Passengers removed from ship for failure to muster

[GeriatricNurse]

I am currently on the Nieuw Amsterdam and at the muster drill it was announced that anyone who refused to attend the muster drill would not be allowed to sail. I don't think it was anyone on our ship but I know the Westerdam left after we sailed. This was yesterday--Sunday.

 

Also, was there any mention of having to, once again, wear lifejackets at muster? :confused:

[kazu]

So - did this really happen??

 

It sure sounds like it KK, especially with Copper John's confirmation of the new procedure and with what we heard in the back ground on the web cam.

 

Suits me just fine. Life boat drills are a 'pain' but they are very necessary. Anyone skipping them puts not only themselves but others at risk if there is an emergency.

[GeriatricNurse]

Yes, that warning, and consequences if failing, being located by "sweep teams" and then refusing to attend, is now part of the revised p/a announcement given by the cruise director prior to the (new name) passenger emergency drill. It went into effect on Maasdam effective 01/27/2012 in Ft. Lauderdale

 

John, will it once again be mandatory to wear life jackets to the "passenger emergency drill"? :confused:

[Krazy Kruizers]

After the joke of lifeboat drills on the Noordam -- HAL better step up and get things in control.

I have no problem attending them.

[DFD1]

Good for HAL. Muster is serious business. I'm glad HAL has started taking it more seriously, whatever the reason.

[mamaofami]

On our recent Maasdam cruise which left the same day as the Costa incident, no one took attendance. I was surprised since that was the first time that has happened. These drills are serious. People who don't attend should not be allowed to sail.

[rafinmd]

Hi Cherie; they, the sweep teams, look for any passengers onboard the vessel not physically located on boat deck where the drill is taking place. They "sweep" all passenger area's while the room stewards check the interior of their assigned cabins. When/if pax are located, they are directed to the boat deck and the drill. If they refuse, a meeting takes place with the chief officer at the front office, in which they are once again directed to take part in the drill. If they still refuse, they are directed to pack/get their bags and disembark

 

Under this procedure are B2B or collectors cruise passengers no longer exempt from the drills? Seems reasonable they should be required to attend rather than figure out which PAX not at the station would be exempt that way.

 

Roy

[English_in_Spain]

Apart from insisting that everyone attends and not allowing them to sail if they refuse, cruise lines (not just HAL) need to enforce the rules about no food and drinks at the drill and to make sure people keep quiet and listen and not clown around.

 

On cruises in Europe where instructions have to be repeated in several languages, passengers must keep quiet during announcements in languages other than their own. We know it can be tedious to stand and listen to 4, 5 or more languages but it is so important.

 

I am sure, if on a ship where English is not the first language, you would want everyone to keep quite when the English announcements came.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gelo7]

A tone needs to be set.

[CruiserBruce]

Under this procedure are B2B or collectors cruise passengers no longer exempt from the drills? Seems reasonable they should be required to attend rather than figure out which PAX not at the station would be exempt that way.

 

Roy

 

We were required to attend the second life boat drill on our B2B in December, but not the second one on our B2B in Aug 2010. So the policy may have changed prior to Concordia.

[Boytjie]

I can't recall seeing anyone with food or drink at the muster drill. Most of my cruises have been RSVP charters and it is usually a jolly crowd: it's not unusual to see people in funny outfits at the drill which bothers me a bit as it can make light of what I see as a serious event. There are usually some chatty people but luckily nobody with cocktail in hand. And they do love their cocktails :)

Edited January 31, 2012 by Boytjie

[dr.dawg]

maybe i'm wrong, but it seems to me that on the front of the newletter which is placed in cabins on embarkation day there is a message about the muster drill, and the word used to describe it is MANDATORY. now, what about 'mandatory' is confusing? this is not a suggestion or invitation to attend; frankly, it is an order to attend. i'm glad there will be a return to roll call, if that is indeed the case. i'd really be happy to see a return to wearing life jackets to muster; at one time they used to show you how to put on your life vest if you weren't wearing it correctly. and i hope from now on there is a little less 'party atmosphere' involved at muster. there has been some real 'slippage' in the past few years in this regard. i just think the MANDATORY life boat drill is very serious, even though no one thinks it is any 'highlight' of the cruise.

 

ps: sorry to sound like a 'grinch.' i'm really not one at all!

