Embarkation Life Boat Drill ?

[Cruisegirl6]

Hello,

 

Its been years since our last Carnival cruise, we went to Royal for a few years now been causing Celebrity since 2018.  My question, on Celebrity there is no more life boat drill, you watch a video on your app and check in your designated area where your card is scanned and its all done.  Does Carnival do this or do they do the old way of actually going to a life boat drill location?

[john91498]

On my last cruise, we went to a demo in the theater. It was over in 2-3 minutes.

[jimbo5544]

Carnival has doing this since covid.  Easy peasey

[deelightfull]

You need to go to a life jacket demo at a specific location, your muster location.  That location will be noted on your card and it's usually the very first thing you do as you board the ship. 

 

All the staff will be on hand to look at your boarding paper work and point you in the correct direction, to your correct muster station.  (You can also look it up ahead of time, when you print up your paperwork at home, Google something like "Carnival Sunshine muster stations" for a map) That very well may be the theater, but it may also be a restaurant or some other gathering place.

 

Once you've shown up there and seen the three minute demo, they'll scan your bar code on your boarding pass and that will tell the system you've done your thing. I don't drink alcohol, but I've heard the system won't let you receive any alcohol until you've checked in at your muster station.  Can't verify that. 

 

Of course your muster station will also be printed on your sign and sail cards and small children will receive bracelets with their muster station for them to wear all cruise. 

[Mike45LC]

I never head over to the muster station until I have left my carry-ins in the cabin (a privileged of priority boarding) and usually eaten lunch.  I think the muster station check-in deadline is 3:00 pm, and I need to break my fast more than doing an early muster check-in. 

[hurricane0226]

I do mine as soon as I get onboard, so I can get my drink on.

[jimbo5544]

13 minutes ago, hurricane0226 said:

I do mine as soon as I get onboard, so I can get my drink on.

I have always said, if they mandate cruisers to do the drill before inbibing, it would get dome a LOT sooner

[kelkel2]

Just last month on the Jubilee, you go to your muster station anytime you’d like before departure. We chose to go right away to get it over with. But once there they demonstrate how to put on a life jacket and since we had kids with us they also went over protocol of how we would meet up with them if they were in the kids club. They put their muster bracelets on the kids and then we were done. Took less than 5 minutes. 

[sparks1093]

10 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

I have always said, if they mandate cruisers to do the drill before inbibing, it would get dome a LOT sooner

The last few times we've boarded the bartender told us we could only order one drink until we'd checked in for muster. So usually it's 1) get a drink, 2) drop off the carry-on/grab a bite to eat, 3) muster, 4) unpack, 5) start looking for places to stow away for the end of the cruise (have not been successful so far). 

[mz-s]

15 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

The last few times we've boarded the bartender told us we could only order one drink until we'd checked in for muster. So usually it's 1) get a drink, 2) drop off the carry-on/grab a bite to eat, 3) muster, 4) unpack, 5) start looking for places to stow away for the end of the cruise (have not been successful so far). 

 

When you figure out step 5, let us know!

[jimbo5544]

56 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

The last few times we've boarded the bartender told us we could only order one drink until we'd checked in for muster. So usually it's 1) get a drink, 2) drop off the carry-on/grab a bite to eat, 3) muster, 4) unpack, 5) start looking for places to stow away for the end of the cruise (have not been successful so far). 

Good info, thanks.  

[Pyrate13]

On our last cruise we went to the muster station, they scanned our cards and said thank you, have a nice cruise. That was it, no lifejacket demo or anything else.

Yes, Carnival.

Edited July 20 by Pyrate13

[Roscoe13]

5 minutes ago, Pyrate13 said:

On our last cruise we went to the muster station, they scanned our cards and said thank you, have a nice cruise. That was it, no lifejacket demo or anything else.

Yes, Carnival.

100% our experience on the Celebration this past January!   

[Pyrate13]

That was the ship in my post too.

