If you had minutes to evacuate what would you take?

[Cotswold Eagle]

My hard-earned C&A pins!:D

 

Seriously though, if I were not in my cabin and had time to get there, I would make it a point to grab my lifejacket, a coat/sweater/jacket, and maybe an extra change of clothes as long as I had a plastic bag to put them in to keep them dry. My reasoning is that if I had to go into the water, when I got out, I would want to change into dry clothes as soon as possible. I would also take my id, money, etc., but those are all things that I would have with me anyway.

 

As a matter of curiosity, how do you (and the others who have posted similar things) intend to assess "if...I had time to get there"?

[jebuell]

As a matter of curiosity, how do you (and the others who have posted similar things) intend to assess "if...I had time to get there"?

 

Me personally? If I weren't already in my cabin when they announced the ship was going down, I wouldn't have enough time.

[BecciBoo]

Oh come on people:rolleyes: this is a hypothetical question...look at the passenger's video on the home page. The ship wasn't listing, people were milling around in the hallway for quite some time. There was plenty of time to return to their cabins and get stuff. My DH could get pretty much anywhere on Voyager within 5 minutes...he had to do that a lot cuz I forget stuff a lot. There was at least an hour before the ship turned on its side to where you could not transverse the hallways. The question was...If you had minutes to evacuate what would you take? not Would you save your family or your stuff? Who wouldn't make sure their family was safe BEFORE their stuff??????:confused: Get real.

[drarill]

Forgive me for insulting you. Yes, I used sarcasm. Some people can live with it, others find it in poor taste. I respect that people have differing opinions. But with that respect comes the fact that sometimes, something is said that one finds so alarmist, so absurd when put in perspective, that simply "agreeing to disagree" is inadequate.

 

I am sitting back laughing at some of the things people are now spending time deliberating. Why? Because it's totally asinine.

 

I have done nothing to misrepresent myself in any way. If you can't handle my self-admittedly abrasive brand of commentary, then you can do as others here have implored me to do, and just skip the thread or comment and not respond.

 

But I am calling you on your holier-than-thou pontifications, because you DID insult me by accusing me of fraud and misrepresentation. This is the ONLY account I have, and if you want to continue to suggest otherwise, then you are a hypocrite.

 

I don't know if you have more than one screen name in CC, although someonelse said you do. I didn't say that you have more than one screen name, I said that I don't need to have more than one screen name because I "think" before I write something. I always try to avoid "controversial threads" because I don't like to fight (although I have to admit that I can't stay away from the "smoking threads").

I can take sarcasm, that's the reason I ignored your comment on my thread. I don't come to CC, to fight or insult people, I come to learn about crusing. If you felt insulted by my comment, I apologize... hope you have a beautiful day.

PS: Enjoy the Allure, we really liked it, had a CLSuite, which we liked more than the Owners Suite we had on the Oasis.:) Looking forward to your review...

[reallyitsmema]

I don't know if you have more than one screen name in CC, although someonelse said you do. I didn't say that you have more than one screen name, I said that I don't need to have more than one screen name because I "think" before I write something. I always try to avoid "controversial threads" because I don't like to fight (although I have to admit that I can't stay away from the "smoking threads").

I can take sarcasm, that's the reason I ignored your comment on my thread. I don't come to CC, to fight or insult people, I come to learn about crusing. If you felt insulted by my comment, I apologize... hope you have a beautiful day.

PS: Enjoy the Allure, we really liked it, had a CLSuite, which we liked more than the Owners Suite we had on the Oasis.:) Looking forward to your review...

No, you didn't say that, I did. It must be total coincidence that there is an ID with the same 2 letters and same 2 numbers with a person who was on the sailing two sailings of the same two ships that happens to live in the same state.:rolleyes:

 

Keeping this thread on topic, we have a neck safe that we keep out passports in but I will now keep them in our aquapac that is the same size. It will be able to hold our 3 passports, a couple of credit cards, some cash, drivers licenses and keys. It can be worn under a shirt so will fit nicely under a lifejacket. I hadn't thought about car and house keys until I read on the Costa board about someone who had to break into their house when they got home. We always bring the spare set on vacation and leave our regular everyday key rings at home since they have other keys that we wouldn't need so the two keys wouldn't take up much space.

 

We have always packed flashlights, me a small maglight and DH a headlamp I always tease him about but now I think his headlamp might be a better idea. Medication is something I never considered either but I think that is a good idea too.

[Cruisin824]

For those with iphones; there is a free app called flashlight that works like an actual flashlight; more reason to grab my iphone in an emergency; I like the idea of having everything in a small ziplock bag.

 

People underestimate the importance of having a small flashlight while traveling. Many years ago while traveling in the Far East, I remember at least two times where the electricity went out and wished I had a flashlight

 

I would not waste battery life on a cell phone to use it as a flashlight.