[Riverwatcher]

erewhon

 

It was the Volendam.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We were required to attend the second life boat drill on our B2B in December, but not the second one on our B2B in Aug 2010. So the policy may have changed prior to Concordia.

 

On 2 of several previous back-to-back cruises (also known as Collectors Cruises) we were exempt from the second lifeboat drill.

But on our recent Noordam Collectors Cruise we had to attend both drills.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I can't recall seeing anyone with food or drink at the muster drill. Most of my cruises have been RSVP charters and it is usually a jolly crowd: it's not unusual to see people in funny outfits at the drill which bothers me a bit as it can make light of what I see as a serious event. There are usually some chatty people but luckily nobody with cocktail in hand. And they do love their cocktails :)

 

On the Noordam we had people arrive with drinks in hand -- laughing andd talking the entire time. No one said anything to them and we could not hear the captain's speech.

One man started to open up a lounge chair to stretch out on -- a crew member told him to fold it back up.

[Wandering Writer]

Of the 50 or so cruises we have been on (on several different lines), there has only been one where we did the muster drill the day after sailing--and that was years ago. I think HAL is the most no-nonsense line when it comes to muster drills. But I agree, there was probably an attitude or something more to the story. Usually the no-shows are on the deck later getting a "private" muster drill.

[iriemon]

The missing people were probably reserving their longers by the pool - can't trust those chair hogs!

[3rdGenCunarder]

If this was the case, I don't feel for them at all. I can recall years ago where I had a tablemate brag how she hid in her cabin closet to avoid the muster drill.

Yes they are a pain in the butt, however it's a vital to know what and where to go in case the unthinkable happen.

<snip>

 

That's just plain stupid! Hiding in a little closet is better than going to the drill? Some people have a childish need to get away with something so they can think that they're clever. And this passenger would probably be the first to whine about not knowing where her muster station was if there had been an emergency.

 

I have to say that it has been quiet at the drills on our recent cruises. One thing that concerned me on Veendam was how crowded the deck was--and that was without the additional bulk of life vests making us take up even more space.

[3rdGenCunarder]

The missing people were probably reserving their longers by the pool - can't trust those chair hogs!

 

That raises a question. I have seen books, towels, sunglasses lounging in the sun. Has anyone ever tried using a life jacket to reserve a chair???

[iriemon]

Have not seen that but on our last cruise on the Zuiderdam in Dec, one gentleman showed up late wearing a robe, slippers and a life preserver. :eek: Cameras flashed. Don't know if he was caught in the shower and had to go to the muster drill or if he always wears his life preserver in the shower just in case. :)

[josie724]

Our dogs are actually Welsh Terriers,which are smaller versions of Airedales. Mulligan is 18 lbs. and Molly is 15 lbs. of Non-Shedding companions.

Would love to be able to bring them on board.

 

 

Speaking of bringing dogs on board....While we were on the NA in Jan there was a seeing eye dog on board. He was a beautiful black lab. While walking around the Promenade deck, at the very front of the ship,I noticed a very large shallow box with kitty litter in it.....I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was doing there, until I saw the seeing eye dog. I thought it was great that they were able to accomadate the dogs needs.

Edited January 31, 2012 by josie724

[josie724]

I have to confess, on our first cruise, we tried to stay in our cabin, but they told us it was mandatory and there would be a roll call. We also had to where our life jackets. I was naive at the time and didn't realize how important it was.

[Aruba]

There were 2 dogs belonging to 2 separate owners on my recent 45-night Atlantic Adventurer cruise, neither of which was a seeing-eye dog. I assume there was a medical reason for them being on board. Couldn't help but laugh to see one of the dogs posing ("being posed" is more like it) for pictures on formal nights -- that was quite a sight.

 

I have to say though that I found it disturbing that one of the dogs was brought to PG for the Sommelier Dinner. It didn't bark or yap but I wasn't thrilled to pay $65 and have a dog sit 2 feet away from me. :rolleyes:

[Aruba]

Oops - sorry, somehow I posted this to the wrong board. I didn't mean to post about dogs on a thread about lifeboat drills!

[sailorgirl]

We're just off Ryndam and muster was held before we could even depart the port. We were held up by several passengers who did not report and the ship was not allowed to leave until they were located. Had they not shown, they would have been put off the ship. The muster is now taken much more seriously by all.