Muster stations

[rculross]

Then I take it you did not call:rolleyes:

 

Part of the issue is that most people wouldn't think to ask the question when booking. I know I wouldn't. So simply calling to find out if they have it in their booking system doesn't quite solve the issue. Plus, it wouldn't help anyone booking on http://www.royalcaribbean.com.

[wingatesl]

Part of the issue is that most people wouldn't think to ask the question when booking. I know I wouldn't. So simply calling to find out if they have it in their booking system doesn't quite solve the issue. Plus, it wouldn't help anyone booking on http://www.royalcaribbean.com.

 

Yup, and that is why I feel so strongly about it. The information needs to be available

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Brandonclan]

Very interesting topic for some....it is an issue!

Needs to be discussed and options explored.

I definately consider it an important part of our reservation process to allow the family to be together at all times if desired(emergency for sure!)

 

I did call and was told by a RCI rep that the muster assignments do in fact change from time to time. They cited that some cabins will hold more people than they are normally booked for, but, sometimes these cabins are sold out completely with full 4 patrons in some. They said that the sequence to make sure each muster station has only the correct occupancy, sometimes makes the lines change. Not sure if I buy this or not, but, it is clear, as was stated previously, no real way of knowing for sure at this present moment. They also stated that normally if the reservations are linked, and close to each other, they usually are assigned same muster station.

They were, like me, alarmed that it does in fact happen to some unknowingly.

Seems like this information should be made available to us consumers.

[wingatesl]

Very interesting topic for some....it is an issue!

Needs to be discussed and options explored.

I definately consider it an important part of our reservation process to allow the family to be together at all times if desired(emergency for sure!)

 

I did call and was told by a RCI rep that the muster assignments do in fact change from time to time. They cited that some cabins will hold more people than they are normally booked for, but, sometimes these cabins are sold out completely with full 4 patrons in some. They said that the sequence to make sure each muster station has only the correct occupancy, sometimes makes the lines change. Not sure if I buy this or not, but, it is clear, as was stated previously, no real way of knowing for sure at this present moment. They also stated that normally if the reservations are linked, and close to each other, they usually are assigned same muster station.

They were, like me, alarmed that it does in fact happen to some unknowingly.

Seems like this information should be made available to us consumers.

 

I had never considered the varying occupancy. They should be able to adjust the muster to a small extent.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[spookwife]

Ok, I'll bite. You know this how? Did you call RCI? The muster stations are the same every week for all cabins on all 22ships, have you ever looked at the back of your cabin door? Have you ever seen the signage in the passageways?

 

the point is, there is no way for the average passenger to FIND OUT AHEAD OF TIME what the muster stations are. the website certainly doesn't have it and none of the agents will know that either.

 

so unless you are volunteering to collect that information for every ship and collate it into a nice neat Excel file to be posted on CC, the only logical thing for those people who find this a deal breaker is to always book one adult into each cabin to ensure each child has a parent with them assigned at the same muster station.

 

muster station has NO BEARING on where you sleep at night..as we all well know, cabin swapping is done all the damn time once on board.

[wingatesl]

the point is, there is no way for the average passenger to FIND OUT AHEAD OF TIME what the muster stations are. the website certainly doesn't have it and none of the agents will know that either.

 

so unless you are volunteering to collect that information for every ship and collate it into a nice neat Excel file to be posted on CC, the only logical thing for those people who find this a deal breaker is to always book one adult into each cabin to ensure each child has a parent with them assigned at the same muster station.

 

muster station has NO BEARING on where you sleep at night..as we all well know, cabin swapping is done all the damn time once on board.

 

Which is why their should be an adult(read that as someone who can be trusted with your life) in every cabin.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[PhoenixCruiser]

When my parents took my three sisters and me (and spouses) on a cruise we had five adjoined balconies. Our stations were split up - even numbered cabins at one and the two odd numbered cabins at another on the opposite side of the ship.

 

It is unrealistic to expect any cruiseline to alter their stations to fit passenger’s expectations/demands.

 

###

[setsail]

the point is, there is no way for the average passenger to FIND OUT AHEAD OF TIME what the muster stations are. the website certainly doesn't have it and none of the agents will know that either.

 

so unless you are volunteering to collect that information for every ship and collate it into a nice neat Excel file to be posted on CC, the only logical thing for those people who find this a deal breaker is to always book one adult into each cabin to ensure each child has a parent with them assigned at the same muster station.

 

muster station has NO BEARING on where you sleep at night..as we all well know, cabin swapping is done all the damn time once on board.

