After the disaster aboard the Concordia last month, the cruise industry is finally getting some much needed scruntity. We have been saying for years that the industry has a top-notch public relations program, which serves to help the industry avoid much of the criticism which is rightly deserved in many situations. A New York Times article yesterday reviews some of the dangers. Here are som selected quotes:
When discussing the prevelance of virus outbreaks on cruise ships, the article points out that “Last year, there were 14 outbreaks of gastrointestinal illnesses on 10 ships, affecting hundreds of passengers.” These outbreaks included outbreaks of Norovirus, which is a highly contagious, air-borne, disease affecting the stomach.
Crime is also a big problem on cruise ships. Amazingly, accorrding to the article:
“Last year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation closed 16 investigations involving crime on cruise ships, 13 of which were sexual assaults, according to data posted online by the Coast Guard. But that doesn’t represent the total number of incidents reported to the F.B.I., including any still-open or pending prosecutions.”
With approximatly 10 million cruisers last year, this number is surely under-reported.
Other dangers discussed in the article are fire, and falling overboard. But it is clear that these represent just some of the dangers which cruise passengers face, which also include cruise ship sinking, and being stranded in a foreign land.
Primary Source: http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/travel/reassessing-cruise-safety.html
Tags: Concordia, Cruise Ship Dangers, Norovirus