Lifeboat Drill.

"Jr" wrote in message
...



I am sure that these "muster drills" as Princess calls them are a
requirement of some maritime organization.
My question is this - If the ship is taking on water do you really think
the passengers in your muster section will calmly and quitely wait around
in the lounge for instructions? LOL


The experience of most when actual emergencies occur is that the crew does a
good job of taking care of floks. The biggest gripes come from the
uncontrollable such as when a fire aboard cuts off power for a while and ac
and lighting are effected leaving people on deck for long periods of time.

On 6/14/2009 9:23 AM Tudor Jones while holding "Agent 99", exclaimed:
As far as I know at the beginning of every cruise passengers must present
themselves at their lifeboat stations wearing their life jackets. This is
a good idea. At least one knows for sure where the lifeboat station is.
Who needs to go wandering around a sinking ship in the middle of the night
looking for Lifeboat #13?

The business of standing around in the hot sun, or being squeezed with 500
others into a ships lounge, to wait around for twenty minutes or half an
hour for no very good reason is not a very good idea IMO.

On three Princess cruises I have been on, we have been crowded into a
lounge. Better than standing in the sun. Here we were shown how to don a
life jacket properly.

On the last cruise, after the lifeboat drill had been announced, we
arrived early at the lounge. We picked a couple of comfortable chairs
near the door. At once we were told that we had to move to the back of
the room so that the other 500 or so passengers could squeeze in.

It occurred to me that if we were in an emergency situation, water was
coming in, and the ship was slowly sinking, I would not care to be
directed to the back of the room where I would be the last to leave.

In fact, I do not think that any sane person would put himself or herself
in such a position. There could well turn out to be a major confusion if
such a policy was to be enforced. That is the policy of first in, last out.

Instead of standing around in the hot sun, or sitting in a crowded lounge
wondering how long it would take to get out in a hurry, why not have
everybody show up at their lifeboat station with their life jacket
properly fastened. Report to a ships officer, get your name ticked off on
a list. Then go back to the cabin, get rid of the lifejacket, and start
the cruise in earnest. No unnecessary standing or sitting around.

Sounds like a good idea? Not really. How would the captain reach those
passengers who did not show up and who probably do not know where their
lifeboat station is or how to put on a life jacket?

Tudor Jones.

When I've sailed on HAL ships, the instructions for proper way to don a
life jacket are A) depicted in a framed document on the door where they
are kept. On the back of every cabin door, is directions to the
assigned lifeboat station. I don't recall being made to wait anywhere.
Muster on HAL ships is announced a few minutes before. Everyone is
requested to wait in their cabins for the alarm to sound. Staff and
crew are on hand to direct you to the correct lifeboat station.

For those with a "been there done that" attitude, there is a scientific
fact that those who read the little pamphlet in airplanes and and
participate during muster are more likely to survive a catastrophic event.

--
________
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Brian M. Kochera
"The poor dog is the firmest friend, the first to welcome the foremost to defend" - Lord Byron
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

On 6/15/2009 9:17 AM Sue Mullen while holding "Agent 99", exclaimed:


number6 wrote:
.
Personally I do think that the people will wait around calmly though
nervously for instructions ... Situations like these where survival is
in the hands of others make people listen to those others ...



If you think back to the fire on the Princess ship, I think it was the
Star, people did listen to instruction and do what they were told to do.

sue
As they did recently during the ditch into the Hudson River. Absolutely
no one panicked.

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"The poor dog is the firmest friend, the first to welcome the foremost to defend" - Lord Byron
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

On 6/15/2009 11:17 AM PeterL while holding "Agent 99", exclaimed:
On Jun 15, 5:12 am, peter wrote:

On 6/15/09 1:56 PM, in article , "Jr"





wrote:


"Patricia Martin Steward" wrote in message
...

On 14 Jun 2009 13:23:10 GMT, (Tudor Jones)
wrote:

The business of standing around in the hot sun, or being squeezed with 500
others into a ships lounge, to wait around for twenty minutes or half an
hour for no very good reason is not a very good idea IMO.

The secret is not to go until the *very last minute*. You're not
crammed in at the back with people on all sides, and you're there the
least amount of time but still get the necessary instruction.

I am sure that these "muster drills" as Princess calls them are a
requirement of some maritime organization.

The announcements typically refer to requirements of "international law",
which presumbably refers to maritime treaties.


My question is this - If the ship is taking on water do you really think
the passengers in your muster section will calmly and quitely wait around in
the lounge for instructions?

What is the scenario you consider more likely? Total panic? Fighting?
Substantial cash payments to crew in charge of assignments?




I expect a band will start playing "Nearer My God To Thee."

If it's Carnival they will play Beyonce singing "Crazy On You". On
Princess "The Love Boat Theme" is there any other possible choice? On
HAL Weird Al singing "My Pacemaker Will Go On". On NCL "The Pepto
Bismol Jingle" they have a recent rep for lousy food. RCCL "Lust For Life".

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"The poor dog is the firmest friend, the first to welcome the foremost to defend" - Lord Byron
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

On 6/15/2009 2:08 PM Joseph Coulter while holding "Agent 99", exclaimed:

"Jr" wrote in message
...



