So, After This, Muster Drills?????

[kitty9]

Another point made in the articles is passengers were told there was no emergency for about 45 minutes after the accident. If action was taken immediately, maybe more life boats could have been used.

 

The media also reported passengers had to plead with crew to deploy life boats early on in the emergency.

 

There were first time cruisers that never received muster drill instructions.

 

You are so right. Everything I've read in the Italian newspapers said passengers were outraged that the lifeboats weren't deployed in a timely manner and the crew kept insisting it was only an electrical problem. IMHO, there's going to be hell to pay once they conduct an investigation. That ship didn't list so badly in a matter of minutes, so they could have started lowering the lifeboats a lot sooner. It's sill so very sad and Carnival will be paying a lot, if they are still the parent company of Costa.

[kitty9]

In all the years I’ve been cruising I’ve never understood going to a muster station in an emergency. I think it would be better to educate passengers on how to find the nearest muster station. It is also my understanding that Celebrity now has a full supply of life vests on every lifeboat so there is no need to go back to the cabin. Is this correct?

 

Yes, that is true. That state that during every drill.

[kitty9]

Also, reports out of Italy say the ship's captain has been arrested and might be charged with manslaughter because there were reports he abandoned ship before all persons were off the ship.

[Can'tstopcruising]

I agree that muster drill and evacuation procedures must be more effective.

 

Also, I feel that the captain & officers must be more educated to handle a serious emergency. We were on the Century, Oct/2010 and the captain and officers disappeared. The pax were left to fend for themselves. This is not acceptable. There should be an exact plan to cope with any emergency. The captain & officers should be visible, in control and they should instill confidence in the pax so that there is no panic. From the top down, there should be organization. Each crewmember should have a definitive roll and everything should be orchestrated down to the last detail.

 

Thankfully, the Century was at anchor and we were safe. But, at the time, because of the way the captain & officers mishandled the situation, all I could think of is What if the Rudders broke while we were out at sea.

 

What I worry about is that the Captain & officers are running a hotel/resort first and a ship second. It should be the other way around. The most important aspect of a cruise is the safety of each & every person on board. Any captain or other crew member can be terrific in a normal situation, but an emergency separates the competent ones from the others.

[clueless2]

You would think in an actually emergency that officers and/or designated highly trained crew would be armed in order to keep things under control. Nothing like a .45 strapped to someones hip to make you shut up and follow orders.

[Azulann]

During muster drill on the Equinox, we were assigned to Michale's club.

It was explained to us by a crew member that if there was an emergency, the windows could be opend and the life boats could be accessed.

I am sure that is true in the MDR.

[ghstudio]

Unfortunately, muster drills would have had no effect on this tragedy. The only value would be to know where the lifeboats are....but now that muster drills no longer take you outside to the lifeboats, I bet most still have no idea where they are after going to the lifeboat drill. Sitting in the theater...where do you go for the lifeboats??? They say...we'll lead you to the lifeboats if needed. On paper that sounds great...in the reality of a ship listing to one side, dark coridors with water and noise....one would hardly try to get to their muster station. You and I would head for the deck where we could board lifeboats.....and if you disagree, look at yourself in the mirror before you claim to be the prefect passenger.

 

Sure...they will revamp the muster drills but I don't think anyone on the Costa ship really had a serious problem because they didn't have the drill. It's just convenient to say they didn't have one. Perhaps the most useful part of the muster drills WAS actually putting on a lifejacket...but that's no longer needed because it's "inconvenient".

[Kancruze]

 

Also, we're booked on our first S-class in a few weeks and I recall reading that the life vests are stored in a basket under the bed. Do they enforce some safety reg to be sure they're not blocked by our luggage?

 

 

 

Even though I've cruised at least 6 times now, I really don't know what to do if I'm not in my stateroom during an emergency. Am I expected to go down to my stateroom to get my life-vest from under the bed or...?? :confused:

I'm another one who'll be asking more questions and paying more attention to the answers.

My sincere condolences to family and friends who've lost their loved ones.

[phoenix_dream]

Celebrity used to make people wear their life jackets, and used to make us go out to the deck where 'our' lifeboat would be. Having done it both that way and the current way, I truly believe the current way is just as good as the previous. Seriously - if there were a disaster would you be a good little passenger and go to your muster station instead of dashing out to the lifeboat deck and trying to get on the first available? If it were a true case of the ship starting to go down, there would be complete chaos no matter how much pre-training there was.

 

Based on news reports and some passenger comments I have read (I was not there so cannot know if this is true) it sounds like the crew did not, in fact, do a great job at managing the whole tragic situation. But then again, with the exception of officers who are accepting a position knowing your life is in their hands, how much can we really expect from people who are making a pittance of a salary and whose main job might involve dishwashing or cleaning a room? This is not meant to insult them - not at all. I'm sure some of them would be quiet heroes and do whatever it took to get the passengers to safety, but realistically most of them, being human like the rest of us, would be busy trying to save their own lives and who can blame them.

