Muster Drill

[Cmdr Cody]

On our recent cruise on the Jewel we mustered in the theater and roll call was taken. I showed my wife our lifeboat station like I do on any cruise. If we fly I show her the exits and tell her stay with me in an emergency. She trusts me because I have years of training as a Naval Officer and I don't panic.

As for cruise ships, like the Navy the first thing they practice is fire fighting because you can't just walk outside to get away from a fire at sea. After that it would be engineering caualties and then flooding type caualties because thats the order of any likely problem.

On our last cruise during one of our days in port we came back early and got caught in the fire drill. While I wouldn't try to compare them to the sailors in the USN they seemed compitent enough from what I saw.

[sparks1093]

While I wouldn't try to compare them to the sailors in the USN they seemed compitent enough from what I saw.

 

I have to agree Commander. I usually watch the crew as they go about their daily business and have seen drills in progess.

 

Sparks, you hit the nail on the head. In the end, you are responsible for your own life. You can choose to listen in the muster drill, whatever it is, or you can choose to show up half drunk and act like it's all a big waste of time.

 

Personally, I always learn as much as I can about the layout of the ship, and in the back of mind as I do this is "what if?" I do the same thing on an airplane...where's the exit, what am I going to do "if" it happens?

 

I don't mean by this that it should be "every man for himself." Far from it. I think the muster drills are important, and I don't think they are thorough enough at all. I think every passenger needs to know what's going to happen after they get to their muster area, and they also need to know what options they have if they can't get to their muster station. None of this is explained at all in the current routine.

 

But I'm afraid the fact of the matter is that we probably won't see much changing, even after this incident.

 

I agree and maybe that will be a positive thing that comes out of this (heck, even if they had it written in the cabin it would be better than nothing. I know that I would read it).

[laxlove6]

When a major emergency happens, people panic. Everything changes. Is it incorrect to say that the majority of people were evacuated successfully. Of course the process is not the same as it is in the muster drill. A few people of selfish and worry about themselves and that causes other people to panic. The muster drills that meet up in rooms on the ships are the same rooms you are supposed to go to in case of emergency.

[che5904]

Nothing in an emergency is going to happen the way that you think it will during training. Ever. Emergencies just don't play nice. Things go wrong. People forget things under pressure. Equipment that was just checked inexplicibly fails when needed. Passengers panic. And of course before an accident happens everyone thinks that it won't happen, so they don't take the training seriously. After this passenger and crews from all lines will take the muster a little more seriously. But then complacency will set in again. Until the next time.

 

I agree completely. We attend a well organized, calm muster drill. We come from whereever we are on the ship to that location. Taking our leisure walk on an upright ship to get to that location on time. Everybody in cruise/vacation mode. Reality doesn't happen like that when there is an emergency. So all you can hope to take away from the muster drill is knowledge of things like life jackets, muster stations and life boats.

 

Sparks, you hit the nail on the head. In the end, you are responsible for your own life. You can choose to listen in the muster drill, whatever it is, or you can choose to show up half drunk and act like it's all a big waste of time.

 

Personally, I always learn as much as I can about the layout of the ship, and in the back of mind as I do this is "what if?" I do the same thing on an airplane...where's the exit, what am I going to do "if" it happens?

 

I don't mean by this that it should be "every man for himself." Far from it. I think the muster drills are important, and I don't think they are thorough enough at all. I think every passenger needs to know what's going to happen after they get to their muster area, and they also need to know what options they have if they can't get to their muster station. None of this is explained at all in the current routine.

 

But I'm afraid the fact of the matter is that we probably won't see much changing, even after this incident.

 

I also agree with this post. I too check out everything, get to know the ship as well as we can even before leaving port. However, I'm still getting lost on day 7 or a 7 day cruise.

 

I'm curious about your last sentence though. What do you think should change after this incident. On our cruise in Feb, I thought our muster drill that was held at our muster station prior to leaving port was very well handled. They ticked our names and or cabin number not sure which. Described all the safety features, life vests, extra life vests with the lifeboats, etc. Since there is no way to possibly predict all variations of what may go wrong, all they can do, as I said above, is give you basic emergency knowledge. From there people just have to depend on their common sense and hope the chaos is at a minimum.

[che5904]

Curious about those who attended muster drills in a common area instead of a muster station. Were you suppose to congregate there in an emergency or was that just for instructional purposes and in the case of a real emergency go to a specific muster station.

[davesgirl51]

Curious about those who attended muster drills in a common area instead of a muster station. Were you suppose to congregate there in an emergency or was that just for instructional purposes and in the case of a real emergency go to a specific muster station.

