Bright star announcement in room

[Jennifer777]

Why not?

That's like telling police and medical responders along with fire to be quite and not use sirens or heck even bright lights because, well you know. People might be asleep.

JW

A few of the reasons I can think of where announcing ship-wide like that could be problematic are;
1. Gawkers - in an emergency the medical team needs space and the ability to be mobile quickly. This can be impeded by lots of gawkers going to see what's going on when the location of the emergency is announced to all. The day we had one announced on our floor we had more passenger traffic that hour than any other day on the cruise.
2. The potential of causing panic. For all those passengers getting a bright star alarm in their staterooms in the middle of the night who don't know what it means, especially if it's coupled with crews racing to that location past your door, it could cause some to panic thinking there's a problem with the ship (fire, taking on water, etc). A panicked environment has the potential to turn into a dangerous one very quickly.
3. Privacy for the victim and his/her family. I'm sure having people watching like spectators at a sports event while your loved one is on the floor receiving CPR is a terrible feeling. Not to mention, if you're exhibiting early signs of heart failure, knowing they're are going to make a ship-wide announcement like that could deter you from seeking medical help in the early stages.

Obviously, DCL has considered all these and has weighed their options and determined that it's worth any of the potential negative ramifications to possibly save a life, and I agree with their conclusion. I just wanted to share some additional thoughts on "why not" since there seems to be a misconception with many that the only reason someone might have concerns is because people may be sleeping.

 

[wilkeliza]

A few of the reasons I can think of where announcing ship-wide like that could be problematic are;
1. Gawkers - in an emergency the medical team needs space and the ability to be mobile quickly. This can be impeded by lots of gawkers going to see what's going on when the location of the emergency is announced to all. The day we had one announced on our floor we had more passenger traffic that hour than any other day on the cruise.
2. The potential of causing panic. For all those passengers getting a bright star alarm in their staterooms in the middle of the night who don't know what it means, especially if it's coupled with crews racing to that location past your door, it could cause some to panic thinking there's a problem with the ship (fire, taking on water, etc). A panicked environment has the potential to turn into a dangerous one very quickly.
3. Privacy for the victim and his/her family. I'm sure having people watching like spectators at a sports event while your loved one is on the floor receiving CPR is a terrible feeling. Not to mention, if you're exhibiting early signs of heart failure, knowing they're are going to make a ship-wide announcement like that could deter you from seeking medical help in the early stages.

Obviously, DCL has considered all these and has weighed their options and determined that it's worth any of the potential negative ramifications to possibly save a life, and I agree with their conclusion. I just wanted to share some additional thoughts on "why not" since there seems to be a misconception with many that the only reason someone might have concerns is because people may be sleeping.

#1 Disney does a good job at preventing gawkers. If it is near a guest area they will make a human wall and direct people away from the situation.

#2 If someone is that worried a quick call from their room phone to guest services will give them the answer they need. I wouldn't panic unless I heard the muster calls that they go over.

#3 Again Disney is very good at getting people out of the area who aren't direct family. Their #1 priority is the ability for emergency crews to work and to prevent people from gathering to watch.

 

[Jennifer777]

#1 Disney does a good job at preventing gawkers. If it is near a guest area they will make a human wall and direct people away from the situation.

#2 If someone is that worried a quick call from their room phone to guest services will give them the answer they need. I wouldn't panic unless I heard the muster calls that they go over.

#3 Again Disney is very good at getting people out of the area who aren't direct family. Their #1 priority is the ability for emergency crews to work and to prevent people from gathering to watch.

I agree, but regardless how great DCL is at handling them, it doesn't change the fact that these could still be concerns. I'm not trying to make an argument that they shouldn't make the ship-wide announcement. I think they should! My response was merely an attempt to help anyone who may think concerns regarding a ship-wide announcement were exclusively due to sleep interference, understand that there actually are others considerations as well. Having concern about that ship-wide announcement doesn't automatically mean someone is insensitive, selfish or more concerned with their beauty sleep than someone else's life. Just trying to add perspective.

