reading a couple articles now, it is not clear when that comment was made. It could have been a routine comment made during boarding. I think typical law is that they have to be available on the boat, but don't need to be worn.

"“The captain told us ‘don’t worry about grabbing the life jackets, you won’t need them,’ so nobody grabbed them because we listened to the captain and he told us to stay seated,” Coleman said. “However in doing that, when it was time to grab them it was too late. I believe that a lot of people could have been spared.” "