There are life jackets on Ferries. Ferries run all the time across this country. Passengers do not put them on when they board the Ferry. Ferries sink. It is not a requirement to wear it during the cruise.
Life jackets are on pleasure boats, passengers do not wear them while boating all day. You should be aware where the life jackets are and get one when needed in case of emergency.
Those life jackets are visible (overhead) for people to use their heads, grab one and get off a sinking boat.
They just raised the Duck boat, I see all the life jackets in the roof of it, they are overhead your seat to grab it and use it. They had plenty of them.
Those windows are plastic, they roll up. When water hit the window bottom, and water coming up the floor board...YOU ARE GOING TO SINK, they should have started getting out the windows.
Do people really think the person driving the boat was going to stop, put a jacket on each and every person and tell them what to do? Nonsense.
I am not going to wait for someone to tell me when to get out of a burning building, out of a plane crash on the tarmac, bus crash or train crash...not waiting for the train conductor to tap me on the shoulder and say "get off the train lady".
We have elderly parents in their 80's, we both would have grabbed the jackets, get on dad, mom and get them out the window and get our ourselves out.
I do not believe they were told "not to wear" it. They were probably told no need to wear it on the cruise. But I guess you have to now say and spell it out and give them a pamphlet that says "gee, if we are sinking YES you need to put the jacket on" that is what the are for. We don't keep 'em here for decorations, good grief.