Poll Reveals Sinking Public Trust in Cruise Ships

Public opinion of cruise ships continues to sink according to a recent poll that assessed general trust in travel by cruise ship.

The image of cruise ships has plummeted this last few years with numerous reports of food poisoning, general illness, and even a wreck.

According to a recently conducted Harris Poll, public trust in the cruise industry has dropped by approximately 12 percent. The poll, which questioned a sample population of more than 2,000 adults, asked participants questions regarding their trust of name brand cruise agencies, and cruising in general. The questions also concerned opinions of quality and even whether or not people planned to book a cruise this year.

According to the results of the online survey, scores concerning the overall quality of cruise ship experiences has dropped by 11 percent, compared to the reported quality of cruise experiences just last February. Over the same window of time, plans to book a cruise have sunk by 13 percent, according to the poll results.

Pollsters theorize that much of this reduction in trust has to do with the great many negative headlines concerning cruises that have built up over the last couple years.

Earlier this year 124 people were infected with norovirus -- a type of food poisoning which causes a swelling of the digestive tract.

Even more recently, the cruise ship the Crown Princess reported potential exposure to nornovrus among more than 4,000 passengers and crew members on Tuesday.

Infection is not the only concern that the public has about cruising. Safety concerns about the ships themselves have also been raised. Back in February, 2013 a fire broke out on a Carnival vessel that left the ship adrift in the Gulf of Mexico for a handful of days. A year earlier, the Costa Concordia wrecked itself off the coast off the coast of Italy, causing 30 reported deaths. More than 4,200 crew members and passengers had to abandon ship.

The details of the survey were published by Harris Polls on April 9.