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Running head: CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 1
A Comparative Analysis of Crisis Events in the Cruise Ship Industry:
Recommendations from a Public Relations Perspective
Blake Miller
Missouri State University
CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 2
A Comparative Analysis of Crisis Event in the Cruise Ship Industry:
Recommendations from a Public Relations Perspective
INTRODUCTION
Cruise lines are a major industry in today’s society. Many different people will flock to
the coast to take a vacation across water to various places. Most people will partake in this type
of vacation due to the relatively low costs of the trip. Despite the growing popularity of cruise
lines, there are major crises occurring within this industry. In most cases, when a crisis occurs
there tends to be a dip in the sales and popularity of that organization or product. For example,
when there are product recalls, that company tends to take a major hit in their profit and the
public opinion diminishes. However, in cruise lines, it seems to be growing despite all of the
major problems, deaths, and sicknesses. Gerlak and McGarry (2014) foresee 21.7 million guests
to book passage on one of the 63 member cruise lines within the year of 2014. There are
multiple cruise ships for each member within the Cruise Line International Association. To meet
this demand the cruise line industry will end up building and commissioning 24 new ships
(Gerlak & McGarry, 2014). If this trend continues, it will become the world’s top vacation
destination in the world serving many different cultures and people. Despite this obvious
growth, many cruise lines face many problems in their operations. Some of these problems have
become major crises that these companies must face. There are three particular crises that will
be analyzed and criticized to determine implications and recommendations for public relations
practitioners. These companies have developed crisis plans in order to maintain or boost their
reputations in the event of a major problem. The three cruise ship crises that will be analyzed are
the Crown Princess and the norovirus (Haiken, 2014); Carnival Triumph and being stranded in
the Gulf of Mexico (USA Today, 2013; Sutton et al., 2013); and the Costa Concordia when the
CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 3
ship fell to its side (Nadeau, 2013). Situational crisis communication theory will be used to
determine the effectiveness and preparedness of each crisis plan. Before launching into the
details of each crisis, one must have a basic understanding of situational crisis communication
theory.
SITUATIONAL CRISIS COMMUNICATION THEORY
Situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) focuses on the use of communication to
preserve and protect an organization’s reputation (Coombs, 2004). This is essentially developing
a crisis plan that will be effective for a particular disaster and that will fit for a certain company.
A crisis plan will not be universal for companies across the board or situations across the board.
Each of the three cruise lines needed a crisis plan for the situation that it faced. The Carnival
cruise line would not have been able to use a crisis plan that the Princess cruise line used when
the ship had an outbreak of the norovirus. However, it is essential for public relations
practitioners to look at other crises to determine the best plan of action for their company
(Coombs, 2004). Knowing what is in the past helps laying the foundation for the future. SCCT
provides an evidence-based schema to maximize the protection for the business’s reputation
(Coombs, 2007). Protecting the reputation of the business is a major factor when dealing with
crisis plans. The reputation of the particular business can retain current customers and recruit
new customers as well. A faulty, or poor, reputation can hinder a business’s growth. Coombs
(2007) states that a reputation is evaluated in large on how the stakeholders perceive the
experience and the product or service meeting their needs. Bryson (2004) describes a
stakeholder as anyone with an investment in an organization (shareholders, employees,
customers, etc.).
CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 4
In order to gain a better explanation of SCCT one must know how to define a crisis. A
crisis is essentially a sudden or unexpected event that disrupts, or threatens to disrupt, an
organization’s operation; this can be done by both hurting the company financially or
reputational. Coombs (2012) states that a crisis is the perception of an unpredictable event that
threatens important experiences within the stakeholders and can seriously impact the
organization in various ways; including, performance, outcomes, and finances.
SCCT has various approaches when trying to determine the best form of action to take;
however, the most common action is pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis (2007). During the pre-
crisis phase, there are three substages: signal detection, prevention, and crisis preparation
(Coombs, 2012). The crisis stage involves two sections: crisis recognition and crisis
containment. Finally, the post-crisis stages involves three ways to create the most effective
system: make the organization better prepared for the next crisis, make sure the stakeholders are
left with a positive experience, and make sure the crisis is actually over. These steps are
essential to developing the best possible plan of action during a crisis. Once these needs are
fulfilled, the organization is truly ready to face another crisis.
Coombs (2004) gives a brief list of crisis types, definitions and cues. The first crisis is a
victim crisis cluster. This could be a natural disaster, rumors, workplace violence, or product
tampering. A natural disaster is an act of nature that can damage an organization, such as,
earthquakes, storms, etc. A rumor is essentially how it sounds, a false or damaging piece of
information that portrays a business in a false light; however, there must be evidence that proves
the information is false. Workplace violence includes former and current employees who attack
any current employee while on the organization’s premises. Product tampering is when an
external person or agent causes damage to the organization or has altered a product to cause hard
CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 5
or to make the product dangerous. The next crisis is an accidental crisis cluster. This includes
challenges that the company may face, technical error accidents, or technical error recalls. A
challenge is a situation in which a stakeholder claims that an organization is operating in an
inappropriate manner; based on moral or ethical dilemma, not legal issues. A technical error
accident is when technology or equipment failure causes an industrial accident within the
organization. A technical error recall is when a technical or equipment failure causes a particular
product to be recalled; the product must be deemed harmful to stakeholders. The last major
crisis Coombs presents is the intentional crisis cluster. This can include human error accidents,
human error recalls, or organizational misdeed. A human error accident is when a person causes
an industrial accident due to the person or persons not performing a job correctly. A human error
recall is when a person causes a product to be recalled due the person or persons failing to
perform a job correctly. Finally, an organizational misdeed is when management violates a law
or regulation or stakeholders are place at risk by management; the members must knowingly
violate the law or regulation or the product/service must be known to injure stakeholders. There
have been many various research projects involving SCCT, this paper looks at two different
research projects to determine the effectiveness of the response strategies.