 

[Dug720]

Probably the reason people "think" the only concerns others who post about the announcements has is being woken up in the middle of the night is probably because anytime anyone posts about it, they are not saying "there were gawkers" or "I was afraid and didn't know if I was supposed to do something" (I guess the exception being a poster's reportedly inebriated friend. Or people who don't pay attention at Muster.)

It is always "It was late at night and woke me and/or my children up."

 

[Jennifer777]

Probably the reason people "think" the only concerns others who post about the announcements has is being woken up in the middle of the night is probably because anytime anyone posts about it, they are not saying "there were gawkers" or "I was afraid and didn't know if I was supposed to do something" (I guess the exception being a poster's reportedly inebriated friend. Or people who don't pay attention at Muster.)

It is always "It was late at night and woke me and/or my children up."

When it happened on our sailing there were lots of concerned people because they didn't know what it meant or curious about what happened and there was an unfortunate number of gawkers so maybe my personal experience is skewing my perception of the OPs question, but I have seen posts from others who have shared concerns about medical emergencies that happened while they were on board or asking what the announcement means. Heck, there are people in this thread who have shared concerns like that so they aren't all limited to, "it woke me or my kids up". Maybe that's why I wasn't automatically critical of the OP assuming that he/she was upset about it potentially interrupting sleep and just assumed he/she was curious as to why they do it that way. I'm sure there are people who would only be concerned with their own loss of sleep, but that's certainly not the only reason people may be concerned. Also, even if it were the only reason why someone was concerned, I think it's a lot more effective to help them understand why it's necessary rather than shame them. Lack of empathy often comes from not having a full understanding of a particular situation and is rarely resolved through critique and shaming.

 

[Sytrace]

I was not trying to be snarky (and not now either).
the question was ...
---> What do they announce if it's something that guests are required to take action or is it just a 'battle stations' tone? <---

I did not think you were being snarky.
I was merely pointing out that it was her first cruise and she would not have been aware of what went on at a SD. Thus her question of what the announcement might be and how it would be presented.

 

[tink1970]

I guess I view Brightstars as equivalent to codes in the hospital---the personnel responsible for responding (ie the code team) are likely spread about and this can reach them throughout the facility (although I trained in the old days where we also carried Code Pagers...ah, the good old days ). Never did I hear another patient complain about being awakened by an overhead code page...I guess because they were happy they weren't involoved and they knew if it did happen to them that this ensured the fastest response. That's how I'd view being aroused from sleep by a Brightstar---also knowing that there exists specific teams with assigned duties I would not become a gawker/wanna be helper/etc unless specifically requested.

 

[Dug720]

I guess I view Brightstars as equivalent to codes in the hospital---the personnel responsible for responding (ie the code team) are likely spread about and this can reach them throughout the facility (although I trained in the old days where we also carried Code Pagers...ah, the good old days ). Never did I hear another patient complain about being awakened by an overhead code page...I guess because they were happy they weren't involoved and they knew if it did happen to them that this ensured the fastest response. That's how I'd view being aroused from sleep by a Brightstar...but that's just me.

Exactly. And maybe I'm weird, but I operate under the "if it applies to me I will know what to do AND/OR they will instruct me what to do but if I don't know what a code means and there is no more explanation, it does not apply to me and I should mind my own business" thought process and don't stress out about codes I don't recognize and that don't come with further instructions.

 

[Jennifer777]

Never did I hear another patient complain about being awakened by an overhead code page...I guess because they were happy they weren't involoved and they knew if it did happen to them that this ensured the fastest response.

True, but in a hospital, those code calls are expected. Much of the concern I heard on board was that people didn't know what it meant and it was not expected. It can be scary when a code is unexpectedly called, especially when you immediately see crew running as fast as they can towards that emergency.

-also knowing that there exists specific teams with assigned duties I would not become a gawker/wanna be helper/etc unless specifically requested.

