In respnse to the Costa Concordia disaster, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has directed all ships to hold passenger muster drills on the day of departure.
RCCL's U.S. brands are Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity and Azamara Club Cruises.
Typically, all RCCL vessels hold muster drills 30 to 60 minutes prior to departure on the day of embarkation or turnaround, the company said.
“On rare occasions, primarily due to very late departure times, the drill is held the following morning,” said an RCCL spokesman.
RCCL is the first cruise company to directly address evacuation drills since the Concordia accident, which occurred before about 700 passengers could attend a muster drill.
Those passengers embarked the ship in Civitavecchia, Italy, about four hours before the crash near the Tuscan island of Giglio.
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