For Those Who DON'T Go to the Lifeboat Drill

[cindy21494]

We also missed the drill on our last cruise. Our plane was delayed and we got to the ship just in time to see people returning to their cabins. The first thing I asked at checkin was what will happen since we missed the drill. The CM just smiled and said we would probably just get a reminder to check where we are suppose to go in case of a problem. I was a nervous wreck! I thought we would get a really nasty letter. If I remember correctly though, we never got any kind of letter.

I almost wish we had gotten a letter. I felt bad that we had missed the drill (not our fault, but I still felt bad).

 

[mickeyboat]

cindy - I felt bad too because I figured everyone at our station had to wait extra long for us and we never showed up. I hope the CM's who were running the drill knew that we were not on board.

Denae

 

[mmouse37]

zandy...sorry for your drill experience....no CM should ever be rude. In 10 DCL cruises I have never been at a drill longer than 20 minutes.

Just to clarify....when I said "you" in my post it was a collective you, not you personally. Many people feel it is a hassle and it is...I was not commenting specifically to you. Sorry if it sounded that way!!

MJ

 

[Michelemouse]

I also didn't mean to imply that I thought the OP would be skipping the drill...just wanted to let anyone who was thinking of it know that it would affect others.

In our 3 DCL experiences our drills have never lasted more than 20 minutes and have actually been lots of fun. On our last cruise the CM at our station was having a good time, calling out names and adding a few extras (Roberts, Julia....is she here?...no...oh well). He even offered to take a picture of us all in our life jackets.

 

[ErinColette]

I read about the drill in Passporter and I may be the only one but I am actually looking forward to it. I think it will be neat to see all the CM's coordinating a large group of people and just think, if something does go wrong during my drill I'll actually have a story to tell! LOL

Originally posted by ericamanda01
my husband-2-be and I were stationed on several aircraft carriers in the Navy

Nice to see another navy family on the board! Are you still in the Navy? (I'm not 'technically' Navy family yet but since I am engaged to a sailor and spent my whole life as a Navy Brat I think I can say belong to the navy genre haha) Anyway, it is nice to have you on the board.

-Erin

 

[mhelsley]

Please don't laugh but i almost slept though the drill. This was on my solo non-disney cruise and i had not slept for 2 days so after checking in and making my resv. i crashed. When i didn't show up they sent my room steward to find me. Boy what a wake up call that was. He was very nice about it and said that this was the first time he'd ever had anyone sleep though the horn blast. I did get teased a little but he also said if it was a real drill he'd be double checking to make sure i was where i needed to be. Now keep in mind i don't think under normal conditions i could ever sleep though the horn blast and the alarms.

 

[professorandmom]

Our Cm for the drill was a member of the show cast and was super at putting us at ease and making the experience go fast - but she also reminded us of the roles of the CMs and how important this practice was.
When I read the boards (for 18 months) before the cruise, I worried a great deal about the horror stories that were described (actually my biggest fear was bad servers, guess that was the focus of many posts that time of year). I too do not always remain calm when dealing with upsetting service.

There is nothing anyone can say to put you at ease (kinda like childbirth stories) but know that many people have a good experience and almost everyone would willingly do it again (wait, that's kinda like childbirth too - OK, maybe not)

Enjoy the trip and the time will pass by quickly (do bring air freshner for a quick spray on the jackets before donning)

Barbara

 

[figment52]

I have always viewed these drills the way I viewed "robbery Training" when I was working at a bank (which we did quarterly). The more times I went through it the more instinctive my actions would be if I ever need to go through it for real. Yes it can be boring and inconvenient but it could save my life.

The CM's I have been around during the drills did everything they could to make it efficient and informative. It was the other passengers that were late or didn't should that extended the time of the drill.

If you make it a game for the very young children it might be more fun for them and they would squirm less...just a thought.

 

[hydster]

Zandy we must have had the same CM! Our's was just downright NASTY to my 3 year old child. I typed it all out in the post about the drill and 2 and 4 year old kids but we had the same type of thing only our CM went as far as to tell my 3 year old he'd find Mickey Mouse and tell him to stay away from him if he didnt shut up. He wouldnt let my son turn his back away from the sun nor would he allow us to go help him get through it. He basically told us that if our son wasnt old enough to deal with the drill maybe we shouldnt have brought him with us. Unlike you however I DID go to GS to complain but it went in one ear and out the other. The girl at the desk said "oh ok..well we look into it and let you know" NEXT in line please and that was it. Very dismissive. In my other post I failed to mention however that the person she dismissed me for was another parent who was in the same CM's "charge" and she told her the same story and got the same reply. I didnt want to make a bigger issue out of it so I walked away, counted to about a million and rejoined my family trying very hard to enjoy the sailaway party. We've cruised several times with our children and with the exception of a Crew Member on Celebrity this was the worst treatment we've ever had! I pray that this was just an off day and when we board that cruise in 5 weeks we will have a really fun CM who wont get irritated and sarcastic if my son is having a hard time handling the drill. He will be 5 this time however so I hope that the power of reasoning and 2 years will be on MY side this time!