I am sure that these "muster drills" as Princess calls them are a
requirement of some maritime organization.
My question is this - If the ship is taking on water do you really
think the passengers in your muster section will calmly and quitely
wait around in the lounge for instructions? LOL


The experience of most when actual emergencies occur is that the crew
does a good job of taking care of floks. The biggest gripes come from
the uncontrollable such as when a fire aboard cuts off power for a
while and ac and lighting are effected leaving people on deck for long
periods of time.
On an airplane that would be when they serve cocktails and give away the
peanuts you would normally pay for. So maybe the cruise ships should
follow suite. Free Sex On The Beach and Screw Drivers for everyone!
Make that Seltzer and Polident on HAL and baby aspirin with prunes as a
chaser!

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"The poor dog is the firmest friend, the first to welcome the foremost to defend" - Lord Byron
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

In article ,
Brian K wrote:

On 6/15/2009 11:17 AM PeterL while holding "Agent 99", exclaimed:
On Jun 15, 5:12 am, peter wrote:

On 6/15/09 1:56 PM, in article ,
"Jr"





wrote:


"Patricia Martin Steward" wrote in message
...

On 14 Jun 2009 13:23:10 GMT, (Tudor Jones)
wrote:

The business of standing around in the hot sun, or being squeezed with
500
others into a ships lounge, to wait around for twenty minutes or half
an
hour for no very good reason is not a very good idea IMO.

The secret is not to go until the *very last minute*. You're not
crammed in at the back with people on all sides, and you're there the
least amount of time but still get the necessary instruction.

I am sure that these "muster drills" as Princess calls them are a
requirement of some maritime organization.

The announcements typically refer to requirements of "international law",
which presumbably refers to maritime treaties.


My question is this - If the ship is taking on water do you really think
the passengers in your muster section will calmly and quitely wait around
in
the lounge for instructions?

What is the scenario you consider more likely? Total panic? Fighting?
Substantial cash payments to crew in charge of assignments?




I expect a band will start playing "Nearer My God To Thee."

If it's Carnival they will play Beyonce singing "Crazy On You". On
Princess "The Love Boat Theme" is there any other possible choice? On
HAL Weird Al singing "My Pacemaker Will Go On". On NCL "The Pepto
Bismol Jingle" they have a recent rep for lousy food. RCCL "Lust For Life".

I think they would start in with "There's got to be a morning after".

--
"I found what I thought was a REALLY good book,
called _Girl to Grab_. Imagine my surprise when I found
out it was volume 6 of the *Encyclopedia Britanica*!"
-Martin Mull

On Mon, 15 Jun 2009 06:56:21 -0500, "Jr" wrote:


"Patricia Martin Steward" wrote in message
.. .
On 14 Jun 2009 13:23:10 GMT, (Tudor Jones)
wrote:

The business of standing around in the hot sun, or being squeezed with 500
others into a ships lounge, to wait around for twenty minutes or half an
hour for no very good reason is not a very good idea IMO.

The secret is not to go until the *very last minute*. You're not
crammed in at the back with people on all sides, and you're there the
least amount of time but still get the necessary instruction.

--
"My initial thought was, "Who is this Dick Cheeny guy and why should I
give a flying purple goddamn what he thinks?" Do people believe he's
important? Because he sounds like someone who lives on the subway and
wears origami sailor hats made out of Soldier of Fortune magazines."
David Rees, Huffington Post, May 21, 2009

I am sure that these "muster drills" as Princess calls them are a
requirement of some maritime organization.

One on ship, the announcement said that the drill is a requirement of
the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). I
don't know if that's true, but it's at least plausible. There may be
US Coast Guard requirements as well (I have not yet been on a cruise
that doesn't visit a US port).

On Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:12:43 -0400, Brian K
wrote:

For those with a "been there done that" attitude, there is a scientific
fact that those who read the little pamphlet in airplanes and and
participate during muster are more likely to survive a catastrophic event.

Citation, please?

On 6/14/2009 9:45 AM, number6 wrote:
..
Celebrity seemed to have the worst of both worlds ... first the
crowded lounge ... (casino actually last time) ... then out in the
hot sun ... easily twice as long as any other ... phase two seemed to
be part of a crew drill where we were just special effects ...

We missed the drill on our Celebrity Galaxy cruise last year
because we arrived so late (thanks to the awful flight schedule
they gave us). I thought they would catch up with us and make us
do a make-up drill but we never heard from anyone.

For all the bad things we experienced on our NCL America cruise
a couple of years ago, I have to admit that the lifeboat drill
was quite pleasant, located in the dining room.

Bill

On Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:40:11 GMT, Bill wrote:

On 6/14/2009 9:45 AM, number6 wrote:
.
Celebrity seemed to have the worst of both worlds ... first the
crowded lounge ... (casino actually last time) ... then out in the
hot sun ... easily twice as long as any other ... phase two seemed to
be part of a crew drill where we were just special effects ...

We missed the drill on our Celebrity Galaxy cruise last year
because we arrived so late (thanks to the awful flight schedule
they gave us). I thought they would catch up with us and make us
do a make-up drill but we never heard from anyone.

For all the bad things we experienced on our NCL America cruise
a couple of years ago, I have to admit that the lifeboat drill
was quite pleasant, located in the dining room.

Bill

We were on the Norwegian Wind and had the usual lifeboat station/life
jacket drill. Everyone but 2 people showed up. I asked the crewman
(who was actually the trumpet player in the ship's orchestra) what
happens to people who don't show up for the drill. He said they get a
message with where and when the next two drills will be held that day
and that they must attend one of the mandatory drills - if they don't
show up, they are put off at the next port.

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