How is the Lifeboat Drill Handled with Young Children (2 yrs & 4 yrs)?

[lurontravel]

I've been on cruises with both of my kids before, and we've only had to show up with all of our life jackets on and we were allowed to remove the kids lifejackets before the drill was over. My little 2 year old, especially, is very active. I know that at this stage I'll have a VERY difficult time holding on to him with his life jacket and mine on, and that poses a HUGE safety risk in my opinion, he's very fast, and I'm afraid he'll "get away" and I won't know where to, or be able to find him. My kids go on boats at home frequently and have no problem wearing their regular pfd's at all times on the boat, but the ones on cruise ships are quite awkward, and I don't believe that with my own on I'll be able to hold him (I know that there is NO chance of him standing there quietly, or still for more then about 10-15 seconds).
Please let me know what happens during a life boat drill on Disney ships and give me any tips you can to help me deal with my two year old.

 

[hydster]

We've done cruises with small children on other lines as well as Disney and I found the CM we had with Disney to be one of the harder ones to deal with when it came to the lifeboat drill. We've had worse ones especially on Celebrity but this CM was rude and kept telling my then 3 yr old to be quiet! I'd heard about how wonderful they were and helping the kids and making them laugh and such but our CM was miserable and made our experience worse! I couldnt hold my 3 year old (not that I could have anyway with those bulky things) and he was standing in the sun and they wouldnt let him turn around so his back was facing out. It was a nightmare 20 min but necessary and he survived it as did I..it was just more stressful than I thought it needed to be! Hopefully this time we wont be facing into the sun and hopefully my little one who is now 5 will be more up to dealing with it! I dont know what advice to give you except hope that you get a CM who is willing to help you out a little bit!

*I'm sure I'll get flamed for this post but I thought they could at least let him face his back out for a few minutes until he got calmed down.* We havent had a Crew Member on any ship not allow our children to turn around to get out of the sun..after all they had no clue what they were talking about anyway and it was disrupting to me to not be able to calm him down and listen.

Just my opinion..I'm sure others will disagree.

Heidi

 

[CAMICKEY]

There is no room for rudeness on any DCL cruise. IMO it should be reported immediately to guest services. If you do not report it, then it just exacerbates the situation and allows it to continue. I do not see why any one would "flame" you for this post. After all most of the posters (not all) have children and at one time their children were three also and can relate to what you are saying. - Mike

 

[hydster]

Mike I did go and complain at Guest Services but I dont think it went any further than in one ear and out the other. We had a terrible Crew Member on our Celebrity cruise to the point where I actually got up and walked away from him just to get away from the abusive treatment he was giving me and my family. As for the Disney CM..he wasnt abusive but he kept coming up to my 3 year old and shushing him and telling him he needed to be a nice and polite little boy or Mickey might not want to see him again. Maybe he just didnt know that it wasnt helping I dont know but it was seriously one of the longest 20 min of my life. Of course they put the smallest in the front to the tallest and so he was the smallest and I had 2 kids in front of me and he was wigging out and kept trying to come to me and the CM kept telling him to be nice. When I complained at Guest Services I got the complimentary nod and ok we'll check it out kind of thing and that was it! I had read about all these people have CM's that joked with the kids or helped them get through it and I thought they would be more adept at handling this since they cater to children but our's didnt.

I'm hoping with 2 extra years, some sunglasses and a LOT more preparation on my part that 20 min will go quicker...or maybe we'll have a better place to report.

Heidi

 

[CAMICKEY]

In one ear out the other. Gosh don't know what I would have done if I felt they were treating my complaint like this - I can get quite animated at times. Certainly the CM's should understand that no one likes to spend 20 minutes in the sun stuffed like sardines into the most uncomfortable items - especiilly the youngest kids. I guess Guest Services must have to get enough complaints to take any action against a CM during the life boat drills. The "Mickey" comment certainly seemed unwarranted for sure. I understand that these life boat drills are essential for everyone and I would hate to be a CM conducting one, but I still would not treat any "customer" rudely and can not believe DCL condones this. - Mike

 

[hydster]

I know I was SHOCKED to say the least! I told him the Mickey comment was uncalled for and he just laughed and walked away. My husband took the kids and the lifejackets to the room and I went straight to guest services, gave them the CM's name and what he had said and the woman looked at me like I was an Alien. She did the head nod "oh I see..well Ok we will look into it and get back to you" NEXT in line please. Of course I never heard anything from them about it and I let it go..it wasnt worth the irritation later on. It was my first Disney cruise so I didnt fight it but I can guarantee if it happens again someone at Guest Services will be listening to me for a very long time! I agree that I wouldn't want to conduct the lifeboat drill and I also agree that it is a VERY necessary step but this was a rude and uncalled for situation! I plan on getting some "heads to roll" if it happens again! I just didnt want to spoil the trip anymore so I walked away!!

