NCL to return to E Muster Drills April 1

[Uncwmark]

But the point is that you have to if you want to sail DCL. Whether you like it or not. If I didn’t have to do it, great. But I do, and its not worth getting mad about IMO. And I am the same as you with packing

I'm honestly not mad about it (despite how it may seem), I just genuinely don't understand WHY they're doing it and think that if enough passengers question it they will be forced to look more closely at their policy.

To be clear, this won't stop me from battling insomnia later this week to acquire the best PAT for our cruise next month -- nor preventing me from getting on the ship. I just like to question things that make no sense (to me, at least)

 

[Uncwmark]

"It was unofficially reported the the main reason Disney went back to the old style drills was because of lack of sufficient participation on the part of the guest. So I guess some may have ruined it for others."

My guess and this is just a guess, Disney must have seen and done enough research to find out that people were not doing what they were suppose to do. If it is true it is a shame adults were not trusted enough to do what was expected of them.

We also have to remember that Disney has a lot more children on the ship than most other cruises. Having everyone go through the drill gives people a better chance during an emergency to know where to go and what to do.
I would not be surprised if the kids pay more attention to the drill than the parents.

I tend to believe The Points Guy regarding why NCL and Disney originally reverted back to in-person muster:

This is likely the real reason some cruise lines are returning to in-person muster drills — and it has nothing to do with safety

 

[Carohs]

Just because I prefer e muster and it works better for me, and I point out the parts of in person that didn't work for me, in a discussion about that very topic, doesn't mean that I'm complaining or in any way implying that I minded it being part of my vacation. I had a great time and it hindered me not at all. I will continue to cruise DCL and follow their protocols gladly, but I still prefer and found e-muster better

 

[71 Truck]

I tend to believe The Points Guy regarding why NCL and Disney originally reverted back to in-person muster:

This is likely the real reason some cruise lines are returning to in-person muster drills — and it has nothing to do with safety

Good article and this could be part of the main reason some cruise lines went away from the E Muster drill.

I still think because Disney saw the possible lack of participation in their E Muster drill it decided to use this as a possible excuse.
Once again Disney tends to have more family's with young children. I think Disney may have take this into consideration when making its decision to go back to the old muster drill.

I also think having crew waiting around several hours for people to show up to check in is a waste of man power. All crew members who do this I assume have other jobs that need to be done so the ship can get under way.

The in person drill means things are done in a somewhat timely manner and crew can get on with their other responsibility's so we as guest can start our vacation.

I am sure there is a way the E Muster drill can be done to make sure everyone who is suppose to participate does, and it is possible someone out there may be working on it.

 

[kiford]

Until I see the analytical evidence from Royal or others about why they believe that e-drills are better, I'm going to be happy to continue to participate in real drills. All I have heard from Royal is a lot of blah-blah and platitudes and "passengers like it" and there was more "participation" and a claim that passengers retained the information better but no reporting on how they know that other than "surveys". Was it self-reported on that survey? If so, that is subject to bias (e.g., overconfidence, preference, desire to skew the results so they keep it virtual) and unless they have the same data prior to the virtual drills, I don't know how you would be able to say it's "better". Did those surveys actually test specific information to see what was retained and if it was correct? And if they did, do they have comparative data from in-person drills to say it's better or at least as good? Did the crew perform better after virtual drills compared to in person drills and in what way. Muster drills are for crew as much as for guests - learning and practicing crowd management is a key part of managing a real emergency. Did they correlate responses on those surveys to how many prior cruises the reporting individual has had - was it the same ship, same cruise line, different ship, first cruise? Have there been any real emergencies since they started doing this to show that the response of the guests and crew was improved over that of previous emergencies? I'm personally quite skeptical of the "evidence" that it's better and I guess we'll just see what happens in the next real-life situation.

