About this Blog: Bread making recipes, knit and crochet projects, wood working, gardening, digital imaging, travel, cruise ships, Labrador Retrievers, and more....

About the Header Image: Idlebrook Wendy Darling Evensen "Wendy" one of our four Labrador Retrievers.

Click the header image to see most current posts.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Crew Lifeboat Training - Majesty of the Seas

Good morning,

I recently took my morning stroll on Deck 7, Promenade Deck, and found the crew involved in lifeboat training.  Of course, I had my baby camera in my pocket so got some images of the lifeboat hanging over the side and in the water seven decks below.

As required by the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), at the beginning of every cruise passengers/guests are required to attend a "mustering" to learn where their lifeboats are and what to do in case of an emergency.  Guests all "muster" or gather to receive these instructions on the deck where life boats will be boarded in case of a real emergency.  Guests do not actually get into lifeboats during a drill.  For crew lifeboat training, however, it is a different story.
The crew drills occur while the ship is tied up in a port and guests are not involved in the drill.  At the bottom of this image you can see guests seven decks below walking into Nassau from the ship.
And, this image gives an even more comprehensive view.
Crew members are trained and drilled regularly while at the same time...
...checking to be sure all equipment is working properly.
In case of a real emergency the lifeboats are brought close to the edge of deck 7 where the gates of the deck line up perfectly with the side entrances to the lifeboats.  Guests will already have life jackets either from their staterooms or provided to them on deck 7 by crew members.  Crew members will then help guests step directly into the boats and be seated.  There are plenty of life boats for all guests and there is plenty of space for everyone to be seated comfortably.  The lifeboats are somewhat bigger than they appear in these images;  each lifeboat holds 150 people.  There are additional life rafts (large, orange, covered auto-inflatable rafts) provided for crew who are not assisting guests in lifeboats.  Everyone has a way to evacuate and a specific orderly way to do it if necessary. 

In a real emergency the guests will be assisted into life boats very, very quickly loaded...
...and lowered into the water by trained crew members.
All crew members are trained and have specific jobs during an actual emergency.

During a crew training drill, after a brief trip on the water around near the ship to test the engines and check other equipment, the lifeboat will be raised back into position and the crew members will go on to do their other regular jobs. 

I've come upon this and other drills many times while cruising.  It always fascinates me to watch how quickly and efficiently the crew is able to perform all of these tasks.

All of the information I have here is provided to guests during the lifeboat mustering.  It's important to attend the mustering at the beginning of a cruise to be sure you have all of the information as it applies to the ship you are aboard at the time.  If you are wondering about safety, statistics tell us it is much safer to take a cruise at sea than to drive your car to the grocery.

It pays to have my camera in my pocket whenever I go out for a walk.  I hope you enjoyed this series of images.

Best,
Lois

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good thing to know! I never thought about it, but the guests would have to know what to do to avoid a great panic. Neat photos! and great information! ...debbie

Sherry said...

Interesting! What I find mind boggling is you actually have enough life boats for that many people on board. That's a LOT of people!

Diana said...

Well it's good to know that the crew is on top of things! Hopefully you'll never have ti find out how much attention they paid!
Love Di ♥

~*~ saskia ~*~ said...

How interesting, Lois. Never had seen a life boat getting into water like that.
Hope your week is off to a great start. XXX xxx XXX

Erin Wallace said...

Lois - I have something for you on my blog - come and check it out!

xo Erin

Life Looms Large said...

Love the color of the water in those pictures. And since it's just a drill, I can even appreciate how the orange lifeboat contrasts with the water!

Sue

stringsofpurls said...

What a wonderful trip you are having!

Becky's Barnyard said...

It's amazing isn't it. I flew to Hawaii and boarded a cruise ship to go to all the islands and cruise back. Great fun.

Elaine said...

It does pay to always have a camera with you because you never know what you are going to run into. Interesting post.

Lois Evensen said...

Good morning,

Yes, plenty of life boats so everyone has a seat. That was the lesson learned with the Titanic that changed going to sea forever.

It's also interesting to watch other items being moved to the supply tender with the cranes: beach furniture, beach vehicles, etc.

Thank you so very much, Erin, for the Sunshine Award. I am in transition between the high seas and home now and will do the all the requirements just as soon as I get settled! You are so very sweet and I am so honored!

Thank you, everyone, for stopping by.

Hugs,
Lois