Hiding in Your Cabin During Lifeboat Drill

[vjmatty]

We always go, too. BUT we were on a B2B in January. Same cabin and we had a very long walking excursion to Montserrat near Barcelona on turn-around day. We made it back to the ship just as they were announcing the lifeboat drill was to take place. I was so beat and badly needed a shower and a little nap...SO we played hooky from a drill for the first time ever. After all we had just done the drill 9 days before and knew exactly where our station was, etc. I am not bragging, but there were extenuating circumstances that day. (No one came looking for us or announced our names.)

 

No one came looking because you don't have to do the muster drill a second time on a B2B.

[emjsea]

We try to think of the drill as a fun ritual part of the cruising experience. We have even met people during the muster that we ran into later and became friends with, seeing them on other cruises. Try to look at it as a fun experience and it will be. Go into looking for something to complain about (which, unfortunately, so many cruisers do) and you'll find it. It's only 20 or 30 minutes. Take photos. Wear a silly costume. Get over your sense of self importance and delicacy and all will be well.

[kf657]

Along with our matching Cruise T-Shirts and door decor...Going to the Muster Drill, it is all part of the cruise experience.

 

I think the short amount of time is not much to ask, and worth your life if you have an emergency!

 

 

[nparmelee]

The muster drill for us is the official start of the cruise. We go, we grumble with others while waiting about why some people just can't get there and make the rest of us wait and we listen to what they tell us, if we traipse out to lifeboats we dutifully go, then when we're released, we head to the bar and have our official-cruise-has-started-adult-beverage. On some of our cruises they have waited for everyone to be gathered on others they have not. Those that enter very late always seem to get booed when they make you wait for everyone.

[DireMongoose]

We always go, but we're never the first ones there. On our last cruise, the drill was scheduled to begin at 4:30. They started announcing at 4 pm that we should all proceed to our cabin to get our life jackets.

 

Lots of people left the pool area at that time but those who had been on cruises before knew to wait until about 4:20 or so. So we enjoyed an extra 20 minutes of pool time, then proceeded to our cabins, got our life preservers, and then headed to the muster drill.

 

You never want to be the first ones there, because you will get pushed to the back of the muster lines. It can get hot there there and crowded. And if you're at the back of the line, then you're the last out when it's over. So show up right at the designated time (or a minute or two early) and you're much better off then those who showed up 25 minutes early.

 

(Not really sure why you'd need to show up 25 minutes early. Why they start making the announcements at 4 pm for a 4:30 pm drill is beyond me.)

 

We do things the same way. We're still never nearly the last to arrive. We catch all of the pertinent safety information and generally spend a lot less time crowded next to the lifeboat.

[Capt_BJ]

We always go, too. BUT we were on a B2B in January. Same cabin and we had a very long walking excursion to Montserrat near Barcelona on turn-around day. We made it back to the ship just as they were announcing the lifeboat drill was to take place. I was so beat and badly needed a shower and a little nap...SO we played hooky from a drill for the first time ever. After all we had just done the drill 9 days before and knew exactly where our station was, etc. I am not bragging, but there were extenuating circumstances that day. (No one came looking for us or announced our names.)

 

As I recall the SOLAS requirement is for such a drill once every SEVEN days in a sliding window therefore you still broke the rules (that is: if you were on a 6 month 'round the world cruise ther should be a drill ONCE A WEEK ..... yep....really). On a 9 - 10 - 12 day cruise they can get away with doing one because the target would not hit 'til 14 days.....but technically once you were on for 14 days the ship was in violation :rolleyes: ... as I recall the rules.

 

I can tell A LOT about a cruise line by how they run the drill. Some I will never sail .... some I go back to regularly.

[Gathina]

Right, but..in a real life situation you have to put up with whatever happens and you may not be able to control what happens around you so you have to deal with it sooner or later.

 

Like the teacher posted..kids with disabiltiies and stuff have to go through fire drills, so why should adults have to be immune from it.

 

This is a toughie for me. My DH has asthma, but he's never had a severe attack during something like the muster drill. OTOH, if he did, we'd probably request special treatment (such as leaving early if necessary). OTOH again, his asthma is not so severe that he has frequent life-threatening attacks, so we don't have much experience with that extreme situation. Aside from always bringing his inhaler, just in case, we've never thought about it.

 

We both now have physical disabilities that make standing there for 30 or 40 minutes very difficult. As well, I sometimes have trouble with temperature regulation and it's really, really unfun to pass out from being crammed in with other pax on a hot deck. That's only happened once; uber embarrassing. From then on, we've made sure to check out where we muster in advance and I bring my cane, even though I usually only need it when my symptoms are severe or if I'm over-tired. If it's on deck and standing in the sun, we get there early and tell the crew members of our medical issues. They have allowed us to either stand to the side and in the shade or to leave early if absolutely necessary. We have never asked to skip it entirely. When our muster drill stations are inside where we can sit down, no problem.

