Dealing with an Ship Emergency

[PhotoGal07]

Kind of a spin off of the keeping your children safe thread.

 

Now that the dust has settled a bit and emotions are running less high, I was wondering if anyone has changed anything about the way they cruise based on the Concordia disaster. I know a lot of people talked a lot about what they would do from now on initially after the news broke, but I'm curious to know if any of it has truly stuck.

 

Do you bring extra flashlights now, pay more attention to how your kids will report to muster if they are in the child care center?

 

How have you prepared not only your children but yourselves for dealing with a possible ship emergency?

[jlrn366419]

We were on Oasis with our 17 month old. They didnt put wristbands on the babies. It bothered me that when he was in the nursery the only ID on him was a white address label stuck to his back that had his name and muster station on it. I would go to the nursery to get him at any sign of trouble.

 

Does anyone know why they don't wristband the babies and I presume toddlers under 3?

[crusinmama06]

I know why they don't put wristbands on babies - because they are notorious for despising wristbands and being generally upset with anything tight on their wrists. Ever go to an amusement park? They allow parents to put the bands on the child's leg so it won't upset them. So for RCI, they are allowing the children to be comfortable.

 

And to answer the original question - no I haven't done anything differently (or won't). I am pretty confident that if the ship starts the list that I don't need the captain to issue a "abandon ship" - I guarantee I will find the kids and be at the correct muster station.

[CeleBrat]

Now that the dust has settled a bit and emotions are running less high, I was wondering if anyone has changed anything about the way they cruise based on the Concordia disaster.

 

Do you bring extra flashlights now, pay more attention to how your kids will report to muster if they are in the child care center?

 

How have you prepared not only your children but yourselves for dealing with a possible ship emergency?

 

I have an interesting perspective on this--as we just cruised with Costa for Spring Break. Had the cruise booked long before the Concordia incident, and weren't planning to cancel. As the saying goes "When you fall off a bicycle the best thing to do is get right back on."

 

So--what did we do differently? Nothing. We have always had a flashlight with us, since a cruise on the LEGEND several years ago where there was a power failure for almost 2 hours.

 

We did talk with the kids about what happened with the Concordia to reassure them that ships don't just sink. That one sank because a bad captain drove it into a rock. They were fine with the explanation.

 

I was not-at-all worried when we were on our Costa cruise because we had a VERY SERIOUS lifeboat drill before the ship set sail, then another one 7 days into the 10-day cruise. There was a very serious tone re: safety overall, and nothing outwardly to worry about.

 

At work I am tasked with a lot of responsibility for the safety of a large number of guests, and have frequently found myself in the middle of some crazy situations. As a result, when I encounter similar situations while not at work, I often spring into action and take charge (much to the chagrin of my family). Case-in-point: stopping on the side of the road because a car was on fire just to ensure no one was inside it (they weren't), and dusting off my lifeguard skills to rescue a fellow passenger from the ocean while on a cruise several years ago after she had drowned while snorkeling then assisted with CPR. She died.

 

As we continue to sail, we will continue to have that flashlight in our cabin, know where the muster station is, and remember to keep a calm head about us should something serious ever happen.

 

CeleBrat

[Geldhart]

My kids will be on our first cruise in August on Freedom OTS (my wife and I have only been on once before - same ship).

 

DS8 will likely want to spend time in Adventure Ocean so he will either be there or with us. He won't be a problem for that - won't be on his own for any period of time.

 

DD11 likely won't want to be in Adventure Ocean with all the "little kids" and will likely have a bit more freedom to be on her own, it's a privilege she has EARNED - she will stand up to adults, even those in authority when they are wrong. Yep, she told off the principal when his responses to the bullying problems at school have been "less than adequate".

 

Yes, check-ins, and knowing where she is at all times, will be enforced at the penalty of being grounded (or restricted to Adventure Ocean).

 

With that, we will have family muster drills where she will have to make her way to the muster station on her own without assistance. We will have the walkie-talkies, and will use a pre-arranged code word that means "go to the muster station now".

 

We don't want to incite panic by telling her to go to the life boat, but asking if she "wants us to bring back some guacamole" should be okay. She HATES guacamole, so we wouldn't ask that question except as the secret code.

[Libra1975]

We have always had a flashlight with us, since a cruise on the LEGEND several years ago where there was a power failure for almost 2 hours.

 

Great idea thanks. *adds to list.