Safety Drill on Nieuw Amsterdam

[mancunian]

I am currently very angry with HAL re boat drill. We came back from Nieuw Amsterdam at the beginning of November, not the same cruise that has been mentioned here as being bad at the drill. It took 45 minutes between the sirens and starting the talk. There was a long list of people who did not attend. Personally I suspect HAL had the lists crossed and it was some of the people on the two week who had been told they did not need to attend, but that is my assumption no proof. There was certainly no time to disembark people before we sailed.

 

I feel this is totally unnecessary and HAL should not hold the passengers at the ransom of the ones who do not attend. When they announce the missing cabin numbers they should say that these people should report immediately to the front office where a "senior" officer is waiting for them and get on with the drill.

 

I am sorry but I consider HAL is being very negligent here. It was thanksgiving so lots of people with children and of course a huge number of elderly, frail or disabled people. Depending of the ages of HAL management would they be happy for their parents or grandparents to be left in the Florida heat for 45 minutes, or to keep their children quiet. Actually I have to admit in our lifeboat area we did not really have children but we did have masses of older and disabled people. The medical team had to come with a stretcher to the next boat and on ours two people had to be allowed to hang over rail to recover. I suspect there were incidents on other lifeboats.

 

We have been on ten cruiselines and on 8 of them boat drills were indoors. I do not agree it is too comfortable and at least on these you were in a fit state to listen. By 45 minutes people were in such a state I doubt any of us could have passed a test on what was said. This too is not the first time this has happened. As to knowing which your lifeboat is I doubt many people on a cruise remember, but not wishing to add gloom to the proceedings having indoor drills enables the captain to get passengers to a muster point earlier than if he waits to call them on deck, you are then led to a lifeboat. Note I say a lifeboat. If the ship is listing the lifeboats on one side could well be unusable.

 

Anyway I do not usually complain to HAL about things but I put much of what I have said here on my halftime report on board and also written to Seattle. Somebody is going to die from a heart attack or stroke from boat drills as bad as this.

Edited December 15, 2016 by mancunian

[Boytjie]

As to knowing which your lifeboat is I doubt many people on a cruise remember"

 

It is printed on your cruise card.

[RuthC]

What happens to elderly people who CANNOT stand for more than a few minutes?

On the ships that have an indoor muster station assigned for the disabled (who do not have to be elderly), I use that. On the Nieuw Amsterdam, which did not have such a station when I sailed her, I was assigned a wheelchair and pusher to get me to the outside station, and back to my cabin afterwards.

 

All someone has to do is ask after boarding for special arrangements.

[mancunian]

To Boyjtie

 

Yes I know it is on my card - I was really meaning finding their way to precisely where there lifeboat is

[rafinmd]

I just came off the 14 day inaugural HAL Koningsdam cruise in Bahamas and Southern Caribbean cruise and the safety drill is radically changed. There are three signals: 1. Crew alert. 2. Back to cabins alert. 3. Go to a public area location inside the ship without vests. Attendance is taken, information given if a real alert and it is done.

I like this drill much better and I hope it be used on all HAL ships.

 

That 3-stage alert has been on HAL (and Seabourn) now for over 2 years; the only way Koningsdam is different is where the muster is held. I think a big part of that is ship design. A muster station needs to have a place for people to meet and it should be near the lifeboats.

 

I will suggest it should be on the Promenade deck for the R&S class ships because there is space there and the inside of that deck is all cabins with no place inside to meet. On the Koningsdam it is held inside because there is limited space by the lifeboats and public rooms nearby. I think HAL is making the only sensible choice for those ships.

 

I think either option would be practical on the Vista & Signature ships. There is space by the lifeboats but there should also be suitable public rooms nearby as there is on Queen Victoria/Queen Elizabeth. I suspect HAL MAY have made the decision to muster by the boats on those ships to be consistent throughout the fleet. Once we have a second Pinnacle Ship and fewer R&S HAL might want to rethink that policy.

 

I have no real preference for a muster location. I do now want to muster in the dining room if there's a galley fire, and I do not want to muster under the lifeboats if the ship has lost power in gale force winds with 30-foot seas. I think most cruise lines have contingency plans for alternate locations.

 

Roy

[Boytjie]

To Boyjtie

 

Yes I know it is on my card - I was really meaning finding their way to precisely where there lifeboat is

 

I don't see how mustering inside makes this better; with outside muster all you have to do is go to the promenade deck. If someone can't figure that out they should perhaps not be on a ship. And the same goes for inside muster... if you can't remember where to go in an emergency, you are putting yourself and others at risk.

[OlsSalt]

If participating in a muster drill is too daunting for some passengers, what would a real emergency be like?

[Lizzie68]

Just wondering if, in a real emergency, they would keep everyone standing there for 45 minutes waiting for stragglers 😮

 

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[ski ww]

A real emergency never happens under ideal conditions, i.e. sunshine, day light, calm seas. When we arrive on board as we explore the ship we check to see where our life boat is located before the drill. We once had a, " report to your life boat " alarm go off on a TA during the Black & White Ball, seven short one long, it was not a drill. Nobody at our table knew what the alarm meant, very shortly there after the Capt. came on the PA and told everybody to stay where they were. As it turned out there was a small fire in the engine room which was contained. The larger the ships get, there will not be enough room on the Promenade Deck for the drill to be held out side; i.e. Koningsdam, let alone some of those huge ships from other cruise lines. Hope for all our sakes that we never have to do one for real.

Allan

[IllinoisGirl1978]

Sorry folks my phone had a mind of its own.

 

For my mom on our last cruise, she was given the option to go inside and sit. It was chilly and windy in Seward.

 

 

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Edited December 15, 2016 by IllinoisGirl1978

[navybankerteacher]

Personally, I would much rather be assigned a muster station inside rather than everyone rushing the deck. What if your deck is not available, then what do you do?

 

 

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"Personally", I would PREFER the line ensure that there not ever be ANY emergency - so preparing for it would not be necessary.

 

What if your, cozy air-conditioned internal space were not available, then what do you do?

 

A disaster at sea can ruin your whole day. A drill before leaving port can inconvenience you for 15-20 minutes. As I trust HAL with running their ship, it sort of makes sense for me to trust them to decide the best way for running an emergency drill. It might be that they feel just a bit of inconvenience helps make passengers consider the seriousness of the situations for which the drill is intended to prepare us. Sure, I would rather spend that 15-20 minutes in a lounge with a drink in hand ---- but: their ship - their rules.

[djhsolara]

"Personally", I would PREFER the line ensure that there not ever be ANY emergency - so preparing for it would not be necessary.

 

 

 

What if your, cozy air-conditioned internal space were not available, then what do you do?

 

 

 

A disaster at sea can ruin your whole day. A drill before leaving port can inconvenience you for 15-20 minutes. As I trust HAL with running their ship, it sort of makes sense for me to trust them to decide the best way for running an emergency drill. It might be that they feel just a bit of inconvenience helps make passengers consider the seriousness of the situations for which the drill is intended to prepare us. Sure, I would rather spend that 15-20 minutes in a lounge with a drink in hand ---- but: their ship - their rules.

 

 

Based on your response, I really think you took my post not as it was intended. I was just voicing an opinion...not complaining.

 

 

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[frankc98376]

Westerdam in October had the monitors near the promenade doors telling people to wait inside until the third alarm- they were basically blocking the doors. Captain explained that in a true emergency the crew would be readying the boats before the third alarm and didn't want passengers in the way or injured if a cable or boat went astray.