Service businesses rarely intentionally do something their customers will hate unless they have to or stand to benefit from it. You might see an airline or a cruise line make an unpleasant change due to government regulations or as a way to make more money, not just because they want to.
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH), however, has taken a curious step in rolling back the one covid-era cruising change that people seem to like. That's an odd move for the cruise line, which competes for passengers with Royal Caribbean Group (RCL) and Carnival Cruise Line (CCL).
Before the pandemic, all the cruise lines started their cruises with a muster drill. By U.S. law, the ship had to have all passengers report to their muster station -- the place passengers are supposed to go in the event of an emergency -- to learn how to put on a life jacket, hear emergency instructions, and listen to the ship's warning signal (a series of horn blasts).
It was a very unpopular part of the trip as a ship would close all venues before the drill so passengers would report. Invariably, some people would think they were exempt, or simply try to skip the drill, keeping everyone else on board waiting. That could be especially uncomfortable for people with an outside muster station who could be left baking in the sun while ship security tracks down errant passengers.
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The Pandemic Changed the Muster Drill (for the Better)
Only a few changes from the covid era have stuck around. The cruise lines, for example no longer serve people at the buffet, masks have become optional, and social distancing is nothing but a memory. Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Norwegian had, however, kept the pandemic take on the muster drill.
Called an e-muster or virtual muster, passengers could watch a series of safety videos on their phones or on the television in their cabin. After that, they had to check in at their muster station which took only a few seconds.
It was a much simpler system that no longer involved the ship closing down or any passengers being dependent on others showing up. Now, Norwegian has decided to get rid of the virtual system and return to the classic muster drill, according to an email sent to travel agents.
“The safety of our guests and crew members is our number one priority. We continuously evaluate our procedures for providing detailed instructions on safety and security measures to our guests, and as such, have made the decision to reinstate synchronized muster drills on embarkation day across all vessels in the fleet,” the company shared.
Norwegian will begin the new (old) muster drill on the next departure day for each of its ships.
Walt Disney's (DIS) cruise line has also returned to the classic muster drill, making it the first major cruise line to make that change.
Will Royal Caribbean and Carnival Follow?
The U.S. Coast Guard both requires and enforces the muster drill. Using a virtual drill does create more work for the cruise lines as they only know which passengers are trying to get out of the drill when the time allotted for completion has passed.
Carnival Loyalty Ambassador John Heald recently shared his cruise line's plans on his Facebook page in response to cruise message boards reports that the old muster was coming back.
"The fact is that Mrs Glitterknickers who posted that we were returning to the pre-covid way of doing the drill is mistaken and is talking nonsense. Safety is always the top of our list. Your safety, the safety of the crew, and ultimately the safety of the ship herself will always be most paramount. The current way is working. It is working for you and for us and for U.S. Coast Guard who come on every ship and check everything we do safety-wise," he shared.
Royal Caribbean has not publicly said it has any plans to do the same. Currently, all Royal Caribbean ships sailing from the U.S. continue to use what the cruise line has called "muster 2.0."
