Back from the first cruise!

[Phil650]

Originally posted by Cruise Fanatic:

quote:

We will probably take a short 3 night cruise out of Port Canaveral since we can get there in under an hour. I would love to find a cheap 3 night that left on a Friday afternoon. that way I could go without taking any vacation.

Keep in mind to try a different cruise line on a 3nt cruise is not a good comparison to a 7 day Princess. For several reasons. 1)They are so cheap they draw a totally different crowd. 2)They are usually on older ships. 3)They are not in the same classification ie: Princess is in the Premium class, and the two major cruise lines that do 3/4nt cruises (Carnival,Royal Caribbean) are called Mass Market or Mainstream. Disney is an exception. They are their own product. The only other cruise line doing a short cruise (4/5 nts) is Celebrity Cruise Lines which is also in the premium class. You might be able to catch other cruise lines doing a short special sailing as I did last year on MSC. I found a special 3nt cruise.

[RichC]

Did they swipe your cruise card at the muster drill? I heard they had just begun this practice on some ships.

[Phil650]

They had a handheld scanner and scanned the bar code on it. I guess this lets them know who is trying to skip the drill.
It would have been pretty easy to bring someone elses card and get it scanned though.

[susanmaz]

Is the scanning because you don't need to muster with a life vest on?

[Cruise Fanatic]

They are scanning your card to verify everyone attends the mandatory life boat drill. Scanning cards is just a quicker method than looking up you name on a long list of names.

[Phil650]

Originally posted by Cruise Fanatic:
They are scanning your card to verify everyone attends the mandatory life boat drill. Scanning cards is just a quicker method than looking up you name on a long list of names.

Exactly. However they were not doing it as everyone walked into the muster area. They had several people wlaking around with scanners. I am sure some people probably got missed and there were some that probably sent their card with someone else and that person simply found 2 different people to scan the cards.

[RichC]

Someone posted that they were doing it as a test to practice what they would do in a real emergency.

[Berick1234]

They are using the scanners for just about everything on a ship now....They scan your card to make sure you have reservations for the entertainment on the Oasis....For the muster drill, if you haven't been scanned they will come and find you and you have to attend a makeup drill....Just show up with your card in hand...and remember, don't let anyone else use your card...Happy Sailing..

Bob E

[penny3333]

They used to do a cabin check during muster to make sure everyone was out of their cabins. I'm sure scanning your cruise card is more efficient.

[RichC]

Originally posted by penny3333:
They used to do a cabin check during muster to make sure everyone was out of their cabins. I'm sure scanning your cruise card is more efficient.

It didn't mean that just because they weren't in their cabins that they were at the drill.