Muster Drill was a huge JOKE!

[Aplmac]

Every "event" at sea is not going to play out like the last one.

 

listening to the family from Connecticut relay their story

made me change significantly how i would think on my next cruise.

 

she stated she knew exactly where she was supposed to go, and how to get there.

and when she did, there were mobs inside the ship, and couldn't even make it to her lifeboat.

 

and when she got there, it was already full, as she proceeded to the next one.

she went the whole length of the ship, and all were full.

 

by the time she realized the next thing she and her family could do was make it to the other side of the ship,

the ship was listing so badly that they couldn't make it across the ship.

 

until some ropes were put across that deck.

Even before the Concodia-badly-listing-to-one-side incident

my primary emergency consideration has always been to immediately gauge the degree of list, and to which side.

 

 

Most folks haven't a clue regarding the personal-mobility chaos involved

when floors/sorry..DECKS transform themselves to walls/bulkheads

and when walls/bulkheads become floors (-with gaping great holes in them...

those gaping great holes were doorways just 10 mins. ago)! :eek:

 

 

Worse yet, if the ship lists to 45 degrees and stabilises at that angle..

when all floors and all walls are at 45 degrees!

Let's see you get about handily, under those circumstances!

 

 

I hope to be on an uppermost surface by that time

with clear sky above me, and fresh ocean air to breathe!

In fact, I hope never to have this unfortunate situation happen to me, but if it ever does

I'll be responding immediately at the first signs of Things-ain't-the-way-they-sposed-to-be.

.

[dixieva]

I just got home from a cruise on RCI and the muster drill was truly a waste of time. First time I have ever said or thought that. On RCI they check off all passengers as you arrive at your muster station. They checked us off, no one did a demonstration of how to put on your life vest. The captain said a few words (don't remember what he said but it had nothing to do with the drill) and we were dismissed!:eek: Didn't even take 5 minutes.

 

Total waste of time except you got to see where your muster station was. Which I would probably never remember in an emergency.

 

I was very surprised. Every other drill I have been to at least went over the emergency procedures.

Edited April 3, 2012 by dixieva

[Aplmac]

Not only do people trip on the life jacket straps,

I've seen too many pass out from the heat only made worse by wearing a life jacket.

The latter nearly happened to my wife at 4 p.m. on the sunny side of Carnival Destiny (our first cruise).

She was feeling badly, not to mention feeling somewhat claustrophobic!

 

 

On some ships these days, they ask you to carry your vest (with no straps dangling,please!)

and towards the end of the drill, you're asked to put them on just to make sure you know how

and then take them off again.

That's probably the best compromise? ..although more and more I believe they just want you at the muster station

(forget about going back to your cabin for vests = far too much to-ing and fro-ing)

 

 

Wouldn't hurt to do your own private try-on in your cabin, while wearing your PJs or whatever.. :)

[halos]

it is interesting that this party atmosphere only started when they discontinued the jackets being worn.

.

 

LOL..you're kidding, right???

I have never been to a muster where everyone took it seriously, jacket on or not. The seriousness of the drill is dependant upon the crew member standing before you. If they take it seriously and keep everyone in line, it's serious. If they are lax, so are the passengers.

Edited April 3, 2012 by halos

[H82seaUgo]

LOL..you're kidding, right???

I have never been to a muster where everyone took it seriously, jacket on or not. The seriousness of the drill is dpeendent upon the crew member standing before you. If they take it seriously and keep everyone in line, it's serious. If they are lax, so are the passengers.

 

no i am not.

 

please realize this has been MY experience.

Edited April 3, 2012 by H82seaUgo

[Sargent_Schultz]

Do they ask you to put on the floatation vests on airplanes? No.

 

If you want to practice in your cabin, fine. If you need help, your cabin steward can show you how. In an emergency, you need to get to your muster station and everything else is secondary.

 

The crew is very well trained.

[H82seaUgo]

Do they ask you to put on the floatation vests on airplanes? No.

 

 

no they don't. but odds are, a plane landing in the water will have virtually no survivors, except at takeoff. captain sully was extremely lucky.

