Carnival Tells Guests on Six Ships to Expect Full Muster Drills

Carnival guests booked on six specific sailings on six different vessels in the fleet have now received notifications that they will have the full, in-person safety briefing as they begin their cruise vacations.

“The safety of everyone on board is always our priority, and we are dedicated to maintaining responsible and secure operations. As part of this commitment to this key Carnival value, a safety briefing will be conducted ahead of every sailing,” the email notification explains.

“Shortly before departure, a full safety drill will take place on your upcoming sailing. This is a mandatory procedure, and all guests will be required to participate in this brief but essential exercise.”

The impacted cruises are the following ships and departures:

• Carnival Spirit: October 8, 16-night one-way cruise from Seattle to Mobile, transiting the Panama Canal and including visits to Cabo San Lucas, Puntarenas, and Cartagena
• Carnival Luminosa: October 9, 14-night one-way cruise from Tokyo to Singapore with ports of call in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, and Vietnam
• Carnival Legend: October 11, 12-night Eastern Mediterranean sailing roundtrip from Civitavecchia (Rome) with port visits in Turkey, Greece, and Italy
• Carnival Radiance: October 11, 14-night roundtrip Hawaii cruise from Long Beach visiting Kahului, Honolulu, Nawiliwili, Hilo, and Ensenada
• Carnival Firenze: October 12, 7-night Mexican Riviera adults-only SEA cruise from Long Beach visiting Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas, and Ensenada
• Carnival Miracle: October 12, 10-night roundtrip Western Caribbean sailing from Galveston with visits to Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Honduras, Belize, and Cozumel

On each impacted sailing, ship-wide public address announcements will alert guests about each step, from gathering at their assigned muster stations to the instructions for donning a life vest to the ship’s emergency alert signal of seven short blasts followed by one long blast.

Crew members will be on hand to check guests’ Sail and Sign cards to be sure everyone attends the safety briefing, as well as to demonstrate life vest use and distribute wristbands to young cruisers that identify their muster stations.

While the possibility of an emergency that would require these safety procedures to be implemented is slim, Carnival Cruise Line takes safety very seriously and all guests must participate in the in-person drill. Food and beverage service is temporarily closed during the safety briefing.

Self-Mustering Not Ending

While these six sailings will have full, in-person drills, the self-mustering or “e-muster” format is not going away and will still be the protocol on all but the listed sailings.

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Carnival Cruise Line’s brand ambassador, John Heald, has been clear that the in-person drill is conducted on every vessel twice each year to comply with governmental and international safety regulations, regardless of where ships may be homeported at the time.

“This is something that every single ship needs to do twice a year as per US Coast Guard, Australian Coast Guard, and other government agencies, and SOLAS, Safety of Life at Sea,” Heald confirmed in October 2025.

Guests on impacted sailings receive the notification letters shortly before their embarkation dates. In very exceptional circumstances, however, the in-person drill might be cancelled.

Carnival Sunshine, for example, was scheduled to have a full safety briefing at the beginning of the ship’s September 27, 2026 departure from Norfolk. When the ship was delayed back to Virginia and the next departure was moved to September 28 due to the nor’easter, however, the in-person drill was cancelled and guests used the self-mustering procedure instead.

This ensured the drill could be completed more quickly and the ship could get underway as soon as possible on her shortened sailing. To comply with international safety regulations, the in-person drill will likely be rescheduled for a different sailing in the near future.