Howell and Miller (2010) state that it is important for the organization to know how they
will respond to a crisis. During a study involving Maple Leaf Foods, Howell and Miller (2010)
looked at a crisis and analyzed it using SCCT. The crisis involved a major recall of certain foods
due to the deaths of 21 people. They looked at the pre-crisis management to see if there was a
system in place to determine the best course of action to this particular catastrophe. They
discovered that the organization had a clear purpose behind every campaign and response due to
CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 6
this crisis. They found that the company, as a whole, did a good job at responding to the crisis in
a mature and friendly manner.
The next research project looked at the Red Cross in response to donations after 9/11.
Sisco (2012) found that the Red Cross went through a rapid decline after the devastating terrorist
attack in September of 2001. Sisco (2012) found that the Red Cross had to do crisis management
for this particular attack on the United States of America. She found that this not only affected
the country as a whole, but the donations for non-profits as well. She found that the organization
responded in a speedy manner and had an effective crisis plan.
Overall, situational crisis communication theory is a great way to create a crisis plan. It
lays out a clear foundation to evaluate past crisis communication plans to see how effective they
were. It also creates a systematic way to create a communication plan based off of an
organization’s needs. Throughout the next portion of the paper, three companies will be used to
determine the overall effectiveness of different crisis plans in the cruise line industry. The
purpose of this paper is to determine what can be learned for public relations crisis management
practice from a comparative analysis of cruise ship crisis events.
RQ1: What can be learned for PR crisis management practice from a comparative
analysis of cruise ship crisis events?
PLANNING
The three cruise lines had different approaches to these crisis events. There are similar
aspects to each of the cruise lines approaches to the situation. There was no way that either of
these cruise lines could have covered the situation up and keeping it out of the public’s eye is a
nonexistent dream for them. The campaigns did have a central theme—share updates on
information regarding the crisis itself.
CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 7
Campaign Objectives:
Crown Princess:
• Engage the audiences through the media to generate information about the crisis itself
and the overall impact of sicknesses on cruise ships.
• Keep misinformation from becoming the spotlight.
Carnival Triumph:
• Engage the audiences through the media to generate information about the crisis itself
and safety on a cruise ship during the event of becoming stranded.
• Relay the overall safety of cruise lines in general.
• Keep misinformation from becoming the spotlight.
Costa Concordia:
• Engage the audiences through the media to generate information about the crisis itself
and safety of cruise ships and the unlikelihood of shipwrecks.
• Keep misinformation out of the spotlight.
• Inform the various audiences how to conduct during the event of such a crisis.
Strategy
Crown Princess:
• Maintain multifaceted communication to create a high visibility rate and educate about
the safety of the norovirus.
• Work in coordination with the various organizations that are helping during the crisis:
Center of Disease Control and others.
CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 8
Carnival Triumph:
• Maintain multifaceted communication to create high visibility rates and educate about the
safety of cruise lines.
• Demonstrate transparency and build trust by communicating early and regularly.
• Work in coordination with the various organizations that are involved: U.S. Coast Guard
and other state/federal officials.
• Provide accessibility to the various stakeholders within and without the organization.
Costa Concordia:
• Maintain multifaceted communication to create a high visibility rate within the media and
to education the public on cruise line safety in the event of tipping.
• Demonstrate transparency and build trust by communicating early and regularly.
Target Audience
Crown Princess:
• Crown Princess employees
• Cruise line customers
• Stakeholders within the organization (partners, tourism agencies, etc.)
• Media and the general public
Carnival Triumph:
• Carnival Triumph customers
• Cruise line customers
• Stakeholders within the organization (partners, tourism agencies, etc.)
• Media and the general public
CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 9
Costa Concordia:
• Costa Concordia employees
• Cruise line customers
• Stakeholders within the organization (partners, tourism agencies, etc.)
• Media and the general public
EXECUTION
Crown Princess
In February of 2014 the Crown Princess had an outbreak of the norovirus (Haiken, 2014).
The ship had around 3,000 passengers and a little over 1,000 crew members (Johnson, 2014).
The norovirus is a stomach virus that is highly contagious. The cruise was cut short due to the
fact that quite a few of the passengers contracted the virus. About 100 passengers and 23 crew
members contracted the virus during the duration of the cruise (Firger, 2014). Although this may
seem like a relatively low number, it is a high number in one concentrated area.
• Maintain multifaceted communication to create a high visibility rate and educate
about the safety of the norovirus.
o Social Media: The campaign for the norovirus outbreak was not highly monitored
on their various social media websites. The Twitter feed did not have one article
or post about the norovirus outbreak. Facebook also did not mention anything
about the outbreak.
o Website: The campaign for the norovirus outbreak also was not highly monitored
on their website either. The Crown Cruise Line website posted one article about
the norovirus outbreak; however, it came from the Center of Disease Control and
was not created particularly for the website.
CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 10
o News Media (print and broadcast): The campaign for the norovirus outbreak was
highly monitored throughout the news media. There are several articles posted on
different news outlets to inform the public of what occurred on the Crown
Princess cruise ship during their trip.
• Work in coordination with the various organizations that are helping during the
crisis: Center of Disease Control.
o Website: The Crown Cruise Line added an article that was posted from the Center
of Disease Control about preventing a norovirus outbreak. The article posted
many different ways for individual passengers to avoid such a case from
happening again.