 

Thankfully true emergencies of this type happen rarely and my thoughts and prayers go out to all the passengers aboard this vessel.

[Project_gal]

Of course we all never consider than an emergency situation couldn't happen to us, but emergencies do happen, albeit rarely. And we're always taught to proceed to our cabin for our life vest, etc... These people didn't have that opportunity. Nothing was calm...they were panic stricken. That was my point.

 

Mary

 

Even though I've cruised at least 6 times now, I really don't know what to do if I'm not in my stateroom during an emergency. Am I expected to go down to my stateroom to get my life-vest from under the bed or...?? I'm another one who'll be asking more questions and paying more attention to the answers.

 

My sincere condolences to family and friends who've lost their loved ones.

 

 

 

On every cruise we have been on [on three different cruise lines], the instruction has been IF you ARE in your cabin, put on warm clothing & life jacket, collect medication and proceed to your muster station. IF you are NOT in your cabin NOT to return to your cabin and life jackets will be made available to you.

 

Sue

[Kathie44]

I have been on 12 cruises, 8 with X and 4 with RCCL. We also have always been told not to go back to the room. On every cruise, so far, the life jackets have always been on the top shelf of the closet, not under the bed.

Next cruise-- on Summit Feb 4-11, S. Carib. So ready to get away from the yucky, gray OH winter.

[We-R-Off]

I heard an interview today from a survivor on the news this morning, who had gone to his room to change from evening wear and get warm clothing. From his report there was a lot of chaos and there were no public annoucements.

 

I don't think the situation was handled well if the Captain had abandoned ship before some of the passengers and he's being charged with manslaughter!

 

I do hope that ALL cruise lines will revise their drills in light of the disaster and I'd hope that X will adopt the lifeboat drill that has been mentioned previously.

 

I also hope that there is some governing body that audits Cruise ships emergency drills.

[ariawoman]

I don't think the situation was handled well if the Captain had abandoned ship before some of the passengers and he's being charged with manslaughter!

 

 

I don't think that this proves he is guilty of anything just yet. He has been arrested, but the old saying is "innocent until proven guilty". So, we'll see what comes of it in the coming months.

 

In some ways, something seems very fishy, but I like to believe the good in everyone (even though unfortunately many don't deserve that belief).

 

Hopefully the captain will be able to give us some reasonable answers as to why he did what he did, and if he left the ship - why he did that, as a captain is not supposed to leave his ship before the passengers and crew.

[lenquixote66]

I worked on the 20th. floor of a NYC office building . We had fire drills once a month and it was mandatory for every employee to attend . One day we had a fire and every person panicked ,ran down stairs and trampled people along the way . It was horrible .

[TLCOhio]

The lead story for NBC's Today Show at 8 am was all about this sad tragedy in Italy. This included interviews with those who had been on the ship detailing many of the problems on how poorly the ship staff handled these issues, lack of proper training and drills, etc. They noted that 125 Americans were on this ship and that all of them are accounted for and safe.

 

This TV segment, plus newspapers such as the Daily Mail in London, showed the large, 60' "gash" in the hull of this massive ship. It's an amazing story with lots of issues for those who like to cruise. It makes you better appreciate the work that good Captains and staff do. The Carnival management that run and control their Costa line will have to do some serious "explaining" on how this happened and they handled this mess so poorly!

 

You can see many more pictures, details about this story at:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2086831/Costa-Concordia-accident-Pictures-cruise-ship-sinking-coast-Italy-Titanic-like-scene.html

 

Among the sub-heads and details from this UK newspaper are:

Captain held on suspicion of manslaughter as three passengers die

Passengers tell of 'chaos' as crew members said 'go back to your cabins'

Survivors leapt for their lives into the icy sea as the liner rolled onto its side

Boat was 'four miles off course' when it hit rocks

Bodies of two French passengers and a Peruvian crewman recovered

One victim, 65, died from heart attack following shock of cold water

Liner had listed so badly 'lifeboats had difficulty being launched'

37 Britons on board and have been reported safe and well

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 56,755 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[dkjretired]

You can bet one of the things that will come out of this will be to revisit the rule that lifeboat drills must occur within 24 hours of sailing.

 

Also, just for general knowledge, I saw a Maritime attorney on TV last night and any lawsuits filed on this will have to be filed in Genoa, Italy as per the cruise contract..

[kelmac]

Lets be realistic:

 

--yes the muster drill helps, but every emergency will be different

--do you want to spend two days of your cruise preparing for every contingency

--99.99% of cruisers will never face a severe emergency

--chaos, panic are human nature and will occur in most severe situations

--many Princess ships and Celebrity's Solstice class ships have interior muster stations because there is NOT enough room on the promenade decks for all of the passengers. Life boat filling must be done in waves on these ships. How much panic potential does this cause?

