Carnival Liberty - Muster Drill Nightmare

[Salem615]

We sailed on the Liberty in Mid October. I really think it is time to do something about the outside muster drill in the blazing heat before someone gets seriously ill or injured.

 

We boarded the ship around 11:30 and went to our room to drop off our bags and then went to the lido deck for lunch and a couple of drinks. It was really hot out so we decided to go back to our suite and relax and unpack if our bags were there. We were in the room for a few hours and my husband napped and I relaxed and read for a bit. We had a lot of evening plans and wanted to be ready to go. 

 

The muster started and we were on deck 4. There was already a lot of people lined up and it was as usual crazy. There was a man in front of us who really enjoyed the bar before the drill and his wife was trying to keep him under control. (It was kind of amusing).  The staff was trying to control the crowd and get everyone checked in. As all this was going on I started to get really warm. It was so hot out and we were in a crowd of people. I could feel myself getting shaky and clammy and I leaned a bit on my husband and was hoping the drill would be over soon. Next thing I knew my husband was calling my name. I passed out due to the heat. I never pass out so I was very startled by what had happened. 

 

A staff member was trying to help us up as my husband went down with me to keep me from hurting myself. As we were being led out of the crowd I felt weak and disoriented and I passed out again.  Staff was trying to get me water and wheelchair but with the throngs of people it was not easy. They did manage a wheelchair and I was being led out along with many other people as the drill was over. It was a chaotic mess. Nobody would let us through and I could feel myself slipping again. 

 

We made it to the inside and my husband wanted me to see medical. Well trying to get a wheelchair through hundreds of people was no easy task. Everyone was set on getting to where they needed to go. It was a bit scary and upsetting. 

 

We did get to medical finally but after talking to the nurse and finding out I had to pay $125 I decided to just go back to the room and cool off in my suite with water and ice. I ended up napping and we lost a lot of precious time on this short cruise. The nurse did take my blood pressure and temp. My blood pressure was a bit low. 

 

Staff is not well equipped to handle emergencies and this could have been a lot worse then it was. Luckily there was a nurse behind us when I passed out and she was trying help. It's really time to move the drills inside. This really is not a safe way to do these drills. 

 

I talked with Carnival Customer service and they really could not offer any advice.  At least I made them aware of the situation and hopefully do something to prevent anyone else from having this happen to them. 

Edited October 23, 2018 by Salem615

[obx_fintoo]

Sorry that you had that happen to you!  I agree, standing out in the heat is a bad idea.  The last couple of cruises we have done have not made us stand outside.

[Moviela]

Please do talk to a doctor about your experience just to make sure there is no underlying cause for your fainting.

 

I pay close attention to the muster drill because the information can save your life. Showing pax where to go I think is as important as a lecture in a showroom. 

 

While it is hot on deck in Florida, it is a magnitude hotter in many places and people do not pass out. The reason is they remain hydrated and refrain from carbonated beverages and alcohol if they know they may be in the sun for more than a few moments.

 

I hope you feel better and will have many more pleasant cruises in the future.

 

[dmdiver]

I really dislike the outdoor muster drills as well.  We tend to go as soon as they call for people, which means we end up in the back.  Our friend is claustrophobic & it's pretty difficult for him once the crowd gets there.  I mean really all you can think about is how much longer do we have to stand out here sweating.  Oh and be sure not to lock your knees - choir and band nerds learn that early on.  Locking the knees can cause fainting.  I prefer the drills that take place in dining rooms.