 

I think that special situations need to be addressed individually. If julesbeara has made arrangements with the cruise line and if she and her DH make sure to find their muster station and check their life vests and if the cruise safety officers believe that she and her DH have satisfied the requirements, then we should leave it alone. Not everyone is able to do everything the same way as the "perfectly healthy" folks do.

 

beachchick

[vjmatty]

Right, but..in a real life situation you have to put up with whatever happens and you may not be able to control what happens around you so you have to deal with it sooner or later.

 

Like the teacher posted..kids with disabiltiies and stuff have to go through fire drills, so why should adults have to be immune from it.

 

Because real emergency situations take precedent over possible ones.... meaning, it is not wise to create an actual emergency in the name of preparing for a possible one. That's common sense.

[Alamogirl]

So it takes 20-30 minutes out of your cruise, BIG DEAL!!:eek: Those that don't participate would be the 1st to complain in a real emergency when they didn't know what to do. Better to be safe then sorry;)

[wraithe]

Amazingly enough, the Navy never seemed to catch on to the "I've done this before" thing. Never mind how many times we ran fire drills, flooding drills, reactor scrams, weapons drills, we just got up and did it again the next time, because you never get good enough. So, all of you who think that because you've flown 3 or 4 times, or cruised 5 times and "know it all" should read a book called "The Survivor's Club". You might learn that you really don't have any idea what you're talking about.

[tentimecruiser]

I've been on many cruises and always go to the lifeboat drills because a)I amost always follow the rules and b)you never know when it might be information you need.

 

However, I do not go at the first call because I have very bad knees and have to take the stairs very slowly (especially going down) which is difficult when there are crowds pushing. I am also claustrophobic and nearly fainted on my first cruise when I got pushed and crowded into the back of a large group of people.

 

Ideally I find a quiet place on the same deck as the drill and arrive there before the first call and wait until the crowds thin out a little before making my way to my muster station. I'm never one of the very last ones.....just not one of the first to arrive.

 

I've been on RC, Carnival, Costa and HAL and all have handled the drill a little differently but the basics are the same. We'll be sailing on Celebrity this summer. It seems to me that this exercise is most difficult for parents with small children that don't want to stand still in the same place for long.

[fendbass]

I hate muster drills; I hate standing out in the hot sun while people come wandering up. I hate trying to make it down the stairs in the life jacket, and, then, fighting the crowds back up.

 

But, I do it, because it is necessary.

 

My 83 year-old parents went to the muster drill on Granduer. They can barely walk, but they went, because it is necessary (thank heaven for the station supervisor, who let them sit during the drill).

 

It is not that big of a deal, but, this whole thread got me wondering...

 

Does anyone else see a possible correlation between these self-absorbed types and those who hog chairs on the deck, drink to excess, cut the line at the buffet, sneak booze onto the ship and, my personal favorite, get into fist fights while trying to save an entire row of seats in the theater?

 

It is this whole "Me First" mentality; of course, it is also part of the endless human comedy that makes life so entertaining, because they don't have a clue

[vjmatty]

It is this whole "Me First" mentality;

 

Except at muster drill, where the goal apparently is "me last". I don't have a problem with this if it doesn't hold up the drill, because obviously somebody has to be the last one there. ;)

[Moeve]

Let me tell you all what happened on the Quest in Osaka in March...... 2:15 in the morning the alarm (NOT general alarm for passengers 7 short 1 long) but the one with the Bravo Bravo attachment for the crew. (Fire alarm crew) I'll admit I have done this a few times so my first reaction was to grab for my clothes only to suddenly realize heck this doesn't apply to you - go back to sleep they'll wake you if need be.

 

In the mean time the fire in the bingo machine stored in the lockers in front of the Lounge/theater on deck 5 had been put out by the sprinkler system leaving lots of smoke and a huge mess to be cleaned up......

 

Even though the fire doors had been automatically close we could still smell some smoke up on deck 7 so I took a look outside on our balcony an low and behold there were a couple of folks standing on the pier IN lifejackets no less!!!!! The commotion was enough for the Capt. to wake up the ship again just before 3 in the morning to tell everyone what had happened so that folks could stop worrying and go back to sleep.

 

Now we were lucky and still at the pier but imagine this had happened at sea? Had these folks listened then they would have know that the alarm for them had not been sounded. Ok I do understand that these inside and outside cabins without balconies did get more smoke but LIFEJACKETS ON THE PIER?!?! That was really funny.

[HarpHarp]

I can't believe I'm reading this thread. As an ex-flight attendant, I am horrified that people would not attend a safety drill, even if they have travelled on the ship before. It definitely would be more orderly if there was an accident. People know where to go and what to do. Passengers owe it to the crew to go to the drill and listen.

 

Amen, and as a librarian, I'm going to suggest anyone thinking of skipping the drill read "The Survivors Club", and those who do skip it be required to stay in their cabin and read it until they finish!:D

[Arwenmark]

Presumably those that wish to be last to arrive or don't arrive at all for the muster drill expect to be the FIRST to arrive and be accomodated in life boats should there be an actual emergency.