I wish there was a way to help others understand this. That is the one area I think DCL could improve when handling bright star calls - many people, especially new cruisers, don't know what that call means or that there are specific teams assigned to handle them. They don't know what, if anything, they are supposed to do. They aren't specifically directed to stay away from the area a bright star emergency is taking place unless they go there. I bet there would be a lot less confusion, gawkers, etc. if they addressed it in someway. Maybe on your stateroom TV when they are talking about the muster drill and going over other information when you first board?

 

[bbel]

True, but in a hospital, those code calls are expected. Much of the concern I heard on board was that people didn't know what it meant and it was not expected. It can be scary when a code is unexpectedly called, especially when you immediately see crew running as fast as they can towards that emergency.



I wish there was a way to help others understand this. That is the one area I think DCL could improve when handling bright star calls - many people, especially new cruisers, don't know what that call means or that there are specific teams assigned to handle them. They don't know what, if anything, they are supposed to do. They aren't specifically directed to stay away from the area a bright star emergency is taking place unless they go there. I bet there would be a lot less confusion, gawkers, etc. if they addressed it in someway. Maybe on your stateroom TV when they are talking about the muster drill and going over other information when you first board?

Honestly, I feel there would be more gawkers if you announced it as a 'medical emergency'...

It's not like hundreds of crew members respond and go runnnig past to disturb/ worry people.

And the mister drill and info on the TVs tell you what you need to respond to.

At the end of the day, two of the most important things at Disney are safety and efficiency, and this is the safest and most efficient way to potentially save a persons life when on a ship the size of a small town...

 

[wilkeliza]

At muster they pretty much say this is what you'll hear if your attention is needed. I take that to mean any other calls over the PA unless they have my stateroom number don't have to do with me. Of course not all people are the same so again if you hear a call and are unsure if it has to deal with you either call Guest Services or ask the nearest CM if you are on the decks.

 

[SnowWhite2]

I know that this is a DISNEY cruise and it is not like OTHER cruises, but cruises are notorious for having medical emergencies on board. It is not unheard of to have medical emergencies on the majority of sailings for certain cruise lines. It happens, be glad it isn't you, say a quick prayer for those involved and continue your vacation.

 

[Steelers0854]

My guess is that's it's mostly a system limitation in that they have limited options on where an announcement is broadcast, those being either public areas or every location on board and they cannot simply pick and choose specific locations for announcements. Again, just my theory, maybe someone with more shipboard knowledge can help with that.

Seeing as how these would either be medical emergencies, fire response, or some other type of damage control, lives are at risk and the best and most efficient way to dispatch crew for an emergency response on a gigantic metal box (noted because if you have ever experienced wifi issues in your cabin the same holds true for crew phones and pagers, they can be subject to the same types of connection issues) is to broadcast over the PA to every possible location those crew members may be located. In the end it's a minor inconvenience and I hope we can all agree that a few minutes of lost sleep is worth the preservation of life. Let's remember that these announcements aren't made for someone with a cold, or a clogged toilet, but for true life saving needs.

My prayers go out to any of those involved these announcements and I hope they are ok.

ETA: I will also note that this procedure isn't unique to Disney, but each of the 3 lines I have sailed have similar procedures (albeit the code terminology may be different) and I would venture to guess that this is a industry wide procedure.

 

[Steelers0854]

At muster they pretty much say this is what you'll hear if your attention is needed. I take that to mean any other calls over the PA unless they have my stateroom number don't have to do with me. Of course not all people are the same so again if you hear a call and are unsure if it has to deal with you either call Guest Services or ask the nearest CM if you are on the decks.

In each cruise i have been on, and I haven't been on a DCL cruise yet, they have always emphasized that the only emergency signal or announcement that passengers need to be concerned about is the universal 7 short blasts followed by 1 long blast, all others are intended for the crew and passengers need not be concerned. Your advice is sound in that if you are concerned or confused you should ask, but I hope that this is the one area that all passengers can be on the same page about as it directly impacts their own personal safety.

