Carnival Cruise Line Addresses Return to Traditional Muster Drill
Following notification to guests on selected sailings of three Carnival cruise ships about a return to the traditional, in-person muster drill, Carnival Cruise Line has clarified the safety procedure and what guests can expect.
The concern comes after some confusion as to whether or not the impacted ships – Carnival Liberty, Carnival Conquest, and Carnival Valor – were returning to in-person safety briefings permanently, and whether or not that change would roll out across the entire Carnival fleet.
Multiple guests have reached out to John Heald, the cruise line’s official Brand Ambassador, asking for clarification.
“I just heard on … that some of the Carnival ships are going back to the original muster drill where everyone has to meet as a group,” one guest asked. “Is this true?”
“I’ve heard that Carnival ships will be randomly mustering the old way,” another guest explained. “I’ve heard that it won’t be on every voyage of every ship, and that Carnival is doing this so the crew can practice a real ‘muster / evacuation’ scenario. Is that correct?”
Heald responds to hundreds of guest concerns every week, including questions about safety, security, and other onboard procedures. For these questions, his response is absolutely clear that Carnival Cruise Line is not returning permanently to in-person safety drills.
“That is completely false,” he replied to the first commenter. “Every six months or thereabouts we have to have a full test on board ship, including sending the guests to their [muster stations].”
He further clarified the procedure when responding to the second guest, explaining the regulations that require this type of safety briefing.
“It’s once every six months approximately,” Heald confirmed. “Certainly no more than that, but it is something we need to do in order to comply [with] HESS regulations.”
The HESS regulations Heald refers to are the Health, Environmental, Safety & Security Committee’s regulations from Carnival Corporation.
These policies cover a wide range of programs and initiatives across all the cruise lines in the Carnival family and work to ensure compliance with the regulations of different regions where Carnival-owned ships sail.
Which Muster Drill Will My Cruise Have?
Guests with sailings booked on upcoming Carnival cruises are sure to wonder whether they will have the faster, easier e-muster safety briefing or the full drill with all guests assembled in-person at their muster stations.
Every ship in the Carnival fleet will be doing full, in-person safety briefings approximately once every six months, but which individual sailings will be doing this is not determined so far in advance. The drill times are chosen randomly, seemingly just a few days prior to embarkation, and guests are notified as needed.
Every cruise ship – for Carnival Cruise Line and every other cruise line as well – must hold a safety briefing prior to setting sail on every voyage.
These briefings cover the emergency alert signals, location of the muster stations, how to put on a life jacket, the dangers of fire, and other critical safety information and procedures.
While the e-muster only takes a few minutes and can be done at the convenience of the guests anytime in the first few hours after embarkation, the in-person drill can take 20-30 minutes and is usually held shortly before sailaway.
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Both drills not only inform passengers of safety procedures, they also ensure the crew is familiar with different safety provisions and how to react in various emergency situations. This preparation is critical in the case of an emergency, either while the ship is at sea or in port.
Carnival Cruise Line crew members not only participate in these drills, but also have a variety of other safety drills they practice regularly. This includes drills for medical emergencies, fire alarms, man overboard alerts, and more.
All cruise guests should cooperate fully with any drills and familiarize themselves with all safety information provided through their stateroom television, on the back of their stateroom door, or through the Carnival Hub app to be sure they are prepared in the unlikely event that an emergency occurs during their vacation.
Carnival Cruise Line Addresses Return to Traditional Muster Drill