Thread: Are Cruiselines doing enough at Safety Briefings?

Statistically speaking, you are more likely to have an accident on the way to the cruise terminal than you are likely to be in an accident on your cruise....

I think the cruise liens are doing more harm then good by trying to simplify muster drills. For people who have cruised before, yes its kind of annoying, but for people who have never cruised before, it can be very helpful. Taking passengers into lounges and dining rooms away from the muster stations isn't helping, because in a real emergency you aren't going to report to the aft lounge, you need to get to your muster station. I also think that they need to require passengers to wear the life jackets again. I feel that people learn better when they are actually involved in the muster process instead of just listening to someone telling them how to put a life jacket on. Plus, the old muster drills were an experience. It signaled the beginning of your cruise.

I must agree with you Mikey with most of it. I don't think that you should be wearing your life jacket to the muster drill but you should be putting it on when you get there. There were too many accidents of people falling down stairs (I suspect) which resulted in the change.

Giving the people the lecture in the lounges is a good thing. There were so many times that you simply could not hear the announcer while at the lifeboat. But I do think that people should go to the lifeboats if only to see where the fool things are!

I could recite the presentations by heart. But I STILL need to be there, and I STILL need to be quiet so others can hear it, and so I can be reminded of important points, and learn anything new that has been inserted. And that goes for everyone around me, too. Why is that so hard for some people to understand? It's not rocket science.

Originally Posted by nealberk

I must agree with you Mikey with most of it. I don't think that you should be wearing your life jacket to the muster drill but you should be putting it on when you get there. There were too many accidents of people falling down stairs (I suspect) which resulted in the change.

Giving the people the lecture in the lounges is a good thing. There were so many times that you simply could not hear the announcer while at the lifeboat. But I do think that people should go to the lifeboats if only to see where the fool things are!

Our cruise to Bermuda last week on the Summit is the first one where I attended the drill in a lounge, and NOT at the actual location of the lifeboat. Granted, the lounge setting is one where instructions are better heard, but at some point, people need to see the place to enter the lifeboat. While we were docked in Bermuda, they did run a lifeboat drill for the crew, including lowering the lifeboats. The cruise director made sure to keep announcing that this is a drill for the crew and the crew ONLY.
On the last couple of Carnival cruises, it was no longer mandatory to bring the life vest, making it easier and faster to return to your cabin without bumping into others who are also returning the life vests to the cabin.

Originally Posted by canarymoon

I could recite the presentations by heart. But I STILL need to be there, and I STILL need to be quiet so others can hear it, and so I can be reminded of important points, and learn anything new that has been inserted. And that goes for everyone around me, too. Why is that so hard for some people to understand? It's not rocket science.

The same could be said for airline announcements. I still pay attention, especially if the size and type of plane is different, and if the emergency exit locations are different.

Every time I hear the airline announcements I get a chuckle. "In the case of emergency the emergency air will deploy, place the masks over your mouth and breathe normally" . Breathe normally when the plane is about to crash?

I love what one Southwest flight attendant said regarding putting the mask on kids after you put your on. "If you have two or more children, place your own mask on first, then decide which of your kids you like the best......"

Southwest Air at least tries to make it a little interesting, so that people pay a bit of attention. They still don't.

I've been on 6 Southwest flights in the past few weeks, plus two United and two USAir... the SW safety briefings really are more lighthearted, but still gife out the same info. Yet, people ignore them. At least (for the most part) they aren't partying boisterously, likle some passengers at muster drills ...

Make it simple. Give everyone a test at muster drill. Until they pass it, no bar privileges.