Modified E-Muster

[CJANDH]

The article below from The Street.com suggests that Celebrity has found the best compromise between the traditional in-person muster drill and the E-Muster introduced to avoid mass gatherings when covid hit. It would be nice to see other line adopting this protocol rather than switching back to traditional mass musters, as Disney and Norwegian have done.

 

https://www.thestreet.com/travel/royal-caribbean-has-a-passenger-friendly-solution-to-muster-problem?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO

 

Transcript attached.

Celebrity Muster.docx

[mizLORInj]

I thought last year's Muster on Celebrity was nicely done.  Watch the videos then check in with your Muster Station.   

 

I don't cruise on Disney but an occasional Norwegian, and this was disappointing news.   Why are we going backwards.    

[Cruisegirl6]

Does that mean we have to physically attend the whole drill but at our desired time?  I prefer the in cabin version, is this not done any longer?

[BOB999]

The way I read the article is that it is describing the same procedure that was used on each of my 2021/2022 Celebrity cruises where you watch a brief demo whenever you show up at your station and you're done. Usually 2 minutes or less.

[C-Dragons]

8 minutes ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

Does that mean we have to physically attend the whole drill but at our desired time?  I prefer the in cabin version, is this not done any longer?

That process was improved about 2 years ago.

If you have downloaded the X App you can watch the safety video and check in on-line at home before you step on the ship.

Once you board you need to meet at your designated muster station and be accounted for. Easy peasy.

[jelayne]

Watch video in morning, board and check in at muster station where they briefly show you how to put on life jacket.

[stellarose]

on mardi gras- we had to watch the video and report to muster and they clicked/ scanned out sign and sail card.  easy peasy

[davekathy]

12 minutes ago, C-Dragons said:

That process was improved about 2 years ago.

If you have downloaded the X App you can watch the safety video and check in on-line at home before you step on the ship.

Once you board you need to meet at your designated muster station and be accounted for. Easy peasy.

One of the best changes made. 

[C-Dragons]

Just now, davekathy said:

One of the best changes made. 

Totally agree! 😊

[Jim_Iain]

36 minutes ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

Does that mean we have to physically attend the whole drill but at our desired time?  I prefer the in cabin version, is this not done any longer?

My experience in Muster 2.0 at the muster station the agent gives you a quick individual 30 second review and shows how to put on life jacket.

 

While I don't know for sure but I think what may have induced lines to bring back traditional drill is customers not following instructions.    Usually starting 2 hours plus you keep hearing announcements for passengers to complete the simple drill.  We have even been delayed due to non-compliance of some irresponsible passengers while they trace them down.

[prmssk]

15 minutes ago, stellarose said:

on mardi gras- we had to watch the video and report to muster and they clicked/ scanned out sign and sail card.  easy peasy

On the Carnival Ecstasy, there was no video (at least that I ever found on the app or tv).  We just went to our muster station at our convenience and watched a short presentation by staff (which they were continuously repeating as new groups came in).  This article makes it sound like this procedure is somehow unique to RCG.  They all at one point had some combination of either video or (on-demand type) presentation and check-in at muster station. Even NCL was that way a month or two ago. 
 

I think the issue many cruise lines are running into is compliance. It’s easier to find everyone if everything shuts down at the scheduled muster drill time. It likely takes a lot of staff to get the stragglers under the system since the restart. I suspect that is the reason some are going back to the old way. 

[chengkp75]

As I've said on every thread on several forums, about NCL and Disney going back to the traditional muster, is that they see the handwriting on the wall, where the IMO will remove the conditional approval for the e-muster, and require all ships to do the traditional muster.

[CJANDH]

The current system is clearly preferred by cruisers. However, Disney and the whole Norwegian group have opted to go back to the old mass meeting approach. As has been posted on several other boards, the final decision on what is approved rests with, I believe, the Coast Guard who only gave provisional approval to the switch to E-muster. Time will tell if the whole industry is forced to switch back to the old way. Meanwhile be glad you are sailing on brand trying to keep moving forward rather than backward and enjoy the "easy-peasy" muster.

[chengkp75]

6 minutes ago, CJANDH said:

Meanwhile be glad you are sailing on brand trying to keep moving forward rather than backward and enjoy the "easy-peasy" muster.

Where the "easy-peasy" muster eliminates the training of both passengers and crew, that are designed (and tested successfully over many years and emergencies) to save your life.

[CJANDH]

10 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

As I've said on every thread on several forums, about NCL and Disney going back to the traditional muster, is that they see the handwriting on the wall, where the IMO will remove the conditional approval for the e-muster, and require all ships to do the traditional muster.

The writing may be on the wall. However that shouldn't prevent the cruise lines from lobbying for what could be a better procedure, if they think it is. More likely they have gone back to the old system because it is (a) a better way to drill the crew, and/or (b) a cheaper alternative.

[chengkp75]

Just now, CJANDH said:

The writing may be on the wall. However that shouldn't prevent the cruise lines from lobbying for what could be a better procedure, if they think it is. More likely they have gone back to the old system because it is (a) a better way to drill the crew, and/or (b) a cheaper alternative.

The decision will be made by the Maritime Safety Committee of the IMO (staffed by maritime safety experts, who are only interested in passenger safety, not passenger comfort), and then must be accepted by a majority of the 175 nations that are signatory to the IMO.  Unless the cruise lines can show a safety benefit in the e-muster, the MSC isn't really going to consider their pleas.

