Muster stations

[NJcruisenewbie]

Wow, did I learn my muster station lesson on my last cruise. We booked my husband and I in a balcony and grandma and the kids in an inside a few doors down, and were quite surprised to be assigned different stations, it didn't even cross my mind they would separate parties. Grandma has COPD and my son is autistic, she didn't think she could safely handle him in an emergency situation or at muster drill. We had requested an alternate muster because of our son, but it somehow didn't happen. Fortunately we took the bull by the horns and spoke to guest services, we ended up checking in at the outdoor muster and waiting in a special needs area in a lounge just inside. I felt quite guilty at the time seeing everyone outside, but hearing about waiting two or three hours has cured me of that. Grandma would not have been able to make it and my son would have spun out of control being cooped up with all those people for an hour, let alone three.

 

I really wonder how some of the elderly and young children did during the Grandeur situation, it must have been quite a challenge.

 

People want rccl to provide muster info which is fine. However, how would that help a situation like this where an adult with health issues and a special needs child are in a cabin without other adult support? It would probably be helpful if muster info could be made available at time of booking and maybe it can be but people still need to think about who is going into each cabin and whether those people can get to safety by themselves.

[cruiser87654321]

People want rccl to provide muster info which is fine. However, how would that help a situation like this where an adult with health issues and a special needs child are in a cabin without other adult support? It would probably be helpful if muster info could be made available at time of booking and maybe it can be but people still need to think about who is going into each cabin and whether those people can get to safety by themselves.

 

Surely the point is that if they were in adjacent cabins and at the same muster station the family would provide any help needed rather than burden the crew? Why infer that they are in some way negligent?

[time4u2go]

People want rccl to provide muster info which is fine. However, how would that help a situation like this where an adult with health issues and a special needs child are in a cabin without other adult support? It would probably be helpful if muster info could be made available at time of booking and maybe it can be but people still need to think about who is going into each cabin and whether those people can get to safety by themselves.

 

I think that's what people are wanting, so they can book cabins to ensure that their whole party has the same muster station.

[NJcruisenewbie]

Surely the point is that if they were in adjacent cabins and at the same muster station the family would provide any help needed rather than burden the crew? Why infer that they are in some way negligent?

 

But they weren't in adjacent cabin, they were a few doors away from one another. My point goes back to personal responsibility. It's fine to ask for the muster information up front and book cabins with the same station. However, imo it's also important to have at least 1 able bodied adult or older teen in each cabin to ensure all cabin mates get to their muster station. I think not doing so is taking chances and not a wise decision.

[charmay]

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

 

 

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I have been directed to this thread having started one myself.

It is an interesting topic.

We are balcony mid.

My 70 year old mother and my daughters friend aft inside cabin but same side.

It was brought up about an adult in the cabin.

But in this instance shes an oap.

This is the only way i could book this believe me.

I just hope shes not messing about in an emergancy looking for her teeth lol:D

Just to lighten the mood:)

As long as we all know where we are going thats the main thing.

[chengkp75]

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.

 

This is entirely correct. I was with NCL 5 years ago. The lifeboat capacity is based on full occupancy (pullmans, sofa beds, etc) Given a printed muster station on each cabin door, the station will not change due to occupancy. The muster list is fixed, just like the crew station bill.

[chengkp75]

Wow, did I learn my muster station lesson on my last cruise. We booked my husband and I in a balcony and grandma and the kids in an inside a few doors down, and were quite surprised to be assigned different stations, it didn't even cross my mind they would separate parties. Grandma has COPD and my son is autistic, she didn't think she could safely handle him in an emergency situation or at muster drill. We had requested an alternate muster because of our son, but it somehow didn't happen. Fortunately we took the bull by the horns and spoke to guest services, we ended up checking in at the outdoor muster and waiting in a special needs area in a lounge just inside. I felt quite guilty at the time seeing everyone outside, but hearing about waiting two or three hours has cured me of that. Grandma would not have been able to make it and my son would have spun out of control being cooped up with all those people for an hour, let alone three.

 

I really wonder how some of the elderly and young children did during the Grandeur situation, it must have been quite a challenge.

 

The way this worked on NCL was that if you needed a special needs muster station for any reason (age, medical, whatever), you notified guest services at embarkation, and they would tell you where the special needs muster station was (generally one for the whole ship). If required, family members who were not special need could also muster there with their special need family member. They would also assign extra crew to check the cabin of a special needs passenger to see if they needed a wheelchair, or other assistance getting to muster. Wheelchairs were available via radio if your special needs passenger was away from their cabin, but could make it known to a crewmember that they required assistance. However, it is up to the passenger to let the CREW ONBOARD know about special needs, not rely on booking agents, etc.

 

This was then relayed to the Safety Officer's staff who made up the printed muster lists for the muster leaders at each muster station. This list changed every cruise, and listed how many people were in each cabin, not just the cabins assigned to that station. Special needs were subtracted from the muster station of their cabin, and added to the special needs muster list. This is how we know that we have everyone.

 

While I think it is entirely feasible to have the muster locations available when booking, and very reasonable, I fear that this could lead to even more complaints about cruise lines not being helpful by not changing muster stations when requested. "I've booked the only two cabins possible, and the muster stations don't match, and XXX lines won't help me!"

[charmay]

But they weren't in adjacent cabin, they were a few doors away from one another. My point goes back to personal responsibility. It's fine to ask for the muster information up front and book cabins with the same station. However, imo it's also important to have at least 1 able bodied adult or older teen in each cabin to ensure all cabin mates get to their muster station. I think not doing so is taking chances and not a wise decision.

Thats all very well if you have the right adult to child or oap ratio.

You cant just invite some random friend away just to make the criteria?

I suppose the answer will be 'dont' cruise then:)