[Honolulu Blue]

On 7/19/2024 at 5:24 PM, Cruisegirl6 said:

Its been years since our last Carnival cruise, we went to Royal for a few years now been causing Celebrity since 2018.  My question, on Celebrity there is no more life boat drill, you watch a video on your app and check in your designated area where your card is scanned and its all done.  Does Carnival do this or do they do the old way of actually going to a life boat drill location?

 

Your question has been answered, but I just want to amplify a couple of things.  First of all, there IS a safety video that may or may not be available on the app, but you DON'T have to watch it (though the cabin steward might have it playing on the TV as you enter the cabin).  I recommend watching it anyway; Shaq is a mighty fine actor. 😁  Second, there may be a bit of a wait between entering the muster station and the demonstration.  They wait for a few people to gather before putting on the show.

 

Enjoy your upcoming Carnival cruise!

[carol louise]

On Venezia this year and last we boarded around 1-1:30, dropped off carryons, headed to our muster station (aft dining room). After a few people gathered, the crew member gave the life jacket demonstration and asked us to verify back in our cabin that there were the right number of life jackets there, and that they had a light and a whistle. 
 

l like the idea of going to the real place you’d have to go to in an actual emergency, rather than just watching a video in your cabin. Better chance of remembering where to go.

[notscb]

On 7/19/2024 at 5:49 PM, Mike45LC said:

and I need to break my fast more than doing an early muster check-in. 

I figured this was common knowledge, but please just do your muster check-in first and don't follow this advice. Muster check-in takes <5 minutes.

 

Carnival (and every other cruise line) can't leave the dock until every passenger has done their muster (USCG regulations I believe dictate this). On 2 of 2 cruises I went on last year, they had to close the bars, buffet and restaurants because some folks didn't do the muster check-in which takes all of <5 minutes. At one point they turned off the music on the lido deck as well.

Edited July 21 by notscb

[Honolulu Blue]

On 7/19/2024 at 8:49 PM, Mike45LC said:

I need to break my fast more than doing an early muster check-in. 

 

10 minutes ago, notscb said:

please just do your muster check-in first and don't follow this advice. Muster check-in takes <5 minutes.

 

Carnival (and every other cruise line) can't leave the dock until every passenger has done their muster (USCG regulations I believe dictate this). On 2 of 2 cruises I went on last year, they had to close the bars, buffet and restaurants because some folks didn't do the muster check-in which takes all of <5 minutes. At one point they turned off the music on the lido deck as well.

 

First of all, I'm sorry you had such a bad draw with inconsiderate passengers.  I've had 10 cruises so far this year (not all on Carnival) and didn't have a safety-briefing-caused shutdown with any of them.  Obviously, YMMV.

 

On a related point, the one bad thing about the new way of doing the safety briefing is the amount of nagging the cruise director or whomever does the announcements does to get people to do them.  It doesn't matter when you or I or anyone else does them - there will always be some portion of the group (sometimes identified by quantity) that wait until the last minute to do it and the announcements come again and again and again.  

 

Though I have found they've let up on this a bit on the cruises I've taken so far this year, which may also just be YMMV.

[Mike45LC]

34 minutes ago, notscb said:

I figured this was common knowledge, but please just do your muster check-in first and don't follow this advice. Muster check-in takes <5 minutes..

If Carnival imposes a 3:00 pm muster check in, my checking in at 2:30 is good.  There is no “check in as soon as you board” rule.

 

”Less than five minutes” to do the muster check-in?  Your watch is broken!  Ascertain your muster station, wait for one of the so-called smart elevators jammed up for embarkation, figure out exactly where the mustering is taking place — my last mustering was in the theater, but without specifying port side, or starboard, and without specifying, which of the two floors it was on —. Certainly not less than five minutes. And when I am told the deadline is 3 o’clock, don’t start complaining to me that I didn’t check in before 230. A deadline means something.

[notscb]

2 minutes ago, Mike45LC said:

A deadline means something.

Definition of Deadline: the latest time or date by which something should be completed.

 

You're right, the deadline exists as its the last possible time to do it.