Heidi

 

[CAMICKEY]

MY DS5 did real well last year at the life boat drill. I will be watching even more intently this year. - Mike

 

[marley]

If you can, bring something to quietly distract them like a lollipop that will last at least a few minutes.

The life boat drill on the Wonder was our worst experience on the boat (everything else was Wonderful). My son (who had just turned 3 and is very afraid of life preservers) freaked when we put one on him during the drill. He was hysterically crying. We moved him to the back of our line up against the boat (which helped, the poor things are surrounded by huge adults in a very tight space) and just kept struggling with him to calm down. Thankfully, our CM finally gave in and let me just wrap it around him but he actually wasn't wearing it. Not safe, I guess, but I was thankful. It seemed like the longest 20 minutes and a horrible way to start our cruise. He was freaked out by the boat for the next hour or two but finally calmed down during dinner.

We are cruising again this Fall when he has just turned 5 so I am hopeful everything will be different. He still is scared of life preservers but now understands the importance of the drill.

good luck!

 

[CGBatch]

Well not that I'm a big fan of this but you could just skip the drill and get the letter on Wednesday telling you that you didn't go and you should watch it on TV. We kinda did that once ecause we were not even on the ship when they had the drill.

And about the "rudeness" I'm not sure because I wasn't with you but it did just seem that he was trying to do his job.

Originally posted by marley
If you can, bring something to quietly distract them like a lollipop that will last at least a few minutes.

That was kinda funny because on our last cruise during the lifeboat drill a baby next to use managed to get thier lollipop into her hair and it was like a mess after that.

 

[hydster]

He may very well have been trying to "do his job" but he was extremely rude, sarcastic and I think that telling a 3yr old child who is obviously struggling that Mickey wouldnt want to see him again was uncalled for! We've been on several cruises with our kids and alone and not one time have we ever (with the exception of the Celebrity cruise) been told that we needed to shut our child up and that we couldnt at least go and console him. I told the CM if he would let me get him out of the sun that he would calm down and everyone around us would be able to hear something besides my child being hysterical and he told us NO WAY he has to stay right there and if you cant control him then maybe he shouldnt be here, and then he bent down to my 3 year old and said SHHH SHHH SHHH or I dont think Mickey Mouse will ever want to see you, and I'll make sure I tell him who you are so he can avoid you, laughed and walked away. I just assumed (maybe I was wrong) that Disney if any cruiseline would be a little more understanding. A few "rows" over from us another little girl maybe 2 or so was freaking out as well and her polite CM let the mother console her and let her go near her mom instead of making inappropriate comments to her. I think our CM was on a power trip or something. I'm sure he will be fine now being 5 and having the ablility of reasoning but back then I found it to be inappropriate and uncalled for.

But like I said maybe it's just me
Heidi

 

[disneymom3]

Wow! I had a totally different experience than this with our two and three year olds just a few weeks ago. We were on the Wonder 3/11 and the CMs were very polite and helpful. We asked one of the people directing traffic about getting the lifejacket on our two year old and he said that as long as we knew how to put it on, it was fine for him not to wear it. Our older two were already wearing theirs, so I guess that was proof enough. When we checked in at our station, the CM there said he was fine and when he told us to line up tallest to shortest, I just kind of looked at him, thinking, "Yeah, right, my two year old is going to stand there in front of his three year old brother!" The CM immediately said, "Well, not the little guy here, Dad can hold him."

I actually commented to my husband that this lifeboat drill was almost pleasant compared to all of the others we have been to. We did RCCL when DD was two and she had to have her life jacket on hte whole time and it took forever!!! On Princess you get to muster at inside stations so that is rather nice. We were on the sunny side on DCL but no one said a word about our three year old turning around to not face the sun.

 

[mmouse37]

Heidi...when was your cruise that this happened and do you remember what the CM name was and where he was from?? Just curious....

MJ

 

[JJsmama]

Who are the lucky staterooms that get to have lifeboat drill out of the sun and inside? I've heard some do.

