If you’ve sailed on any modern cruise line in the past few years, chances are your muster drill experience was quick, convenient, and digital.
Most major lines—Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, Princess, Virgin Voyages and MSC—now offer an “e-muster” drill. Watch a safety briefing on your app or stateroom TV, swing by your muster station for a quick check in, and you’re free to start your vacation.
But if you step onto a Disney Cruise, you’ll notice something very different. Disney Cruise Line remains one of the few major lines still holding the traditional, in person muster drill. Every passenger must gather at their station, listen to the announcements live, and wait until the crew confirms attendance.
That raises the question: should Disney update its approach?
The Frustration of Delays
Safety is absolutely paramount and DCL has certainly proved that they can handle an emergency situation. The crew on Disney Dream recently performed a miraculous rescue after a child fell overboard and her father jumped in after her. Amazingly both were saved, due to the skilled response of the DCL crew.
Ask almost any Disney cruiser and you’ll hear the same story: the muster drill is delayed because passengers are late.
It seems like most times I have attended a muster drill on DCL (and that is a lot of times) there is a delay while hundreds of guests have to wait for the people who are late. I just expect it these days.
Whether someone loses track of time, doesn’t hear the announcements, or just doesn’t want to stop their first?day excitement, it only takes a few stragglers to hold up hundreds of people.
Families—often with small, restless children—end up waiting in the heat on deck or crowded into lounges until everyone is finally accounted for.
It’s not exactly the magical start you want, but it is a small price to pay for safety.
But on the cruise lines which don’t have the traditional in person muster drills, there are always repeated announcements letting you know just how many people are still to complete the process, which takes minutes.
It seems that no matter whatever the system used, some people don’t take the muster drill seriously enough
A Real Time Example: The Disney Wish Alarm
This isn’t just about first?day annoyance—it matters in emergencies too.
Take the Disney Wish “man overboard” false alarm that occurred in August 2025, just an hour after leaving Nassau.
When the alarm went off, crew members quickly launched rescue boats and threw life rings into the water. Guests were instructed to proceed to their muster stations for a headcount—a vital part of confirming whether someone is truly missing.
But here’s the concerning part: even during this emergency drill, some passengers showed up late. Despite the seriousness of the situation, the orderly process was slowed by guests who didn’t respond immediately.
Disney handled the situation swiftly overall, and thankfully it turned out to be a false alarm caused by debris in the water.
Still, the scene highlights a real problem: if punctuality is an issue during a planned drill—and even during a perceived real emergency—shouldn’t the system be re?evaluated?
This emergency also highlights a problem if you don’t have in person drills. If all you have to do is watch a video and check in at the entrance to your muster station, are you less likely to remember where that is?
In the chaos of a real emergency would you remember the location of the assembly station. It would surely be easier to do that if you had spent 30 minutes in the Walt Disney Theatre or standing outside in the sunshine, at your muster station, rather than just checking in briefly with someone who swipes your cruise card?
Related: Disney Wish Man Overboard False Alarm
Why Disney Sticks With the Traditional Drill
Disney hasn’t made an official statement on why it continues to require in?person drills, but there are a few possible reasons:
- Families with young children: With so many kids onboard, Disney may feel face?to?face instructions give parents the clarity and seriousness they need.
- Safety culture: Disney prides itself on being one of the safest cruise lines afloat. It is not tested as to which is the safest method, but it would seem likely that if you have actually spend time at your muster station that you are more likely to remember where it is.
- Consistency across the fleet: Every passenger, every voyage gets the same message the same way.
These points make sense—but are they worth the tradeoff in time, comfort, and efficiency for guests?
Time for a Change?
The Disney Wish incident underscores the debate. If even a man overboard alarm results in latecomers slowing the process, perhaps the traditional model isn’t as effective as hoped.
E muster drills prove that passengers can understand safety protocols without large, crowded gatherings. Other cruise lines have shown that flexibility and technology don’t come at the expense of safety. In fact, with faster compliance, they may even improve it.
But the problem is that there is no effective way of testing which method is best unless you have a large scale emergency which involves an evacuation of the ship.
Fortunately an event requiring evacuation of a cruise ship is extremely rare. The most notable exception, and let’s not talk about the Titanic, was onJanuary 13, 2012, when the Costa Concordia wrecked just off the coast of an Italian island. 32 people died as a result of this avoidable tragedy (the captain was jailed for manslaughter).
There are reports that the passengers had never received any safety instructions and a muster drill hadn’t taken place.
So the real question is this: should Disney go with the crowd and move towards e-muster, or does the muster in person provide a better safety experience.
Disney guests know safety is non?negotiable. The recent Dream rescue of a father and daughter who fell overboard demonstrated just how skilled and prepared the crew can be when it truly matters. No one doubts their training and commitment.
But when the biggest hazard at muster drills becomes waiting on latecomers, maybe it’s time to reconsider the format.
But if a 30 minute inconvenience at the start of your cruise is going to mean a better passenger and crew response to an emergency then it is very clear that DCL is doing things right.
What do you think: should Disney stick with tradition, or adopt the e?muster approach like the rest of the industry?
Alison Meacham is the founder of EverythingMouse Disney Blog. For over 15 years she has shared her love of Disney Parks, Disney Cruises and Universal Orlando. In over 30 years of Disney Travel she has spent countless months in Disney Parks and has sailed on over 45 cruises. A British native and now a United States resident she splits her time between California, Florida and the UK. And spends a serious amount of time sailing the seven seas. She helps over 200,000 people per month follow their Disney travel dreams.