 

and you will not be jumping at least 4 stories into the water from a plane.

[cruisenanny]

LOL..you're kidding, right???

I have never been to a muster where everyone took it seriously, jacket on or not. The seriousness of the drill is dependant upon the crew member standing before you. If they take it seriously and keep everyone in line, it's serious. If they are lax, so are the passengers.

It is pretty SAD and pathetic that for a pax to take their own safety seriously (and that of their family, wife, children, etc) it depends on the attitude of the crew member/s?!:confused: I am not sure I agree with that and I know for sure it isn't true for me. I could care less what the attitude of the crew is regarding the safety drill. I make sure I know what I need to know in case of an emergency and anyone who doesn't is simply foolish. Anyone who doesn't is also endangering everyone else, because they are going to be the idiots running around in a panic without a clue in the event of an emergency.

[Sargent_Schultz]

and you will not be jumping at least 4 stories into the water from a plane.

 

On my last Princess cruise they spent more time teaching us how to jump in the water than how to board a lifeboat.

 

and no, we didn't have to wear life jackets then, either.

[H82seaUgo]

It is pretty SAD and pathetic that for a pax to take their own safety seriously (and that of their family, wife, children, etc) it depends on the attitude of the crew member/s?!:confused: I am not sure I agree with that and I know for sure it isn't true for me. I could care less what the attitude of the crew is regarding the safety drill. I make sure I know what I need to know in case of an emergency and anyone who doesn't is simply foolish. Anyone who doesn't is also endangering everyone else, because they are going to be the idiots running around in a panic without a clue in the event of an emergency.

 

exactly.

[Aplmac]

Baloney. The party starts as soon as you board the ship and they are hustling DoDs. Always has been.

Notice he didn't say bar service at muster..he said as soon as you board the ship!

 

I've seen waiters standing right there on the other side of the Security scan, hustling DoD's.

Maybe not on Carnival but on other ships.

 

 

So what is the solution?

Stop marketing drinks as soon as you board? That affects the all-important bottom line. :)

 

 

So what's it gonna be,then?

Sane sober people until just after muster drill? :D

-or the heck with attention span, sell the damned drinks and forget about paying attention at muster?

 

Which side of this equation do you think will prevail?

 

My bet's on marketing alcohol, until such time as Coast Guard Regulations

prohibit sale/distribution/consumption of alcohol prior to the completion of muster drill

which may be awhile yet into the future.

.

[elcuchio24]

LOL..you're kidding, right???

I have never been to a muster where everyone took it seriously, jacket on or not. The seriousness of the drill is dependant upon the crew member standing before you. If they take it seriously and keep everyone in line, it's serious. If they are lax, so are the passengers.

 

I agree. We've been to plenty of drills with jackets and without on various lines. Half the people are already 4 drinks deep, there are always a few jokesters, crying kids, old people who don't understand what's going on. Always the same, probably always will be the same.

 

While it's great that everyone is keeping a close eye on safety, it also needs to be looked at realistically. The Concordia was a tragedy but if you weigh the millions of people who have gone though the drill without incident, the chances that you'd ever have to abandon ship are miniscule. And the chances that you'd have to abandon ship AND the crew totally choked, like on Concordia, is ever less likely. If you are uncomfortable puting your well being in others hands, then don't get on a ship, bus, plane, taxt, etc. Not something I'm going to spend my time worrying about.

Edited April 3, 2012 by elcuchio24

[okgirl]

it is interesting that this party atmosphere only started when they discontinued the jackets being worn.

 

my concern is wondering how many would need to jump in the water and their head go through the hole because it's not on secured properly. no one will be checking strap and compliance in a real emergency.

 

While I wouldn't agree that the party atmosphere ONLY started with the disconinued jackets. I do think that it is much more relaxed to the point of people not paying attention, having drinks in their hands etc.

 

I remember when we still wore our lifevests they had a barrel at each door that you were forced to throw out any food or liquids. People were reprimanded for talking or disrupting others.

