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Electronic Muster Drills


jhannah
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Royal can apply for any trademark they want....But it means nothing unless the regulations through SOLAS  are changed. And even if SOLAS  changes the regulations countries like the United States through the USCG must approve of the changes. The USCG can still require the current muster drills in US Ports. 

 

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You cannot maintain 6 foot social distancing on a cruise ship.  I suspect there will be very little "safe" cruising until there is an effective vaccine or an effective treatment.  If you have to be concerned about social distancing on the tenders, you also have to be concerned about dining, buffets, shows, activities, art auctions, casinos, etc.  We have a long wait before "safe" cruising happens.  Cruising while confined to my stateroom and balcony with room service is not my idea of a cruise vacation.

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5 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Always turn on the TV as soon as you get to the cabin to let it play the video while yo go to lunch.

Playing the safety video whilst you go to lunch,

I too unpack whilst this is on, and so will Many others.

And is EXACTLY why a Emuster in your room will not work !

And if the ship is in trouble, do you think there will be app for finding your evacuation muster point.

Safety is a priority and should be practised. One word comes to mind ,   Concordia!

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14 minutes ago, fishnchips said:

Playing the safety video whilst you go to lunch,

I too unpack whilst this is on, and so will Many others.

And is EXACTLY why a Emuster in your room will not work !

And if the ship is in trouble, do you think there will be app for finding your evacuation muster point.

Safety is a priority and should be practised. One word comes to mind ,   Concordia!

They could always schedule more muster locations around the ship so people could spread put some more.....like having some of them on deck, basketball court, gym, around the pools, etc. 

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Yea - will be interesting what the IMO thinks about an e-muster.  They already recently tightened the SOLAS muster drill requirement from within 24 hours of embarkation to before (or immediately upon) departure in light of the Costa Concordia disaster where ~700 newly boarded passengers had not yet attended a muster drill. So not having passengers assemble would require modifications to SOLAS requirements.

 

Should note that the Mustering and the Safety Briefing are 2 different activities in the eyes of SOLAS, although they can take place concurrently.  For Muster passengers must assemble and "passengers shall be instructed in the use of the lifejackets and the action to take in an emergency."  The Safety Briefing "shall include the instructions required by regulations 8.2 and 8.4, and shall be made by means of an announcement, in one or more languages likely to be understood by the passengers" and also "Information cards or posters or video programmes displayed on ships' video displays may be used to supplement the briefing, but may not be used to replace the announcement."

 

(8.2 basically states "clear instructions to be followed in the event of an emergency shall be provided for every person on board, 8.4 says that illustrations and instructions of your muster station, actions to take in an emergency and how to wear lifejackets be provided in passenger cabins, muster stations and other passenger spaces.)

Edited by SharkieRools
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7 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

They could always schedule more muster locations around the ship so people could spread put some more.....like having some of them on deck, basketball court, gym, around the pools, etc. 

Except that does not work towards passengers learning where to go in a real emergency. and also does not work for the crew to know what to do in a real emergency.

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I really like the idea of an electronic Muster (I think it’s ridiculous that Royal Caribbean patented EMuster; anything can have an e before it now to show electronic). Watching the video online at home or in the stateroom would work well With an e-signature at the end. Then, all they’d have to do is put a scanner at each Muster station; passengers must go to theirs at some point before sail away to scan to prove they went there. The data is electronic, so the captain will have an acct immediately of everyone. Anyone who didn’t comply could have a Muster attendant assist them. 

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54 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Except that does not work towards passengers learning where to go in a real emergency. and also does not work for the crew to know what to do in a real emergency.

In the outside occurrence that something does happen it doesn't make much difference where you were initially reported. They'll lead you to a different location to join the rest of the crowd. 

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On 4/28/2020 at 4:16 PM, SeaDog-46 said:

Would not comply with SOLAS without going to your MUSTER Station - as it is currently done on Princess.

