction's on this cruise. JMO.

[Crazy Gramps]

What do people in wheelchairs do?

 

Honestly???

They die

 

Gramps

[bishop84]

[quote name='Carmeldi']What happens with people who use wheelchairs or walkers? Do they use elevators? Must they make arrangements ahead of time to do that?[/quote]

I found out the following after speaking to an an officer a few years ago. Also I think I heard some of it being mentioned on the video showing for the first day or so on the TV.

If you cannot use stairs then there is 1 elevator on each bank that is emergency powered. HAL also has equipment that can bring wheelchairs up stairs and also descent equipment to assist people coming down.
All registered cabins with mobility issues will have someone come down to assist them. Also there is an emergency team responsible for checking all the cabins.