Following the Costa Concordia disaster, major cruise lines are emailing customers to reassure them of ship safety. The companies are trying to stave off what may be a large decline in cruising, according to analysts. The prediction is based on graphic videos and images circulating on social media sites and the unfortunate timing of the incident: during prime cruise-booking season and three months before the 100-year anniversary of the Titanic. To commemorate the sinking of the Titanic, which lost over 1500 passengers, the media will likely draw comparisons to Costa Concordia, keeping the tragedy alive in consumers' minds.

Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian have emailed customers over the past few days, and we see two main themes emerge from these communications: 

• Safety standards, procedures, and records
• Qualifications of the captains

Download Celebrity Cruise email

Download Royal Caribbean email

Download Norwegian Cruise email

In its email to customers, Royal Caribbean links to this video explaining the company's safety culture:

Discussion Starters:

• What differences do you notice among the three emails, particularly whether they refer specifically to Costa Concordia?
• Which email works best and why? 
• How do you assess the Royal Caribbean safety video? Does it reassure you, as a potential passenger?