 

I was on the Magic a few weeks ago and was pretty disappointed in the whole process. Our muster station was upper Northern Lights dining room, we couldn't hear (not that people were talking there just wasn't enough volume). When the person came through to show us how to put on the lifevest he already had it on and just walked around the room.

 

I would feel better if they even had a demonstration that is shown on TV about how to actually board a lifeboat. I'm not very agile, and that information would be helpful. I want to know specifically when I'm called to muster who is going to tell me which boat to board? Do I need to go out the door that is closest to my muster station or any door on that side of the ship?

[halos]

I agree. We've been to plenty of drills with jackets and without on various lines. Half the people are already 4 drinks deep, there are always a few jokesters, crying kids, old people who don't understand what's going on. Always the same, probably always will be the same.

 

While it's great that everyone is keeping a close eye on safety, it also needs to be looked at realistically. The Concordia was a tragedy but if you weigh the millions of people who have gone though the drill without incident, the chances that you'd ever have to abandon ship are miniscule. And the chances that you'd have to abandon ship AND the crew totally choked is ever less likely. Not something I'm going to spend my time worrying about.

 

The Concordia is a bad example no matter what. Muster would have made NO difference, sadly. The crew gave BAD instruction during that awful incident. No muster good/bad, serious or not so serious would have helped the people who were told to return to their cabins.

All that incident did for me sadly, was make me question authority...which is exactly what you do NOT want in an emergency situation.

 

I have has only one memorably 'good' muster and that was on ONE NCL sailing.

On out first NCL cruise, they had us totally stop talking and they took attendance. No one made a peep during this.

That is one cruise out of 17 I have taken....

Edited April 3, 2012 by halos

[H82seaUgo]

I agree. We've been to plenty of drills with jackets and without on various lines. Half the people are already 4 drinks deep, there are always a few jokesters, crying kids, old people who don't understand what's going on. Always the same, probably always will be the same.

 

While it's great that everyone is keeping a close eye on safety, it also needs to be looked at realistically. The Concordia was a tragedy but if you weigh the millions of people who have gone though the drill without incident, the chances that you'd ever have to abandon ship are miniscule. And the chances that you'd have to abandon ship AND the crew totally choked is ever less likely. Not something I'm going to spend my time worrying about.

 

easy fix. remove those individuals from the drill and sequestor them.

 

and then make them repeat the drill with the real officials, not the dancers and bingo callers.

Edited April 3, 2012 by H82seaUgo

[Aplmac]

easy fix. remove those individuals from the drill and sequester them.

 

and then make them repeat the drill with the real officials, not the dancers and bingo callers.

They need Officers In Whites, walking up and down between the dancers and Bingo-callers!

 

And I'm talking about the regular drills, not the ones for sequestered individuals

.

[Sargent_Schultz]

It's the Fun Ship, not the military.

 

There will always be the alarmists. They should hold a special drill for those folks.

 

The rest of us will survive just fine, thank you.

[elcuchio24]

easy fix. remove those individuals from the drill and sequestor them.

 

and then make them repeat the drill with the real officials, not the dancers and bingo callers.

 

Unfortunatly, CCL opperates in the real world where you know very well this will never, ever happen. They'll do what the coastguard tells them to do, and get everyone back up for sailaway ASAP.

[halos]

They need Officers In Whites, walking up and down between the dancers and Bingo-callers!

 

And I'm talking about the regular drills, not the ones for sequestered individuals

.

 

!! That 'one good' drill I had???...well, that was exactly who was taking attendance. An officer!! I recall this vividly as my sister and I fell in love with the guy. He was gorgeous. :D

 

Just looked up my old photos...the guy was Ricardo :)...totally yummy :D

Edited April 3, 2012 by halos

[cheewiee]

Unfortunatly, CCL opperates in the real world where you know very well this will never, ever happen. They'll do what the coastguard tells them to do, and get everyone back up for sailaway ASAP.

 

 

My last cruise was in 2009 on the Valor... We had to report to a muster station on deck, and ours was towards the aft of the ship, in the cove area where the deck turns... It was hot hot hot.. Miami in September... It was very hard to concentrate on the directions being given, and honestly I wouldn't have much remembered them after I went to bed that night... The ship was leaving port before they ended the drill... come to think of it I was pretty annoyed at that too...

