Outside of the Mississippi river boats, I don't think there are any.

Great idea ireckon! Seems like a no-brainer now that you've said it.

I am fairly sure that any vessel registered in the US is required to have enough life vests for all persons on board. This may be hypothetical if no cruise ships are so registered. I do know that local passenger vessels give a short orientation to maritime life, including where the LVs are located - kind of like the routine you get on planes.

Usually totally unnecessary, but there was the morning we awoke with three feet of water in our bilge....

Cruise passengers skew older. Hadn't considered how that could be problematic when the elevators cease functioning. Some more details:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...d=moreheadlines


http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=162691&catid=339


Some passengers carried food to others who used walkers and canes and couldn't climb up nine decks of stairs to reach the food lines, Alim said.

OK, I need help understanding something. There were 4,500 passengers. Did they have to take turns to be out in the open air? In a situation like this, it seems like I would want to be out in the open air most of the time. However, from the pics and videos I've seen, it doesn't seem like it would be possible for everybody to enjoy the open air. Apparently, many people had to be in the rooms with no windows. Is that right? Someone please explain. By the way, I've never taken a cruise and have even less desire to do so now.

I've been on a couple cruises. There are life jackets everywhere. Under couches, in your room, out on the deck... Having a personal is almost pointless unless you want to wear it everywhere. Though you would be able to customize it for you gear should you ditch, which may be worth the effort.

And, yes, before the ships get underway, there's a mind-numbing evacuation drill on every ship I've been on.

PO1 Ajax, you're right about refit at sea. Pretty cool that it's done at all. Though spam and pop tarts seem a cruel joke to me Even the Haitians got better fare than that.

Ditto. Weather-permitting, I'd rather be in a sleeping bag on the deck.

LED flashlight w/ lithium cell/s, half-dozen Cliff bars, a few liters bottled water, SAK or multi-tool, Dramamine for seasickness. Sunscreen, wide brimmed hat. and cotton tee shirt if the weather is warm. Poly-fleece jacket, windproof/waterproof shell w/ hood, watch cap if cooler. Remember that conditions overlap at sea. Sun in the frigid regions can be brutal and things get windy and surprisingly cold in the tropics.

When a modern ship loses power it loses housekeeping, (lights, potable water, AC/heat, sewerage). It also loses steerage, the ability to control its orientation and navigation. Which means the inside gets uncomfortable, and the ship is at the mercy of the wind and waves so it can be quite unstable. With the aesthetics and smell of a drunk tank, and rocking and rolling like a country bar bull, your looking at potentially violently ill people. Which improves the aesthetics ... not at all.

With the interior gone south in a big way you are going to want to be seeking fresh air. Which means you are looking at wind, sea spray, sun, heat/cold; whatever the nature provides. Plan to spend the rest of the trip on or near the deck.

If and when things go south in a big way, conflagration/ sinking, something requiring abandoning ship. Being near the deck is a bonus. A full-on exposure suit would be handy if you need to jump but it seems extreme in this case.

About 1/3 of the cabins have windows or a deck and there is plenty of deck space for all 4,500 passengers to get air without much crowding. During our evacuation drill every passenger lined up by their lifeboats and that was only on 2 narrow decks on either side of the ship.

Having been on a large Navy ship that lost power (and generators) at sea, I started carrying a flashlight all the time -- very useful item.

These days with good LED lights that run forever on a pair of AA batteries, it's a small item that would be fairly discrete. Take a few spare batteries too; after a few days even a very good light running on a low setting would run down. Again, small item, no brainer.