Muster drill update.. your thoughts ?

[kalos]

Regulation 19: Emergency training and drills.

• 1 This regulation applies to all ships.
  
• 2 Familiarity with safety installations and practice musters.
  
• 2.1 Every crew member with assigned emergency duties shall be familiar with these duties before the voyage begins.
  
• 2.2 On a ship engaged on a voyage where passengers are scheduled to be on board for more than 24h, musters of the passengers shall take place within 24h after their embarkation. Passengers shall be instructed in the use of the life jackets and the action to take in an emergency.
  

As people who have cruised in the last few weeks will know Thomson ships now do a mandatory drill before the ship sets sail .

I think overall it is a good thing but when we were on the Destiny a few weeks ago in Tenerife we were the last plane load of

passengers to arrive onboard the ship and so the drill was set for two hours later at 10pm.

 

So there we were just like before which used to be in the morning, only this time 10pm stood at lifeboat 13 (lucky me :eek:)

next to the glass exit doors which you would use to get from Blakes to the Sky bar Lift .

Now what you have to picture is that other flights from round the Uk have been onboard all day and in the words of one couple ..."

We have been in the bars from lunch time ,I wont remember any of this " Or the three who turned up and told us all ....

" Our Thingys are in our room and we are not putting them on over our best dresses "

Whilst slurping on their cocktails they informed the crew they were good swimmers anyway :rolleyes:!

 

The day after the ones boarding were in the Can Can Lounge and Madeira used Blakes bar I think .

 

I do not know how to solve this ,would it make more sense to do them in batches as they come aboard and still have the old 10am

muster drill they used to have ?

 

Has anyone noticed on any of the other Thomson ships the same sort of things happening with a late night muster drill ?:)

[Wightryder]

Let 'em drown - they clearly deserve it....

[blossom52]

I think if I knew there was a drill at 10pm, I would make sure I was dressed accordingly, you could go back to cabin at 9-30 get changed and go on deck. Not the end of the world, but it could be if you don't pay attention.

 

The Ships are trying to do their bit, it's up to us to do ours..........

[Jim The Scot]

I think overall it is a good thing but when we were on the Destiny a few weeks ago in Tenerife we were the last plane load of

passengers to arrive onboard the ship and so the drill was set for two hours later at 10pm.

 

So there we were just like before which used to be in the morning, only this time 10pm stood at lifeboat 13 (lucky me :eek:)

next to the glass exit doors which you would use to get from Blakes to the Sky bar Lift .

Now what you have to picture is that other flights from round the Uk have been onboard all day and in the words of one couple ..."

We have been in the bars from lunch time ,I wont remember any of this " Or the three who turned up and told us all ....

" Our Thingys are in our room and we are not putting them on over our best dresses "

Whilst slurping on their cocktails they informed the crew they were good swimmers anyway :rolleyes:!

 

The day after the ones boarding were in the Can Can Lounge and Madeira used Blakes bar I think .

 

I do not know how to solve this ,would it make more sense to do them in batches as they come aboard and still have the old 10am

muster drill they used to have ?

 

Has anyone noticed on any of the other Thomson ships the same sort of things happening with a late night muster drill ?:)

 

With it being many passengers first day onboard I`m afraid this is/was inevitable.Passengers who have been onboard all day can`t be expected to not partake in a few sherbets...Doing it in batches would seem the way to solve it(would certainly suit me)but where do you hold the muster drills.Do you tell those on the loungers that they`ll have to move so the muster drill can go ahead or rope off a certain area for the full day?

[Wightryder]

With it being many passengers first day onboard I`m afraid this is/was inevitable.Passengers who have been onboard all day can`t be expected to not partake in a few sherbets...

 

Not to the extent that they are incapable of attending a safety drill for their own benefit.

 

If the ship gets into trouble then mustering in instalments is hardly a practical option.

 

It amazes me that some people think that common sense ceases to apply once you board a ship.

 

Unfortunately there are a lot of stupid people around, and many of them take cruises...

[wales4ever]

On some cruise lines, they check your name off a list, or scan your sea pass card, so they know who has not turned up. They then have you attend again.

[Wightryder]

On our previous Thomson cruises they did indeed check your name off on a list at your specified lifeboat.

 

On Cunard QM2 they didn't but I think the Stewards did check all the cabins to ensure that passengers attended. I thought the Thomson procedure was more rigorous - and rightly so.

[Little Nell]

I am pleased that Thomson are now doing the drill on the first day. Must admit I found it strange that they did it the following morning! If people are more worried about what they are wearing than partaking in a safety drill IMO they are stupid and should be made to attend the stupid persons drill the next day!! They could of course decide not to wear their finest on the first evening and consider the other passengers safety.

[Jim The Scot]

Not to the extent that they are incapable of attending a safety drill for their own benefit.