 

All that said, I am a prepper too... lol...

 

WIth all that said, as I mentioned earlier, the purpose of any drill is practice... the practice is just as much for the Staff as it is for the passengers... if not more so. Nothing can prepare you for an emergency such as the Concordia...

 

but I must say, given the mess of the Captain, the fact that so many people did get off, and got off safely tells me that the crew did a pretty outstanding job given the leadership they were under...

[H82seaUgo]

My last cruise was in 2009 on the Valor... We had to report to a muster station on deck, and ours was towards the aft of the ship, in the cove area where the deck turns... It was hot hot hot.. Miami in September... It was very hard to concentrate on the directions being given, and honestly I wouldn't have much remembered them after I went to bed that night... The ship was leaving port before they ended the drill... come to think of it I was pretty annoyed at that too...

 

All that said, I am a prepper too... lol...

 

WIth all that said, as I mentioned earlier, the purpose of any drill is practice... the practice is just as much for the Staff as it is for the passengers... if not more so. Nothing can prepare you for an emergency such as the Concordia...

 

but I must say, given the mess of the Captain, the fact that so many people did get off, and got off safely tells me that the crew did a pretty outstanding job given the leadership they were under...

 

and that was only due to the wind that pushed the ship to shore. God knows what would have happened had that not happened.

[gfy012]

Muster drills are hit or miss depending on who is in charge. The elimination of jackets did not start the party scene. Back in the day everyone had drink in hand life jackets and all. I have many pictures to prove that one lol! If cruiselines wanted them to be taken seriously they would withhold selling alcohol until after the drill. Which we all know will never happen so until then it will continue as usual.

[jonbgd]

It's the Fun Ship, not the military.

 

.

 

Even those of us that had to do real musters there is always an AFU sailor.

 

I really think they should still do musters on deck with lifejackets and Officers supervising ....But thats my opinion

[BlackHullSailor]

Of course everybody is concerned since Concordia but if you really want to think about "worst case", muster drill, no matter how seriously the cruiseline conducts it, is only the tip of the iceberg. Crewman (regardless of their regular job, waiter, bingo girl or whatever) are required to meet certain training standards that are defined by international conventions (SOLAS and STCW conventions). I always wonder given the "limited" English skills of a number of the crew, how functional they would be in a real emergency which apparently happened on Concordia. The real key is the "command" structure, how well the Captain and the senior officers respond to an on-board emergency. Obviously, if you read the news reports on the Concordia, there was a leadership failure that contributed to the Concordia (hard to lead the emergency effort if you aren't on board).

 

The other thing that I think about is that now that we have "mega ships" like the Oasis of the Seas, has anybody ever really tried to "evacuate" over 6,000 people from a ship. I know for airliners, the FAA requires the builders to conduct actual evacuation drills to make sure how quickly an aircraft cabin can be emptied. On Corcordia, the delayed decision to get the passengers off until the point where a number of lifeboats were unusable due to the list. Yes, since Titanic there has been a requirement for adequate lifeboats but that's based on the assumption that you can use all that you have. How about getting 6,000 off in how long?

 

Fortunately for most of us, we're cruising the Caribbean where the water is warm, so if you get in the water, hypothermia is not an issue. Foturnately, Concordia was in the Med, so while it is colder than the Caribbean, hypothermia is still not critical. You don't want to think about the North Atlantic or Alaska in summer.

 

For me, I'll contemplate these things at the bar on my next cruise but still you sometimes you think about it. The odds are small, or at least they used to be......

[FiremedicMike151]

I don't want to see a crackdown because I know the people who need to listen the most, won't.

 

On a 5 day cruise, I don't want to sit 2 days at the dock listening to an idiot proof life boat drill.

 

I don't want to miss my chance at a lifeboat because of selfish people who don't pay attention at life safety drills because they feel (and will act, as proven on the concordia) that it is someone else's responsibility to save their life in a crisis.

 

Bottom line, people don't even WANT the ability to solve their own problems anymore.