[chengkp75]

It is not a simple thing to just say, "let's change the muster locations to indoors".  This is not a cruise ship decision, it is based on the law, and the classification society that gives the ship its certificate to sail.  SOLAS prefers that muster stations be as close to the lifeboats as possible, and the older ships could accommodate this with their relatively large promenade decks.  On newer ships, the cruise lines have reduced the size of the promenade deck (non-revenue generating space) to increase interior volume (revenue generating space), to the point where you can no longer hold muster out on the promenade deck.  Therefore, the IMO allows indoor muster locations on ships where there is insufficient space on deck.   These indoor spaces have been designed and studied, using crowd management paradigm software, to be of sufficient volume, lighting, ventilation, power availability during low power times (emergency power), number of ingress and egress points, their size, and their proximity to the boats.  To change from an outdoor muster to an indoor one on an existing ship, would require a change to SOLAS (get a majority of the 174 nations in the IMO to agree to the change), and then hundreds of thousands of dollars for each ship class to study which indoor venue would meet the safety requirements, and then reprint all signage relating to the muster stations, and retrain the crew.

 

One common cause of fainting while standing still on a steel deck in the heat is locking your knees, which traps blood in the lower leg and starves the brain causing the fainting.  Always try to stand during muster with your knees consciously bent slightly.  As others have said, hydration and alcohol also play a part, as can coming directly from a cool interior location to the blazing sun.

[jkneern]

Carnival has been noted to have the worst and most unorganized muster drills.  Just to add all cruiselines DO NOT have their drills outside. 

[SadieN]

Takes a bit of preplanning.

Last muster I brought a puny fan.  Would also be a good idea to put a cold, wet washcloth on your neck. No alcohol before muster.

[TrqoisWtrs]

Obviously don't be late, but arrive near the end.  Less time to stand outside in the heat, and most likely you will be closer to the front of the crowd.  Its just the luck of the draw where you end up waiting; the last few times my muster station has been one of the dining rooms or casino.

[Nic6318]

Hi there

 

I agree with those making the suggestion that, I hope you have spoken with your doctor about what happened to you. It is definitely not comfortable standing in the heat, but it is not "normal" for people for someone to start feeling "shaky and clammy" as you describe. It could be very well be signs of other issues. Please speak with your doctor and reassure yourself that this was a transient issue and not indicative of something more serious.

 

In the future you can ask to remain inside for the muster if you are feeling at all unsure.

 

hope you have many more wonderful cruise

[PhillyFan33579]

2 hours ago, jkneern said:

Carnival has been noted to have the worst and most unorganized muster drills.  Just to add all cruiselines DO NOT have their drills outside. 

 

Carnival does not have their muster drills outside on all of their ships. The last several times I have sailed on Vista, Dream and Fantasy class ships the muster drills were held inside. There is an excellent post in this thread discussing locations of muster drills and the reasons why. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

I hate hot muster drills as much as anyone, and I've been in a high-setting-sun outdoor Florida muster drill for 45 minutes, twice and never saw anyone pass out.  I hope you shared the experience with your doctor back home, and I'm glad you're ok!

[riclop]

5 hours ago, obx_fintoo said:

Sorry that you had that happen to you!  I agree, standing out in the heat is a bad idea.  The last couple of cruises we have done have not made us stand outside.

It all depends on the ship.

[ShadowCat92]

Our last cruise in November of last year was difficult for me as well. We got on the ship around 3 and I had no chance to eat anything. I never ate breakfast that morning so I was easily going off of 8 hours of being awake with no food. I almost passed out during our drill too but noticed I kept locking my knees. I made a conscious effort to stop and it subsided for the most part. I agree though even in November the heat at port Canaveral was brutal. 

 

I think I've learned my lesson so it won't happen again in 12 days. 

[Quilcruisers]

We cruise from Galveston and yes it is very hot. Come to think of it, unless we cruise in October or November, we are always on intense heat and humidity.   When we have older people with us or people that cannot stand the heat or intense conditions, we ask for them to be allowed to go to special services for the drill,  the rest of us, we endure it.  I agree about not locking knees, as a former “choir nerd” and we also get near a source of air because I tend to get claustrophobic too.  On the last few cruises I will see the staff come and get people that look like they should be moved indoors and always appreciate that gesture. Like little kids or older people,  if the drill is going long.  

