Muster Drill

[celbercrz333]

Just don't think you can skip the muster roll. They come around and check cabiins to make sure you are out there with your life jacket learning what to do. We passed the security people heading towards cabins as we headed up to our level of lifeboats.

[crusin_claymate919]

every cruise i've been on, its been before sailing...and if you're nervous about it, dont be, its the simplest thing ever =]

[johnql]

On my most recent cruises, they have people with checklists at each muster station. They check off your name as you appear at the station. They definitely know who shows up and who doesn't. It's for everybody's benefit. I don't see why anybody would try to skip it.

[Capt_BJ]

I was simply stating what has been told to me in the past by both US Coast Guard and crew members aboard the ships that I have sailed. Perhaps I was mistaken in stating "International" and it is actually "U.S." Maritime Law.

 

Now, I wouldn't consider myself the most experienced cruiser, but from conversations I've had with dozens of others who have been cruising for decades, none of us has ever experienced a Muster Drill AFTER sailing. I'd tend to think that Muster Drills after sailing are probably not very common; at least for U.S. embarkation ports.

 

In any event, gumballz, you will not miss pulling away from the pier :D

 

within 24 hours of sailing .... that's the 'official' interpretation of the IMO recommendations and SOLAS treaty....

 

p.s. someone asked when the last time was that the passengers actually took to the boats.

 

in 'local' waters, with 'real cruise ships, this is the last one I recall. They came close, very close and did actually evacuate, but not using the life boats:

 

Crew of cruise ship that hit reef faulted for failing to update charts

 

From Professional Mariner #75

October/November 2003 (not the full article)

 

The December 1998 grounding of the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Monarch of the Seas on a coral reef off St. Maarten was the result of a series of operational errors ...Although damage-control teams had readied the ship’s lifeboats for launch, by 0515 all 2,557 passengers had been evacuated safely by vessels dispatched from St. Maarten

 

The incident was so serious that it could have resulted in total loss of the ship.

 

The 73,937-grt, 880-foot-long ship had diverted to Philipsburg, St. Maarten, in the early morning hours of Dec. 15 to disembark a passenger with a suspected heart attack (PM #39). The ship, under command of the captain, remained hove to off Great Bay as the passenger was evacuated with the assistance of the ship’s doctor and nurse, maintaining position with a bow thruster and its engines. At 0125, with the doctor and nurse back aboard, the vessel got underway for Martinique, its original destination.

 

He expected the course change to take the vessel safely around the south side of the reef and onto a course of 190º toward Martinique. The ship struck the reef almost immediately after making the turn at 0130, approximately three minutes after departing Philipsburg, "raking" the reef at a speed of 12 knots, "although not becoming permanently stranded," according to the report.

 

He learned that water was flooding numerous tanks and compartments, and then, after the safety officer reported that pumps in certain compartments were unable to stem the ingress of water, the master ordered all watertight doors closed.

 

In the minutes following the grounding, the master informed the ship’s agent in Miami of the situation, spoke to Royal Caribbean’s fleet captain and to Port Philipsburg officials, requesting the deployment of numerous transport vessels for the possible evacuation of the ship’s passengers. Twelve minutes after impact, the master sounded the general emergency signal — seven short blasts followed by one prolonged blast — informing passengers of the contact with the reef. He requested that they get dressed, don life jackets and report to their muster stations to prepare to abandon ship.

 

Damage-control teams, including specialists in fire, flooding and medical care, were dispersed throughout the ship by 0155, at which point the captain had already turned the vessel around with the intention of beaching the vessel on a sandbar at Great Bay, outside Philipsburg. He continued to inform the passengers of the situation and, after slowing the ship for a soft approach to the beach, ordered the stern anchor deployed at 0221. At 0233, the starboard anchor was dropped, and at 0235 the vessel grounded on a sandbar at Great Bay at a speed of 5 knots. Although damage-control teams had readied the ship’s lifeboats for launch, by 0515 all 2,557 passengers had been evacuated safely by vessels dispatched from St. Maarten.

 

[fatmancruisin]

I am a rather large man and wear a 4XLT shirt, Is the life preserver going to fit around my big.... ??? :eek: Maybe I should call Carnival and see if they can get a raft with sleeves put in my cabin.... :confused:

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

I am a rather large man and wear a 4XLT shirt, Is the life preserver going to fit around my big.... ??? :eek: Maybe I should call Carnival and see if they can get a raft with sleeves put in my cabin.... :confused:

 

:D Very funny about the life raft. On RCI, the life preservers do have very long straps. I believe they probably would fit you. However, if they don't, call the fact to the attention of a crew member who may be able to fit you with a more suitable preserver. You can't be the only 4X who has ever cruised. Surely today's cruise ships have life preservers to suit every need.

[etoile]

On the Galaxy out of Baltimore last year the drill wasn't until the next morning... :eek:

[kwag222]

Do I have to take part in he mustard drill? I've never liked mustard on my hot dogs.:rolleyes:

[docksider21]

Once in my cabin, the first thing I do is check the closets to locate my life vest. Then I read the evacuation map, and walk the route to my muster (life boat) station. After that, I unpack, etc.

 

5 minutes before the drill, I am in my room, and donning my life vest. Then when it is time to go to my muster station, I find it without problem, because I have been there once already. And now I know it better because I have practiced walking there TWICE.

 

I take the drill very very seriously. If someone else wants to blow it off, fine, they can get themselves drowned if they want to. But I am going to know where my station is, and how to walk there with my vest on. (I understand old and frail people not wanting to fall, but if you are able bodied, ....)

 

I may be paranoid. I saw Titanic in the theatre, but I shall not re-enact it.

 

HAVE A FUN AND SAFE TRIP