Speaking of Lifeboats??

[JJsmama]

I am trying to get myself and my children prepared (and emotionally ready) to use the Kids Clubs on our cruise. One thing I wonder: Are the kids Clubs located near lifeboats for them? God forbid there were an emergency, would all the parents need to rush to the clubs and take the kids back to their boats? Would the counselors take the kids to the boats alone? Anyone know?


PLUS this random question:

I read in a cruise guide that a ship (royal Pacific) SANK in 1998 in 16 minutes! I can't find anything to read about this. Does any one know if the people onboard managed to evacuate in time?

 

[CAMICKEY]

The lifeboats are on deck 5 where the kids clubs are. As for your other question on the sunk ship - No idea. - Mike

Here is a link - See Deck 5
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/cr-deckplans.htm

 

[disneymom3]

When you go to the kids club orientation, they tell you that in case of an emergency, you need to come and get your children and then take them to the lifeboat station with you. I was thinking they said that again at the lifeboat drill, but I maybe mistaken.

 

[kpros]

I believe that the lifeboats are at the deck 5 level when in their storage position. They would lower them next to the railing of deck 4 for boarding.

 

[professorandmom]

I only had kids in the lab but their bracelets had their lifeboat stations on them - I found that comforting (OK, wrong word - scary and reassuring at the same time)
Barbara

 

[inkkognito]

A long time ago, when we first started cruising, I was told by someone who was married to a ship's officer that the ships are built to sink slowly and give as much time as possible for evacuation. She said that the only thing she is truly afraid of is fire because it could consume the ship quickly (I think it would really have to be a raging, out of control blaze to do that). But since DCL sails in the Bahamas, I'd think you'd be okay even if you had to jump into the ocean in your life jacket. It's not so cold that you couldn't survive, and other ships would be there quickly to rescue you because there is a lot of ship traffic out that way.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[CM_Mom]

Hi Guys,

My DD is a CM in the Club. She sent me pictures of the watertight doors down the hall from her cabin on the crew deck (deck A below deck 1) that they close before they leave port. That makes the crew deck a series of separate watertight compartments to improve the safety of the ship in an emergency. I think this is one of the ways that Barb was talking about. Just thought you guys might want to know. She also mentioned that she has mandatory safety drills every two weeks.

 

[Izza]

Ship designers learned a lot from the Titanic tragedy about protecting the watertight integrity of a ship. One of the main ways is what CM_Mom mentioned, creating separate watertight compartments. If a ship was to get a leak somehow (iceburgs aren't likely), the damage would be isolated in a few compartments. With the Titanic, I believe (it's been a while since I studied it) that they didn't have watertight compartments. When one room/section filled, the water spilled over into the next. That's not likely to happen with current ship designs.

(Took Naval Engineering courses at the Coast Guard Academy, and although I've forgotten 90% of what I learned, I do still have a bunch of books I could hunt down if anyone was interested.)

Ok, I'll shut up now.

 

[mamo-4-wdw]

This is what i found on aol search. I'm sure DCL ships have better safty features than a ship built 1965.
http://www.sname.org/committees/tech_ops/O44/passcasualties.html

17. Royal Pacific cruise liner; 13,200 GRT; 143m long; 514 passengers/crew; Greek registry; built 1965; CASUALTY: August 23, 1992 in the Malacca Straits, about 12 miles from Singapore

Ship was struck by the 800-ton fish factory vessel Terfu 51, tearing a huge hole in the hull and flooding the engine room. Ship heeled and water entered the cabins above. Passengers and crew evacuated by lifeboat. Ship sank in 10-15 minutes. 9 fatalities - 3 drowned, 6 missing (probably trapped in hull).

Source: Lloyd’s List
also this link tells about fires
http://www.emergency-management.net/ship_acc.htm

 

[ErikdaRed]

The Titanic had 16 water tight compartments, but the retaining walls weren't designed for 6 of them taking on water at the same time.

 

[lillygator]

let's just hope nothing like this happens on DCL!!

 

[JJsmama]

Thank you Mamo. I knew I had read that in a reputable source. I am so glad to see that almost everyone evacuated in that short few minutes. I'm not sure you could get 3000 people off DCL in 10 minutes. Scary.

 

[tas190]

ErikdaRed


In the titanic even through they had water tight doors the wall where all the doors were located did not go ALL the way to the top of the ship so when the ship started flooding it was able to flood all levels (think ice cube tray if you slowly fill one ice opening and continue filling the WHOLE tray will eventually fill). It still took many hours for the titanic to sink

 

[jrabbit]

Several years ago on the Oregon coast a cargo ship (New Carrissa) of some sort (carying grain I think) ran aground during some stormy/windy weather.

