Greetings cruisers
I hope you are all stress free and back to normal after the busy Christmas and New Year, no rest for the wicked for me, straight into it and a very busy January so far, it seems the weather in the UK has got people running to their wallets and booking a cruise heading for some winter sun. I know I am ready for some sun, I do not look forward to these cold winter days. Oh how I am looking forward to the summer once more.
So enough of that, let’s get back to cruising. On many of my calls the same old question comes about the size of these new ships, how can so many people fit in one place, how do the ships manage to float, and how safe are they. Normal questions that I would be asking myself if I had never worked or cruised before. Well actually the truth is they are very safe and rarely are they any accidents or mishaps on board. Yes it is very surprising but safety and training is top of the list for these cruise lines and the training that takes place on board is very regular and vigorous. Nothing is more important than safety training and you as passengers have to be part of this too, so you will find whenever start your cruise, you will be taken part in it, normally on the very first time you join, so with this in mind and to pre warn you of what you will be doing take a look at the list below, each cruise line does things slightly different, but it is something you must do, not only for your own safety but for everyone else too. So don’t be shy and hide in your cabin, they will find you out !
Cruise Line | Muster drill | When will this take place? | Safety card in cabin? | Safety video in cabin? | Crew training | Other Information |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Azamara | Yes | At the beginning of every cruise | No | Yes | Weekly | Muster station will be shown on your key card |
Carnival | Yes | At the start of every cruise | Yes | Yes | Weekly | Carnival ensure the number of life jackets and life boats exceed the guest occupancy |
Celebrity | Yes | At the beginning of every cruise | No | Yes | Weekly | Muster station will be shown on the back of your key card and cabin door |
Costa | Yes | At the start of every cruise | Yes | Yes | Weekly | Costa ask guests to familiarise themselves with the ships safety procedures |
Cruise & Maritime | Yes | Within 24 hours of boarding | N/A | N/A | Weekly | In bad weather conditions lifts may be out of use and outside cabins with portholes will have covers placed over them |
Crystal | Yes | At the start of every cruise | N/A | Yes | Weekly | Lifeboat commanders training regimes, English designated as the working language on board |
Cunard | Yes | Within 24 hours of boarding | N/A | Yes | Weekly | Periodic exercises with the US Coast guard |
Disney | Yes | Before ship departs | N/A | Yes | Weekly | Each of our Captains is a seasoned maritime professional with more than 20 years of seafaring experience |
Fred Olsen | Yes | At the beginning of every cruise | N/A | N/A | Weekly | Guests must adhere to Fred Olsen’s safety policy and reserve the right to disembark any passengers who do not follow policy |
Holland America | Yes | Within 24 hours of boarding | N/A | Yes | Weekly | Weekly tests of the watertight doors and fire detection |
Hurtigruten | Yes | When passengers board | Yes | Yes | Weekly | Hurtigruten ask for all passengers to also take there time to thoroughly read the safety cards on board |
MSC | Yes | Will take place upon embarkation | Yes | Yes | Weekly | Muster drill will be conducted in 6 languages so all passengers have a full understanding |
NCL | Yes | Prior to the ship sailing | N/A | Yes | Weekly | All vessels exceed the safety of life at sea regulations |
Oceania | Yes | Will be held on the day of departure | N/A | Yes | Weekly | Muster drills will always be held on the day of departure not within 24 hours |
P&O | Yes | Will take place before the ship departs | N/A | Yes | Weekly | Measures in place including rigorous crew training, regular inspections and advance navigation technology |
Princess | Yes | Will take place before the ship departs | N/A | Yes | Weekly | If a large number of passengers speaking other tan English are on board a separate muster drill will take place |
Pullmantur | Yes | On the day of boarding | Yes | N/A | Weekly | Muster drill will be announced in various languages dependant on which nationalities are on board |
Regent | Yes | Within 24 hours of boarding | N/A | Yes | Weekly | Regent adhere to the Safety of Lives at Sea regulations |
Royal Caribbean | Yes | At the beginning of every cruise | No | Yes | Weekly | Additional mechanical and navigational equipment are carried on board |
Seabourn | Yes | Before the ship leaves the dock | N/A | Yes | Weekly | State of the art navigational systems and extensive sprinklers are fitted on board |
Seadream | Yes | At the start of every cruise | N/A | Yes | Weekly | SOLAS 2005 Fire Safety Standards on board |
Silversea | Yes | Shortly after sailing away from port | N/A | Yes | Weekly | Extras lifeboat space and rafts are carried on board |
Star Clipper | Yes | At the beginning of every cruise | Yes | N/A | Weekly | Star Clipper pass all safety and equipment ratings for the united nations |
Thomson | Yes | Within 24 hours of boarding | N/A | N/A | Weekly | All aspects comply with the safety of lives at sea |
Windstar | Yes | At the start of every cruise | N/A | Yes | Weekly | We abide by all IMO and SOLAS requirements for our safety systems |
About Me
"Open the map, spin around, point to any country….” Hi. My name is Nik and I've been at Cruise.co.uk for nearly 10 years. OK, so I took an 18 month break while I worked at a soccer school in Phuket, Thailand…. but I missed the cruising world so much I…
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