Lifeboats -- For Better or Worse

[triptastic3]

Baffled chutes, luxury. We had no lifeboats we used to practice jumping off the flight deck. In warmer waters of course, you will only do it once up north, the shock of that cold water will stick with you forever.

[Oakman58]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

Yes, you would go to the inside muster location, and await instructions.  The problem with the Concordia is that the passengers were not mustered in a timely fashion.  Schettino knew within 10 minutes that the ship was going to sink, but he failed to call for muster until they signaled abandon ship.  Muster is for accountability, so yes, they will hold you until everyone is accounted for, and the Captain should not signal to evacuate until all passengers are accounted for, which is why it is critical to muster in a timely fashion.  Many passenger musters are during emergencies, and the Captain has no intention of evacuating the ship, and most times the passengers return to normal from their muster stations, far more times than they ever actually go to the boats.  If you read the official report of the Concordia, the crew did an excellent job, given that they had no direction from above, and could only follow the instructions that they were given, which was that there was no need to muster, and sent the passengers away.  The crew drill and train for emergencies, and many will actually be involved in emergency situations (there are more fires on cruise ships than passengers know), so in most cases the "muscle memory" from drills will take over and the crew will perform their functions.  While most passengers think that the signal for muster is the "abandon ship" signal, it is not, it is the signal for "fire and general emergency", but since the passengers have no duties, it is for them to muster for accountability.  Even if the Captain orders the passengers to board the boats and evacuate, this is not the "abandon ship".  The crew remain at their emergency stations until the passengers are away, and then if he feels it is warranted, the Captain will signal "abandon ship" (one prolonged blast on the whistle and bells), and the crew will move from their emergency stations to their abandon ship stations.

 

I applaud your doing your "own boat drill", you should practice getting to your muster station from various locations around the ship, with fire blocking passage in various locations.  However, your idea of going directly to the boats is flawed, and will only result in crew members being drawn from other emergency duties to go looking for you as you are missing from muster.

 

Surely you realize that my post was tongue in cheek and not meant to be taken seriously.

[chengkp75]

13 hours ago, Oakman58 said:

 

Surely you realize that my post was tongue in cheek and not meant to be taken seriously.

Surely I didn't, given the number of serious posts like this about "doing your own thing" in an emergency that I've responded to over the years.

[gooch47]

I do know this wasn't a totally serious post, but I should like to point out that over the years I've ridden on quite a few "sun decks" on Princess lifeboats being used for tendering.

[Georgia_Peaches]

So funny that you started this thread.  Just yesterday my DH and I were discussing our least favorite part of embarkation day...the muster drill (or mustard drill as he calls it bc he hates mustard).  At any rate, he questions the likelihood of anyone reporting to their actual muster station in the event of an abandon ship emergency such as the Costa Concordia pointing out that it will likely include so much panic and chaos that people will probably bypass the muster station and find the nearest lifeboat.

Edited September 20, 2019 by Georgia_Peaches

[josephmz]

As to the question about the number of lifeboats, surely you realize that these boats are for women and children.

The men will stay onboard while the orchestra plays "Nearer My god To Thee."

[chengkp75]

15 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

So funny that you started this thread.  Just yesterday my DH and I were discussing our least favorite part of embarkation day...the muster drill (or mustard drill as he calls it bc he hates mustard).  At any rate, he questions the likelihood of anyone reporting to their actual muster station in the event of an abandon ship emergency such as the Costa Concordia pointing out that it will likely include so much panic and chaos that people will probably bypass the muster station and find the nearest lifeboat.

Again, the Concordia was a worst case scenario, and if the passengers were mustered at the proper time (as soon as the ship struck) there would not have been the panic that ensued. And, there will be crew assigned to "herd the cats" and keep them from the boats and moving to the muster stations.

[MrsK]

Part of my muster drill routine is to take a really good look at who is also in my muster station with me.

 

I like to check and see if we have some young, strong looking people amongst us in case we need some muscle on our journey.

 

 

[Oakman58]

On 9/17/2019 at 7:07 PM, shof515 said:

 

On some ships, this is how you enter the inflatable lift raft:

 

a free fall drop that is atleast 15-25+ feet ..i do not want to do that

 

Those inflatable boats have instructions on how they are used.  In the category of "know before you go" I am including pictures of how you go down the chute to the inflatable.  Most of the barrels have picture that show what is OK and what is not.  The picture will look something like this one.

 

 

If you look closer in the photo below you will notice that a man's style shoe is OK while wearing high heels is a no-no.  Because of that I suggest all women bring a pair of men's shoes in case you have to abandon ship via the inflatables.  Also notice no one is wearing a dress.  Going down the tube in a dress might be very revealing for the ladies so I suggest to women that you might want to wear your gramdma style underwear for purposes of modesty.

 

 

Also if you look even closer you will see they can also lower you down the chute via a rope.  Judging from the fellow's hair on the right he is being lowered quickly while the guy on the left seems to be going down much slower.  Also the guy on the right has a terrified look on his face. My suggestion for those who want to be lowered via a rope is to wrap your ankle in gauze and pretend you are injured.  Obviously you will be treated more gently.

 

 

That concludes my informational seminar about the inflatable lifeboats and you're welcome.

Special note to chengkp75.  I'm not being serious.

 

[Sauer-kraut]

2 hours ago, Oakman58 said:

 

That concludes my informational seminar about the inflatable lifeboats and you're welcome.

Special note to chengkp75.  I'm not being serious.

 

 

Ah....the first chuckle of the day and thank you very much!

[scamper]

You know, I wonder if the guide on deck who is instructing people to go down the chute is trained like a flight attendant? If you're called to evacuate an aircraft by using the chutes, and you hesitate at the door, the flight attendant manning the door will push you out. And they are trained to do that quite forcefully.