Carnival Triumph
In February of 2013 the Carnival Triumph left the port to carry its passengers on a routine
cruise. However, the ship had a fire outbreak on ship and was immediately put out (Newcomb,
2013). The ship had around 3,000 passengers and 1,000 crew members. The fire caused a
variety of electrical problems including the air-conditioner, controls of the ship and other
electrical facilities. However, as the stranded ship sat waiting other problems started to surface.
The bathroom facilities stopped working due to a plumbing issue (Wilkinson, 2013). When the
cruise ship passengers continued to use the facilities the bathrooms started to overflow into the
cabins of passengers. This, of course, caused a variety of problems including sanitation and
cleanliness of the ship.
• Maintain multifaceted communication to create high visibility rates and educate
about the safety of cruise lines.
CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 11
o Social Media: The campaign for the Carnival Triumph was fully supported on
their various social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). They posted
information about the crisis and responded to the posts/tweets that were negative
towards the organization. More information could have been provided in general,
but it was still an effective outlet for their crisis.
o Website: The campaign for the Carnival triumph was lacking support on the
website. There were not any press releases for the incident or any after the
incident on the main website. Also, there were not any press releases on the
investor website that documented the crisis and their response.
o News Media (print and broadcast): The campaign for the Carnival Triumph was
highly monitored. Information was being distributed throughout the various
media outlets and information was reaching the public.
• Demonstrate transparency and build trust by communicating early and regularly.
o News Media (print and broadcast): There was regular communication taking
place within the organization to the outside world via news media. They
commented about the crisis first before others could start sharing information.
They also commented and shared information on a regular basis. They did not
share information that was relevant to the situation and not just talking to talk.
• Work in coordination with the various organizations that are involved: U.S. Coast
Guard and other state/federal officials.
o Communication: The organization had help from the U.S. Coast Guard. The ship
was towed in by the Coast Guard and they were in communication regularly to
guarantee the safety of the passengers on the ship.
CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 12
• Provide accessibility to the various stakeholders within and without the
organization.
o Website: This was an area that was lacking substantially. There were no
documents accessible by the public that documented the crisis for the
stakeholders. They may have received information at a meeting, but the
documents were not accessible on their website.
Costa Concordia
In January of 2012, the Costa Concordia ran aground and tipped to its side off the coast
of Tuscany (Irvine, 2013). The ship had about 4,100 passengers, including crew members (NY
Daily News, 2013). The Captain had taken the ship off course for unknown reasons. During the
evacuation 32 people lost their life. Not only is this a major crisis because of the incident itself,
but also because some things on board the ship were not done correctly. The captain abandoned
the ship before the evacuation was complete and this created a lot of controversy over his
actions. The captain is now facing charges of multiple manslaughter (CBS News, 2014).
• Maintain multifaceted communication to create a high visibility rate within the
media and to education the public on cruise line safety in the event of tipping.
o Social Media: The campaign for the Costa Concordia was not highly monitored
on their social media sites. There was some basic information posted on Twitter,
Facebook, etc., but not a lot of information.
o Website: The campaign for the Costa Concordia was not monitored at all on their
website during the crisis. The press releases found on the website do not mention
the fatal accident at all. However, they may have had a separate website to list
details concerning the catastrophe.
CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 13
o News Media (print and broadcast): The campaign for the Costa Concordia was
highly monitored on the various news outlets. The Costa Cruise Line put a lot of
information out into the media and kept giving follow-up information.
Information is still being shared about the captain and how his trials are going
within the court system. Information is also being shared about the ship being
floated out of the ocean cleaned up (Trott, 2014).
• Demonstrate transparency and build trust by communicating early and regularly.
o News Media (print and broadcast): The Costa Concordia communicated
information when this accident first occurred. They kept an open line with the
media to share information about the accident and what actually happened. Not
only were they first to respond to this terrible accident, but they kept sharing
information throughout.
EVALUATION
Crown Princess
Overall, the Crown Cruise Line did a poor job during the norovirus crisis during their
cruise. There were many different things that could have been done to create a different outcome
and more customer satisfaction. The cruise did not compensate anyone for their cruise and chose
to say that it was not their fault. This may be true; however, it did occur on their ship.
In the past, they have had different methods to solve this problem. A norovirus outbreak
has occurred on a Crown Cruise ship before. Although, things could have turned out differently
there are many recommendations that can be made from a public relations practitioner’s
perspective.
Carnival Triumph
CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 14
Overall, the Carnival Cruise Line did a good job at handling the crisis. The cruise did a
good job at keeping information flowing to the public and at keeping a panic from occurring.
The cruise line gave each passenger $500 to go towards refunding their tickets (Wilkinson, 2013;
Newcomb, 2013; Tuttle, 2013). There were many passengers aboard the ship that feel that this
was not a good compensation for the atrocities that occurred on the ship. The cruise line,
however, failed to keep an information line to their stakeholders on a website. With this in mind,
they may have had a separate website for disasters and disabled it after the accident occurred.
This was a stand-alone occurrence with Carnival Cruise Line. Despite this catastrophe,
the Carnival Triumph came back four months later and was fully booked (Tuttle, 2013). The
Carnival Triumph is still in operation today. There are a few recommendations that can be made
from a public relations practitioner’s perspective. These recommendations will be in the next
section.
Costa Concordia
Overall, Costa Cruise Line did a good job at handling this crisis. The cruise line did a
great job at keeping information flowing throughout the crisis and after the crisis was over. They
also did a good job at keeping the public from panicking and losing sales on cruise ship tickets.
The cruise line gave each passenger a refund of at least 11,000 euros (Irvine, 2013). This is
roughly $15,000 in today’s market. There is no follow-up information if the passengers received
their payment or not.
