The Lollipop Road

You can read more about this topic, as well as many other family cruising topics, in our new book–Cruising With Kids: A Guide To The Perfect Family Cruise Vacation. Visit our dedicated Cruising With Kids website for more details.

I’ve addressed lots of safety concerns from first time cruisers in the past and amazingly, what to do in a real emergency has never come up. Most parents are concerned about kids falling over the balcony, climbing through the railings or getting sick from swimming with toddlers who aren’t potty-trained. I’ve even put together an extensive article on keeping kids safe from the Norovirus. Never did it occur to me that I would need to cover the topic of what happens in a real emergency – like that which occured on the Carnival Splendor this week. I guess I’ll be adding another page to my book. In the meantime, let’s take a look at a few things that you need to know about the situation and what you can do to prepare your kids in case of an emergency at sea.

What occurred this week on the Splendor probably occurs more often than you realize. Luckily, most of the incidents that do occur are minor and never amount to more than a slight inconvenience, if any at all. As a matter of fact, I’ve been on a cruise where a small fire has erupted; fortunately, all was well in short order. By now, however, we can all agree that the fire that broke out onboard the Carnival Splendor was a rather major inconvenience, but seemingly never did rise to the level where the seaworthiness of the ship was in danger. Nonetheless, being prepared is important. I’m about to sail on my 31st cruise and each and every time I step aboard, I wince when thinking about having to sit through yet another muster. Well, perhaps it is important after all.

Update – As we sat at dinner last evening, the dreaded announcement…Alpha Alpha Deck Six Zone 1 6-2-0-0. My tablemates looked puzzled, so I kindly informed them that there was a fire and that there was no need to worry. Like I said, it happens more than you know and there is NO need to worry.

The incident on the Splendor occured during the early morning hours when most everything was still closed, but what if it had happened while your kids were somewhere other than with you? Do they know what to do? Do you know what to do?

Not surprisingly, the youth counselors are well-trained to handle such emergencies. They, like all crew onboard, receive emergency training even before they begin working on the ship. During an emergency where evacuation orders have been given, all children within their care will be evacuated directly to their muster stations. However, what if your kids are just roaming the ship by themselves? You should always have a contingency plan on what to do in the event of an emergency and discuss it with your kids during the mandatory muster that occurs before you set sail.

Here are a few tips:

• Make sure that your kids know their muster station number, its location and how to get there.
• In a non-evacuation emergency, choose a meeting place. The cabin can be a good choice, although there should always be an alternate in the event that the primary location is not accessible.
• Make it clear to them that if there is an emergency situation, they should follow the instructions of the crew.
• Most cruise lines have taken the additional step of providing participants in the kid’s program with bracelets that identify their muster station, but if they haven’t, make sure your child has the information in writing and with them at all times.
• Finally, do not panic. The crew is well trained for such an event and your safety is their top priority.

All crew members sailing with the major cruise lines serving North America go through frequent emergency training exercises that keep them current. I encourage anyone who is concerned about incidents such as this to read the recent account directly from the Cruise Director of the Carnival Splendor, John Herald. As luck would have it, he already posts a personal blog and with the permission of Carnival’s CEO, he has been allowed to recount the event in great detail for his readers.

You can read more about this topic, as well as many other family cruising topics, in our new book–Cruising With Kids: A Guide To The Perfect Family Cruise Vacation. Visit our dedicated Cruising With Kids website for more details.

Disclosure

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3. What If I Can’t Afford A Disney Cruise? One of the biggest misconceptions with respect to Disney Cruise Line is that it is not affordable. To that, I say, nonsense! ...

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