muster drill

[midnight sushi]

did the new no vest drill go fleet-wide yet?

[BND]

I don't think so. I saw a review yesterday that mentioned having to take their lifevests with them. It was from a cruise that just returned in the last week.

[aloha of the seas]

Granted that most of the experienced cruisers are familiar with how to put a vest on, but there will always be cruisers that either never paid attention or are new to cruising. THese people need to be reminded in case something happens, not just with words, but by doing the process. I enjoy taking my picture from every cruise with my life vest. It is definitely not an inconvience.

[aurelius180]

did the new no vest drill go fleet-wide yet?

 

 

If it hasn't, it will soon. We didn't need them last month.

[yogimax]

I wonder what coast guard regulations are in regard to this?

[jjb415]

I love this idea !! :)

[sidari]

We wore ours on our 15th June Brilliance Sailing and so should everyone else on every cruise, its easy to be blase about not wearing one for the Muster Drill ... even the most cruised people will probably panic if they suddenly need to have to wear one!

 

After all how many of you that have cruised can say for sure that they could find their way out of a smoke filled room or corridor? i know i can having spent 30 years as a Firefighter but you would be suprised how many people cannot even find their way around their own home in the dark ! and that without the added pressure of a ships warning blasting in their ears.

 

For the sake of safety the wearing of Life jackets at Muster Drills must stay, for those who advocate its scrapping i really do hope that you never need to wear one in a panic.

[cruisergrandma]

We had to wear them on the June 14th sailing of the Mariner.

[ksuds]

I thought I heard that the new no life vest rule was going to happen when the Oasis started sailing. Can't wait for it to go in effect. The halls and stairs are such a mess with people and straps dragging.

[English_in_Spain]

We wore ours on our 15th June Brilliance Sailing and so should everyone else on every cruise, its easy to be blase about not wearing one for the Muster Drill ... even the most cruised people will probably panic if they suddenly need to have to wear one!

 

After all how many of you that have cruised can say for sure that they could find their way out of a smoke filled room or corridor? i know i can having spent 30 years as a Firefighter but you would be suprised how many people cannot even find their way around their own home in the dark ! and that without the added pressure of a ships warning blasting in their ears.

 

For the sake of safety the wearing of Life jackets at Muster Drills must stay, for those who advocate its scrapping i really do hope that you never need to wear one in a panic.

 

 

How does wearing the life vest help you find your way in a smoke filled room?

 

Surely, putting on your life vest in your cabin before the muster drill is a false scenario. In case of emergency, you are just as likely to be away from your cabin and then you would have to go to your boat station without life vest.

 

I think it is more important for passengers to concentrate on knowing where their station is, what the emergency procedures are than worrying about trying to walk down a flight of stairs with a life vest on.

 

Yes, DH and I can walk down stairs with a life vest on if we had to in an emergency but I feel I am more likely to have an accident on the stairs during muster drill than if I could see where I was walking.

 

I would like to see a muster drill without life vests worn but I would also like it to be untimed. By that I mean that it can occur anytime between 4pm and 5pm so that everyone is not all rehearsed and waiting at the emergency stations.

They would have to wait for the emergency signal and then go. Obviously crew would know the time but passengers would not. I think this would be a much more realistic and useful muster drill.

[sidari]

E_I_S ..... If a Fire did break out and there was a need to have to leave the ship then lifejackets would be worn just in the same way as if it had been holed!

 

Yes there are careless people who for whatever reason trail straps around on floors and stairs but in an Emergancy that would happen as well!

 

The people who are advocating Muster Drills without lifejackets to me are in the same situation as those who refuse to leave their office desk etc when the fire alarm sounds! regardless of whether there was a fire or not.

[SamFritz]

I think that if we were not required to put them on for the muster drill, I would still put mine on sometime on the first day, just to remind myself of how they go on, and to make sure that it fit OK and was in proper order.

[ksuds]

The people who are advocating Muster Drills without lifejackets to me are in the same situation as those who refuse to leave their office desk etc when the fire alarm sounds! regardless of whether there was a fire or not.

 

FYI.......it is not the passengers advocating the change. The change started with RCI. With the size and passenger compacity of the Oasis, it is no longer feasable to keep the life jackets in the rooms. They made the decision that it would be more beneficial to stock the lifeboats/ muster stations with the life jackets. So because of the Oasis, the change will be implemented through the entire fleet.

[SamFritz]

FYI.......it is not the passengers advocating the change. The change started with RCI. With the size and passenger compacity of the Oasis, it is no longer feasable to keep the life jackets in the rooms. They made the decision that it would be more beneficial to stock the lifeboats/ muster stations with the life jackets. So because of the Oasis, the change will be implemented through the entire fleet.

 

I'd be bummed if I got to the life boat on a sinking ship, only to find out that there wasn't room in the boat for me because of all the life vests in there.:) How is it possible that there's not enough room in a cabin for two or four life vests?:confused:

[BillOh]

It is definitely not an inconvience.

 

Only when the other passengers make it so by taking 20 minutes just to show up and then aren't real cooperative, and its also 90 degrees standing in the sun in Miami.

 

So is this a cost cutting move? I'm irate? Do you have to be Diamond or Diamond Plus to get to wear your life vest?;)

[BillOh]

I'd be bummed if I got to the life boat on a sinking ship, only to find out that there wasn't room in the boat for me because of all the life vests in there.:) How is it possible that there's not enough room in a cabin for two or four life vests?:confused:

 

Perhaps its not a question of room, but the staff have to make sure they all get back in place every time for everyone. Maybe on Oasis they are planning on a higher number of passengers per employee of various functions.

