Emergency / Lifeboat / Muster station drill

[PaperSniper4]

Are they electronic, as in watch on the cabin TV or on your phone or tablet? Or is Princess back to the muster in person muster drill, such as in the theater, etc? It's been years for us on a Princess ship. We've sailed on NCL and Celebrity in 2022 and they were doing electronic drills then. Well, that is except on Celeb we had to drop by the actual muster location just to have our cards scanned. Quick, easy and convenient....no comment other than that.😉

 

 Doug

[jeromep]

You watch the video on your phone or device, or the cabin TV, then check in with your Medallion at the location of your muster station.  No sitting around in a venue for a presentation.

[PacnGoNow]

7 minutes ago, jeromep said:

You watch the video on your phone or device, or the cabin TV, then check in with your Medallion at the location of your muster station.  No sitting around in a venue for a presentation.

We checked in first at our muster station. Scanned our medallion. (1min)  Then, watched the video in our TV, after lunch.

 

Easy peasy!

[PaperSniper4]

The above two posts sound great, and just  like Celebrity did. Sure beats what we've done in the past, maybe 15 years ago. Often we'd muster on the promenade deck then wait\ for everyone else to check in. Often it was hot and humid, seemed to take forever just to find out where the muster station was and "learn" how to put on a life jacket. I'm a staunch believer in safety after 25+ years in aviation, but come on.😎 Like we used to say, the guy responsible for your safety is the one looking at you in the mirror.

 

Doug

[cr8tiv1]

45 minutes ago, PaperSniper4 said:

The above two posts sound great, and just  like Celebrity did. Sure beats what we've done in the past, maybe 15 years ago. Often we'd muster on the promenade deck then wait\ for everyone else to check in. Often it was hot and humid, seemed to take forever just to find out where the muster station was and "learn" how to put on a life jacket. I'm a staunch believer in safety after 25+ years in aviation, but come on.😎 Like we used to say, the guy responsible for your safety is the one looking at you in the mirror.

 

Doug

 

Princess has never gathered on the Promenade deck.  HAL, yes. Freezing cold and nowhere to sit except on the deck.  I do miss watching those that don't listen to instructions:  

 

Wait until after the demonstration to try on jacket.

Don't blow the whistle.

Pick up the straps so not to trip over them.

 

Embarkation entertainment.

[PaperSniper4]

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Princess has never gathered on the Promenade deck.  HAL, yes. Freezing cold and nowhere to sit except on the deck.  I do miss watching those that don't listen to instructions:  

 

Wait until after the demonstration to try on jacket.

Don't blow the whistle.

Pick up the straps so not to trip over them.

 

Embarkation entertainment.

Ha, I do remember watching those as you  did, it was indeed entertaining! I think the cruises I remember on the promenade were on NCL and Carnival maybe, several years ago. They all run together after awhile.

 

 Doug

[travelin.sisters]

2 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Princess has never gathered on the Promenade deck.  HAL, yes. Freezing cold and nowhere to sit except on the deck.  I do miss watching those that don't listen to instructions:  

 

Wait until after the demonstration to try on jacket.

Don't blow the whistle.

Pick up the straps so not to trip over them.

 

Embarkation entertainment.

I know everyone says Princess never did this (& I believe they never did it regularly), but apparently my sissy & I were uniquely unlucky because we were on the Ruby for my first Princess cruise in 2015 for a California costal & they actually make us line up outside on the deck while they did the talk, demonstrated & even made us practice putting on the life vest!!! I even have a photo to prove it...it was miserable!!!

 

I was glad when the next cruise was inside & even more pleased with the new system

[Mike45LC]

2 hours ago, travelin.sisters said:

I know everyone says Princess never did this (& I believe they never did it regularly), but apparently my sissy & I were uniquely unlucky because we were on the Ruby for my first Princess cruise in 2015 for a California costal & they actually make us line up outside on the deck while they did the talk, demonstrated & even made us practice putting on the life vest!!! I even have a photo to prove it...it was miserable!!!

 

I was glad when the next cruise was inside & even more pleased with the new system

I've been cruising Princess since 1995, and the one invariable rule of Princess is that consistency is NOT the rule.  However, in -- let me do the math -- 28 years, I have never had the safety lecture or Muster outdoors.  

 

I love the current procedure -- watch the lecture on your phone, iPad or cabin TV (while unpacking or enjoying a beverage?), and then show up and swipe your Medallion at your Muster station - without bringing your life vest!  So painless!