[drarill]

No, you didn't say that, I did. It must be total coincidence that there is an ID with the same 2 letters and same 2 numbers with a person who was on the sailing two sailings of the same two ships that happens to live in the same state.:rolleyes:

 

Keeping this thread on topic, we have a neck safe that we keep out passports in but I will now keep them in our aquapac that is the same size. It will be able to hold our 3 passports, a couple of credit cards, some cash, drivers licenses and keys. It can be worn under a shirt so will fit nicely under a lifejacket. I hadn't thought about car and house keys until I read on the Costa board about someone who had to break into their house when they got home. We always bring the spare set on vacation and leave our regular everyday key rings at home since they have other keys that we wouldn't need so the two keys wouldn't take up much space.

 

We have always packed flashlights, me a small maglight and DH a headlamp I always tease him about but now I think his headlamp might be a better idea. Medication is something I never considered either but I think that is a good idea too.

 

We also have to mention the problems you can have with foreign languages. Looks like there were communication problems in Costa. We always practice with our children where are we staying and that if they are lost they have to say that they are US Citizens.

Didn't think about the extra keys either :rolleyes:, but my brother already has an extra set. We also have a small flashlight on my husband's backpack and we have copies of our passports, credit cards, etc. scanned and emailed to ourselves.

As I said before, cruise critics is the place where many come to learn about cruising. I've always been greatful from everything that I learn here. I know that the chances of something like this happening again are slim, but I'm doing some things different for our next trip ;)

[Bubba2011]

For those of you that are stopping to grab some of the things that you say you would, did you ever think the space these items are going to take up may be a spot for one more survivor? Did you ever think that the people helping with the life boats may not let you take these things? The life boats are designed to hold only so many people….not your stuff too. I'll let you all know now, I'm going to be pretty mad when I go down with the ship because your laptop, jewelry, and other odds and ends were taking up my spot. :mad:

[reallyitsmema]

For those of you that are stopping to grab some of the things that you say you would, did you ever think the space these items are going to take up may be a spot for one more survivor? Did you ever think that the people helping with the life boats may not let you take these things? The life boats are designed to hold only so many people….not your stuff too. I'll let you all know now, I'm going to be pretty mad when I go down with the ship because your laptop, jewelry, and other odds and ends were taking up my spot. :mad:

I really doubt they will let anyone take a backpack or small bag on the lifeboat. What we have is similar to this http://www.waterproofcases.net/aqp-124.html

 

It can be worn around the neck or tied to swim trunks like my DH does when we snorkel. Ours actually has a caribener too that he hooks into the mesh of his swim trunks and wears the aquapac under his trunks down his leg so it doesn't float up as we snorkel.

 

I had read that one woman on the miracle on the hudson refused to leave her carryon behind and was arguing with people at the doorway. Someone finally said fine, you can take it and threw it out the door into the water.:eek: She then got off the plane.

[mjldvlks]

For now the usual rules are suspended with regards to this huge story.

Bravo

[jonbgd]

I really doubt they will let anyone take a backpack or small bag on the lifeboat.

.

 

I agree. I think the people that want to bring those need to look @ the videos of the evcac and pax walking down the hull.

Since the lifeboats are limited in space all the extra junk will just take up space of another couple

 

While I think there is more time on a cruise ship to grab a few things from your cabin, it should be limited to what will fit in your pockets. Also what happens if you cant get in a lifeboat all the extras will just hinder your movement or weigh you down in the water.

With a hull breach you hope you have time but one never knows if the WT doors were dogged properly. Or FD's closed properly Its all about watertight integrity when that happens.

[RareBird]

The Costa tragedy has made me think if in an emergency if it was safe to return to my cabin, what would I grab (other than kids and husband). I would grab lifejacket, warm coat; sensible shoes and then glasses (I wear contacts); my wallet and then iphone (in that order)

 

I also have all my credit card and passport information scanned into an email that I send to myself prior; not sure that would help in that case.

 

good point about glasses! I wear contacts too and probably in craziness of the moment, I'd forget them thinking they are on my head already [good vision with contacts.]

 

I would grab, in order:

wallet, passports

iPhone

warm clothes, sneakers, hat

glasses! [great tip] [contacts out, glasses on]

jewelry

iPad? :( too heavy to carry probably

[time4u2go]

If you had minutes to evacuate what would you take?

 

My family.

[Pomperaugrr]

If you had minutes to evacuate what would you take?

 

An amused and pitiful look at all of the stragglers missing the life boat I was already on, because they couldn't live without their iPhone...:rolleyes:

 

Eric

[hgmizzou]

Okay everybody take a deep breath. My apologies for committing the cardinal sin of slight exaggeration with regards to the number of threads.

 

I guess the reason it rubs me the wrong way is that it seems at times like this there is an almost alarmist overcompensation in people's responses. I mean, do we really need to start to carry a waterproof backpack? The potential of this happening is so remote that if we're considering that realistic planning, then we should probably all carry bullet proof vests too. After all, we're probably more likely to get shot in port then to have our ship founder.

 

And I apologize for offending people by responding. I didn't realize that only responses that agreed with the thought process and opinion being put forth were allowed.

 

Maybe I took a passive aggressive approach. But hey, this isn't real life, it's the internet!

 

I do think it is no less valid however, to come on here and try and counteract some of this overreaction by questioning the necessity to proverbially beat the dead horse in every way possible.