--things on the Costa ship went about as expected in this unique emergency situation -- most survivors will have a interesting life story to tell.

 

Kel

[SixOneTwo]

Regardless of the change in muster drill procedures, it has always been my impression that in an emergency I am to go to my cabin, dress in warm clothing, gather my medications (if any) and my lifejacket and meet at my muster station. Once there, multiple staff members will be on hand to direct me and others in an orderly fashion to evacuation.

 

It's also my impression that there is no particular assignment of lifeboats and that they are loaded as appropriate to the situation.

 

The muster drills of late have been kind of "dumbed down," and I would absolutely welcome a return to the more comprehensive drills that include instruction in putting on the jacket, actually putting on the jacket and then actually walking out on deck. On my first cruise (Carnival, ironically), they even took a roll call on deck. With all of that activity, we were back to drinking the "fun ship specials" within an hour.

[TomTN]

Regardless of the change in muster drill procedures, it has always been my impression that in an emergency I am to go to my cabin, dress in warm clothing, gather my medications (if any) and my lifejacket and meet at my muster station. Once there, multiple staff members will be on hand to direct me and others in an orderly fashion to evacuation.

 

It's also my impression that there is no particular assignment of lifeboats and that they are loaded as appropriate to the situation.

 

The muster drills of late have been kind of "dumbed down," and I would absolutely welcome a return to the more comprehensive drills that include instruction in putting on the jacket, actually putting on the jacket and then actually walking out on deck. On my first cruise (Carnival, ironically), they even took a roll call on deck. With all of that activity, we were back to drinking the "fun ship specials" within an hour.

 

I couldn't agree more. I always dreaded them, but accepted their importance, especially for new cruisers. The potential for an accident to happen will always exist. The cruise lines made a mistake in "dumbing down" the muster drill. :(

[jgnova]

On every cruise, so far, the life jackets have always been on the top shelf of the closet, not under the bed.

 

Our =X= cruises so far have been on C and M class ships and the life jackets have indeed been on the top shelf. However, I've seen comments (and we'll see personally in a few weeks) that S class ships have them in a basket under the bed.

 

j

[TRadle]

One of the things I have noticed is that when you are lined up on deck with the life jacket on people are pretty attentive to the instructions being given. When we are inside sitting in comfy chairs and the instructions are on TV most people are not paying attention. I have yet to be able to see or hear what is going on in this setting.

[Kancruze]

One of the things I have noticed is that when you are lined up on deck with the life jacket on people are pretty attentive to the instructions being given. When we are inside sitting in comfy chairs and the instructions are on TV most people are not paying attention. I have yet to be able to see or hear what is going on in this setting.

 

I noticed that too. Very few people are actually paying attention, instead yakking it up so that others cannot hear either. A crew member should be assuring that everyone is quiet but I guess they're afraid of offending guests.:(

[Karen@Steve]

I've been reading the posts concerning the muster drills and I'm a little surprised to hear people say that the muster drills are not taken seriously. We're cruised 4 times between RCCL and CC and that was not the case at all. It's been a couple of years but the muster drills were pretty intense. I spoke with my DS and DD, who cruised with us as teanages on RCCL and the remember a very serious drill. As a matter of fact they made us do it twice because the passengers didn't seemed organized enough. There was no talking, everyone was made to stand quietly for quite some time. Then they sent us back to our cabins and made us do it again. When did this change?

[nikel]

Our =X= cruises so far have been on C and M class ships and the life jackets have indeed been on the top shelf. However, I've seen comments (and we'll see personally in a few weeks) that S class ships have them in a basket under the bed.

 

j

 

What is the difference if you reach up to a shelf or down under the bed. The important thing is that is it there in your cabin.

[lambcom]

I have to concur with the folks who say Celebrity should return to the practice of having the muster drill on the lifeboat deck with passengers wearing their life vests and mandatory participation (crew checking off the names of passengers from the manifest and checking rooms for hiding non-participants). The importance of the drill is a whole lot more real when, as was the case on HAL a few years ago, the horn is sounded and the captain orders the life boats to be lowered. I can remember a dead silence on the part of passengers as the boats dropped down to loading position. Suddenly it became real!

 

The last two Celebrity cruises I have been on the noise level of the passengers in the lounge where we were seated and who had already been gobbling up the sail away drinks, made it impossible for my wife or I to hear the instructions over the PA system.

 

Yes, the lifeboat stations may have to be changed if the ship is listing, etc. but at least the passengers have been informedwhat to do before the ship leaves port and know how to put on a life vest and where the life boats are located.

 

George +