With the tragic news about the Costa Concordia dominating the headlines over the last week. The question everyone is asking is "Will this put people off cruising?" Over the past week almost every person I have quoted or even talked to has mentioned it in one form or another. Was the cruise line prepared enough? Could it of been prevented? Will it have a knock on effect and impact the industry? Lots of questions have been asked which I'm sure will all come out in time, but for now this is what we know.....................
Costa is not a massively popular cruise line in the UK anyway. After this I'm sure there will be even fewer UK based clients wanting to sail with them. Abroad I imagine they still may do OK ,as Costa to Italy is what P&O is to the UK. Whatever the truth is, may it be human error, broken equipment etc, The fact is this happened to a Costa ship and unfortunately for them, mud sticks. Are their ships worse than others? The Costa brand and vessels are actually very good. The Concordia was one of their best. so in terms of what is on offer they are as good as any. But judging by the reaction of the people I have been talking to, it will take them a long time to recover.
Another question I keep getting asked is "Are we more quite as a whole?" January is a notoriously busy month for us. It is traditionally when people book holidays to get over the winter blues. This is my 5th January here, I can honestly say we are as busy as ever. Most past cruise guests will realise that this event was a one off tragic accident, and still see cruising to be the safest way to travel. On the other hand, less experienced cruisers may find the opposite, and possibly be put off a future cruise.
Will cruising continue to be popular? I think it will be. People will still cruise the same that people will still fly. Major cruise lines are reviewing all their safety procedures, its just such a shame, that it as come at such a high cost for the poor people who lost their life last week. My thoughts are with them all.
I must agree with your comments. I feel that the captain and not the cruise line is to blame. We have travelled with Costa, and the only reason we would not do so again, is because
ReplyDeleteEnglish speaking guersts find they are put right of the bottom of the list when it comes to announcements. We much prefer the English or American lines.