Also, the ship had a system in place for such an accident; however, the ship was in utter
chaos (Rivers, 2012). Many people are concerned about this for future cruises. If people do not
instruct their passengers on how to operate during an accident and the passengers do not act
accordingly, what happens then? This is a major concern for cruises in general, especially with
CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 15
the Costa Cruise Line. They do not want further accidents happen and they definitely do not
want a similar reaction from the crew and passengers.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Each of the crises was handled fairly well in the overall scheme of things. However,
there are a few recommendations that can be made for each from a public relations practitioner’s
perspective.
Crown Princess:
My biggest complaint with the Crown Princess incident was the compensation for each
passenger on the cruise ship. Although it was not the Crown Cruise Line’s fault, the event did
hinder many passengers from enjoying themselves on the cruise. They needed to put more
emphasis on customer satisfaction. If they would have reimbursed the passengers, given them a
free cruise, or even given them a discount on a different cruise, it would show the public that
they care about their passenger’s thoughts and feelings. This was not handled in the way that
could be most effective for the cruise line. There may be many people who will continue to go
on cruises, but there will be many who will not go back due to a poor experience. It is common
practice to retain the current customers rather than reaching new ones.
The next major issue with this particular crisis plan is the lack of a social media presence
throughout the duration of the crisis. The organization did have social media accounts, but they
were not used during this crisis. I believe social media is a good way to share information to the
public as a whole and reach people who may not follow the news media. This also shows the
public that the information is important, not only to the organization but to the public as well.
Finally, there was no website to look at any information regarding the crisis. There may
be a “crisis website” that is disabled when a crisis is not occurring. I feel that sharing and
CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 16
keeping information readily available to the public is a good idea. There should also be
documents available for the various shareholders to look at whenever they deem it necessary.
Carnival Triumph:
The Carnival Triumph did a great job at handling this particular crisis. The compensation
was an acceptable amount, although there were many complaints that it was not. I do, however,
feel that some follow information would have been handy to have. The website, news media,
and social media sites did not say if the conditions on the cruise affected anyone after getting off
of the ship. It would be interesting to know if anyone got sick due to these poor conditions
during the five day stranded period.
This crisis plan also lacked a social media presence. Again, I feel that this is a major way
to reach new audiences and to keep a running tab on information. This is also a good way to
keep a timeline of events for the public to view at will. This is a valuable tool that many
organizations are not using fully. There could be a few potential problems with people posting
negative comments about the particular crisis; however, if a person wants to post the comment
they will post it.
The next issue is with the website. Just like in the Crown Princess case there are a few
holes when trying to find information on the website. There were not any press releases or press
statements from the management or CEO. I think that this is a good way to keep the public
informed about what the company is doing in regards to the particular crisis. This also allows
the public to keep a search to a minimum if they want to view information about a particular
cruise line crisis.
CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 17
Costa Concordia:
This was a particularly bad crisis that occurred to the Costa Cruise Line. They handled
the situation fairly well and kept information readily available to the public. The compensation
was an acceptable amount; however, they could have gone into more details about the
compensation. This would have allowed the public to feel assured that the situation was handled
correctly. It took a lot of searching to find what kind of compensation was available to the
passengers of the Costa Concordia. I would have liked to have seen more details and
information.
Just like the other cruise lines, the Costa Cruise Line lacked a social media presence and
a website presence. This would have allowed information to flow more freely and to keep a
good timeline of events for the public to view.
General Recommendations
• Keep information flowing to the public in as many media outlets as possible i.e. social
media, news media, etc.
• Keep a transparent line of communication so the public can feel that trust can be made
and kept.
• Work in coordination with the various organizations that are involved with the crisis:
governmental organizations, transportation services, etc.
• Provide accessibility to the various stakeholders within the organization.
• Provide information in a timely manner i.e. first and regularly.
• Provide information that is accurate and useful to the public.
• Keep a follow-up record for the public to make sure that the various promises are kept
that are made throughout the crisis.
CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 18
References
5 convicted for 2012 shipwreck of Costa Concordia near Italy. (2013). NY Daily News. Retrieved
June 13, 2014, from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/5-convicted-costa-
concordia-shipwreck-article-1.1404333
Bryson, J. M. (2004). What to do when stakeholders matter: Stakeholder identification analysis
techniques. Public Management Review, 6, 21-53.
Coombs, W. (2004). Impact of past crises on current crisis communication. Journal Of Business
Communication, 41(3), 265-289. doi:10.1177/0021943604265607
Coombs, W. (2007). Protecting organization reputations during a crisis: The development and
application of situational crisis communication theory. Corporate Reputation
Review, 10(3), 163-176. doi:10.1057/palgrave.crr.1550049
Coombs, W. (2012). A need for more crisis management knowledge. Ongoing Crisis
Communication: Planning, Managing, and Responding (Third edition). Thousand Oaks:
Sage Publications.
Costa Concordia Captain Francesco Schettino boards grounded off Italy coast for 1st time since
disaster. (2014, February 27). CBS News. Retrieved July 13, 2014, from
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/costa-concordia-captain-francesco-schettino-to-board-
ship-off-italy-coast/
Firger, J. (2014). Norovirus suspected in new Princess Cruises outbreak. CBSNews. Retrieved
June 11, 2014, from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/princess-cruises-reports-new-
norovirus-outbreak/
Gerlak, L., & McGarry, M. (2014, January 16). The state of the cruise industry in 2014: Global
growth in passenger numbers and product offerings. Cruise Lines International
CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 19
Association. Retrieved June 11, 2014, from
http://www.cruising.org/vacation/news/press_releases/2014/01/state-cruise-industry-
2014-global-growth-passenger-numbers-and-product-o
Growth of cruise industry outpaces its scrutiny. (2013, Feb 28). USA TODAY Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1313208606?accountid=13921
Haiken, M. (2014, April 12). Is It Safe To Take A Cruise? 8 Virus Outbreaks In 3 Months.
