Europeans still think cruise liners are safe

Most Europeans still think cruises are safe despite the Costa Concordia shipwreck tragedy on January 13 that claimed 32 lives, according to a poll by cruise ship operator MSC.

The poll by the Interactive Institute of 2,524 people in France, Germany, Italy and Spain from February 3 to 14 found that 78.5 per cent of respondents considered cruises a safe way to travel.

The best result was in Italy where the figure was 84 per cent.

The poll was conducted before another accident in the Indian Ocean on the Costa Allegra, a ship from the same fleet as the Costa Concordia, in which a fire left the vessel without engine power and electricity.

The confidence rate in Italy rose to 98 per cent for people who have already gone on at least one cruise in their life.

“We are sure that we are getting out of the slowdown in bookings seen since January and that we can therefore interpret as a decision to delay bookings rather than giving up on cruises,” MSC director Domenico Pellegrino said.

The Costa Concordia crashed off an Italian island with 4,229 people on board including 3,200 tourists from 60 countries.