 

And, yes, as I've noted many times, in the new e-muster drill, the crew lose all realistic training of a passenger muster (thousands of pax moving at once, recalcitrant pax), and the passengers themselves lose the training of getting to their muster station at the same time as thousands of others, rather than a serene saunter to the station at a time of their choosing.  It is certainly not a cheaper alternative.

[stellarose]

I hate the old way.

[Honolulu Blue]

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

As I've said on every thread on several forums, about NCL and Disney going back to the traditional muster, is that they see the handwriting on the wall, where the IMO will remove the conditional approval for the e-muster, and require all ships to do the traditional muster.

 

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

The decision will be made by the Maritime Safety Committee of the IMO (staffed by maritime safety experts, who are only interested in passenger safety, not passenger comfort), and then must be accepted by a majority of the 175 nations that are signatory to the IMO.  Unless the cruise lines can show a safety benefit in the e-muster, the MSC isn't really going to consider their pleas.

 

And, yes, as I've noted many times, in the new e-muster drill, the crew lose all realistic training of a passenger muster (thousands of pax moving at once, recalcitrant pax), and the passengers themselves lose the training of getting to their muster station at the same time as thousands of others, rather than a serene saunter to the station at a time of their choosing.  It is certainly not a cheaper alternative.

I'm quoting this mostly as a record to see what was said before the IMO makes their move.  We'll see what they do, when they decide to do it.

[cdn_tbird]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

And, yes, as I've noted many times, in the new e-muster drill, the crew lose all realistic training of a passenger muster (thousands of pax moving at once, recalcitrant pax), and the passengers themselves lose the training of getting to their muster station at the same time as thousands of others, rather than a serene saunter to the station at a time of their choosing.  It is certainly not a cheaper alternative.

I've been on numerous cruises pre e-muster where way too many people thought the muster drill was simply another excuse for them to socialize with their friends & family. The self-centered will continue to be such and not give the muster drill the attention it deserves. Whether they're rounded up physically or shamed over the PA system is irrelevant to them. You want compliance, have security grab a couple of the stragglers and publicly disembark them, that will grab the others' attention.

 

I'm a pessimist and believe that if there were ever a real emergency the vast majority of passengers would be running around like chickens with their heads cut off regardless of whether they paid attention to the muster or not. 

[39august]

I just hope we don't have to go back to that dreadful "spy" film for muster.  

[Georgia_Peaches]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

We have even been delayed due to non-compliance of some irresponsible passengers while they trace them down.

They should impose a $25 fine for non-compliance within the designated window of time on the offending passengers' shipboard accounts.  Could be a great revenue generator and a way to bring back a carving station at dinner in the OVC...

[cdn_tbird]

43 minutes ago, 39august said:

I just hope we don't have to go back to that dreadful "spy" film for muster.  

It wasn't that bad.... You just needed to be 6 drinks in to be able to see the comical genius behind it. 🤪🤪🤪🤪

[MamaFej]

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

My experience in Muster 2.0 at the muster station the agent gives you a quick individual 30 second review and shows how to put on life jacket.

 

While I don't know for sure but I think what may have induced lines to bring back traditional drill is customers not following instructions.    Usually starting 2 hours plus you keep hearing announcements for passengers to complete the simple drill.  We have even been delayed due to non-compliance of some irresponsible passengers while they trace them down.

This is why I have suggested not activating passenger accounts for purchasing drinks, making reservations, etc. until after they have checked into the muster station.

 

Alternatively, instead of placing sea passes at the door to the cabin, distribute them in the muster station. Then people have no choice but to go there before they can drop off their bags or use their cabin at all. 

 

It would not be difficult to solve this problem.

 

---------

 

On another note, we recently sailed again with a friend. She commented on the video she'd watched on her phone, "That was cool. I learned a few things."

"Really?" I asked, "there isn't any new information."

"Yeah, but I actually paid attention," she replied. Mind you, she has cruised dozens of times. 

 

 

[Silkroad]

For my first muster drill, on Millennium in 2006, we were required to go to our cabins, assume our life jackets, and report to our muster station. Ours was located on a sunny deck. We waited some time for others to come straggling in, some without life jackets, and most whining about what a waste of time this was. Of course, there were some who didn’t turn up at all, so the rest of us waited while they were hunted down. Then we waited while the crew tried repeatedly to get our herd to shut up and listen. 
 

Fast forward to our 2nd cruise, in 2013. For this, we were to report to our muster station without life jackets. There we watched a film augmented by commentary from the crew members who were running the drill. Again, half their battle was getting people to shut up and listen. More recently, we watch a video on the app or our stateroom TV, after which we report to our muster station. Very simple, yes. But some people still can’t or won’t follow directions. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if we returned to a more substantive muster drill. And given the non-compliance and inattention I’ve observed on Celebrity ships, it wouldn’t be a bad idea. Celebrity isn’t running drills to waste our time. We need to know what to do if there is an emergency.

 

 

Edited January 26, 2023 by Silkroad

[39august]

Need the card to get into the cabin to see the film. We don't do smart phones. However, either denying card use if not checked in or fining for non-compliance sound good to me.