 

I see you did not call either:rolleyes:

[rculross]

It is unrealistic to expect any cruiseline to alter their stations to fit passenger’s expectations/demands.

 

###

 

The idea has morphed somewhat since poet123's original post. The idea now is for this information to be disclosed when booking. I think many would agree that the muster station can't be changed based on passenger preference, but the issue could be soled at the time of booking.

[NJcruisenewbie]

I think adults need to act like adults and deal with the situation at hand. If parents choose to put children in a cabin by themselves and it turns out that cabin has a different muster station than the parents they need to either accept that or switch family members around.

 

It isn't ok for anyone to go to any muster station other than the one that was assigned. All that does is cause confusion, extra work and possibly a dangerous situation.

[Brandonclan]

the point is, there is no way for the average passenger to FIND OUT AHEAD OF TIME what the muster stations are. the website certainly doesn't have it and none of the agents will know that either.

 

so unless you are volunteering to collect that information for every ship and collate it into a nice neat Excel file to be posted on CC, the only logical thing for those people who find this a deal breaker is to always book one adult into each cabin to ensure each child has a parent with them assigned at the same muster station.

 

muster station has NO BEARING on where you sleep at night..as we all well know, cabin swapping is done all the damn time once on board.

Assigning a parent to each cabin still does not gaurantee you will all be assigned the same muster station! Isn't that the real issue here?

 

I like to think there are always.....possibilties!!

A listing would be great if RCI would do it.

I believe that we as consumers need to alert RCI to the issue and hopefully they will listen, and implement something to solve this information gap.

[rculross]

I did call and was told by a RCI rep that the muster assignments do in fact change from time to time. They cited that some cabins will hold more people than they are normally booked for, but, sometimes these cabins are sold out completely with full 4 patrons in some.

 

The part about muster stations changing doesn't make sense to me. Granted, it's been 14 years since I worked on a cruise ship, but from what I remember the muster stations were set up based on full occupancy. The ship obviously has to have enough life boat/rafts for full occupancy, so that is what they plan the muster stations around.

 

Since the ships I've sailed on (NCL and RC) have had the muster station printed and attached to the door, it would seem difficult at best to change the assignments around based on occupancy.

[wingatesl]

The idea has morphed somewhat since poet123's original post. The idea now is for this information to be disclosed when booking. I think many would agree that the muster station can't be changed based on passenger preference, but the issue could be soled at the time of booking.

 

The problem is that it cannot realistically be determined beforehand. What if the room before you adds 3 passengers?

 

Simple answer is to make sure that someone you trust with your own life is in every room that your kids are in.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Brandonclan]

The part about muster stations changing doesn't make sense to me. Granted, it's been 14 years since I worked on a cruise ship, but from what I remember the muster stations were set up based on full occupancy. The ship obviously has to have enough life boat/rafts for full occupancy, so that is what they plan the muster stations around.

 

Since the ships I've sailed on (NCL and RC) have had the muster station printed and attached to the door, it would seem difficult at best to change the assignments around based on occupancy.

 

 

I agree!! I did call!! LOL

I felt compelled to share my conversation.....another cal will probably get an entirely differnt response.

Which is why I am composing a letter/e-mail to be sent to RCI hoping they can address the information gap. We would all like to know this information while booking, it should and can be made available, especially if the Muster stations do not change.

[megs1954]

This is interesting. Our son as always been in our cabin so it's not been an issue for us. I have noticed that friends and family are often in different muster stations. We've even talked about it but never talked about how we would be separated in an emergency. For us, not an issue.

 

My husband and I have decided that in an emergency, we would go directly where we are directed even if we are not together. We could spend all day searching the ship for each other or go to the muster station. Our son is now an adult.

 

It would be nice to know the muster station at booking for people who want to stay together.

 

I can't see muster stations changing if cabins contain more cruisers then usual. They are pre-assigned based on location as indicated by signs on the backs of the doors.

[Mark_K]

The problem is that it cannot realistically be determined beforehand. What if the room before you adds 3 passengers?

 

Simple answer is to make sure that someone you trust with your own life is in every room that your kids are in.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Muster station info is printed on the placard in the cabin and never changes for that cabin. How many people happen to be in a cabin is not going t change the assignment of muster station for any other cabin.

[onefishtwofish]

actually Carnival will allow it. I have a client family of 5--3 teenage boys & parents--sailing in a month with Carnival. They allowed us to book with the 3 boys in their own cabin--had to be within 3 cabins of parents. They will only allow this with teenagers if their parents are on the cruise.