[Pellaz]

11 hours ago, jkneern said:

Carnival has been noted to have the worst and most unorganized muster drills.  Just to add all cruiselines DO NOT have their drills outside. 

 

"Noted to have the worst" muster drills?  By whom?   Got some empirical data for that?   Please, share by all means.  

 

All Carnival SHIPS do not have their musters outside.  Our last two cruises on the Vista and the Magic had indoor muster. 

 

Moreover, our muster on Royal's Independence of the Seas last February was held entirely outside and it was a disorganized mess.  They were actually using clipboards and checklists and crossing people off with a pen....in 2018!    We thought that was quaint.

On Carnival they use networked tablets and simply scan our Sign & Sail cards.   Easy-peasy.  

 

 

 

 

[tallnthensome]

Haven't been outside for a muster drill in a while. In fact, we never even went to it on the MSC Seaside withiout repercussions. Many people just went went about their way on the ship at the time 

[jimbo5544]

Somehow this does not surprise me....

[Melissalcsw]

If people would just show the hell up on time, they would get done quicker.

 

On my liberty cruise in June, it wasn't that hot outside but people were late. Thusly delaying the inevitable.

 

Get there on time, get it done and go about your business.

[Salem615]

I did not know about the locking your knees thing. Good advice.

 

I do have an appointment with my Dr. just to follow up and I am going to figure out if I can stay inside if the next cruise has an outside muster and we are in intense heat.

 

I have a hard time with muster as I feel hardly anyone pays any attention and there are a lot of people who have already been partying and can delay the process even more. 

 

We cruised on Pride of America in May and it was such a simple and easy process. We met in one of the wine bars and were done in 20 minutes. 

 

I do hope others are careful when doing the outside drills. Stay hydrated and be aware of your body. If you feel "off" let someone know. I am not a fainter and have been a lot of places where it is intense and this never happened before. 

[sixesandeights]

NCL has done them inside for years.....pretty easy switch to make...get with the times CCL!!!

[LuckyStar]

1 hour ago, Melissalcsw said:

If people would just show the hell up on time, they would get done quicker.

 

On my liberty cruise in June, it wasn't that hot outside but people were late. Thusly delaying the inevitable.

 

Get there on time, get it done and go about your business.

This.  We don't get there first but we get there when we are told and there is always a few stragglers all smiling who think they have beaten the system.  No, you have just held it up for the rest of us, dimwit. 

[chengkp75]

18 minutes ago, sixesandeights said:

NCL has done them inside for years.....pretty easy switch to make...get with the times CCL!!!

No, its not an easy switch to make, and you'll find that older ships with NCL continue to have outdoor muster, like the Sun and Sky, the Dawn has some indoors and some outdoors, etc.

[GMRPHRN]

I have also felt ill when waiting in the crowd. I am the type to go straight to muster with the first call and end up toward the back.  I have been on a muster where there was a back up getting down the stairs to the location so it is not always the stragglers slowing things down. Everyone knows it has to be done but it is never a pleasant experience. The only inside I've experienced is on the Dream - we actually sat down in the dining room.

[Rudyard]

1 hour ago, Melissalcsw said:

If people would just show the hell up on time, they would get done quicker.

 

On my liberty cruise in June, it wasn't that hot outside but people were late. Thusly delaying the inevitable.

 

Get there on time, get it done and go about your business.

Not just on time, but sober. How someone gets as smashed as some of the people I've seen at muster, in the short time they've been on the ship, is beyond me. They're usually dragged to muster by their comparatively sober friends, but are usually loud and uncooperative. 

[dmdiver]

Well, you see, it's like this.  Some people board as early as possible.  I've had my Guy's burger by 11:30 in the past.  So, if they are drinking non-stop from that time until muster at 3:30, that's 4 hours.  So, yeah, they could do it pretty easily, especially if they are not typically big drinkers.  I wouldn't do that because I don't like being hung over, but some people just go crazy on vacation.  If they have low tolerance for alcohol, it may not take a whole lot.