When does it happen?

QWhat do we have to do?

quote:

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Originally posted by Tom Burke:
What is it?

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http://www.cruisediva.com/safety_onboard.htm

quote:

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Originally posted by Tom Burke:
What is it?

When does it happen?

QWhat do we have to do?

Anyone with experience of same on new MSC ships (Lirica, Armonia, Opera), please post.

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#1 All passengers are required to chase one another around the promenade until exhausted

#2 After the cocktail hour but not after dinner

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Originally posted by Tom Burke:
Seriously - I am a cruise newbie, I am going on a first cruise on a non-english language cruise ship (at least, english isn't the first language on board), and I really, honestly, don't know what this is, or what we'll be supposed to do, or whatever.

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Here a picture wich i take, whene the lifeboat drill was taken place a/b the m.s. Rotterdam prior departure frome here homeport Rotterdam.
As you see that they have lower also some of the lifeboats. At Holland America line everyone have to muster outside on lower promonade deck (in the case of the m.s. Rotterdam)

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Originally posted by tonychurch:
do they call out everybody's name as well that you have to answer to

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The worst one I suffered was on a VERY hot departure from Miami with Carnival, where for some reason, they couldn't locate a particular passenger and insisted on keeping the whole passenger contingent on deck in 95deg sun and heavy humidity for 40 minutes while they sorted it out... It was followed by the most disorganized, stairwell crowding, lifejacket dragging rush to the bars I've ever seen...

The funnest was on the Golden Odyssey where the Captain personally went form station to station greeting passengers, talking individuals and kids up and declaring each boat's group "The BEST I've ever seen on a cruise!" only to follow with the same comment at the next station... The EASIEST was on the Radisson Diamond, where you muster by the pool. We all just sat around on lounges while the waitstaff continued drinkservice (complementary) and the muster leaders called out names & cabins...

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Originally posted by Caronia II:

A REAL pet peeve of mine though is the TIME the muster tends to fall these days. My FAVORITE part of any cruise is the departure from the start port, from the cast off of lines to the clearing of the coast... but in the past 10 years, it seems most lines conduct muster as this is occuring, making it a real challenge and pain in the "r's" to get your jacket back down to the cabin and get back on deck for the remainder of sailout... Anyone else annoyed by this trend?

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I hate this too. The best time for a drill is BEFORE leaving port (remeber e.g. the Vistafjord fire), giving enought time to get back on deck.
This is of course a problem with late departures. Should it be unavoidable to have the drill the first day after departure, there should be proper anoucements and short "films" shown on the TV system, like on planes.
Genreally, I have not yet seen a "perfect" drill. Usually something is missing. What I want is:

a) QE2 - didn't happen until the 2ND DAY of the crossing - and we didn't even go outside (just stayed in one of the galleries)
b) Sagafjord - as we got on in NYC and the cruise began in FLL - I went to the drill w/ the 30 or so people who also got on in NYC (the partner stayed in the North Cape bar w/ a martini)
c) BRB Oceanic - it was 100+ F and we mustered in one of the enclosed promenades (which had the sun shining on it) - UGH - that was aweful...
d) Ecstasy - all the passengers thought it was a big joke - dumb comments, drinks in hand - bitching and complaining - people like that REALLY get under my skin (and the movie TITANIC had just been released - you would think they would put 2 and 2 together and just GET IT )

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Originally posted by Ernst:

I hate this too....What I want is:

- a proper anoucment before the abandon ship signal; including an order to have all passengers wearing their vests to avoid accidents.
- crew at position in the corridors / stair (& checking all cabins !)
- emergency stair, even if in crew are, should be used (sometime they do not want you to do that )
- having the life vest checked by a crew member
(completness etc.)
- checking, wheter everyone is present
- if it is a ship with muster stations inside, the passengers should have to proceed to their life boat. This should be done in an organized manner, e.g. in a line, holding hands etc. (sound ridiculouse, I know)
- lowering of at least one life boat
- a the end of the drill, the passengers should get the advice to leave their vest on, to avoid accidents

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Agreed on ALL counts! Most preferable is a muster prior to departure not during. A crew that is well prepared for the event, seeing as they do them once a week at least, would be nice and a better warning than getting on the PA and between telling you about art auctions and Inch of Gold sales, announcing that you'll have to muster at 4:30!

For one, I recall on Pearl of Scandinavia (all 3 times I cruised on her) the cabin steward came to greet us as we were brought to our cabin and the FIRST priority was to be sure we knew where our vests were, how to store them and precisely what time the muster would be... he then also helped get us to muster by directing us up the emergency stairs that usually would be used by crew, but was the fastest way to stations for all passengers in his section. All along the way there were crew directing passengers and keeping things friendly, safe and efficient. Once the muster was over, instead of ducking to the neither regions of the ship as is common these days, the same crew were there again to help passengers get back to their cabins, all BEFORE the ship sailed, giving almost a full 30 minutes of time to get yourself organized and out on deck... Ah the "good old days"!

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Originally posted by Jekyll:
...Ecstasy - all the passengers thought it was a big joke - dumb comments, drinks in hand - bitching and complaining - people like that REALLY get under my skin

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I have experienced this same attitude on most of my Carnival cruises. Suprisingly the three day trips had better attitudes all around than the 7 day durations... The crew tries, but the clientele trends toward the demographic that gets wasted the moment they step aboard... I've still enjoyed my cruises, but as cruising becomes more popular and ships larger and more difficult to manage the incidence of rowdiness and a general lack of caring and coopreation during the only truely serious business, increases...

Ah well... I'm not planning on another CCL cruise for quite some time... Next is Celebrity!

[ 03-28-2005: Message edited by: Caronia II ]