The regulations can be changed... with over 60 cruises, I have long thought muster can just as easily be done on cabin tv, presently Princess tv set so you must watch the drill before you can look at anything else.  I worked in a safety function in a former job, in true emergencies, drills of very little use tv video would be more than adequate.

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2 hours ago, SharkieRools said:

Yea - will be interesting what the IMO thinks about an e-muster.  They already recently tightened the SOLAS muster drill requirement from within 24 hours of embarkation to before (or immediately upon) departure in light of the Costa Concordia disaster where ~700 newly boarded passengers had not yet attended a muster drill. So not having passengers assemble would require modifications to SOLAS requirements.

 

Should note that the Mustering and the Safety Briefing are 2 different activities in the eyes of SOLAS, although they can take place concurrently.  For Muster passengers must assemble and "passengers shall be instructed in the use of the lifejackets and the action to take in an emergency."  The Safety Briefing "shall include the instructions required by regulations 8.2 and 8.4, and shall be made by means of an announcement, in one or more languages likely to be understood by the passengers" and also "Information cards or posters or video programmes displayed on ships' video displays may be used to supplement the briefing, but may not be used to replace the announcement."

 

(8.2 basically states "clear instructions to be followed in the event of an emergency shall be provided for every person on board, 8.4 says that illustrations and instructions of your muster station, actions to take in an emergency and how to wear lifejackets be provided in passenger cabins, muster stations and other passenger spaces.)

The lack of a muster on Costa Concordia was not the problem, it was the captain and crew  who mis managed the emergency  - some passengers were told to go to cabins??, some who survived said they used their own common sense and survived, that is what happens in an emergency, especially one that is not managed well.  

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Electronic muster is fine with me. But a real emergency might bring people to consider - packed tender vs stay on the ship

 

Inquiring minds: How many passengers are jumping on the ship tenders to proceed to port?  (Grand Cayman may finally build the reef killing pier?)

 

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1 hour ago, pris993 said:

The lack of a muster on Costa Concordia was not the problem, it was the captain and crew  who mis managed the emergency  - some passengers were told to go to cabins??, some who survived said they used their own common sense and survived, that is what happens in an emergency, especially one that is not managed well.  

Trying to see where I said the problem on the Concordia was caused by the lack of muster, but failing to do so.  What I did say was the requirement change from 24 hours to before sailing was "in light of the Costa Concordia disaster where ~700 newly boarded passengers had not yet attended a muster drill."   The lack of muster for these passengers is called out in the accident report, and the IMO themselves state the change in muster process is "in the wake of the Costa Concordia incident."

http://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/Pages/54-msc-91-passenger.aspx#.Xqsv7ahKjRY

 

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The requirements  changed, that does not mean that a video would not be just as good.  I don't care whatthe reports says, I know from experience much of this has to do with law suites more than what really helps people survive a major incident.   I would take my chances  using my own common sense in a disaster over a safety drill.  I wrote reports, I know what goes into them... use your head that will help your more than anything -- that was true for those who survived the Concordia

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12 hours ago, MissP22 said:

They could always schedule more muster locations around the ship so people could spread put some more.....like having some of them on deck, basketball court, gym, around the pools, etc. 

 

That defeats a main benefit for passengers of when there is a real emergency.

 

The chance that a real emergency will require abandoning the ship is very slim.

 

But a real emergency can last for hours before passengers can return to their cabins.

 

In Princess those hours can be spent in the relative comfort of a muster station inside the ship.

 

Spending hours at a muster station outside no matter what the temperature is, no matter what the rain situation is, is not nearly as comfortable.

 

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10 hours ago, pris993 said:

The regulations can be changed... with over 60 cruises, I have long thought muster can just as easily be done on cabin tv, presently Princess tv set so you must watch the drill before you can look at anything else.  I worked in a safety function in a former job, in true emergencies, drills of very little use tv video would be more than adequate.

 

I know of no way to prove that someone has watched the drill on an in-cabin TV.  All that can be proved is that the TV was on and the presentation played, not that any eyeballs were on it or anyone was listening to it.

