Passengers removed from ship for failure to muster

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

On all the Hal cruises I've been on, the muster drill occurs after we left port and are out to sea.

How do they remove passengers in the middle of the ocean?

????????????

[baggal]

I like the muster drill. Its something that happens on no other type of vacation and means to me that I'm starting my CRUISE.

 

That being said, on our last cruise (not on HAL), we missed the muster drill because we boarded AFTER the muster drill (don't ask - never again!). As we ran across the pier and onto the ship, (gangway went up after we boarded!) we were handed an emergency evacuation instruction sheet by a security officer. That evening, after settling down and realizing that we made the ship by minutes - we took the sheet and found the location ourselves. Even then, before the Concordia, we felt its always best not to leave your safety in the hands of someone else.

[iceleven]

I'm certainly glad to hear that they are now using the more serious muster drills. I have been very disappointed when, in the past, we have been directed to lounges or auditorium instead of our muster stations. I also would prefer our bringing and/or wearing our life vests to muster.

 

I know this has nothing to do with cruising but last year, while enroute to our cruise, we were in airline seats trying to listen to the safety instructions for our flight. One young man in the row in front of us continued to talk right through the instructions. The stewardess nearest him continued to do her demonstration for the rest of us but, once she was finished, she walked right up to him and reprimanded him for it. I was close enough to hear the entire conversation and I was happy to see, by the color of his face, that he was thoroughly embarrassed by it.

 

Safety affects all of us and one person can screw up and compromise the safety and lives of many.

[solocanadian]

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

 

So pleased to read this. Last April on the Oosterdam no attendance was taken & the session very brief. Glad Hal is going back to their old way of doing muster!

[Tarpeian Rock]

Fully support this - - - and not the last of the post-Concordia changes to the cruising life.

[solocanadian]

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:

 

You must never have dined out in France or Portugal. Have often seen dogs in restaurants in France and dined once in Madrid during a Fado show with the resident cat. Never got ill & still alive to tell the story. :D

[cccole]

You must never have dined out in France or Portugal. Have often seen dogs in restaurants in France and dined once in Madrid during a Fado show with the resident cat. Never got ill & still alive to tell the story. :D

 

Aruba posted this on the wrong CC thread as he indicated. Aruba is actually a very well traveled man and has indeed been to the places you assume he has not been to. He apologized for posting on the wrong CC site. Cherie

[sue117]

 

That being said, on our last cruise (not on HAL), we missed the muster drill because we boarded AFTER the muster drill (don't ask - never again!). As we ran across the pier and onto the ship, (gangway went up after we boarded!) we were handed an emergency evacuation instruction sheet by a security officer. That evening, after settling down and realizing that we made the ship by minutes - we took the sheet and found the location ourselves.

 

The last time we missed the muster we had to do a "make up" muster the next day while at sea. We had to show up with our life jacket on the promenade deck....it was kinda funny as people looked at us weird with our life jackets on wandering around and finally one passenger asked us if there was something that they needed to know! lol

[Alabaster Cruiser]

Our last cruise was on Princess and our Sail and Sign cards were scanned in the muster drill. That seemed like a more accurate way of checking attendance without having to call everyone's name.

[Typhoon1]

Rightfully so. I don't care if you've been on hundreds of cruises. You had better show up at the muster drill.

[cmdchiefthom]

Rules are rules and if one should not attend the muster drill one should not attend the cruise!

[sail7seas]

The irony is changes to Muster are being made (and seems we all agree that's a good thing) because of Costa Concordia yet they never had a Muster. Any Muster at all they might have had surely would have been better than none.

 

Edited February 1, 2012 by sail7seas

[bozemanman]

The irony is changes to Muster are being made (and seems we all agree that's a good thing) because of Costa Concordia yet they never had a Muster. Any Muster at all they might have had surely would have been better than none.

 

 

...Absolutely!!!...and would also help if there is a captain who is not "chicken of the seas":rolleyes:...and doesn't "fall" into the lifeboat before all the passengers have left the ship.

[Marianne]

I remember many years ago on our first cruise ever (Maasdam), we were reaching in the closet for our life jackets, when our room steward came in. This was totally new to us so we asked questions, if we really needed to attend Life Boat Drill. Absolutely, we were told. The room steward let us know that we would have to answer to the Captain if we didn't attend. I grabbed my camera for a photo, to prove we attended. I didn't want to answer questions to the Captain.

Marianne

[cbr663]

We were on Eurodam last week (January 21 sailing). Muster was held at 4:15, as others have stated. No lifejackets worn, as they cause problems when going up and down stairs. Roll was taken. Those not answering were skipped until the end, then called again. Every name was called. We had been told (in writing, and in ship PA announcements) that failure to attend would result in removal. We all assembled on Promenade Deck (3) at our assigned lifeboat, not in a lounge. Roll-call was done by boat. It went quickly. Then a demonstration from crew about how to put on a lilfevest, then we were done. Those around us were quiet and orderly, but I cannot speak to all of the groups around the deck. We appreciated the seriousness in which this was all done.

 

We were on the same cruise and I can attest to this description. There were 3 groups of guests who were absent from the muster and their names were announced on the speaker system and they were asked to report to the Main Desk immediately. The announcement was made twice and while I cannot confirm that the guests were removed, the Captain did state that anyone who failed to attend would be removed from the ship.

[dot73]

After the joke of lifeboat drills on the Noordam -- HAL better step up and get things in control. I have no problem attending them.