 

The common area is the muster station and where you are to go if the alarm should sound. I would also add after reading this thread that those people who brush off the muster drill "as a waste of time" will be the very first to blame someone else for a problem.:rolleyes:

[umpy10]

Good Post! You are correct about USCG rules and SOLA. I think the main reason we no longer meet at the life boats is due to the larger size of the ships and the lack of room on the deck at the muster stations

 

Hmmmm...If there is no room on deck to do a muster drill , then how do you expect everyone to fit when the real thing happens??

 

That just doesn't make any sense at all.

 

 

cheers...the Ump...:D

[che5904]

The common area is the muster station and where you are to go if the alarm should sound. I would also add after reading this thread that those people who brush off the muster drill "as a waste of time" will be the very first to blame someone else for a problem.:rolleyes:

 

Thanks that makes sense then. I thought I had seen muster station letters a few other places on the ship, than the one we were on, on the promenade deck.

 

Hmmmm...If there is no room on deck to do a muster drill , then how do you expect everyone to fit when the real thing happens??

 

That just doesn't make any sense at all.

 

 

cheers...the Ump...:D

 

When we had our muster drill, our muster station was on the promenade deck (both times). That deck was full. So my assumption would be that in a state of emergency that everyone is expected to come from whereever else their respective station is and single file into their awaiting life boat.

 

But since history and reality is that, in an emergency, nothing goes quite like planned. I'd say the most those people could hope for is to get all safety information as they can and find out which lifeboat is yours and where it is located. Now provided they aren't in the situation that the one poor person quoted was "but my lifeboat and station was under water".

 

There is one thing I don't recall being told though. They claim there are more lifeboats than passengers (blow up ones I think). But what I don't recall being told,where they are located if my lifeboat (as above) is not accessible.

[valleyvillage]

"Plans go to hell when the first shot is fired." What really matters is the training of the crew.

[EnsignPulver]

Hmmmm...If there is no room on deck to do a muster drill , then how do you expect everyone to fit when the real thing happens??

 

That just doesn't make any sense at all.

 

 

cheers...the Ump...:D

 

Understand what your saying, but theoretcally they would like you to proceed to your muster station, this would allow sufficient space and time for the emergency crew to unsecure and drop the life boats then lead the passengers to safety. In lieu of impeding the crew from making the necessary preparations for abandoning ship.

[mpk218]

I did not read all of the post's , so sorry If I missed this.

One of the big reasons things went so badly was that the instructions being broadcast by the bridge were in Italian ONLY. Half the ship did not know what was happening or what to do .

US News report.. :eek:

[Laszlo]

The common area is the muster station and where you are to go if the alarm should sound. I would also add after reading this thread that those people who brush off the muster drill "as a waste of time" will be the very first to blame someone else for a problem.:rolleyes:

 

As a long time boater and 1st time cruiser on the Gem last year I found this ass backwards. I specifically ask when we were at our muster station (in the dining room in section of the ship) what should we do if something happens and we are in the spa or some place near the bow? In theory we are supposed to come back. Are we excepted to run all the way back??? I think not, my butt is getting on the closest life boat to me.

Edited January 16, 2012 by Laszlo

[wwwfla]

Agree that NCL has slipped in t.he safety drills. Just returned from Epic and the two girls conducting drill at station J1 could not put vest on properly and did not demonstrate whistle or light.

I was going to turn them in but hoped supervision was on it or at least one of the 3500 cameras.

[numberguy]

I have experience on five cruises: Four NCL and one RCI. One every cruise, I've gone to my muster station outdoors, with or without the life jacket (as directed), and roll has been taken. With one exception, I was never in a common area for muster.

 

The one exception was my first cruise, and I liked what they did. The Pride of Aloha (now Norwegian Sky) cruised around Hawai'i, and you could embark in one of two ports: Honolulu or Maui. Honolulu was the main embarkation point (about 90%) and Maui was secondary and was the day before Honolulu.

 

So we got on the ship, had a muster drill for the 200 or so of us that got on in Maui in the main lounge up front, and then we had to go through the "real" muster the next day with everyone else who got on in Honolulu. And since it was my first cruise, I really didn't mind. I guess what I'm trying to say is that, at least with NCL and RCI, all of my musters have been the day of embarkation, before sailaway.

 

And one added item, a tiny annoyance: My last cruise was out of Copenhagen (Baltics on the Sun), so there were passengers of many nationalities. It was really annoying to have those who didn't speak the language that was being broadcast over the PA system speaking to each other and laughing at the top of their lungs. I mean, I would like to HEAR the instructions, even if it's for the sixth time in my life.

 

--Michael

[bostongal965]

We were on the Sun December 31st. The drill took place at our station, by the lifeboats. No life-jackets required. They waited until everyone reported before beginning the rest of the drill.