Forbes. Retrieved June 11, 2014, from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2014/04/12/8-cruise-ship-outbreaks-in-2014-
is-your-cruise-safe/
Howell, G. J., & Miller, R. (2010). Organizational response to crisis: A case study of maple leaf
foods. Northwest Journal Of Communication, 39(1), 91-108.
Johnson, B. (2014). Norovirus Sickens Cruise Ship Passengers. NBC Bay Area. Retrieved June
13, 2014, from http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Norovirus-Sickens-Crown-
Princess-Cruise-Ship-Passengers--254441121.html?akmobile=o
Irvine, C. (2013). Costa Concordia recovery: timeline of cruise ship disaster. The Telegraph.
Retrieved June 13, 2014, from
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/10312026/Costa-Concordia-
recovery-timeline-of-cruise-ship-disaster.html
Nadeau, B. (2013, November 12). Costa Concordia captain didn't fall, but jumped into lifeboat,
crew member testifies. CNN. Retrieved June 11, 2014, from
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/12/world/europe/italy-costa-concordia/
CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 20
Newcomb, A. (2013). Carnival Cruise Ship Stranded Near Mexico. ABC News. Retrieved June
13, 2014, from http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyle/2013/02/carnival-cruise-ship-
stranded-near-mexico/
Rivers, D. (1970, January 1). Covering a cruise ship disaster. CNN. Retrieved June 13, 2014,
from http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/04/world/covering-costa-concordia/
Sisco, H. (2012). Nonprofit in crisis: An examination of the applicability of situational crisis
communication theory. Journal Of Public Relations Research, 24(1), 1-17.
doi:10.1080/1062726X.2011.582207
Sutton, J., Alsup, D., Ahlers, M., Johnston, C., Smith, E., Botelho, G., et al. (2013, February 12).
Busted toilets, hot rooms, headaches after fire strands cruise ship in Gulf. CNN. Retrieved
June 11, 2014, from http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/11/travel/cruise-ship-fire/
Trott, R. (2014, July 13). Costa Concordia wreck to be moved. BBC News. Retrieved July 13,
2014, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28285287
Tuttle, B. (2013). Four months after the ‘Poop Cruise,’ the Carnival ‘Triumph’ sails again - and
is sold out. Time Magazine. Retrieved June 13, 2014, from
http://business.time.com/2013/06/14/four-months-after-the-poop-cruise-the-carnival-
triumph-sails-again-and-is-sold-out/
Wilkinson, K. (2013). Cruise ship stranded. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 11, 2014, from
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ship-costa-concordia-carnival-cruise-lines

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Cruise ship crisis_case_study

  • 1. Running head: CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 1 A Comparative Analysis of Crisis Events in the Cruise Ship Industry: Recommendations from a Public Relations Perspective Blake Miller Missouri State University
  • 2. CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 2 A Comparative Analysis of Crisis Event in the Cruise Ship Industry: Recommendations from a Public Relations Perspective INTRODUCTION Cruise lines are a major industry in today’s society. Many different people will flock to the coast to take a vacation across water to various places. Most people will partake in this type of vacation due to the relatively low costs of the trip. Despite the growing popularity of cruise lines, there are major crises occurring within this industry. In most cases, when a crisis occurs there tends to be a dip in the sales and popularity of that organization or product. For example, when there are product recalls, that company tends to take a major hit in their profit and the public opinion diminishes. However, in cruise lines, it seems to be growing despite all of the major problems, deaths, and sicknesses. Gerlak and McGarry (2014) foresee 21.7 million guests to book passage on one of the 63 member cruise lines within the year of 2014. There are multiple cruise ships for each member within the Cruise Line International Association. To meet this demand the cruise line industry will end up building and commissioning 24 new ships (Gerlak & McGarry, 2014). If this trend continues, it will become the world’s top vacation destination in the world serving many different cultures and people. Despite this obvious growth, many cruise lines face many problems in their operations. Some of these problems have become major crises that these companies must face. There are three particular crises that will be analyzed and criticized to determine implications and recommendations for public relations practitioners. These companies have developed crisis plans in order to maintain or boost their reputations in the event of a major problem. The three cruise ship crises that will be analyzed are the Crown Princess and the norovirus (Haiken, 2014); Carnival Triumph and being stranded in the Gulf of Mexico (USA Today, 2013; Sutton et al., 2013); and the Costa Concordia when the
  • 3. CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 3 ship fell to its side (Nadeau, 2013). Situational crisis communication theory will be used to determine the effectiveness and preparedness of each crisis plan. Before launching into the details of each crisis, one must have a basic understanding of situational crisis communication theory. SITUATIONAL CRISIS COMMUNICATION THEORY Situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) focuses on the use of communication to preserve and protect an organization’s reputation (Coombs, 2004). This is essentially developing a crisis plan that will be effective for a particular disaster and that will fit for a certain company. A crisis plan will not be universal for companies across the board or situations across the board. Each of the three cruise lines needed a crisis plan for the situation that it faced. The Carnival cruise line would not have been able to use a crisis plan that the Princess cruise line used when the ship had an outbreak of the norovirus. However, it is essential for public relations practitioners to look at other crises to determine the best plan of action for their company (Coombs, 2004). Knowing what is in the past helps laying the foundation for the future. SCCT provides an evidence-based schema to maximize the protection for the business’s reputation (Coombs, 2007). Protecting the reputation of the business is a major factor when dealing with crisis plans. The reputation of the particular business can retain current customers and recruit new customers as well. A faulty, or poor, reputation can hinder a business’s growth. Coombs (2007) states that a reputation is evaluated in large on how the stakeholders perceive the experience and the product or service meeting their needs. Bryson (2004) describes a stakeholder as anyone with an investment in an organization (shareholders, employees, customers, etc.).
