Are there life jackets some place other then your stateroom?

[maddea20]

Chello :)

 

I'm an old time cruiser but new to Celebrity and I've been hearing about this Costa tragedy for days and never thought I'd be afraid of getting on a ship until now. My concern has to do with, in an emergency, since I can't swim, is there any other places on the ship where life jackets are kept if you can't get back to your stateroom in time to get one? As someone who does not know how to swim (and no, at age 33 I have no intentions of ever learning) I would be afraid of not being able to have a lifejacket if something were to happen and I ended up floating in water, bare.

 

Thanks for any answers. This Costa accident is such a sad tragedy.

[Despegue]

yes, all over the ship, and especially near the Muster Stations. In case of an abandon ship announcement, you do not need to go to your stateroom.

 

However, in all cases, follow the crew's order.

[jcrandle]

Each lifeboat has sufficient life jackets for its authorized capacity.

[maddea20]

Oh ok thanks for your responses.

[Fixit2010]

Chello :)

 

I'm an old time cruiser but new to Celebrity and I've been hearing about this Costa tragedy for days and never thought I'd be afraid of getting on a ship until now. My concern has to do with, in an emergency, since I can't swim, is there any other places on the ship where life jackets are kept if you can't get back to your stateroom in time to get one? As someone who does not know how to swim (and no, at age 33 I have no intentions of ever learning) I would be afraid of not being able to have a lifejacket if something were to happen and I ended up floating in water, bare.

 

Thanks for any answers. This Costa accident is such a sad tragedy.

 

Maddea20,

There is nothing to be afraid of. I know saying that doesn't help and we all have irrational fears and phobias, but lets look at the stats.

 

The Concordia was a fiasco because its looking like the captain deserted his crew. Had he not tried to play down his showing off and made an assessment of his situation quickly and properly and initiated and abandon ship quicker and stayed on board to direct it, I suspect it would have gone a lot smoother.

 

It is very rare for a cruise ship to sink. The Titanic in 1912 and the Concordia in 2012. Those two are 100 years apart. Look at aviation over 100 years. There have been significant improvements.

 

Statistically speaking there are less cruise ships sunk than fatal air disasters. And flying is hundreds of times safer than driving. At any one time there is half a million people in the sky.

 

Just because you can't swim (and its never to late to learn), doesn't mean in an abandon ship (which is extremely rare), the ship will be flooded. It would most likely be in its early stages and still be dry, so you can walk to a life boat. For the people that drown in the sea, its not their ability to swim that is the problem, it is the extreme cold and shock to the body and the onset of hypothermia that kills, regardless of how well they can swim.

 

Events do happen on ships, but crews are trained to handle them.

 

If you are still nervous, ask your self how many people have cruised over the last 10 years. How many major incidents have there been and how many fatalities out of all those cruisers?

[floridatravelersforlife]

As the announcements at every muster say, crew will advise where the jackets are.

 

 

Let's just hope the crew is there to advise.

[vermonter16]

I can't swim either...ok, I say that...I can swim but that is all I can do. I can't seem to tread water like other people for whatever reason. I have a fear of deep water and it scares the 's' out of me when we are in thousands feet deep water on the ship. Of course I love the ship and love looking at the water but to think about being in it...no thank you. If it really, really, concerns you - I'd get a snorkel vest that you inflate yourself and carry it folded up with you. It won't take up a lot of space and you can have that in your purse or beach bag tucked tight in a ziplock bag. That way you can set your mind at ease. You will get a life jacket in the event of an emergency but if having a flotation device with you at all times gives you peace of mind during what's supposed to be a relaxing time at sea - then do what you need to do. That's what I would recommend.

[librarylady19]

I have to agree with what has been expressed on other threads- make sure you pay attention to all stair locations, locations of life jackets and develop your own emergency plan. I am not sure that simply following what the crew says to do is the best advice - look what happened on Costa.

[maddea20]

Maddea20,

There is nothing to be afraid of. I know saying that doesn't help and we all have irrational fears and phobias, but lets look at the stats.

 

The Concordia was a fiasco because its looking like the captain deserted his crew. Had he not tried to play down his showing off and made an assessment of his situation quickly and properly and initiated and abandon ship quicker and stayed on board to direct it, I suspect it would have gone a lot smoother.

 

It is very rare for a cruise ship to sink. The Titanic in 1912 and the Concordia in 2012. Those two are 100 years apart. Look at aviation over 100 years. There have been significant improvements.

 

Statistically speaking there are less cruise ships sunk than fatal air disasters. And flying is hundreds of times safer than driving. At any one time there is half a million people in the sky.

 

Just because you can't swim (and its never to late to learn), doesn't mean in an abandon ship (which is extremely rare), the ship will be flooded. It would most likely be in its early stages and still be dry, so you can walk to a life boat. For the people that drown in the sea, its not their ability to swim that is the problem, it is the extreme cold and shock to the body and the onset of hypothermia that kills, regardless of how well they can swim.

 

Events do happen on ships, but crews are trained to handle them.

 

If you are still nervous, ask your self how many people have cruised over the last 10 years. How many major incidents have there been and how many fatalities out of all those cruisers?

 

Wow thanks for this response. I'm not really that scared to cruise again I just read that a lot of ppl were fighting over life jackets or maybe didnt even have one and since I don't know how to swim I want to make sure I can get a life jacket if I'm not near my room. I'm still very much looking forward to my cruise in July but I defn appreciate what you wrote.

[dzcruisers]

I have to agree with what has been expressed on other threads- make sure you pay attention to all stair locations, locations of life jackets and develop your own emergency plan. I am not sure that simply following what the crew says to do is the best advice - look what happened on Costa.

 

Most of the people who died were found where the crew told them to go and wait. That's scary!

[sddsddean]

As said, there are plenty of life jacket lockers on the promenade deck of ships. They are not locked and held 'closed' by a plastic seal, so that in an emergency they are easily accessable. A lot of talk about the Concordia has been about how they couldn't use half the lifeboats. Apart from the fact that all the pictures I've seen of the port side, all the lifeboats have 'gone' and their davit fall ropes are down the side of the ship (so they must have launched), if for some reason you could not use the lifeboats, there are enough automatic life rafts (the white oil drum shaped things) to carry all souls on board 'just in case' (at least, on all the ships I've been on).

 

Simon

[firemanbobswife]

You could always walk around with a pair of water wings on :) Sorry, couldn't resist. But seriously, they do have them at your muster station as well as in your room. This isn't going to affect my cruising travel one bit. Don't worry, be happy!