mandatory boat drill/life vest drill?

[val2001]

Some people have said you can skip this and view later in your stateroom TV? Other threads seem to indicate they call out your cabin number and expect to have a participant.

Can anyone clarify how it's done? Can we skip with no problem or do we need to attend?

 

[jkovick]

Everyone must attend-- no exceptions. They call out by cabin #.

 

[The4OfUs]

The things you can skip are along the lines of the debarkment talk the cruise director gives on the last night, those are televised. Skipping or showing up late means that everyone has to wait till they find you and they do take attendance, we had 3 late families in our section that they kept calling for and it made us sit in those FUN life jackets just that much longer.

Those are interesting to walk in, arent they!? *grin* You aren't to take them off till you get to your stateroom from your muster station, and I was laughing at how awkward it felt to try to get down the stairs from the Walt Disney Theater to our deck 2 stateroom!

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

You absolutley must attend. Not sure how Disney handles it, but I've been on cruises where passengers skipped Life Boat Drill and had to participate in another one on the first day at sea!!! Who wants to do that? It is a requirement. It is easy, short painless and really kind of fun if you've never done it before! Take your cameras! Great first time cruisers photo ops in those orange things!!

 

[outahere]

they call out your cabin number and expect to have a participant.

It's not just a particpant from each cabin, it is everyone, from every cabin.

It is a U.S. law that ships sailing from U.S. ports must have a mandatory life boat drill.

If everyone shows up on time, it can be pretty quick. If people are late, others must wait. The life vests are not the most comfortable things in the world, especially if you're standing in the sun !!!

 

[plutojudy]

And the life vest smell from dirty hair. Sorry. Hope they cleaned them while the ship was is dry dock.

 

[DMS_cruisers04]

Have you really smelled that Judy? Ewwww!

 

[plutojudy]

Sorry, to say I have. Last cruise was the worse.

 

[ThreeCircles]

It's worth mentioning that the entire drill, from start to finish, probably takes no more than 30 minutes. Not too much "work" to require of guests!

 

[mom2_fourgirls]

We just got back and I must say the drill was not that bad. We had gathered all of our vests and headed out to our assigned spot on deck 4. You MUST put on the vest (even the crying children must wear it for a moment). They put you in parrallel lines of 5 each and each line stands side by side (shoulder to shoulder). The idea is they have to put 150 people in each of the life boat sections and get them all to fit! so you really get to know your neighbors! It really wasn't that bad since the CM's are so energetic and fun trying to get everyone in a good mood for the duration. They check off every person in a cabin and and every cabin number. If you aren't there, they call out the missing cabin numbers until everyone shows up. It took about 20 minutes (I think) to get everyone checked in and organized. Considering there were 2500+ people on board - I thought it went quick. They do a very quick run through on how to put the vests on and then dismiss everyone in mass. I thought that would be crazy , too but everyone filed out very carefully and respectfullly and it was over and done with.

 

[The4OfUs]

We didn't even have to go outside, our muster station was in the Walt Disney Theater...

 

[NYDisneyMom]

Has anyone had a problem with their kids freaking a little about the life vests/drill?? My son (9) read a Titanic story a few weeks ago (one of the Magic Treehouse series) and every now and then he asks questions -- I've reassured him over and over but I'm afraid he will freak when it's time for the drill.

Guess I should prepare both kids for that beforehand, huh??

 

[The4OfUs]

My son read that too, and is the same age (actually JUST turned 10)...he wasn't bothered. He just didnt' like how restricting that life vest is, it's like having one of those collars on if you get whiplash! *grin*

I made it into a game...I said we were all ORANGE Spongebob Squarepants, and we walked that way back to the cabin. (the jackets are big and square...ok..so I'm a dork... *grin*) They laughed, which was good because they wanted to take them off as soon as it was over, and they give explicit instructions to keep them on until you're back in your stateroom.

 

[NYDisneyMom]

Originally posted by The4OfUs

I made it into a game...I said we were all ORANGE Spongebob Squarepants, and we walked that way back to the cabin. (the jackets are big and square...ok..so I'm a dork... *grin*) They laughed, which was good because they wanted to take them off as soon as it was over, and they give explicit instructions to keep them on until you're back in your stateroom.

Thanks for the Spongebob idea! LOL! Love it..and will use it!
And what's the purpose of wearing the life vests back to your stateroom...and what happens if you don't??

 

[The4OfUs]

I wasnt' sure about that one, actually, and I meant to ask my brother who used to work on a cruise ship! I wondered at the time if it was to stop people from swinging them about, as it's quite crowded getting back to the staterooms, and if one of the metal clips hit someone it could hurt...??

What would they do? No clue, I can't imagine it would be much, but I didn't see anyone NOT do it, actually! Go figure...someone tried smoking on our deck, so they didnt' listen to THAT rule, but they listened to the bit about doing the Spongebob Shuffle!!

 

[KelNottAt]

Before we cruised last year, I started talking to the kids about the life boat drill. I simply told them it was a requirement and good practice, just like their fire drills and tornado drills at school. As soon as I put it in that context, they were completely fine with the whole thing.

Kelley

 

[NYDisneyMom]

Originally posted by KelNottAt
Before we cruised last year, I started talking to the kids about the life boat drill. I simply told them it was a requirement and good practice, just like their fire drills and tornado drills at school. As soon as I put it in that context, they were completely fine with the whole thing.

Kelley

Great, Kelley!! Thanks..I hadn't thought of the fire drill thing either! I feel better now.

 

[Momtoemma]

Just had to add, we were on the fire cruise 2 years ago. WEactually needed to know what to do and where to go, and for the first time in my life I was glad we had been "forced" to go to the life boat drill before. I will NEVER complain again about the drill (we were told we were 5 minutes from having to actually get into the life boats and "launch", do not know how true tit was but after standing on the deck from about 4:30 am until I think 6am, I woas getting to the point I would have been glad for a change in scenery (just kidding)

Go without complaint and be glad if you never need to really use the life vests.
Debbie

 

[Rence]

Our muster station was Animator's Pallet.

At the end of the drill we saw several people take their life vests off instead of wearing them back to the room. Big Mistake!!

The straps and buckles seems to snag on everything, they were getting tangled up in the chairs, and with each other. Chairs were knocked over, folks were getting hit with the buckles as they tried to untangle themselves.

It may sound like it would be easier to remove your life vest before heading back to your stateroom, but certainly not based on what I saw.

When DCL requests that you do something, they have their reasons.

 

[mom2_fourgirls]

I don't know the real answer to the question about why you have to wear them back to your cabin but... as a mom, I know that if you let them take something off (like a coat) before they get to the destination it gets lost somewhere in between. This may be Disney's way of making sure the jackets all get back to the specific staterooms they came from.
Just a guess!!