In order to remove it from the shore, the torched it, cut it in half, and pulled part of it out to sea. The coast guard then shot it full of holes. It still did not sink. I think that the Navy had to come out an torpedo it to finally put it on the ocean floor.

Makes me feel pretty safe on a cruise ship that is most likely built to much higher specifications!

 

[MouseGoofy]

The Titanic had life boats for only about half the passengers on board and was in an extremely cold weather climate with much less communication than on the ships of today.

The Disney ships are modern well designed ships with lifeboats for more than the number of people on board. In addition the crew does do extensive training for just such an emergency and under current maritime laws each lifeboat must be tested regularly. I think it is every two weeks.

When in port you will sometimes be able to see the crew members out and about in the lifeboats.

I am confident in the safety of the Disney ships However, I also think that the lifeboat drill is very important to attend.

 

[gallaj0]

As a former professional mariner (who has never been on a pleasure cruise, but is going in August!) a word of advice: just pay attention to where you are.

When you enter a space fro the first time, always check for exits, especially for ones you DID NOT enter the room through. In an emergency, everyone will try squeezing through the entrance, which may not be the best way to get out. The nightclub fire in Rhode Island last year had people wedged in the entrance door, while other exits were open, because no one knew they were there, even though they were marked.

And cruising in the bahamas/carribean, the greatest danger would be going off course and grounding, not being hit by anything that would cause a major sinking situation, there is normally little if any fog for something to sneak up in,and modern navigation equipment is very good at spotting anything big enough to cause a problem.

 

[mamo-4-wdw]

gallaj0 or CM MOM,
Do you know what the DCL does for fires. I just read on the internet that Carnivale had a fire and it was extinguished using the Hedron (Ithink that was the name of it)system.
I was wondering what that is and if DCL uses this or something else. My DS 14 insists now that we get a room with a verandah(so we can jump to saftey!!)
I think he will feel better knowing what system Disney uses for the Magic. Thank You So much, Mamo

PS: great tips on knowing the exits of a new place. My Aunt was badly burned when I was young and I always have gone over the stop drop and roll,know the exits in the movie theater, but crusing is new to us and I hadn't even thought about the exits for the different areas on the ship.Thanks again,Mamo

 

[gallaj0]

mamo; I don't know for sure what system Disney uses, but usually those types of systems are in machinery sapces, not passenger spaces.

The last ship I was on used HALON in the engine room, but it was being phased out at the time and replaced with another chemical, and that was only in the machinery spaces. In all other areas they used plain water sprinklers, similar to office buildings.

That was just because in a confined engine space, there is usually a long climb to get out of the engine room, and the HALON was supposed to be breathable for a period of time, where carbon dioxide would suffocate you. And water in an engine room was just bad; it would spread an oil fire all over.

In passenger spaces, most fires would be paper, bedding, maybe a kitchen fire (which have their own systems of extinguishing), and is best put out with plain old water.

FYI, crews on ships have special training for emergencies, but especially fire. There are many laws demanding the type of training before people may be licensed to work on board a ship, and professional mariners, (captain, mates, engineers) are put through some of the most stringent, demanding training imaginable. And even the "support" crew (waiters, housekeeping, janitors) need to be trained for emergencies.

Hope that helps;

P.S. depending on how high off the water you are, you wouldn't want to jump unless it's totally unavoidable; the water can be like cement if you are too far up, or hit the water wrong. It's a lot easier to swim to a raft without 2 broken legs.

 

[mamo-4-wdw]

Thank You gallaj0! My DS 14 has calmed down after reading your post. THANK YOU!!!!!!!,mamo

 

[Ariel Wanna-be]

This is scaring the pants off of me!!

I always swore I'd never go on a cruise because I'm terrified of the ship sinking...seeing Titanic did nothing to help this rediculous mindset, either!

I'm not at all afraid to fly, or drive, or take a train, but it is such a scary thought that the only thing keeping you from the bottom of the sea is some floating iron! I'm so irrational about this! And I'm not afraid of the water, I was even a lifeguard for five years. It's just the thought of being on a ship, where you can't see the shore. I'm even nervous when we go salt-water fishing. Anyone else a freak like me?

Even with this crazy phobia, the thought of Disney at sea was just to hard to resist!

I had a dream the other night that we were on the ship, and I was freaking out worrying that we would sink, and my DH kept reassuring me, "Don't worry, the water is only four feet deep in the Carribean Sea!"