[avonlady6390]

I've been on carnival for muster on deck everyone pushed close together outside very hot and waiting what seemed like forever because we had to wait until everyone who was supposed to be at that station showed up.

[Dancer Bob]

I recently was on Sky Princess. I watched the video and checked in at the muster station as per instructions. EVERY PERSON ahead of me was at the wrong station! Most did not know either their cabin number or their station letter! I can only imagine what an utter disaster a real muster would be.

[caribill]

1 hour ago, Dancer Bob said:

I recently was on Sky Princess. I watched the video and checked in at the muster station as per instructions. EVERY PERSON ahead of me was at the wrong station! Most did not know either their cabin number or their station letter! I can only imagine what an utter disaster a real muster would be.

 

That is the reason you need to check in at the muster station either before of after watching the video.

 

This way you know (at least for a minute) where your muster station is located.

 

By the way, one of the benefits of bringing your life jacket with you when you went to the muster station previously was it it is coded with which muster station you are assigned to and staff could direct you to the proper location even if you did not know your cabin number.

[caribill]

4 hours ago, avonlady6390 said:

I've been on carnival for muster on deck everyone pushed close together outside very hot and waiting what seemed like forever because we had to wait until everyone who was supposed to be at that station showed up.

 

My experience on Carnival was slightly different.

 

I've been on carnival for muster on deck everyone pushed close together outside very cold and waiting what seemed like forever because we had to wait until everyone who was supposed to be at that station showed up.

[Honolulu Blue]

13 hours ago, PaperSniper4 said:

Are they electronic, as in watch on the cabin TV or on your phone or tablet? Or is Princess back to the muster in person muster drill, such as in the theater, etc? It's been years for us on a Princess ship. We've sailed on NCL and Celebrity in 2022 and they were doing electronic drills then. Well, that is except on Celeb we had to drop by the actual muster location just to have our cards scanned. Quick, easy and convenient....no comment other than that.😉

You've gotten your answer about how Princess does things these days, but I need to note that NCL has gone back to the older way of doing muster drills fleetwide.

[PaperSniper4]

2 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

You've gotten your answer about how Princess does things these days, but I need to note that NCL has gone back to the older way of doing muster drills fleetwide.

Yeah, I saw that. Not good news since NCL is one of the few cruise lines where we can drive to their ship (NOLA). The other bad news about NCL is their prices - CRAZY high for 2024!😪

 

 Doug

[wowzz]

36 minutes ago, PaperSniper4 said:

CRAZY high for 2024

No different to Princess then !

[RNRcruisers]

Our first cruise on RCL the muster was out on the promenade deck and they took pictures! Haha we actually bought ours.

[Roberto256]

18 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Don't blow the whistle.

Hep-B can live outside the body for 7 days.   No one know where the whistle has been.   Don't blow it!

 

Now, I will probably get a remedial grammar lesson...

 

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, Dancer Bob said:

I recently was on Sky Princess. I watched the video and checked in at the muster station as per instructions. EVERY PERSON ahead of me was at the wrong station! Most did not know either their cabin number or their station letter! I can only imagine what an utter disaster a real muster would be.

I find it amazing that there are people who find it funny that "I can only imagine what an utter disaster a real muster would be.".

[memoak]

Have cruised Princess since 1992 and have never mustered outside. On 4 cruises in 2022 just watched the video and checked in at muster station. You can find your muster station on the inside of your cabin door 

[txjim09]

The pros who share their thoughts on these boards (and many thanks for that!) lament the loss of formal muster drills as they help train the crew as much as they do the passengers.  I can certainly see how this is a benefit but, to me, the dislike of the old muster drill system was the fact that the wait time for the last few passengers was problematic. 

 

I remember a Royal Caribbean trip out of San Juan, shoulder-to-shoulder on deck by our assigned lifeboat for 45 minutes in the heat and humidity.  It would have been tolerable if the no-shows were delt with differently and the wait time reduced.  Frankly, my attention span was greatly dismissed by the time they got started and they could have been reciting poetry for all I cared.  Yes, I know, it's important and I should be paying attention, but I'm human and if a system does not take this into account then it's a flawed system.

 

The Princess system of meeting in a designated inside area was more tolerable and likely more realistic as, per the pros on this board, a muster is more likely needed to account for passengers than getting ready to board lifeboats.  It still tested the attention span, however, after the 20th announcement looking for the final passengers.

 

Reverting back to the former system won't cause me to change any plans but, if it results in long waits in the hot sun, it won't properly accomplish it's objective.

Edited February 23, 2023 by txjim09