 

[jlynch924]

We had a Bright Star call on our last cruise. What was both sad (for the family), but interesting (for the rest of us), was that the next day the passenger had to be evacuated for further medical assistance via a medical transport boat. The interesting part was that the captain actually came over the intercom (about mid-morning) to let us all know what was going on, and if we wanted to watch the transport boat tether up to us and watch as they evacuated the patient, we could do so from the port side decks. Of course, there was no way that passengers could interfere, as they took her out through a door on deck 1 and we were all watching from the railings on higher decks.

Of course, I watched, as it was fascinating, this at-sea rescue (we were off the coast of the Keys), but the healthcare worker in me wanted privacy for the family.

 

[scdak]

I know that this is a DISNEY cruise and it is not like OTHER cruises, but cruises are notorious for having medical emergencies on board. It is not unheard of to have medical emergencies on the majority of sailings for certain cruise lines. It happens, be glad it isn't you, say a quick prayer for those involved and continue your vacation.

27 Non- Disney cruises under my belt and I can honestly say that there have been evacuations by air or sea on at least 15 of them, so yes, it does happen esp on cruises with a significantly older population than typical Disney Cruises. I have been on Alaskan cruises with less than 10 people under the age of 18, the last 2 cruises have been on Holland America but they are charter cruises (Country Music ) and included no children (they are allowed, just don't book it I guess) Medical emergencies happen and cruise ships are well equipped to handle most emergencies , its those they can only stabilize and arrange transport to a medial facility that most people hear about. Now, I can't respond as to how Disney handles the situations but I can tell you that Carnival and Holland America do an awesome job both during the incident and during the evacuation.

Snow White 2 said it best, be glad its not you, say a prayer for those involved and continue your vacation. Speaking of vacation, I should be making my list of things to pack for my next cruise, I am under 100 days so its time to start packing soon

 

[AUTigerFan]

First, let me apologize for coming across as annoyed or unconcerned about the medical emergency in my post. That was not my reaction at the time. After re-reading my post, it did sound that way so I apologize.
Second, I said that I knew what a bright star announcement meant. I believe now that I did not fully understand it due to my experiences and some other experiences I've read about in this post. On a previous cruise, I was in the Walt Disney Theater when a lady fell down the stairs near me. The show was delayed as people tended to her. It was nearby passengers at first and then what seemed to be a Disney Doctor. I've never interacted with the medical staff so I don't know what uniform they wear, but this man had a fleece jacket and definitely wasn't wearing a white officers uniform. I believe he was a Disney doctor because he had some equipment with him. The lady was on the ground for at least 10 minutes before I heard the bright star announcement. Around 5 minutes later, a stretcher crew came in and they proceeded to evacuate her out of the theatre. Since what appeared to be Disney Doctors were there way before the bright star announcement, I thought that they had other ways to notify "first responders" and that the bright star was for a stretcher crew. I've read other posters to this thread talk of the announcement and people running to the location. This was definitely not my experience.
Of course, it is possible that they used a different code word for the WDT incident and I misremembered it.

At the risk of further offense, I am curious what happens during a performance if a ship wide announcement is made. Do the performers pause for the announcement and then continue? If during a song, would they just stop and move on due to the music being on a soundtrack?

 

[Dug720]

First, let me apologize for coming across as annoyed or unconcerned about the medical emergency in my post. That was not my reaction at the time. After re-reading my post, it did sound that way so I apologize.
Second, I said that I knew what a bright star announcement meant. I believe now that I did not fully understand it due to my experiences and some other experiences I've read about in this post. On a previous cruise, I was in the Walt Disney Theater when a lady fell down the stairs near me. The show was delayed as people tended to her. It was nearby passengers at first and then what seemed to be a Disney Doctor. I've never interacted with the medical staff so I don't know what uniform they wear, but this man had a fleece jacket and definitely wasn't wearing a white officers uniform. I believe he was a Disney doctor because he had some equipment with him. The lady was on the ground for at least 10 minutes before I heard the bright star announcement. Around 5 minutes later, a stretcher crew came in and they proceeded to evacuate her out of the theatre. Since what appeared to be Disney Doctors were there way before the bright star announcement, I thought that they had other ways to notify "first responders" and that the bright star was for a stretcher crew. I've read other posters to this thread talk of the announcement and people running to the location. This was definitely not my experience.
Of course, it is possible that they used a different code word for the WDT incident and I misremembered it.