 

Did I say that :confused:

 

If the ship gets into trouble then mustering in instalments is hardly a practical option.

 

If the ships gets into trouble why would mustering in instalments be unpractical?Everyone will have done the same muster drill.

 

It amazes me that some people think that common sense ceases to apply once you board a ship.

 

:confused:

 

Unfortunately there are a lot of stupid people around, and many of them take cruises...

 

:confused:

[Wightryder]

I would refer you back to the examples quoted in the first post. Some ships do have muster drills in instalments - Italian ones for example...

 

On our previous Thomson cruises we were assigned and mustered to a particular lifeboat which had a specified crew member in attendance armed with a list of people who were assigned to that boat. Everyone, quite rightly, was expected to be there. Since the people assigned to that boat might have arrived at different times I don't think it would have been the best use of the crew member's time to keep popping up evey couple of hours or so to instruct the latest arrivals.

 

Also, having everybody assembling at once gives some idea of what it might be like in earnest and does have a greater effect in instilling a degree of seriousness in the participants that would be lost if you just had a few people standing around feeling silly in lifejackets when the other passengers are lounging about sunbathing and enjoying themselves.

 

Rather too many people seem to assume that boat drill is not dissimilar to having an office or hotel fire drill, just something to be taken casually or avoided if possible. They don't seem to realise that 'assemble in the car park' is not an option.

 

Having to abandon ship is an extremely unlikely occurrence but if you should find yourself in that situation then having paid due attention to the safety instructions could literally be a life saver.

 

As for other examples of stupidity I would cite the 30% or so of passengers who apparently think that using hand sanitisers does not apply to them despite the well known risks of spreading Novovirus.

[Jim The Scot]

On our previous Thomson cruises we were assigned and mustered to a particular lifeboat which had a specified crew member in attendance armed with a list of people who were assigned to that boat. Everyone, quite rightly, was expected to be there.

 

Yes and the same on our previous Thomson cruises and although everyone was expected and should have been in attendance on a couple of occasions that did not happen.Hopefully afte recent events attendance will be enforced

 

 

Since the people assigned to that boat might have arrived at different times I don't think it would have been the best use of the crew member's time to keep popping up evey couple of hours or so to instruct the latest arrivals.

 

On refelection,fair comment.It cetainly would not be the best use of the crews time.

 

Rather too many people seem to assume that boat drill is not dissimilar to having an office or hotel fire drill, just something to be taken casually or avoided if possible. They don't seem to realise that 'assemble in the car park' is not an option.

 

Much the same as when the cabin crew are going through the safety drill on a plane.A high percentage pay no attention at all.The attitude seems to be "I`ve seen it all before"

 

Having to abandon ship is an extremely unlikely occurrence but if you should find yourself in that situation then having paid due attention to the safety instructions could literally be a life saver.

 

Without doubt as safety is paramount

 

As for other examples of stupidity I would cite the 30% or so of passengers who apparently think that using hand sanitisers does not apply to them despite the well known risks of spreading Novovirus.

 

I would cite probably more.I see it as more irresponsible

[infoqueen]

much better doing it on the first day only difference would be that the ship would be moving in a real emergency, yes some people would have had a drink we were served wine with our meal on the fiest evening so perhaps they should knock that on the head for the first meal. Just a thought. Easier than doing several drills the first day.

[kalos]

I would refer you back to the examples quoted in the first post. Some ships do have muster drills in instalments - Italian ones for example...

 

On our previous Thomson cruises we were assigned and mustered to a particular lifeboat which had a specified crew member in attendance armed with a list of people who were assigned to that boat. Everyone, quite rightly, was expected to be there. Since the people assigned to that boat might have arrived at different times I don't think it would have been the best use of the crew member's time to keep popping up evey couple of hours or so to instruct the latest arrivals.

 

Also, having everybody assembling at once gives some idea of what it might be like in earnest and does have a greater effect in instilling a degree of seriousness in the participants that would be lost if you just had a few people standing around feeling silly in lifejackets when the other passengers are lounging about sunbathing and enjoying themselves.

 

Rather too many people seem to assume that boat drill is not dissimilar to having an office or hotel fire drill, just something to be taken casually or avoided if possible. They don't seem to realise that 'assemble in the car park' is not an option.

 

Having to abandon ship is an extremely unlikely occurrence but if you should find yourself in that situation then having paid due attention to the safety instructions could literally be a life saver.

 

As for other examples of stupidity I would cite the 30% or so of passengers who apparently think that using hand sanitisers does not apply to them despite the well known risks of spreading Novovirus.

 

Just to clarify that the Thomson Destiny do have a full attendance drill which is the evening one that is in Tenerife at around 10pm and all newcomers must attend and anyone on a 2week holiday who have changed cabins, as they could now have a new lifeboat.