 

[hydster]

MJ-This was on the Wonder from 11-17-02 to 11-20-02. The 4 day cruise to Freeport and Nassau. It's been almost 2 years but it seems his name was Paul but I could be wrong. I think I wrote it down in our memory folder..I'll have to go look. We were in room 8550 and our lifeboat station was facing the terminal building *I think..the memory isnt as sharp as it use to be*

disneymom--you're experience is what I expected it to be not what we received! I hope our's was just an isolated incident and we get someone really nice OR that my 5 year old can deal with it better this time or even both! The Disney Cm we had wouldnt let us even undo the lifejacket clasp or anything it had to be hooked up just like in the event of an emergency. There was another couple next to us with almost the same problem and the Cm treated them the same way so I assume he was just powe tripping. It's funny because I commented to my dh that out of all the lifeboat drills we've done with the kids (except for the Celebrity one which made this pale in comparison) that this was the hardest one for our kids to go through. I just pray that this is isolated and we get someone really nice in 5 weeks! (who's counting?)

Heidi

 

[Gupsmom]

The CM we had last year saw that my youngest (3 at the time) was not happy in her vest. He told us we could take it off of her...no problems at all.

Jess

 

[crisi]

Disney does seem to want everyone in their life jackets until you get back to your stateroom, although they do seem to occationally make exceptions for little ones. The hallways get crowded with everyone moving around, and straps dragging all over the place.

Although I wouldn't skip it, I would perhaps not be quite so eagar to be at my spot at 4:15 exactly wearing my lifejacket with small kids in tow. Maybe 4:20.

(Because of the tight space - we were really packed in - I can't think lolipops would be a good idea - too sticky if they get on your neighbor - and sticky all over those lovely been worn by too many people lifejackets. But a small bag of fruit snacks you could dole out, maybe a small toy like a Transformer or Polly Pockets....

 

[Skuba2]

The drills are miserable for adults--I can't imagine going through one as a child. The CM was rude--plain and simple. What would I do----protect my child. And if that means making the CM mad--then so be it. Especially such a rude one. I would gladly explain to the captain afterwards the whole situation. If they don't kick off the people who don't show up, they sure as heck aren't going to "punish" the ones who do show up but feel the need to comfort their hysterical children. I am slowly learning in life that the well being of my children need to be my top priority--not in a stuck up sort of way but more in a non-door mat sort of way. I know going through the drill feeds into their well being. But, there are some kids in life, my son included, who cannot mentally and/or emotionally stand there for 20 minutes with the life jacket on and people so close to him. Some kids have a natural defensiveness to these kinds of situations that is not under their control. Their only recourse is to seek out the object of comfort--their mother. My son isn't making this trip--he is only 2.5-- but will on the next one. When the time comes, I will make every attempt to get him to cooperate, but I will also not push him past his limits.

Ok--my 2 cents.

DG

 

[rsjj]

what is expected at the drill? are we all to just be quiet & listen? i assume we just stand there? this will be our very first cruise, and we have 2 DSs (4 & 2). so we really don't know what to expect...maybe someone can clarify as to what we are doing? is there anything i should remind my children? you know, to "prep them" for this event? thanx!

 

[hydster]

rsjj--

Basically you get your lifejackets on in your room and walk down to your muster station. It has where that is on the back of your door in your cabin. You go down there and do a "check in" where they ask you your cabin number and check you off of a list. They then proceed to pack you all in there like sardines from the smallest in your family at the front to the tallest in the back. You wait until everyone has checked in from the whole ship (or at least that is how it is supposed to be) and then they start a process of telling you what to do in case of an emergency, how to move, where to go, make sure you know you are supposed to go to that muster station. Usually when things go well it takes 20 min or less from start to finish but like others have said if people dont show up on time or there is something else going on it can take longer. On our RCCL cruise they couldnt find a bunch of passengers so our drill lasted about 40 min total. It isnt usually too long and it is so very necessary but it can be overwhelming to kids (and adults as well) the lifejackets are those bright orange vests and they are hot and keep your head very straight. They show you what to pull for the blinking beacon on the lifejacket, where the whistle is to blow and basic stuff. If it were me I would just make sure you talk to your kids about it A LOT! Tell them that they will need to wear the jacket but once it's over the fun can start. It can be uncomfortable and I suffer from hyperventilation so it's hard for me to keep calm but it usually really isnt that bad! SOme people luck out and have their drill in the shade or inside....

HTH
Heidi

 

[mmouse37]

We were recently on Deck 5 and 7 aft and had our drill in Animators Palate.

We were on Deck 2 once and had it in The Walt Disney Theatre and were also on Decks 1 and 2 and had it outside on Deck 4.

MJ