At the risk of further offense, I am curious what happens during a performance if a ship wide announcement is made. Do the performers pause for the announcement and then continue? If during a song, would they just stop and move on due to the music being on a soundtrack?

I have been in Broadway shows where the show was stopped because of a medical emergency. I would imagine they use a similar response on the ship - stop immediately and bring down the curtain. The sadly non-live music does complicate things, but should just be a simple button press to stop.

BUT I would only assume stoppage of the show if the event were in the theatre - or perhaps right outside. Something on another deck I would not think would stop the show as I doubt any of the entertainers are first responders.

 

[DisneyWonder'09]

I have been in Broadway shows where the show was stopped because of a medical emergency. I would imagine they use a similar response on the ship - stop immediately and bring down the curtain. The sadly non-live music does complicate things, but should just be a simple button press to stop.

BUT I would only assume stoppage of the show if the event were in the theatre - or perhaps right outside. Something on another deck I would not think would stop the show as I doubt any of the entertainers are first responders.

I think you need to take a few more cruises before you form an opinion and learn more from your sister who is a cm.
I have been in the walt disney theater when a bright star was announced and the show sound was muted so the announcement could be heard. They brought the curtain in and reset and performed the same scene again. Why would you doubt any of the performers would be first responders? What about the technical crew running the shows or the ushers? Also the clean up crew waiting?
As people have stated above announcements are across the whole ship, not specific to an area.

We were in the Taylor Mason show when the bright star went out. He stopped talking for the announcement. A few people around (& in our group) seemed confused if that was part of the show. I quietly told those in our group what that meant. I've heard bright stars before. Never heard anything else about this one in terms of outcome.

 

[bumbershoot]

I wondered the same thing, and I assume like the OP, it's out of curiosity, not insensitivity - what is the purpose of sounding the bright star alarm in every room on the entire ship, even in the middle of the night when workers shouldn't be in the staterooms? .

And until you think about the fact that medical personnel could be in a stateroom helping a passenger with a health issue, you think just that, that staff shouldn't be in staterooms. And then you think about why they could be, and it makes sense.

Why not?

That's like telling police and medical responders along with fire to be quite and not use sirens or heck even bright lights because, well you know. People might be asleep.

JW

The question is about why it's broadcast in the rooms. Which is a legitimate question. And isn't the equivalent to asking sirens to be turned off as they go through residential areas.

It was middle of night and hard to decipher the voice over the speaker while half asleep.

Which IMO is the biggest concern to the sleeper. You wake up halfway through the announcement and have no idea what's going on.

Never did I hear another patient complain about being awakened by an overhead code page

You haven't met my MIL.

Also, it's not like people are getting amazing sleep in hospitals. They are being woken up repeatedly through the night and might not remember what some them up THAT hour. But on a cruise many of us are getting very good sleep. Makes a difference!

Exactly. And maybe I'm weird, but I operate under the "if it applies to me I will know what to do AND/OR they will instruct me what to do but if I don't know what a code means and there is no more explanation, it does not apply to me and I should mind my own business" thought process and don't stress out about codes I don't recognize and that don't come with further instructions.

Many people are like that, and many aren't .

True, but in a hospital, those code calls are expected.

Yep.

At muster they pretty much say this is what you'll hear if your attention is needed. I take that to mean any other calls over the PA unless they have my stateroom number don't have to do with me. Of course not all people are the same so again if you hear a call and are unsure if it has to deal with you either call Guest Services or ask the nearest CM if you are on the decks.

Sometimes hard to remember at 3am.