 

[Kwami]

Uhhh... what!? There's nothing to "shut down" when there's an e-muster/virtual option available. Thats. Kinda. The. Point. The cruise starts from the moment you step on the ship and continues without disruption (other than the couple minutes it takes to physically visit the muster station and check-in).

Nevertheless, the ship shuts down during the muster drill. For about 30-40 minutes, everything is closed and there's nothing to do. The crew makes announcements over the loudspeakers, they test the alarms, and they play a video on every screen. I went on four cruises with the "virtual" drills and every one of them was like that.

 

[Habitatnal]

When Disney went back to in person muster drill, I heard that it is difficult to get from your muster station to the sail away party because everyone is going to the same location. Any tips to get a good spot for the sail away party since this is my first disney cruise? I would prefer the e muster because then there is not the log jam after the muster drill is over.

 

[cmph]

When Disney went back to in person muster drill, I heard that it is difficult to get from your muster station to the sail away party because everyone is going to the same location. Any tips to get a good spot for the sail away party since this is my first disney cruise? I would prefer the e muster because then there is not the log jam after the muster drill is over.

Afraid to say it's pure, dumb luck if you can get to a good spot. How easily you can get to it will depend on where your muster is and whether or not everyone assigned to your muster station shows up on time. Definitely be willing to take the stairs. Personally, I prefer to avoid the main pool deck and watch from the level above.

 

[cmph]

And thank goodness I'm short so I was in the front of our line so at least I had space in front of me, if I had been crammed in with people on all sides I might have had a minor anxiety attack (something I've gained in adulthood and haven't discovered until recently is an issue).

While the posted rules are the same about how people are supposed to line up, they didn't pay attention to that in the slightest on the Wonder earlier this month, at our deck 4 muster station. DD is 5'11' and I'm 5'10". We got there about 2min before muster and were just stuck in the front of a bunch of people - literally the head of a line. Just a forewarning.

It was a cluster anyway, b/c we had a bunch of people show up very late - a couple different (apparently oblivious) family groups plus some workers (wearing badges, vests, and hardhats) who must not have cared if they held muster up. I am never surprised by the passengers who show up late, but I felt liked giving the staff side-eye for that. Kind of embarrassing, if you ask me.

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

When Disney went back to in person muster drill, I heard that it is difficult to get from your muster station to the sail away party because everyone is going to the same location. Any tips to get a good spot for the sail away party since this is my first disney cruise? I would prefer the e muster because then there is not the log jam after the muster drill is over.

Avoiding elevators, luck, zigzagging between people.... anyways the best spots are roped off as a Kids zone

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

As someone who never cruised before, I enjoyed the drill, and hated that nobody listened or took it seriously. I wouldn't have even watched an in room video, but going to actually see it, I actually paid attention. I want them to continue. Yeah, the crowds after sucked, but its 5 mins of my vacation with crowds. I can deal with it. I learned a great deal from it

Note to everyone who has cruised multiple times: There are first timers on all these cruises, and respect that. Don't talk and not pay attention the entire time its going on. Half the drill, I couldn't even hear due to the disrespect of passengers who have been through it numerous times.

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

As someone who never cruised before, I enjoyed the drill, and hated that nobody listened or took it seriously. I wouldn't have even watched an in room video, but going to actually see it, I actually paid attention. I want them to continue. Yeah, the crowds after sucked, but its 5 mins of my vacation with crowds. I can deal with it. I learned a great deal from it

Note to everyone who has cruised multiple times: There are first timers on all these cruises, and respect that. Don't talk and not pay attention the entire time its going on. Half the drill, I couldn't even hear due to the disrespect of passengers who have been through it numerous times.

you had a bad assembly station leader then cause most of the time they will people to shut up and get off their phones

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

you had a bad assembly station leader then cause most of the time they will people to shut up and get off their phones

It was in the theater. There were multiple workers with difference sections, and it was all the same experience. Its not the leader, its the guests. It was obvious they did not care what was being said. Might have been just cause of the location that was it overly loud

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

It was in the theater. There were multiple workers with difference sections, and it was all the same experience. Its not the leader, its the guests. It was obvious they did not care what was being said. Might have been just cause of the location that was it overly loud

I know its the guest who should shut up in the first place but it is part of the job of the station leader (and thats one per section in the theatre, its the person with the megaphone that will also call the stateroom numbers of those missing) to make sure his section is paying attention.

