One of the first things you’ll need to learn as you embark on your cruise ship is the location of your muster station. Not the bar, or the kids’ club, or that restaurant you’ve been looking forward to, but the place where you’d assemble in case of an emergency.
While this may not sound like the most glamorous start to a vacation, it’s really important. Safety at sea is absolutely critical and is taken extremely seriously on every ship and every cruise. It’s also a legal requirement.
There’s no need to see it as an infringement on your vacation time. Cruise lines have the muster drill down to a fine art nowadays, and you’ll find the experience quick, easy, and efficient. Here’s all you need to know about muster stations and drills.
What Are Muster Stations?
Muster stations are the designated public areas on ships where passengers and crew are to gather, or “muster”, in the event of an emergency. They are clearly marked, and your personal muster station will be indicated on your SeaPass card and on the deck plan on the reverse of your stateroom door.
Muster stations are in large areas of the ship, for example, the theater, one of the lounges, or a restaurant. They need to be somewhere that can accommodate a lot of people—and somewhere from which it would be practical to access the lifeboats, should that become necessary. Incidentally, this is extremely rare.
Why Are Muster Stations Important?
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Muster stations are absolutely critical to the safety of everybody on board. While emergencies at sea are extremely rare, if there’s a reason to muster and it’s nighttime and the power has failed, or there’s smoke present, you need to know exactly where to go.
If this were to happen, uniformed crew members, who go through regular emergency drills, would be on hand to help, and the ship’s emergency lighting would also show you the way.
The fact that there are multiple muster stations is also important to understand. On a ship carrying, say, 2,000 guests, it wouldn’t be possible or safe for all 2,000 to muster in the same place.
From each muster station, there is a clear route to a designated lifeboat, should you need to evacuate; a crew member would lead you all the way. There are always more than enough lifesaving appliances for all passengers and crew.
What Does the Terminology Around Muster Drill Mean?
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Nobody is trying to baffle you with jargon, but you may hear some words or terms that are new when you embark on your ship. Muster drill is also called “mandatory safety briefing” or, more colloquially, “boat drill”.
You may hear the acronym “SOLAS” mentioned, which is the International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea. This convention is maintained by the International Maritime Organization, a UN agency that sets global standards for the safety of cruise ships. It is enforced by the Coast Guard and Port Authorities and lays out the legal requirements for the muster drill and other aspects of safety on all ships.
What Are E-Musters?
E-musters—in the case of Celebrity Cruises, Muster 2.0—are a relatively new way of conducting the muster drill. Before this system was implemented, a specific time on the cruise departure day would be announced in the daily program.
The emergency signal would be sounded, and all passengers would have to collect their life jackets from their stateroom, head to their muster station, put on their life jackets, and listen to a safety briefing. During this time, all services on board, such as bar and restaurant service, would stop for the duration of the drill.
Now, e-mustering means there’s no such mass gathering. You watch the muster drill on your Celebrity Cruises app on the day of departure, where you will learn how the muster process works, and how to don your life jacket. You will then click the link for an audio file that demonstrates the emergency signal of seven short blasts and one long one.
Once this is done, the app recognizes that you’ve completed the process and synchronizes to the “check-in” device used by the crew at the muster station. When you arrive at the muster station with your SeaPass card, the crew there will know whether or not you have watched the video in the app.
Who Has to Attend the Muster Drill?
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Everybody has to attend. Every member of your party, including kids and infants, needs to have their SeaPass card scanned at their muster station. Even if you’re in the most lavish suite or you’re on your 50th cruise, attending the drill is mandatory.
Guests in wheelchairs or anybody else with mobility challenges also need to attend. If you have mobility or other issues that may make participation difficult, simply let the crew know, and you’ll be assisted.
Do the Crew Have to Do the Muster Drill?
Crew members and officers have their own muster drills and many other drills. You’ll notice that at various times during your cruise, these will be announced. You won’t be expected to participate in these events, and you won’t be inconvenienced by them, either; more often than not, they take place when most guests have gone ashore.
So don’t be alarmed if you see crew members gathering in life jackets or survival gear. Any such drill will be announced in your daily program and on your Celebrity Cruises app. It will be preceded by an announcement, and then the words, “For exercise, for exercise,” over the public address system.