Other passengers are requested to avoid Deck 7 whilst this is in use and not come strolling down the deck with drink in their hands

slurring the words in our case of " Have Fun ! " and just getting in the way . Must say though this is a small minority of the passengers.:(

They do not keep running up to the life boats and doing it in instalments ,others joining in Gran Canaria and Madeira have the Can Can

Lounge and the Blakes bar on their days and again passengers are told they are out of bounds until their drill is done .

I am not sure but I think their time to stand on deck with the life boat would be in some passengers cases the next to last day of going home .:confused:

I do not know as one week later I am also on my way back home .:(

 

The only other drill is in Agadir and that is the ships crew fire drill.

 

I think Jim was trying to put a good point over with the fact that some passengers are onboard from midday and are on holiday and start to drink and get dressed up for their evening meals etc . If the weather was not to good they would not have you standing out on deck ,they move the venue inside as they do with the midweek boarders .

Ships can get into trouble in bad weather and you would not then be told to muster in the Can Can Lounge !

I do not know how they could improve on what they do .How would you lot change it ?

 

Your point on a workplace firedrill made me smile .We had a bit of a evacuation/fire drill with around eight emergency /fire and rescue onsite

I can assure you we do not take our drills lightly ,some may but not us .

 

I am with you 100% on the sanitisers there is no excuse at all for people not using them . Very stupid not to .

[Rebel Rouser]

You want to try our fire drills @ a Nuclear Power station :D

 

 

I think the way forward would to have muster readers on each Lifeboat station...everybody has to carry a card anyway with all your details on @ all times, and if you missed the swipe..name and shame over the tannoy...would MR REBEL ROUSER please report to station "B" if not your AI will be cancelled :eek:

[infoqueen]

I like that idea:)

[Wightryder]

The mustering arrangements need to vary according to the circumstances. Obviously if you have a hop on, hop off type of itinerary such as Costa Concordia then the cruise doesn't really start and finish at any given point as the ship basically just goes around in circles. In that case the passengers embarked at each port should muster before or or shortly after the ship sails although I don't feel that this is really a very satisfactory situation and anecdotal accounts suggest that in fact lifeboat drill was simply carried out once a week so it might not be until the day before you got off!

 

On QM2 we were not assigned to a specific lifeboat as with Thomson, just a muster station so presumably in an emergency situation you would simply be slung into the nearest convenient life appliance which I suppose you can argue is a good way of maximising survivor throughput!

 

The Channel 4 documentary last night on 'Why Ships Sink' made the very good point that the number of professional seamen aboard does not increase pro rata with the size of the ship so that on the very big ships the number of professional sailors can be a very small proportion indeed of the total complement aboard. This obviously means that passengers will be very much dependent on the training given to the ship's hotel department staff who are usually a pretty cosmopolitan lot from all corners of the world whose first language is quite often not that of the majority of the passengers aboard.

[budgie1]

Muster Stations

Before I say anything.

I think that any type of Safety Drills are very very important regardless of locality but in this case we are talking about Cruise Liners

Passengers are arriving through-out the day. They are all excited about their forthcoming cruise and they will go to the bar. You cannot expect passengers to sit and drink tea all day waiting for the muster sirens to go at 10pm. There will be passengers who have had quite a lot to drink, and who can blame them. They are on holidays. Some people out there are being very dramatic in their opinions, especially after the Costa Problems, but im sure that most of you would have had a drink or two prior to the new Muster Procedures. Thompsons have a duty of care to ensure the safety of their passengers, but if something was to happen and at the inquest the Judge asks a Thompson Representative. Can you guarantee that all passengers attended the muster parade at 10pm and were they all sober. The honest answer to that is no. Thompsons would then be held libal and open to claims because they knowingly arranged a muster parade at 10pm knowing that some of the passengers may have had 2 or 3 drinks. Now I think that unless Thompsons close all the bars until after the Muster Parade (which is not going to happen because they will loose a lot of their customers), doing the Muster Parade at 10pm is a waste of time.

Just my opinion and im not looking for an arguement. Ok peeps.:eek:

Im on the Dream in July and I dont mind having my drills the old way. Ie 10am on the first sea day.

 

Colin Northern Ireland.

[gandalf123]

You have to remember though that the Costa Concordia was only 4 hours out of a port where a lot of passengers joined. 10am the following morning would have been 13 hours too late for them they were either saved or dead.

If you must drink eccessively when on holiday just don't start for the first few hours, have a few odd drinks in the evening and stock up after the drill. We all like a glass of wine and a cocktail but just don't expect sympathy if you are unable to do the drill at the time.

[Wightryder]

There will be passengers who have had quite a lot to drink, and who can blame them.