  • 4. CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 4 In order to gain a better explanation of SCCT one must know how to define a crisis. A crisis is essentially a sudden or unexpected event that disrupts, or threatens to disrupt, an organization’s operation; this can be done by both hurting the company financially or reputational. Coombs (2012) states that a crisis is the perception of an unpredictable event that threatens important experiences within the stakeholders and can seriously impact the organization in various ways; including, performance, outcomes, and finances. SCCT has various approaches when trying to determine the best form of action to take; however, the most common action is pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis (2007). During the pre- crisis phase, there are three substages: signal detection, prevention, and crisis preparation (Coombs, 2012). The crisis stage involves two sections: crisis recognition and crisis containment. Finally, the post-crisis stages involves three ways to create the most effective system: make the organization better prepared for the next crisis, make sure the stakeholders are left with a positive experience, and make sure the crisis is actually over. These steps are essential to developing the best possible plan of action during a crisis. Once these needs are fulfilled, the organization is truly ready to face another crisis. Coombs (2004) gives a brief list of crisis types, definitions and cues. The first crisis is a victim crisis cluster. This could be a natural disaster, rumors, workplace violence, or product tampering. A natural disaster is an act of nature that can damage an organization, such as, earthquakes, storms, etc. A rumor is essentially how it sounds, a false or damaging piece of information that portrays a business in a false light; however, there must be evidence that proves the information is false. Workplace violence includes former and current employees who attack any current employee while on the organization’s premises. Product tampering is when an external person or agent causes damage to the organization or has altered a product to cause hard
  • 5. CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 5 or to make the product dangerous. The next crisis is an accidental crisis cluster. This includes challenges that the company may face, technical error accidents, or technical error recalls. A challenge is a situation in which a stakeholder claims that an organization is operating in an inappropriate manner; based on moral or ethical dilemma, not legal issues. A technical error accident is when technology or equipment failure causes an industrial accident within the organization. A technical error recall is when a technical or equipment failure causes a particular product to be recalled; the product must be deemed harmful to stakeholders. The last major crisis Coombs presents is the intentional crisis cluster. This can include human error accidents, human error recalls, or organizational misdeed. A human error accident is when a person causes an industrial accident due to the person or persons not performing a job correctly. A human error recall is when a person causes a product to be recalled due the person or persons failing to perform a job correctly. Finally, an organizational misdeed is when management violates a law or regulation or stakeholders are place at risk by management; the members must knowingly violate the law or regulation or the product/service must be known to injure stakeholders. There have been many various research projects involving SCCT, this paper looks at two different research projects to determine the effectiveness of the response strategies. Howell and Miller (2010) state that it is important for the organization to know how they will respond to a crisis. During a study involving Maple Leaf Foods, Howell and Miller (2010) looked at a crisis and analyzed it using SCCT. The crisis involved a major recall of certain foods due to the deaths of 21 people. They looked at the pre-crisis management to see if there was a system in place to determine the best course of action to this particular catastrophe. They discovered that the organization had a clear purpose behind every campaign and response due to
  • 6. CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 6 this crisis. They found that the company, as a whole, did a good job at responding to the crisis in a mature and friendly manner. The next research project looked at the Red Cross in response to donations after 9/11. Sisco (2012) found that the Red Cross went through a rapid decline after the devastating terrorist attack in September of 2001. Sisco (2012) found that the Red Cross had to do crisis management for this particular attack on the United States of America. She found that this not only affected the country as a whole, but the donations for non-profits as well. She found that the organization responded in a speedy manner and had an effective crisis plan. Overall, situational crisis communication theory is a great way to create a crisis plan. It lays out a clear foundation to evaluate past crisis communication plans to see how effective they were. It also creates a systematic way to create a communication plan based off of an organization’s needs. Throughout the next portion of the paper, three companies will be used to determine the overall effectiveness of different crisis plans in the cruise line industry. The purpose of this paper is to determine what can be learned for public relations crisis management practice from a comparative analysis of cruise ship crisis events. RQ1: What can be learned for PR crisis management practice from a comparative analysis of cruise ship crisis events? PLANNING The three cruise lines had different approaches to these crisis events. There are similar aspects to each of the cruise lines approaches to the situation. There was no way that either of these cruise lines could have covered the situation up and keeping it out of the public’s eye is a nonexistent dream for them. The campaigns did have a central theme—share updates on information regarding the crisis itself.
  • 7. CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 7 Campaign Objectives: Crown Princess: • Engage the audiences through the media to generate information about the crisis itself and the overall impact of sicknesses on cruise ships. • Keep misinformation from becoming the spotlight. Carnival Triumph: • Engage the audiences through the media to generate information about the crisis itself and safety on a cruise ship during the event of becoming stranded. • Relay the overall safety of cruise lines in general. • Keep misinformation from becoming the spotlight. Costa Concordia: • Engage the audiences through the media to generate information about the crisis itself and safety of cruise ships and the unlikelihood of shipwrecks. • Keep misinformation out of the spotlight. • Inform the various audiences how to conduct during the event of such a crisis. Strategy Crown Princess: • Maintain multifaceted communication to create a high visibility rate and educate about the safety of the norovirus. • Work in coordination with the various organizations that are helping during the crisis: Center of Disease Control and others.