I was totally shocked at the lifeboat drill we had on my Noordam cruise last December. No attendance taken; people laughing, drinking, on the cell phone and text messaging; headphones on; the crew were joking around and having fun while showing how to put on the life vests; only one officer seen on the whole side of the ship and therefore no discipline. When the Concordia crash happened, I immediately thought of this muster drill and how many people would have been totally unprepared if there was an emergency. There should be no tolerance shown for people who refuse to participate in the muster drill in a serious manner. Those people would be the first ones to panic during an emergency and then blame HAL for the chaos.

[Rinderoo]

Safety drill on Disney Cruise Line taken very seriously. Attendance is taken, and silence is mandatory. If you have a station on a deck, you line up based on height, by family, with tallest in the back.

 

Worst safety/muster I've seen was Carnival Valor; couldn't hear a darn thing and most pax were continuing their party. Crew seemed to have just given up.

 

On DCL the bars actually close down for a spell before the drill. You can't really do anything except go to that safety drill.

[HALrunner]

I was on the NA Jan 8-22. There was a jazz cruise chartered the following week (Jan 22-29). The crew was all a chatter about it as they expected "only" 1500 passengers, but a rowdy group.

I did not read through all eight pages (hot topic?!?), sorry if this was already discussed.

[charleysmom]

I have a slightly off topic, but related question... We're traveling with my 90 year old mom who now has some pretty severe mobility issues. I am particularly interested in the muster drill since if (heaven forbid) anything happens she will be particularly vulnerable. How do they handle wheelchairs at the muster drill? And if anything were to happen, what is the crew's role in helping handicapped passengers?

 

Ann

[billie5]

of Costa Concordia yet they never had a Muster. Any Muster at all they might have had surely would have been better than none.

 

I don't believe this. I wonder how you know. Certainly, some passengers on Concordia said to the press that they had not had a muster drill. However, Costa cruises generally pick up passengers at most of their ports, so I do not know how one could tell if these particular passengers had been on board for more than 24 hours without a muster, as would usually be expected by SOLAS. Concluding that there had been no muster drills at all is quite another matter.

 

the Captain did state that anyone who failed to attend would be removed from the ship.

 

I do not doubt that the Captain might have said this, but, as others have said, the issue is whether passengers refuse to attend, rather than whether they failed to attend. There is a big difference, especially as there are understandable reasons why one might miss the muster. For example, hearing aids were off; Crohns had me on the toilet with little chance to leave before the end of the muster; autistic child went out of control just as muster was being called; dog ate my homework (Oops, wrong thread:)); and so forth.

[Modern_Viking]

I have a slightly off topic, but related question... We're traveling with my 90 year old mom who now has some pretty severe mobility issues. I am particularly interested in the muster drill since if (heaven forbid) anything happens she will be particularly vulnerable. How do they handle wheelchairs at the muster drill? And if anything were to happen, what is the crew's role in helping handicapped passengers?

 

Ann

 

I don't have personal experience with this, but some general advice.

 

First, make sure your mother's limitations are noted in her reservation.

 

Second, I believe you could bring this up with the shore staff at check-in and/or at the front office after boarding.

 

Third, in the past, I have heard an announcement during the drill not to use the elevators unless you are in a wheelchair and have gotten specific instructions from the crew on their use in an emergency. -- Some of them are powered by emergency generators and are designated for use during an emergency evacuation. These generators/elevators were tested during a port day on a HAL cruise I took in 2007, for instance. I'm not sure what additional help would be provided during an actual emergency, but that might be discussed during the on-board registration.

[Modern_Viking]

... On my most recent cruise (Dec 2011) on Celebrity, I was appalled at how the muster/safety/emergency drill was handled. ... The actual emergency drill information lasted maybe 10 minutes max, the remainder was a commercial by the cruise director on the specialty restaurants and the shore tours.

...

 

Using the muster drill as a means of forcing a captive audience to listen to a sales pitch is shameful to me. Talk about cheapening the experience and belittling the purpose of the drill. :mad:

[KirkNC]

Using the muster drill as a means of forcing a captive audience to listen to a sales pitch is shameful to me. Talk about cheapening the experience and belittling the purpose of the drill. :mad:

 

I agree, the drill should be about one thing and one thing only.

[charleysmom]

I don't have personal experience with this, but some general advice.

 

First, make sure your mother's limitations are noted in her reservation.

 

Second, I believe you could bring this up with the shore staff at check-in and/or at the front office after boarding.

 

Third, in the past, I have heard an announcement during the drill not to use the elevators unless you are in a wheelchair and have gotten specific instructions from the crew on their use in an emergency. -- Some of them are powered by emergency generators and are designated for use during an emergency evacuation. These generators/elevators were tested during a port day on a HAL cruise I took in 2007, for instance. I'm not sure what additional help would be provided during an actual emergency, but that might be discussed during the on-board registration.

 

Thanks! We're in a HC cabin so I would think that would be a flag that at least one if us had mobility issues, but maybe not... Very good to know about the special elevator! If push came to shove, my sister and I could probably carry her (I assume if there was a serious emergency that 'super strength' adrenalin would kick in :)) but I'd rather not have to test that. Sounds like our best bet may be to check with the cabin steward or concierge when we get on board. Part of me is thinking it will be easier if we're in the vicinity of our muster station before the drill time, but another part of me wants to practice getting there with her and 2000 other people. All in all, I'm so glad they are taking this more seriously.

[alabama ghost]

My husband and mother both have trouble with stairs and we just try to get to the location of the muster drill well before the time so they won't have to climb the stairs. It's never been a problem with us. Of course, we always have to wait around a while after, too, before we try to get an elevator because of the crowd.