 

Your exaggeration and sarcasm are not really appropriate at this time. It is never a bad idea for anyone to review security precautions.

 

While it is very easy to get swept up in planning for the "fun" part of a vacation, a tradgedy such as this reminds us all that bad things do happen and it can't hurt to think in advance about what you would do if they happened to any of us.

 

If you don't want to think about this kind of thing, fine. Read other threads.

 

I for one, appreciate the information and ideas from everyone else. I don't want to live my life with a "chicken little" attitude, but being prepared is never a bad thing. Think about what to do in advance and then enjoy your vacation.

[ubouu]

My husband and my children. That's it. Period. The end. Not the Chanel bag, not the jewelry, not the credit cards or money. There is not one thing on this Earth that I would spend the one second that might make the difference on trying to take with me. There is not one single thing that could not be replaced aside from them...

 

Agreed .

[bryndlwulf]

If in cabin: husband, children, identification papers, credit cards/cash, iPhone, jewelry bag (its tiny ;)),glasses, jacket, and sneakers.

 

Not in cabin: husband and children only

[bryndlwulf]

Oh yeah, for those concerned about the space inside a lifeboat...everything except my husband and kids can either fit in my pocket or be worn on my body so we should all be good here. :D

[dep]

Took pictures on I phone of passports including bar codes in back of passports, plus RX of drugs I take, everything is password protected, and emailed them back to my self so if phone gets wet they are also on my computer. I always carry my phone even on a ship. Anyone have any other ideas?

[MaskedTurtle]

As a matter of curiosity, how do you (and the others who have posted similar things) intend to assess "if...I had time to get there"?

 

If the ship is immediately listing, then I have no time. If the ship seems to be remaining upright, and I am relatively close to my cabin anyway, then I have time. It's as simple as that.

[drarill]

If the ship is immediately listing, then I have no time. If the ship seems to be remaining upright, and I am relatively close to my cabin anyway, then I have time. It's as simnple as that.

I don't know if I'm right, but I think that it took over half an hour to the Concordia to start listing after the initial hit. If I have time, I will go to my cabin and meet my family there, if not, I will meet them at the muster station. At the Concordia, people were fighting for lifejackets. Another good reason to go to your room if you have the time.

Someone suggested at another thread to plan a meeting place for your family in case you are separated, also a great idea.

As suggested by someone else too, I will bring some ziplocks to my next trip. Electronics can go there to avoid water damage.:)

[waterbug123]

For those of you that are stopping to grab some of the things that you say you would, did you ever think the space these items are going to take up may be a spot for one more survivor? Did you ever think that the people helping with the life boats may not let you take these things? The life boats are designed to hold only so many people….not your stuff too. I'll let you all know now, I'm going to be pretty mad when I go down with the ship because your laptop, jewelry, and other odds and ends were taking up my spot. :mad:

 

Lighten up. People are primarily talking about stuff that would fit IN THEIR POCKETS. A passport, cellphone and credit card is hardly going to displace an extra passenger in a lifeboat.

[temple1]

Lighten up. People are primarily talking about stuff that would fit IN THEIR POCKETS. A passport, cellphone and credit card is hardly going to displace an extra passenger in a lifeboat.

 

Then there are those who posted they were going to take back packs and packed plastic bags with extra clothes and shoes.

[MaskedTurtle]

I don't know if I'm right, but I think that it took over half an hour to the Concordia to start listing after the initial hit. If I have time, I will go to my cabin and meet my family there, if not, I will meet them at the muster station. At the Concordia, people were fighting for lifejackets. Another good reason to go to your room if you have the time.

Someone suggested at another thread to plan a meeting place for your family in case you are separated, also a great idea.

As suggested by someone else too, I will bring some ziplocks to my next trip. Electronics can go there to avoid water damage.:)

 

This is pretty much what I was thinking. If we are talking solely about having enough time, then the way I see it is this: wherever I am on the ship, it only usually takes about 5 minutes to get back to the room and if I don't have 5 minutes to get to my room, then maybe we are in such a dire situation that it wouldn't matter if I ever got to the muster station at all. Obviously, if there was utter chaos and I couldn't back to my cabin in a timely manner, then I would definitely go right to the muster station.

 

As far as what I would grab and take, I previously mentioned a coat, extra change of clothes, money, ID, etc. I keep my ID, money, credit card, phone, and other "purse filler" type stuff with me all of the time and these items are very small, so I would not be taking up any space that would go to a person(side note: if your phone is so big that it needs an entire seat, maybe you should get a different phone). As far as the coat/jacket go, I would be wearing it, so no big deal there. As far as my taking extra clothes, I am certainly not saying that I would pack an entire carry-on and take it with me. I would simply take a pair of underwear, bra, pants(maybe jogging-type pants) and a shirt and roll them up so that they would fit into a belly bag. I don't think a belly bag takes up that much room, and if it actually became a problem, than I would just toss the bag.

[bryndlwulf]

Isn't there something said during muster about putting on warm clothes when you get your life jacket? I seem to remember hearing that one of those times I was paying attention....