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1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

I know of no way to prove that someone has watched the drill on an in-cabin TV.  All that can be proved is that the TV was on and the presentation played, not that any eyeballs were on it or anyone was listening to it.

just because you are sitting in a muster station does not mean you are really paying attention either... I could just easily sit there and not get anything out of it... I think all the cruise line needs to do is provide the opportunity, TV works just as well for them to do so. 

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On 4/28/2020 at 8:36 PM, ontheweb said:

Isn't the muster drill as much for the crew as for the passengers? They are the ones who will have to be in charge in case of a real emergency.

I wouldn't think the crew would need to do the drill every week.

On 4/29/2020 at 11:43 AM, ontheweb said:

I don't know if there ever was a survey done, but I would guess very few pay a lot of attention during the airline briefing. And I wonder how many pay a lot of attention on a cruise especially when packed like sardines on deck by the lifeboat. Are most just thinking when will this finally be over?

 

We haven't had to muster on deck in quite a few years. Not on Princess, NCL, Oceania, Viking, etc. Last one I remember was on HAL, and that was at least nine years ago. I waS standing directly under  one of the loudspeakers, and it was LOUD.

 

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5 hours ago, caribill said:

Spending hours at a muster station outside no matter what the temperature is, no matter what the rain situation is, is not nearly as comfortable.

That's very true.

In that case people who mustered at an outside location could then be led to their proper indoor location by a crew member. 

 

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6 hours ago, caribill said:

 

I know of no way to prove that someone has watched the drill on an in-cabin TV.  All that can be proved is that the TV was on and the presentation played, not that any eyeballs were on it or anyone was listening to it.

The consensuses seems to be that an electronic "button" needs to be pressed to prove that you are watching the drill on TV. then  a scan at the muster station that must be used by the end of the day. That allows for distancing and  covers all the safety needs.

Surely the engineers can design this system!  

 

But then again, they have never designed a paper toilet seat cover that actually fits the seat!!!!

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48 minutes ago, gmjc2 said:

The consensuses seems to be that an electronic "button" needs to be pressed to prove that you are watching the drill on TV. then  a scan at the muster station that must be used by the end of the day. That allows for distancing and  covers all the safety needs.

Surely the engineers can design this system!  

 

But then again, they have never designed a paper toilet seat cover that actually fits the seat!!!!

They can't even keep track of the people who don't scan in at the muster stations before all this mess happened.😄 LOL

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13 hours ago, pris993 said:

just because you are sitting in a muster station does not mean you are really paying attention either... I could just easily sit there and not get anything out of it... I think all the cruise line needs to do is provide the opportunity, TV works just as well for them to do so. 

I was once confronted by a crew member during the muster drill who admonished me to pay attention or she would require me to attend the make-up drill.  I was reading the Patter instead of watching some stupid video that I felt insulted my intelligence.  

 

If the video they were showing at the Muster  wasn't geared to a seven year old, it would have been less painful.  When the presentation was all live, I paid more attention, because it is insulting to the presenter to ignore him/her.  When the presentation is by video, well, the crew has to threaten me!

 

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15 hours ago, caribill said:

In Princess those hours can be spent in the relative comfort of a muster station inside the ship.

 

 

I have been on several cruises where my muster station was the photo gallery.

 

I don't see standing in a hallway as relative comfort.

 

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Thanks for your thoughts you've provided. Here's mine: If there were to be a true emergency, many passengers will be in a panic, running around trying to figure out what to do next ... even though they attended a muster drill on deck. That's why the announcement is made to proceed to your muster station as noted on your key card and cabin door, and why crew members are stationed in stair lobbies to provide instructions. Just as the room stewards do now, they will check each stateroom to be sure the guests have evacuated. I see no reason to believe we'll all be doomed if we don't go physically stand under our lifeboats ahead of time. This is just my opinion. As you've indicated above, your mileage may vary. 🙂

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