Carnival Brings Back Traditional Muster Drills on Select Cruises: What Passengers Need to Know
Carnival Cruise Line passengers on select sailings are getting a reminder of what cruise embarkation day used to look like.
Carnival is conducting full, in-person muster drills on selected cruises, requiring all passengers to gather at their assigned muster stations before the ship departs.
Five Carnival ships were selected for the traditional safety briefings between September 26 and September 28, 2026: Carnival Horizon, Carnival Panorama, Carnival Sunshine, Carnival Vista and Carnival Firenze.
But Carnival is not eliminating its popular self-muster system.
The cruise line says most sailings will continue using self-mustering, while full traditional drills may occasionally take place on selected sailings.
Which Carnival Ships Have Full Muster Drills?
Carnival notified passengers sailing on five ships between September 26 and September 28, 2026 that their cruises would use a full in-person safety briefing.
The affected ships were:
- Carnival Horizon
- Carnival Panorama
- Carnival Sunshine
- Carnival Vista
- Carnival Firenze
Carnival Horizon and Carnival Panorama held their drills for September 26 departures.
Carnival Sunshine and Carnival Vista followed on September 27, while Carnival Firenze was scheduled for September 28.
These were not the first Carnival ships to conduct traditional muster drills during September. Carnival Magic and Carnival Paradise also reportedly held full passenger safety briefings earlier in the month.
Is Carnival Getting Rid of E-Muster?
No.
Carnival’s normal safety procedure continues to use the self-mustering system introduced in 2021.
Under that system, passengers visit their assigned muster station after boarding, check in with crew members and receive the required safety information without requiring the entire ship to gather simultaneously.
Carnival specifically told passengers affected by the September drills that its procedures will mostly continue to follow the self-mustering format.
However, the cruise line may occasionally conduct a traditional full safety drill on selected sailings.
Passengers therefore shouldn’t expect every Carnival cruise to return to the old-style muster drill.
What Happens During a Full Carnival Muster Drill?
Unlike Carnival’s normal self-muster procedure, passengers participating in a full drill gather together at their assigned muster stations.
Carnival told guests that ship-wide announcements would provide instructions about when and where to report.
Participation is mandatory.
During the briefing, passengers are familiarized with the procedures they would need to follow during an emergency.
That makes the experience much closer to the traditional cruise ship muster drill many longtime cruisers remember from before the widespread adoption of electronic and self-mustering procedures.
Do All Passengers Have to Attend?
Yes.
When Carnival schedules a full safety briefing for a sailing, all passengers are required to participate.
Passengers cannot simply complete Carnival’s normal individual muster-station check-in instead.
Carnival described the full briefing as a mandatory procedure and instructed guests to follow ship-wide announcements directing them to their assigned muster stations.
Why Is Carnival Doing Traditional Muster Drills Again?
The occasional appearance of traditional drills does not represent a new fleetwide Carnival policy.
Carnival has said that full safety drills may be conducted on random sailings as part of maintaining its safety procedures.
Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald has also previously explained that Carnival ships periodically conduct full drills as part of regulatory safety requirements.
That means passengers may occasionally encounter one even though self-mustering remains Carnival’s standard procedure.
How Does Carnival’s Normal Muster Drill Work?
On most Carnival cruises, passengers will continue using the much simpler self-mustering procedure.
After boarding, passengers visit the muster station listed on their boarding information and Sail & Sign card.
Crew members check passengers in and provide the required safety demonstration.
Passengers can then continue enjoying the ship rather than waiting for every passenger onboard to assemble at the same time.
Carnival introduced this system in 2021, and it remains the cruise line’s standard safety briefing procedure.
How Do I Know If My Carnival Cruise Has a Full Muster Drill?
Passengers shouldn’t assume their cruise will have one simply because another sailing on the same ship did.
Carnival contacted guests booked on the affected September 2026 cruises before departure to advise them of the different procedure.
If Carnival schedules a traditional drill for your sailing, watch for communication from the cruise line before embarkation and listen to announcements once onboard.
If you haven’t received instructions stating otherwise, Carnival’s normal self-mustering procedure remains the standard process.
Could More Carnival Cruises Have Full Muster Drills?
Yes.
Carnival has made clear that occasional sailings can use a full safety drill even though the vast majority follow the self-mustering format.
That means additional ships and sailing dates could receive traditional muster drills in the future.
However, passengers shouldn’t interpret an individual full-drill sailing as evidence that Carnival is permanently returning to the old system.
Carnival’s E-Muster System Isn’t Going Away
For most Carnival passengers, nothing is changing.
Self-mustering remains Carnival Cruise Line’s standard safety procedure and allows passengers to complete their required safety briefing shortly after boarding without participating in a ship-wide gathering.
Occasionally, however, passengers may find themselves experiencing the traditional version instead.
The September 2026 drills aboard Carnival Horizon, Panorama, Sunshine, Vista and Firenze are examples of those exceptions rather than a replacement for Carnival’s current system.