 

Me, I'm afraid! Drunks are not the sort of people I wish to share my cruise with. I like a drink or too as much as the next person as it makes the world go round but not to the extent that I am incapable of having safety procedures explained to me.

 

Nobody has to have too much to drink, if people choose to regardless then and lose control of themselves then they ought to be put ashore, or, if the ship has already sailed, simply dropped over the side where they won't spoil other people's hard earned holidays...

[davecttr]

Just back from P&O Ventura and I must say Thomson muster drills appear far more rigerous, as they should!

 

On Ventura we had the drill before we sailed, easy to do if all your passengers are aboard by 4pm. There was no designated lifeboat but a muster station. Mine was 'A' in the theatre. Looks a bit like a death trap to me with about 600 passengers present. The captain gave the required chat and then they demonstrated how to out on your life jacket. That was it, no checking to see who had attended or scived off :eek: There are reports that observing the ship from outside shows large numbers of balconies occupied during the drill!.

 

Later on they had a crew drill that I observed as I spent the whole cruise with man flu and could not be bothered to get off that day. What i saw did not fill me with confidence. Most of the crew new less about drills than me and the person in charge did not seem too confident.

 

Carry on with your way of doing it Thomson :)

[Isis2]

Yes the last time I was on the Thomson Celebration (2010) they had a muster drill on the next day after leaving port and yes our names were checked off a list, and that in my opinion is how it should be, after all they are not doing this to spoil your "nice clothes" or stop your have a few drinks.

 

This is a drill to help save your life so what is more important to you, a few drinks, a nice dress or your life. I know what my my answer is. :)

 

I have been told that they are now doing them on the same day as you arrive, this was brought in voluntarily after the Costa problem so I have been told.

[capasamari]

I fully agree that Thomson's safety drill leaves P&O standing. 45 minutes standing on deck by your designated lifeboat being supervised by your designated crew members gives you plenty of time to reflect on the situation. Our lifeboat leader one year was the club DJ and he gave off such an air of confident authority in his safety role it was very reassuring.

 

We watched Captain Psarrakis put some new crew members through their drill while we were berthed in Madeira. He made them line up on deck, get in the lifeboat, launch it then go round and round the harbour until he was happy with them. His persona towards the passengers around the ship is always very jovial but my goodness we saw and heard another side to him that day! A Russian bar steward watching with us said he would not let them sail unless he was satisfied they were up to scratch.

 

All the crew on board, whatever their role, have to be able to jump off the side into the sea and help the passengers as part of their training.

 

Carol x

[stevedeccaman]

but what about P&O mini cruises from Hull to Rotterdam etc

sails about 9pm , all the

announcements are made while having dinner, no one seemed to pay attention

 

whilst scoffing lots of food etc

 

the point being Concordia went over with no drills or announcements before she went over, so what is the solution ?:confused:

 

Stevie

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Just back from P&O Ventura and I must say Thomson muster drills appear far more rigerous, as they should!

 

On Ventura we had the drill before we sailed, easy to do if all your passengers are aboard by 4pm. There was no designated lifeboat but a muster station. Mine was 'A' in the theatre. Looks a bit like a death trap to me with about 600 passengers present. The captain gave the required chat and then they demonstrated how to out on your life jacket. That was it, no checking to see who had attended or scived off :eek: There are reports that observing the ship from outside shows large numbers of balconies occupied during the drill!.

 

Later on they had a crew drill that I observed as I spent the whole cruise with man flu and could not be bothered to get off that day. What i saw did not fill me with confidence. Most of the crew new less about drills than me and the person in charge did not seem too confident.

 

Carry on with your way of doing it Thomson :)

 

Hi Dave,

 

Glad you are back safely. Hope you had a good time. I agree that Thomson drills are very thorough. We had a similar drill to you on Princess. We met in the theatre, no-one checked we were there and in fact our friends never bothered to go as they said that no-one checks anyway:eek:

 

When did you get back? Did you see the programme on shipping disasters last night. On one ship the whole crew disappeared from the bridge after they had given the order to abandon ship and the Mayday message was sent by the guitarist in the band:rolleyes::eek:

[Red Scorpion]

This is a thorny issue. Clearly procedures were reviewed after the Cost Concordia disaster. I can see why Thomson made the change that they did but it is difficult to carry out a muster drill at 10pm when people may not feel like it whether they are drunk or sober. Of course everyone should participate but if people refuese and later die in an accident as a result it is the captain and his officers who would be in the dock. Perhaps Thomson need to reschedule their flights so that there are no late arrivals then the muster can be conducted at 4pm ish as it was mentioned another cruise line does. In terms of the conduct of the Muster itself after 7 Thomson cruises I cannot fault it. It is very efficiently conducted with everyone's name checked. I fear this was not the case on the Concordia where new passengers were shown a video and were then on board for days with no muster drill.