 

They don't have to be teenagers.....we had friends on our spring break cruise that booked 2 cabins on Carnival Breeze and booked themselves in 1 and their kids (ages 12 and 10) in the other (right next door)!! The mom was surprised they let them book it like that even though that is what they wanted to do when they got there! As far as I know, RCI will never let that be booked that way! Nonetheless, as a parent, I would not want to be separated in that situation.......hopefully I will never have to find out.... :(

[Bella O]

In all our cruises, except our first, we have booked two adjourning rooms...kids in the one room, adults in the other. I had not thought about the possibility of being at two different muster stations, as it just has not happened before.

 

However, thinking this out, it honestly doesn't stress me out. We always book an adult in each of the rooms (even though my older daughters are both over 18), although the girls sleep in one room and my husband and I in the other (my youngest spends time in both cabins). As long as one of us parents are with one or more of the children, I'm ok. I would prefer being together, but it certainly wouldn't stop me from cruising. We have been separated before during a crisis at Walt Disney World ( he with two kids, me with the baby) and yes, it wasn't ideal, but we are both adults and could deal with the crisis on our own.

[ericrz]

The problem is that it cannot realistically be determined beforehand. What if the room before you adds 3 passengers?

 

I don't think that's how it works. As others have said, the muster station is posted on the back of each cabin door. Cabin/muster assignments are not changed on each voyage; they are constant.

 

So, it would be nice if RCI's reservation system threw a red flag on a group booking when the group was split between different muster stations. Maybe it would matter to some people, maybe it wouldn't. But it would be nice to have the info.

 

For example, we're cruising on FOS in September, 3 adjacent D1 cabins. If I knew we straddled a muster station line, I might check to see if there was another option. Would I make huge changes? No. All of our cabins contain responsible adults.

 

But if all other factors are equal, would I like us assigned to the same muster? Of course.

 

All of us here on CC like to have every possible bit of info, so we can make the best choices when planning / booking a cruise. Muster assignments are just another piece of the puzzle. More info is always better than less.

[RockeyBullwinkle]

Things have changed then on CCL since we last booked multiple cabins. Regardless, I'm thinking most parents would not want their teenage children sent to separate muster stations if (in wingatesl's words) things went "down."

 

 

Really? Parents would want their whole family to go down with the ship instead of the possibility of some of them making it?

[ehfl]

While I think it's probably a good idea to give families the option of using the same muster station if possible based on cabin availability, I think it's a really bad idea to start changing the muster station of cabins at random, just to accommodate emotional (rather than safety) needs.

 

RCL would do a great service to it's customers if it offered the muster information for each cabin when selecting a cabin online, or when booking through the cruise line.

[cruiseguy456]

In all the years that everyone has cruised no one can say that their families have been split by different cabins and different muster areas. This can't be something new and should have been addressed years ago. :eek:

[cruiser87654321]

In all the years that everyone has cruised no one can say that their families have been split by different cabins and different muster areas. This can't be something new and should have been addressed years ago. :eek:

 

I agree, but until it happens you don't think about it. When it happened to us on muster drill at embarkation, we went one way and our kids who were in the adjacent cabin went the other way.

 

It woud not be possible to keep changing the assigned muster station for the cabin, but it should be a simple matter of collating the information of which muster station each cabin is assigned to and making that available on booking. Or at least flagging up when a set of cabins booked by a party has different stations.

[drarill]

In all the years that everyone has cruised no one can say that their families have been split by different cabins and different muster areas. This can't be something new and should have been addressed years ago. :eek:

 

True! I can't believe this issue have never been addressed in CC. I think there is a difference between adjoining and connecting cabins. My experience has been that connecting cabins get the same muster station. I come to CC to learn, and from now on even if we can book our children by themselves on a room next to us I won't take a chance. I will book an adult with a child and switch rooms on the cruise. If we don't get the same muster station we will split in case of an emergency. Do I want to be separated from my husband in case of an emergency? No. But I will follow the rules for safety reasons.

[drarill]

I agree, but until it happens you don't think about it. When it happened to us on muster drill at embarkation, we went one way and our kids who were in the adjacent cabin went the other way.

 

It woud not be possible to keep changing the assigned muster station for the cabin, but it should be a simple matter of collating the information of which muster station each cabin is assigned to and making that available on booking. Or at least flagging up when a set of cabins booked by a party has different stations.

 

Poet, thanks for bringing this issue to us. I see that you are cruising on the Silhouette next month. We had connecting rooms on the Silhouette and were assigned the same muster station. Hope you have a great time, the Silhouette is a beautiful ship and you will enjoy an amazing itinerary.