I was told it was a crew member that reported seeing what they thought was a person in the water and not the automatic MOB system, thus it was not really a "false alarm".
The captain announced around 9:40 pm that all crew members were to report to their assigned stations - this was necessary to marshal the passengers to their assembly stations once the general alarm was sounded, but also it provides an accurate head count as every crew member has an assigned station and must tap their badge at a badge reader close to their assigned station.
I think that the timing of the general alarm was intentional to allow the MDR crew members to complete the late meal service as well as the show in the main theater to finish.
As for guests not reporting to their assembly stations - this was the second day of the cruise and the third time that the general alarm was sounded (embarkation, crew drill in Nassau, and the MOB), so it may have caused some confusion among guests.
You could see that many passengers and crew members had either prepared or had already retired for the evening (wet hair, pajamas, and sleepy children) which could have caused more confusion. As I mentioned last night, there were several crew members that were still unaccounted for after the passengers were released from their assembly stations (their names were called out on the ship-wide PA) - so I if crew members can get "lost", it should be expected that guest, especially those that have not cruised before or speak a different language (the announcements were in both English and Spanish), will also get "lost" and not report to their assembly station in a timely fashion.
I, for one, miss the "virtual" muster drills that Disney used after Covid, but now I completely understand the reason that Disney went back to the in-person embarkation drills.
As for passenger compensation: all passengers had to spend almost one hour at their assembly stations. I was fortunate that our assembly station was in the Disney Theater (seats for everyone and air conditioning). It was very warm and humid outside, so I can imagine it was extremely uncomfortable for those passengers on the open decks with little or no seating, especially the elderly and those families with small children. For those families with teens, I am sure that there were parents franticly searching for their children around the ship when they first learned of the MOB. So, I do personally feel that some level of compensation is reasonable (but not required), and it was a nice gesture from Disney.
The captain announced around 9:40 pm that all crew members were to report to their assigned stations - this was necessary to marshal the passengers to their assembly stations once the general alarm was sounded, but also it provides an accurate head count as every crew member has an assigned station and must tap their badge at a badge reader close to their assigned station.
I think that the timing of the general alarm was intentional to allow the MDR crew members to complete the late meal service as well as the show in the main theater to finish.
As for guests not reporting to their assembly stations - this was the second day of the cruise and the third time that the general alarm was sounded (embarkation, crew drill in Nassau, and the MOB), so it may have caused some confusion among guests.
You could see that many passengers and crew members had either prepared or had already retired for the evening (wet hair, pajamas, and sleepy children) which could have caused more confusion. As I mentioned last night, there were several crew members that were still unaccounted for after the passengers were released from their assembly stations (their names were called out on the ship-wide PA) - so I if crew members can get "lost", it should be expected that guest, especially those that have not cruised before or speak a different language (the announcements were in both English and Spanish), will also get "lost" and not report to their assembly station in a timely fashion.
I, for one, miss the "virtual" muster drills that Disney used after Covid, but now I completely understand the reason that Disney went back to the in-person embarkation drills.
As for passenger compensation: all passengers had to spend almost one hour at their assembly stations. I was fortunate that our assembly station was in the Disney Theater (seats for everyone and air conditioning). It was very warm and humid outside, so I can imagine it was extremely uncomfortable for those passengers on the open decks with little or no seating, especially the elderly and those families with small children. For those families with teens, I am sure that there were parents franticly searching for their children around the ship when they first learned of the MOB. So, I do personally feel that some level of compensation is reasonable (but not required), and it was a nice gesture from Disney.
