Several hours ago, I tried to post about the emergency drill -
Muster - that is required by international maritime law to be conducted within 24 hours of departure. My post was lost when WS was taking
forevah to load :maddening: Anyhoo, I'll try again and hope this time it will work.
I've read/heard conflicting reports on whether or not passengers who embarked the ship before January 13 (apparently some folks boarded on January 9) had already been through the "emergency exercise". Some American passengers who embarked at Civitavechhia (Rome) were interviewed on CNN this afternoon said that their muster was scheduled for Saturday at 5:00 - obviously too late for the Friday evening accident. They spoke to passengers who had been on the ship for a few days and had yet to perform the required safety drill
As I said earlier, this is confusing and contrary to original reports that some passengers had, indeed, gone through emergency procedures on the vessel.
For those of you who haven't cruised, I want to explain a little bit about the
Muster drill as it is often called. It is a requirement of all passenger vessels, and even though international law allows 24 hours leeway for this emergency exercise, DH and I have never sailed on a ship that did not
Muster prior to leaving port. Similar to the "fire drills" the we all experienced in elementary through high school,
Muster is a simulated situation in that passengers know ahead of time when it will take place and what is required of them. (Students might not know about an impending fire drill, but staff and teachers usually get a heads up
)
When the emergency signal sounds, you go to your stateroom, retrieve your lifevest, and report to your
Muster station that is based on the general location of your cabin. Once assembled, a crew member will take attendance or swipe your cruise card, make sure that you know how to don your life jacket, how to board the lifeboats, and how to evacuate directly into the water if necessary. Each cruise line has slight variations on where passengers gather for this emergency exercise (indoors or out on deck), but the goal is the same: To inform everyone onboard what to do in the event of an emergency that might require departure from the vessel.
Muster lasts about 20-30 minutes.
Unfortunately, many passengers don't take the emergency drill seriously. Some folks have already tossed back a few cocktails or show up at
Muster with drink in hand. They don't pay attention to the safety instructions and tend to have the attitude that "nothing bad will happen" because they are on the ship to have a good time and enjoy their vacation. Since
Muster is usually conducted within 45 minutes to an hour of scheduled sailaway, many passengers are eager to return their lifevests to their cabins and find the perfect spot for sailaway.
If you're not completely bored with my post and are still reading, I hope this is helpful to those who haven't been on a ship