I ve seen on quite a few occasions even individual people being called out when general anouncements didnt help

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

It was in the theater. There were multiple workers with difference sections, and it was all the same experience. Its not the leader, its the guests. It was obvious they did not care what was being said. Might have been just cause of the location that was it overly loud

That is how I have noticed all the ones I have done, people don't pay attention. Kids squirming, babies crying and so on. And yes almost always someone comes stupid late.

 

[Carohs]

I wouldn't have even watched an in room video, but going to actually see it, I actually paid attention.

Why wouldn't you have watched a video? Had that been the only source of potentially life-saving information, would you really dismiss it just because no one makes you press the on button? In person drills have their merits, however for those of us who actually want the full information, I'd rather watch uninterrupted by the disrespectfuls. Not to mention rewind if needed, or turn on closed captioning if the presenter has a difficult to understand accent.
Although I also strongly believe that even if they went back to e-muster they should ensure 100% of people have at least walked to their muster station and know where to go. An emergency is not the time to be trying to figure out which side of the shift is aft .

 

[kiford]

Note to everyone who has cruised multiple times: There are first timers on all these cruises, and respect that. Don't talk and not pay attention the entire time its going on. Half the drill, I couldn't even hear due to the disrespect of passengers who have been through it numerous times.

That should go for everyone, not just first-time cruisers wanting to hear (i.e., everyone should want to hear it). I not only listen every time (and try on the life jacket in my room) but I listen to every single solitary safety briefing on planes, read the safety booklet, look for the emergency exits and how they would open if for some reason the person sitting there doesn't open them, look at where the oxygen masks will drop down, and look at whether the lights are on the floor or on the seats.

It doesn't matter how many times you've heard the safety briefing whether it's a ship or a plane or where you might have to exit a building in a fire. The more times you are exposed to it, note it, and consciously think about it and what the confusion and panic might be in an emergency and how to overcome that, the more likely you are to remember it in a panic. And every building, ship and plane is different. Your muster station might be different even on the same ship.

 

[Dug720]

From reports of the E-Muster on Celebrity, you're still not learning how to get from your stateroom to your spot as you can watch the video anywhere (some people have even watched it at their hotel before going to the port) and then go to your station to check in.

The only way to guarantee people know how to get from their stateroom to their station is to ONLY play the video on the television in the stateroom (I mean both that you'd only watch it in the stateroom AND that the television would ONLY play that until you'd checked in). Then you'd go to your station to check in. And THEN they could take the video only off your television - maybe give you a code to input of something.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

From reports of the E-Muster on Celebrity, you're still not learning how to get from your stateroom to your spot as you can watch the video anywhere (some people have even watched it at their hotel before going to the port) and then go to your station to check in.

The only way to guarantee people know how to get from their stateroom to their station is to ONLY play the video on the television in the stateroom (I mean both that you'd only watch it in the stateroom AND that the television would ONLY play that until you'd checked in). Then you'd go to your station to check in. And THEN they could take the video only off your television - maybe give you a code to input of something.

Years ago on DCL you had to go back to stateroom and get lifejacket for the drill so then you had to do that route to get to muster but that was years ago. That was even more miserable standing in the heat with those lifejackets on.

 

[Dug720]

Years ago on DCL you had to go back to stateroom and get lifejacket for the drill so then you had to do that route to get to muster but that was years ago. That was even more miserable standing in the heat with those lifejackets on.

And much more dangerous when people went back to their cabins dragging the straps all over the place.