What to Expect at a Muster Drill
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Whether you’re on a ship that requires all passengers to muster together or simply asks you to watch a video and then check into your muster station, the information will be the same.
You’ll be told how to identify the general emergency signal—seven short blasts and one long one on the ship’s whistle, or horn—and what to do if you hear this. Essentially, this means returning to your stateroom, putting on warm clothes, collecting any essential medication, picking up your life jacket, and heading straight to your muster station.
The Celebrity app provides a demonstration of how to put on your life jacket, but this is also available as an in-person demonstration at the muster station if for any reason you’ve not been able to watch the drill on the app or on your stateroom TV.
One important piece of information to note is that if you can’t get back to your stateroom to collect your life jacket, one will be provided at the muster station. Extra life jackets are stashed all around the different muster stations in the event of this happening.
Some muster drills go into deeper detail, including what happens if you need to board a lifeboat. But whatever level of detail your muster drill includes, you can rest assured that all crew on your ship, not just the officers, are highly trained in emergency procedures and go through regular drills.
What to Bring to Your Muster Drill
You only need to turn up at your muster drill with your SeaPass card. It’s a good idea to bring your cellphone, too, if you’re using the Celebrity Cruises app. If, for any reason, you haven’t confirmed on the app or your stateroom TV that you have watched the briefing, you will need to do it again in the presence of the crew member in charge of your muster station.
Previously, when mustering was a less streamlined process, you would have taken your life jacket with you. That’s no longer necessary. It’s still a good idea to identify where the life jackets are kept in your stateroom—the designated cupboard or drawer will have a fluorescent sign on it—and to check that the life jackets you need are correct.
For example, if you’re cruising with kids, your stateroom steward will have put kids’ life jackets in place prior to your arrival. If you are traveling with three or four people in a stateroom or suite, double-check that life jackets are there for everyone.
FAQs
How long does a muster drill last?
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A muster drill takes only minutes of your time. You watch the mandatory video on the Celebrity Cruises app or on your stateroom TV, confirm that you’ve watched it, and make your way to your muster station to check in. Then, you’re free to go.
Not everybody will be rushing to the muster station at the same time, so there should be no waiting in line. It’s simply a requirement that you attend before the ship sets sail, so there’s usually a window of several hours between when you embark and departure time.
What happens if you don't do your muster drill?
If you skip the muster drill, you could delay the departure of the ship. You may receive a phone call in your stateroom or a letter. Muster drill is not optional; it’s mandatory, and every cruise line has to comply with maritime law. More to the point, being informed could save your life.
Can you skip the drill if you’ve cruised before?
No. Even if you think you can deliver the drill yourself, word-perfect, you can’t skip it. Ships have different layouts and different routes to the various muster stations. You may think you know the ship, or the class of ship, but you could be in a different stateroom from your previous cruise, and therefore, assigned a different muster station. Mustering is compulsory for all guests, regardless of how often they have cruised. It’s like the safety demonstration on an airplane; you can’t skip it.
Do I need to attend a second drill if I’m on a back-to-back cruise?
Yes, by maritime law, you do need to attend. If, say, your week-long cruise has come to an end and you’re lucky enough to be staying on for another week, new passengers will be embarking. Maritime authorities regard the second week as a “new” cruise, and as such, all guests will need to attend the muster drill again.
What happens if I board at the last minute?
If, for any reason, you’ve joined your cruise at the very last minute—perhaps your flight was delayed, for example—and you miss the muster drill, a crew member will go through the drill with you personally and scan your SeaPass card.
Are muster drills the same on every cruise ship?
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The essence of the muster drill is the same on every cruise ship: how to identify the emergency signal, where to go, how to put on a life jacket, and various other details. But it may be delivered differently. Some ships use an app, others use the stateroom TV, others still use the method of physically mustering.
What happens if the alarm sounds and I am not with my family?
You’ll learn about this during the drill. If your children are in the kids’ club and the general emergency alarm sounds, the youth staff will bring them to the muster station to join you.
If, for any reason, your kids will not be in the youth clubs and will be roaming independently around the ship, it’s extremely important that they, too, understand the concept of a muster station and always have their SeaPass cards with them.
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