 

It's so easy: You walk onboard, you ask someone at the first door you see where your muster station is and you go there. With your priority embarkation, the ship is less crowded thus making this process even faster.

 

Your argument that it takes too much time is completely invalid when you yourself add on the whole "go to my stateroom and eat lunch first" hour or two.

[DallasGuy75219]

1 hour ago, notscb said:

Carnival (and every other cruise line) can't leave the dock until every passenger has done their muster (USCG regulations I believe dictate this). On 2 of 2 cruises I went on last year, they had to close the bars, buffet and restaurants because some folks didn't do the muster check-in which takes all of <5 minutes. At one point they turned off the music on the lido deck as well.

I don't think you understood what was actually happening.  Carnival shuts down all bar and food service while the CD gives the 5-10 minute safety spiel over the PA system shortly before sailaway.  This happens on every cruise and has nothing to do with people who didn't go to their muster station.  

 

For all the threats they make on the PA system ("We can't leave until all guests have completed their muster check-in"), they're not going to stay docked to hunt for passengers who haven't yet done so.  They'll leave a letter in their cabin to attend an alternate safety briefing and turn off their S&S privileges until they do so.

 

I don't get this obsession with dictating other people do their muster check-in immediately upon boarding.  As they long as they get it done by the deadline, their timeframe for doing so is no one else's business.

[notscb]

2 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

This happens on every cruise and has nothing to do with people who didn't go to their muster station.  

They'll leave a letter in their cabin to attend an alternate safety briefing and turn off their S&S privileges until they do so.

 

I don't get this obsession with dictating other people do their muster check-in immediately upon boarding.

I understand that the safety announcement happens on every cruise and ops are temporarily paused.

 

On the cruises I was on the CD specifically stated, after several threats, that they would be closing down hotel and restaurant operations until folks completed their muster drill and I was very much amused that they followed through with it. The CD also would come back on every few minutes with the number of folks who didn't do it to remind people to do it. Stateroom announcements and everything.

 

I also understand the alternate safety briefing process. It's still regulations that pax complete the drill in some fashion, and the folks who try to skip get the pleasure of an enhanced safety experience (usually in the theater).

 

Ultimately, everyone can do whatever they want. The arguments against doing it right away don't make any sense, IMO.

 

Edited July 21 by notscb

[clairebearinaus]

4 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

”Less than five minutes” to do the muster check-in?  Your watch is broken!  Ascertain your muster station, wait for one of the so-called smart elevators jammed up for embarkation, figure out exactly where the mustering is taking place — my last mustering was in the theater, but without specifying port side, or starboard, and without specifying, which of the two floors it was on —. Certainly not less than five minutes. And when I am told the deadline is 3 o’clock, don’t start complaining to me that I didn’t check in before 230. A deadline means something.

 

That's why I do it as soon as I board.  The first person who greets me once properly inside the ship, I show them my card and ask them to point me in the right direction.  It's usually on the same deck that I boarded onto so no need for elevators.  Definitely over and done with in under 5.  

[sparks1093]

10 hours ago, notscb said:

I understand that the safety announcement happens on every cruise and ops are temporarily paused.

 

On the cruises I was on the CD specifically stated, after several threats, that they would be closing down hotel and restaurant operations until folks completed their muster drill and I was very much amused that they followed through with it. The CD also would come back on every few minutes with the number of folks who didn't do it to remind people to do it. Stateroom announcements and everything.

 

I also understand the alternate safety briefing process. It's still regulations that pax complete the drill in some fashion, and the folks who try to skip get the pleasure of an enhanced safety experience (usually in the theater).

 

Ultimately, everyone can do whatever they want. The arguments against doing it right away don't make any sense, IMO.

 

I do hear what you are saying but "doing it right" means doing it before the deadline. Your way is simply a preference and everyone's preference will be different. 

[john91498]

I'm glad they decided to use this new system. I remember the old days where we had to assemble at our life boat. While waiting in the blazing sun, some of the elderly folks were literally getting heat stroke. There was 1 time when an elderly woman collapsed because of heat stroke. That was very scary...