Is it a ‘Royal’ pain not having your life jacket in your cabin?

I read something recently that surprised me (and I’m surprised I hadn’t heard about it sooner).

Apparently, on the new Royal Caribbean Quantum Class ships (Anthem and Quantum of the Seas) and also on Oasis and Allure, your life jackets aren’t in your cabin like they are on almost all other ships.

The life jackets can usually be found in the wardrobe or under your bed and I’m sure we’ve all traipsed through the ship to our muster drill tripping over each others trailing straps to sit there and watch the safety demonstration before taking the life jackets back to our cabins.

Muster drills take place on every cruise

Well, on the aforementioned ships, there’ll be no need for this (although the muster drill will still take place, sorry) as the life jackets are now stored at the muster station next to or close to your allocated lifeboat!

I’m not sure how I feel about this.

Upon further investigation it appears that there are no regulations that state where life jackets should  be kept.  The Maritime Organisation says that they just need to be ‘readily available’ and their stored location clearly marked.

Richard Fain of Royal Caribbean has recognised that the muster drill process is a pain, uncomfortable and a hassle for having to retrieve and return your life jackets and he commented ‘we wonder why we haven’t done this  before’.  But is this a good move?

I’m not so sure.  I think I’d rather have  my life jacket in my stateroom.  What if I can’t get to my muster station?

What do you think? Do you think this is a good idea? Will you be grateful for the extra space in your cabin? Or would you rather have your life jacket in your cabin?

Let me know your thoughts.