General Emergency Signal

The ship’s general emergency signal is a way of making passengers and crew aware of an issue or potential problem that may lead to crew and passengers having to abandon ship, this is extremely rare but it is always important when cruising to make yourself familiar with escape routes and the signal itself so you are prepared should you ever need to put this into practice

It will be sounded for exercise purposes a few times throughout your cruise as the ship’s crew are always making sure there training is up to speed. The sound echo’s for quite some distance and I am convinced it gets louder every time I cruise.

Its quite odd sometimes when they start doing their training and you watch them lower all the lifeboats into the water from the ship, the captain will make an announcement letting passengers know there is training taking place and the signal is usually made after a brief introduction along the lines of “for exercise for exercise for exercise”

Below is an example of what the General Emergency signal is and what it consists of

The General Emergency signal consists of seven or more short blasts followed by one long blast on the ship’s whistle and alarm bells

On hearing this signal you should put on warm clothing, a head covering and proceed to your muster station carrying your life jacket. If you’re primary escape route is blocked use the secondary escape route

Remember to take with you any medication you are using

If for any reason you are unable to return to your cabin then proceed directly to your muster station where a life jacket will be provided for you

Follow the instructions given by the crew members and over the public address system

Do not use the lifts