Heidi

 

[Captain Jim]

Sorry, my kids come first. If I had a three year old that was facing the sun he would turn around and the Disney person would just have to deal with that. There is now way though that I'd miss this drill. The other posters are right. It would be quick and painless if everyone just showed up on time.

We were very lucky. Ours was held in the Disney theater. It was nice and comfy and even though we had to wait for someone it still was fast. I would have felt very petty if I had skipped it. So to the first person who posted this and did say that they were going to skip, shame on you. That's incredibly rude to everyone else.

 

[brack]

ericamanda01: I too say it is great to have other Navy people on this board. I spent four years on the USS Independence CV62 starting in 1971. It was a great ship but I really do prefer the Magic!

Hope to hear more from you on this board.

 

[ericamanda01]

I have to say that the Magic and Wonder are far more pleasing to the eye. No grey bulkheads! Although I have to say that it is alot smaller than I expected it to be. To which my DH-2-b pointed out that it's not carrying a fleet of aircraft that the Kitty Hawk does!
And this is one cruise that we enjoy the count down to and pray it never ends!

 

[tvguy]

The lifeboat drill is required by law, so, like it or not, it is here to stay.

Now, requiring people to clear Immigration at 6:30 am in St. Thomas on the Eastern, that IS stupid. They said it was part of 9-11 security, but I see no reason an Immigration person can't be stationed for the duration of the ships stay at the bottom of the gangway, clear only the folks who want to get off the ship, when they get off.

 

[inkkognito]

We have sailed on Disney 36 times and have done 36 drills. Since we are usually in the same stateroom, I could get to my lifeboat station in my sleep, but I figure it never hurts to go over it again. The chances of a problem are very remote, but as others have already pointed out, those on the "fire cruise" got an all too realistic reminder that things can and do happen.
Yes, Tony and I did get "the letter" once! We were at the drill and thought the CM marked us down as we came in. If you get there early, they usually note your stateroom number, which is marked on your lifejacket, and then they don't have to call you at roll call. They probably did call us, but we were standing near a woman with a two-way radio that emitted a loud tone and static every few seconds. It was very distracting so we didn't hear much! The people standing closer to her appeared ready to strangle her. And ironically, that was the one and only cruise where we actually brought our camera and took a photo at the drill! The "orange Sponge Bob" photo was one of the few we'd never gotten, so on that cruise we decided to finally do it.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[Roemama1]

Originally posted by Captain Jim
So to the first person who posted this and did say that they were going to skip, shame on you. That's incredibly rude to everyone else.

Captain...I'm really a very nice person and not trying to start a feud over this but I think the original poster wasn't saying that they were going to skip the drill. They were asking what happens to the people that don't go? She did say that they did not have a cruise planned and therefore were not going to the drill, so maybe you read it wrong? :confused Believe me, it happens. I did it on another thread.

 

[Captain Jim]

I think you're right. At first I read where she said, "We won't be doing the drill next time" but I missed where she said it was because they weren't going to be cruising again. Guess that works. My bad. I was just surprised that people in my group were so inconsiderate as to skip the drill forcing all of us to sit much longer than we had to. I think you'd have to be pretty full of yourself to think your comfort comes before everyone else on the ship. I can see where that isn't what this poster was saying though.

 

[RellingTwin]

We have always before and will always attend....BUT on our first cruise we gave the wrong cabin number. After the drill I went up to the CM and explained we gave the wrong number (we had only been on board for about 10 min. before the drill started and we transposed 2 numbers). The CM wrote something on the clipboard, thanked me, and said not to worry about it. WELL... we got "the letter", explaining how importtant the drill was ect,ect. I took the letter to GS and explained what happened.The girl there said not to give it another thought and I didn't

 

[cruzindon]

Just remember, that the White Star Line never held a life boat drill on the Titanic. Enough said.

 

[natdencro]

I hope we never cruise with people who refuse to attend drill: they will be the ones who (in a real emergency) disrupt the safe evacuation of the ship!

Well done "Brack".............. you said it all!Nat

 

[DMS_cruisers04]

I think anyone on any cruiseline that doesn't attend the lifeboat drill should have their perservers replaced with t-shirts that say something like ...

Somebody attended the lifeboat drill and all I got was this lousy tee shirt!