  • 8. CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 8 Carnival Triumph: • Maintain multifaceted communication to create high visibility rates and educate about the safety of cruise lines. • Demonstrate transparency and build trust by communicating early and regularly. • Work in coordination with the various organizations that are involved: U.S. Coast Guard and other state/federal officials. • Provide accessibility to the various stakeholders within and without the organization. Costa Concordia: • Maintain multifaceted communication to create a high visibility rate within the media and to education the public on cruise line safety in the event of tipping. • Demonstrate transparency and build trust by communicating early and regularly. Target Audience Crown Princess: • Crown Princess employees • Cruise line customers • Stakeholders within the organization (partners, tourism agencies, etc.) • Media and the general public Carnival Triumph: • Carnival Triumph customers • Cruise line customers • Stakeholders within the organization (partners, tourism agencies, etc.) • Media and the general public
  • 9. CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 9 Costa Concordia: • Costa Concordia employees • Cruise line customers • Stakeholders within the organization (partners, tourism agencies, etc.) • Media and the general public EXECUTION Crown Princess In February of 2014 the Crown Princess had an outbreak of the norovirus (Haiken, 2014). The ship had around 3,000 passengers and a little over 1,000 crew members (Johnson, 2014). The norovirus is a stomach virus that is highly contagious. The cruise was cut short due to the fact that quite a few of the passengers contracted the virus. About 100 passengers and 23 crew members contracted the virus during the duration of the cruise (Firger, 2014). Although this may seem like a relatively low number, it is a high number in one concentrated area. • Maintain multifaceted communication to create a high visibility rate and educate about the safety of the norovirus. o Social Media: The campaign for the norovirus outbreak was not highly monitored on their various social media websites. The Twitter feed did not have one article or post about the norovirus outbreak. Facebook also did not mention anything about the outbreak. o Website: The campaign for the norovirus outbreak also was not highly monitored on their website either. The Crown Cruise Line website posted one article about the norovirus outbreak; however, it came from the Center of Disease Control and was not created particularly for the website.
  • 10. CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 10 o News Media (print and broadcast): The campaign for the norovirus outbreak was highly monitored throughout the news media. There are several articles posted on different news outlets to inform the public of what occurred on the Crown Princess cruise ship during their trip. • Work in coordination with the various organizations that are helping during the crisis: Center of Disease Control. o Website: The Crown Cruise Line added an article that was posted from the Center of Disease Control about preventing a norovirus outbreak. The article posted many different ways for individual passengers to avoid such a case from happening again. Carnival Triumph In February of 2013 the Carnival Triumph left the port to carry its passengers on a routine cruise. However, the ship had a fire outbreak on ship and was immediately put out (Newcomb, 2013). The ship had around 3,000 passengers and 1,000 crew members. The fire caused a variety of electrical problems including the air-conditioner, controls of the ship and other electrical facilities. However, as the stranded ship sat waiting other problems started to surface. The bathroom facilities stopped working due to a plumbing issue (Wilkinson, 2013). When the cruise ship passengers continued to use the facilities the bathrooms started to overflow into the cabins of passengers. This, of course, caused a variety of problems including sanitation and cleanliness of the ship. • Maintain multifaceted communication to create high visibility rates and educate about the safety of cruise lines.
  • 11. CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 11 o Social Media: The campaign for the Carnival Triumph was fully supported on their various social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). They posted information about the crisis and responded to the posts/tweets that were negative towards the organization. More information could have been provided in general, but it was still an effective outlet for their crisis. o Website: The campaign for the Carnival triumph was lacking support on the website. There were not any press releases for the incident or any after the incident on the main website. Also, there were not any press releases on the investor website that documented the crisis and their response. o News Media (print and broadcast): The campaign for the Carnival Triumph was highly monitored. Information was being distributed throughout the various media outlets and information was reaching the public. • Demonstrate transparency and build trust by communicating early and regularly. o News Media (print and broadcast): There was regular communication taking place within the organization to the outside world via news media. They commented about the crisis first before others could start sharing information. They also commented and shared information on a regular basis. They did not share information that was relevant to the situation and not just talking to talk. • Work in coordination with the various organizations that are involved: U.S. Coast Guard and other state/federal officials. o Communication: The organization had help from the U.S. Coast Guard. The ship was towed in by the Coast Guard and they were in communication regularly to guarantee the safety of the passengers on the ship.
  • 12. CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 12 • Provide accessibility to the various stakeholders within and without the organization. o Website: This was an area that was lacking substantially. There were no documents accessible by the public that documented the crisis for the stakeholders. They may have received information at a meeting, but the documents were not accessible on their website. Costa Concordia In January of 2012, the Costa Concordia ran aground and tipped to its side off the coast of Tuscany (Irvine, 2013). The ship had about 4,100 passengers, including crew members (NY Daily News, 2013). The Captain had taken the ship off course for unknown reasons. During the evacuation 32 people lost their life. Not only is this a major crisis because of the incident itself, but also because some things on board the ship were not done correctly. The captain abandoned the ship before the evacuation was complete and this created a lot of controversy over his actions. The captain is now facing charges of multiple manslaughter (CBS News, 2014). • Maintain multifaceted communication to create a high visibility rate within the media and to education the public on cruise line safety in the event of tipping. o Social Media: The campaign for the Costa Concordia was not highly monitored on their social media sites. There was some basic information posted on Twitter, Facebook, etc., but not a lot of information. o Website: The campaign for the Costa Concordia was not monitored at all on their website during the crisis. The press releases found on the website do not mention the fatal accident at all. However, they may have had a separate website to list details concerning the catastrophe.
