When a fire breaks out in a hotel or restaurant, people can simply leave the building. That is not the case on a cruise ship where an evacuation would require lifeboats.
It's something that rarely happens, but something every cruise ship prepares for. When you board a ship, no matter how many times you've traveled before, you should watch a safety demonstration and visit the muster stations (the place you go in case of emergency).
Related: Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise solve a key problem for passengers
The actual process varies by cruise line. Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises (CSF) and Carnival cruise line (CCL) Use virtual meetings where you can watch videos on your phone and then check in at your station.
MSC Cruises has a much less pleasant version of the muster drill: all passengers go to watch the safety videos in their staterooms. They check in at their meeting station at the same time (which crowds people on the stairs when the elevators close).
In addition to having passengers go through a safety drill, crew members regularly conduct drills to deal with anything from a fire to dangerous weather conditions. This is especially relevant during hurricane season (June 1 to November 30), when senior crew members and ground staff make decisions designed to maximize safety.
Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter to save money on your next (or first) cruise.
Image source: Dukas/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
How do cruise lines keep passengers safe?
Every cruise line has an operations center that tracks the weather using a variety of services. Royal Caribbean actually employs two full-time meteorologists.
No matter how they do it, cruise lines prioritize the safety of their passengers and ships above all else. They also work to offer the best weather experience possible.
Sometimes it's as simple as sailing a route that avoids the rain. When sailing from Florida to the Caribbean, the actual distances traveled are relatively small.
This gives cruise lines a lot of flexibility to avoid bad weather and still make port calls. However, in some cases, cruise lines change itineraries, skip a port, or even sail somewhere that was nowhere near the original plan.
It is not uncommon for a cruise from New York to the Caribbean to be diverted to New England and Canada in certain weather situations. The departure or return of a cruise may also be delayed due to weather reasons.
Cruise lines don't like to change plans because they know passengers have booked excursions, planned trips and made other arrangements. Still, their most important job is to keep passengers, crew and their ships safe.
Want the latest cruise news and deals? Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter.
What worries Royal Caribbean the most?
Royal Caribbean Group Chief Meteorologist Craig Setzer has been busy because this hurricane season has started early and is expected to be one of the largest in history.
Mark Sudduth of Hurricane Path interviewed Setzer in a YouTube series called Hurricane U. Setzer, who has been working for Royal Caribbean for about 10 months, called keeping track of all the moving parts involved in keeping the cruise line's ships safe during inclement weather. time as “slow-moving chess”.
“You're anticipating, where will the storm be? Where will my boat be? What am I going to do with my boat?” Royal Caribbean Blog reported.
Trackable weather events, Setzer shared, can be avoided or at least ships can be placed where the impact is reduced. The biggest danger, she shared, is “unforeseen weather events.”
These are storms and other weather-related issues that don't show up in the models.
“These events may be a microburst or a wind gust front that was not visible in the forecast,” Matt Hochberg wrote on the Royal Caribbean blog, which is not affiliated with the cruise line.
However, Setzer and his team are often ahead of the weather.
“You won't be affected (by a hurricane) on a cruise ship because we'll be moving away quickly,” Setzer said. “The only thing that could happen is your itinerary could change.”
Related: Get the best cruise tips, deals and news from our cruise expert