Even though they may in fact be first at someone else's station since they have no clue where they actually should be.

 

Not cruise related but I had to make my way out of a hotel at 4 a.m. this last week by myself, without assitance from the hotel, even though I was in a handicapped accessible room and a wheel chair, [which fortunately I can get out of] after a false fire alarm in the hotel.

 

It was not a pretty site trying to make it down the stairs HC rooms are on the second floor???

and after it was called off I had to sit in the lobby for 45 min after everyone else had gone back to bed, till they turned the elevators back on because there was NO WAY I could make it back UP those stairs.

[vjmatty]

Presumably those that wish to be last to arrive or don't arrive at all for the muster drill expect to be the FIRST to arrive and be accomodated in life boats should there be an actual emergency.

 

First of all, you are lumping two different people into the same category.... those who are among the last are not the same as who don't arrive at all. As I said above, somebody has to be last, and if you are one of the last to board the ship as we were on our most recent cruise then you will likely have no choice but to be arriving a few minutes before the drill starts. The key phrase being before the drill starts. If muster starts at 4pm and I am there at 3:55, then I am on time. I think you are confusing "last" with "late".... they are two different things. Someone who is last might be late, and one who is late might be last.... but one can be last without being late, or even late without being last ;)

 

Secondly, I don't care if I am accommodated first, last or in random order onto the lifeboat... as long as my big ole' butt gets what the Coast Guard says is an adequate length of bench I will consider myself satisfied.

[Moeve]

Vjmatty believe me when the time comes it won't bother you where in that damm boat you are just as long as you are IN it! Getting into one of those life rafts they throw over the side is not something I would suggest anyone have to try.

[vjmatty]

Vjmatty believe me when the time comes it won't bother you where in that damm boat you are just as long as you are IN it! Getting into one of those life rafts they throw over the side is not something I would suggest anyone have to try.

 

Well, if it is anything like that Zodiac we took along the NaPali coast, I have some experience :p

 

My youngest stepson saw those kegs that they keep the rafts in and asked "why does a cruise ship need those explosives?" I didn't get it at first and my DH said "Those aren't depth charges!" Damn that U-571 movie! :rolleyes:

[Arwenmark]

Well, if it is anything like that Zodiac we took along the NaPali coast, I have some experience :p

 

My youngest stepson saw those kegs that they keep the rafts in and asked "why does a cruise ship need those explosives?" I didn't get it at first and my DH said "Those aren't depth charges!" Damn that U-571 movie! :rolleyes:

 

Those are to fight off the pirates! LOL

[vjmatty]

Those are to fight off the pirates! LOL

 

Good answer! Wish I'd thought of that..... :o

[ldubs]

Amen, and as a librarian, I'm going to suggest anyone thinking of skipping the drill read "The Survivors Club", and those who do skip it be required to stay in their cabin and read it until they finish!:D

 

 

Yes, yes, yes. Please go to the life boat drill. Make sure your spouse and children know what to do without you there to guide them. If you don't go, you not only put yourself at risk, but others around you because you will be less prepared should there be a real emergency.

[Sailingpeace]

First things first : lets all hope and think positive : We will never never never need to use what we learn on the drill...

 

but.. if something happens, and you need to turn to the crew to help you, to help you and the ones you love save your and their life, what would you be willing to do to help them then ... suddenly wearing a vest and getting together for a few minutes with fellow passengers seems like nothing!

 

I see it as helping those who may risk their life to help me. Maybe a way to say " thank you , we know you are there for us , we appreciate and we will do our share".

[cruzincurt]

I have always practiced arriving "late" to the muster drill (never want to be first and squished to the back of the pack).

Last time, our cabin steward came in and "reminded" us of the muster drill. I told her we were heading there very shortly.

A few minutes later, she insisted that we leave the cabin for the muster drill.

We were still among the last to arrive, which put us at the front of the line, and the first ones out!

(now I've blown my secret!)

Enjoy, folks!

:)

Thanks for keeping the rest of us waiting for you.:rolleyes:

[Nebr.cruiser]

We always go to the lifeboat drills, even though they're kind of a yawn after quite a few cruises. The hardest ones are when you have to line up on the deck; I've gotten quite ill standing there in the heat. Meeting in lounges, etc., is easy, but I can't believe that in a real emergency most people are actually going to go sit in, say, the theater, or whereever.

 

On our earlier cruises I don't think much attempt was made to be sure everyone attended. On the last few cruises cabins were checked off, passengers names called and sometimes there were 'make-up' drills.

 

If we're on the open deck I am not going to be the first one to arrive and have to wait wedged into the back row, but we won't be late either.

 

And on a similar note; as usual, on our recent Jewel cruise, after listening to the annoucements before the drill repeated and repeated and repeated to not put on the life jacket until reaching the muster station, what is in the halls? Many, many people wearing their life jackets!