 

The ship sounded the alarm, and the three crew members in charge demonstrated the life-jackets. We had someone from the spa, gift shop, and entertainment - I think I would feel better if every muster station had someone from the "sailing" part of the crew (probably not possible).

 

All directions were announced in English and Spanish (although I know there were other languages on board). At the time I thought it was sufficient; now, of course, I wonder. Since we were still in port, people (especially the teens) were still on cell phones, and I'm not sure how much attention was paid.

 

Since this was my second time on the Sun, and we stayed in the same area, our muster station was the same, and I knew where it was. I don't remember being that sure of its location on my first trip. My next planned cruise will be on the Dawn, and you can be sure I will make it a point that my family and I know where it is, and how to get there from wherever we are on the ship.

[mikewrit]

The muster drill sets up the psychology: "You are on a ship. Bad things can happen. If there is an emergency, pay attention and follow orders." Early passenger anecdotes from the Concordia suggested nobody knew what to do. A lot of people panicked, jumped into the cold water and tried to swim to the island. I expect many of the fatalities will turn out to be folks who either drowned trying to swim to shore or remained locked in their cabins waiting for clear instructions what to do.

[DMH15]

I am the Fire Warden for my suite. After 911 people started taking fire drills seriously. Maybe this will be a wake-up call for the muster drill's importance.

[melli_fera]

I think every passenger needs to know what's going to happen after they get to their muster area, and they also need to know what options they have if they can't get to their muster station. None of this is explained at all in the current routine.

 

But I'm afraid the fact of the matter is that we probably won't see much changing, even after this incident.

 

I agree with you 1000 percent. On Carnival Dream in August, we were mustered in the theater with about 4 other groups and shown a video. It was sort of explained as to where our life boats were, but, honestly, I'd have no idea where to go, even after paying strict attention. I personally would like to be shown where, to be told what I should do if I'm at the front of the ship and my life jacket is in my aft cabin. What should I do if I'm no where near my muster station.

 

I would rather have the captain sound an alarm, and have us all report, and have it be false, than to have them wait 45+ minutes and have the ship listing at 30 degrees to sound an alarm. SHAME on those officers for not realizing a grounding and taking action AS SOON AS IT HAPPENED.

[sparks1093]

The muster drill sets up the psychology: "You are on a ship. Bad things can happen. If there is an emergency, pay attention and follow orders." Early passenger anecdotes from the Concordia suggested nobody knew what to do. A lot of people panicked, jumped into the cold water and tried to swim to the island. I expect many of the fatalities will turn out to be folks who either drowned trying to swim to shore or remained locked in their cabins waiting for clear instructions what to do.

 

Unfortunately most Americans have a hard time with that:(.

[redlef]

There is one thing I don't recall being told though. They claim there are more lifeboats than passengers (blow up ones I think). But what I don't recall being told,where they are located if my lifeboat (as above) is not accessible.

 

Scroll down to message #69 on this page for a photo and description:

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=676040&page=4

[RareBird]

As intrusive and unnecessary as it sometimes feels, I too would hope they go back to the gathering near the lifeboats and full drill with life jackets. Royal to me always seem to do the best job at this.

[che5904]

Scroll down to message #69 on this page for a photo and description:

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=676040&page=4

 

Thank you for this but I wasn't questioning their existence. Just saying I didn't know where to locate them on the ship if my lifeboat wasn't accessible.

[bugspost]

As intrusive and unnecessary as it sometimes feels, I too would hope they go back to the gathering near the lifeboats and full drill with life jackets. Royal to me always seem to do the best job at this.

 

agree w/that Royal does the best it seems!

[JP4GA]

I wonder what if anything will change about the drills. On one ship we met in a common location with our life vest and had to put them on, but we did not see the location of our assigned life boat. On our next cruise we meet in an assigned location, did the life vest thing and then were escorted to our life boat and had to line up for roll call. The instructor had to radio to the captain when we were done, and the instructors stopped talking EVERY TIME passengers started talking. Eventually the offenders got the point. That drill took FOREVER.... but was well worth the time.

 

Many passengers reminded me of kids exiting a school during a fire drill--- laughing and not paying attention.

[Surfgirl]

I used to volunteer with the Coast Guard Auxiliary, and, as you can imagine, safety in the water is our number one priority.

 

I remember telling someone on our the Gem cruise (in December) how disappointed I was with the muster drill. Not only were we brought to a lounge, but we didn't even have to bring our life jackets with us. Nobody could hear the crew talking because people were talking, laughing and texting during the demo. There should have been an effort made to get people to take this seriously and to be quiet during the demo.

 

I wonder how many people know where their life jackets are? How many people know how to put them on? How many people know where the extras are kept? And.. do people check to make sure there are enough in the cabin for each person, and small life jackets for children?