[negc]

FYI.......it is not the passengers advocating the change. The change started with RCI. With the size and passenger compacity of the Oasis, it is no longer feasable to keep the life jackets in the rooms. They made the decision that it would be more beneficial to stock the lifeboats/ muster stations with the life jackets. So because of the Oasis, the change will be implemented through the entire fleet.

Since the size of the rooms on Oasis won't be any smaller than those on the other ships in the fleet, the cost of keeping life jackets in the rooms would seem to be the reasoning behind this decision. Nothing changes on a ship the size and capacity of Oasis, except the number of life jackets required and the cost associated with providing those jackets in the staterooms. The cruise lines have always been required to have sufficient life jackets available at muster stations for all the passengers and crew,so the cost of also having jackets in every stateroom is the more likely factor. Most guests are away from their staterooms considerably longer than they are in them and are advised that if they are not in their stateroom when an emergency occurs, they should report, immediately, to their muster station where they will be provided with a life jacket, the duplication may have been behind their decision. Frankly, I don't think that the minor inconvenience of wearing your life jacket during the muster drill is such that this new system was either necessary or desirable but time will tell whether or not this experiment is a success both for the cruiseline and the passengers. If the Coast Guard concurs that life jacket-less drills meet their safety standards, the practice will likely spread to the other mass market lines as well. Time will tell.:)

[yogimax]

I still wonder what the coast guard regulations are. Anyone know?

[sidari]

negc .... i can understand what you say about people being away from their cabins at certain times and the life jackets scenario..... but would people be happy in the middle of the night having to go to their muster station and waiting in a very long queue to be given a lifejacket? more a fight than a queue... before getting into a lifeboat/Tender .... i know i for one wouldnt be happy with that situation.

 

RCI knew when they came up with the idea of Oasis that they would need to have more of everything due to its size and so should have taken the lifejacket thing into consideration during the planning process, after all the reason so many died on the fateful Titanic was due to cost cutting measures in the number of lifeboats!! and they got around this by claiming that White Star had complied with the UK board of trade regulations on the number required.

[jjb415]

Only when the other passengers make it so by taking 20 minutes just to show up and then aren't real cooperative, and its also 90 degrees standing in the sun in Miami.

 

I am far from being a neat freak, but, when I am standing in the sun wearing a jacket that possibly more than 300 or more people have worn before me, it grosses me out. I completely understand the need for the drill, but, will welcome any way to get out of putting that filthy thing on in the hot sun.

[uksimonusa]

E_I_S ..... If a Fire did break out and there was a need to have to leave the ship then lifejackets would be worn just in the same way as if it had been holed!

 

Yes there are careless people who for whatever reason trail straps around on floors and stairs but in an Emergancy that would happen as well!

 

The people who are advocating Muster Drills without lifejackets to me are in the same situation as those who refuse to leave their office desk etc when the fire alarm sounds! regardless of whether there was a fire or not.

 

Do you wear your life jacket or test the O2 masks on a plane? No, the hostess shows you who you put one on and where the masks will drop from and where the life jackets are stowed. No difference really

[WeBCruisin]

FYI - this topic has been discussed in much length previously when passengers on the Majesty first reported that they were running Muster drills sans life jackets. If I recall correctly the main reason behind this was the extreme heat in Miami and passengers passing out etc.

 

A brief summary of info learned from the previous thread - RCI coordinated all their efforts with the Coast Guard and representative from the Coast Guard were on board to witness the drill the first time it was conducted without the life vests. I don't remember the exact particulars but do know that RCI was very careful to make sure that they remained in compliance with all SOLAS regulations. Please note that I am going from memory - if you want more detailed information it shouldn't be too hard to pull up the original post.

 

I for one do not feel the need to wear the vest during the drill. I agree that trying to manuever the stairs while wearing the vest is hazardous. I do agree that ALL should attend the drill - I get irritated with those who feel the drill should not applly to them and atempt to skip it - holding everyone else up. I fully agree with the poster who commented that we are not required to try on our oxygen masks or our floatation devices on an airplane.

[linedancer]

Some of us have trouble walking down the stairs with the lifevest on. I always carry mine, and yes I make sure the strap is wrapped around it and not dragging. I don't feel I need to put the vest on until I am at the muster station. So I believe if we need to take the vest with us then we all should put them on at the same time. It does get very hot in the sun. And when you are that uncomfortable you don't listen to all the instructions. Now, if we all put them on at the same time we might all be listening.... I also don't want to be listening to other announcement. It should be able the drill and the drill only...

 

Yes you are right thought. If the alarm sounded in the middle of the night I would feel better if I know my lifevest is there with me, especially since I can not swim.:eek:

 

Irene

[jjb415]

FYI - this topic has been discussed in much length previously when passengers on the Majesty first reported that they were running Muster drills sans life jackets. If I recall correctly the main reason behind this was the extreme heat in Miami and passengers passing out etc.

 

A brief summary of info learned from the previous thread - RCI coordinated all their efforts with the Coast Guard and representative from the Coast Guard were on board to witness the drill the first time it was conducted without the life vests. I don't remember the exact particulars but do know that RCI was very careful to make sure that they remained in compliance with all SOLAS regulations. Please note that I am going from memory - if you want more detailed information it shouldn't be too hard to pull up the original post.

 

I for one do not feel the need to wear the vest during the drill. I agree that trying to manuever the stairs while wearing the vest is hazardous. I do agree that ALL should attend the drill - I get irritated with those who feel the drill should not applly to them and atempt to skip it - holding everyone else up. I fully agree with the poster who commented that we are not required to try on our oxygen masks or our floatation devices on an airplane.

 

Thanks for the information WeBCruisin, this is the first time that I've heard about not being requitered to wear jackets and I appreciate your passing along the details.

[SamFritz]

So does this mean that there will not be life jackets in the rooms on these new ships? That's more than a little scary to me. Sounds like something someone could regret down the road.