  • 13. CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 13 o News Media (print and broadcast): The campaign for the Costa Concordia was highly monitored on the various news outlets. The Costa Cruise Line put a lot of information out into the media and kept giving follow-up information. Information is still being shared about the captain and how his trials are going within the court system. Information is also being shared about the ship being floated out of the ocean cleaned up (Trott, 2014). • Demonstrate transparency and build trust by communicating early and regularly. o News Media (print and broadcast): The Costa Concordia communicated information when this accident first occurred. They kept an open line with the media to share information about the accident and what actually happened. Not only were they first to respond to this terrible accident, but they kept sharing information throughout. EVALUATION Crown Princess Overall, the Crown Cruise Line did a poor job during the norovirus crisis during their cruise. There were many different things that could have been done to create a different outcome and more customer satisfaction. The cruise did not compensate anyone for their cruise and chose to say that it was not their fault. This may be true; however, it did occur on their ship. In the past, they have had different methods to solve this problem. A norovirus outbreak has occurred on a Crown Cruise ship before. Although, things could have turned out differently there are many recommendations that can be made from a public relations practitioner’s perspective. Carnival Triumph
  • 14. CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 14 Overall, the Carnival Cruise Line did a good job at handling the crisis. The cruise did a good job at keeping information flowing to the public and at keeping a panic from occurring. The cruise line gave each passenger $500 to go towards refunding their tickets (Wilkinson, 2013; Newcomb, 2013; Tuttle, 2013). There were many passengers aboard the ship that feel that this was not a good compensation for the atrocities that occurred on the ship. The cruise line, however, failed to keep an information line to their stakeholders on a website. With this in mind, they may have had a separate website for disasters and disabled it after the accident occurred. This was a stand-alone occurrence with Carnival Cruise Line. Despite this catastrophe, the Carnival Triumph came back four months later and was fully booked (Tuttle, 2013). The Carnival Triumph is still in operation today. There are a few recommendations that can be made from a public relations practitioner’s perspective. These recommendations will be in the next section. Costa Concordia Overall, Costa Cruise Line did a good job at handling this crisis. The cruise line did a great job at keeping information flowing throughout the crisis and after the crisis was over. They also did a good job at keeping the public from panicking and losing sales on cruise ship tickets. The cruise line gave each passenger a refund of at least 11,000 euros (Irvine, 2013). This is roughly $15,000 in today’s market. There is no follow-up information if the passengers received their payment or not. Also, the ship had a system in place for such an accident; however, the ship was in utter chaos (Rivers, 2012). Many people are concerned about this for future cruises. If people do not instruct their passengers on how to operate during an accident and the passengers do not act accordingly, what happens then? This is a major concern for cruises in general, especially with
  • 15. CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 15 the Costa Cruise Line. They do not want further accidents happen and they definitely do not want a similar reaction from the crew and passengers. RECOMMENDATIONS Each of the crises was handled fairly well in the overall scheme of things. However, there are a few recommendations that can be made for each from a public relations practitioner’s perspective. Crown Princess: My biggest complaint with the Crown Princess incident was the compensation for each passenger on the cruise ship. Although it was not the Crown Cruise Line’s fault, the event did hinder many passengers from enjoying themselves on the cruise. They needed to put more emphasis on customer satisfaction. If they would have reimbursed the passengers, given them a free cruise, or even given them a discount on a different cruise, it would show the public that they care about their passenger’s thoughts and feelings. This was not handled in the way that could be most effective for the cruise line. There may be many people who will continue to go on cruises, but there will be many who will not go back due to a poor experience. It is common practice to retain the current customers rather than reaching new ones. The next major issue with this particular crisis plan is the lack of a social media presence throughout the duration of the crisis. The organization did have social media accounts, but they were not used during this crisis. I believe social media is a good way to share information to the public as a whole and reach people who may not follow the news media. This also shows the public that the information is important, not only to the organization but to the public as well. Finally, there was no website to look at any information regarding the crisis. There may be a “crisis website” that is disabled when a crisis is not occurring. I feel that sharing and
  • 16. CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 16 keeping information readily available to the public is a good idea. There should also be documents available for the various shareholders to look at whenever they deem it necessary. Carnival Triumph: The Carnival Triumph did a great job at handling this particular crisis. The compensation was an acceptable amount, although there were many complaints that it was not. I do, however, feel that some follow information would have been handy to have. The website, news media, and social media sites did not say if the conditions on the cruise affected anyone after getting off of the ship. It would be interesting to know if anyone got sick due to these poor conditions during the five day stranded period. This crisis plan also lacked a social media presence. Again, I feel that this is a major way to reach new audiences and to keep a running tab on information. This is also a good way to keep a timeline of events for the public to view at will. This is a valuable tool that many organizations are not using fully. There could be a few potential problems with people posting negative comments about the particular crisis; however, if a person wants to post the comment they will post it. The next issue is with the website. Just like in the Crown Princess case there are a few holes when trying to find information on the website. There were not any press releases or press statements from the management or CEO. I think that this is a good way to keep the public informed about what the company is doing in regards to the particular crisis. This also allows the public to keep a search to a minimum if they want to view information about a particular cruise line crisis.
  • 17. CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 17 Costa Concordia: This was a particularly bad crisis that occurred to the Costa Cruise Line. They handled the situation fairly well and kept information readily available to the public. The compensation was an acceptable amount; however, they could have gone into more details about the compensation. This would have allowed the public to feel assured that the situation was handled correctly. It took a lot of searching to find what kind of compensation was available to the passengers of the Costa Concordia. I would have liked to have seen more details and information. Just like the other cruise lines, the Costa Cruise Line lacked a social media presence and a website presence. This would have allowed information to flow more freely and to keep a good timeline of events for the public to view. General Recommendations • Keep information flowing to the public in as many media outlets as possible i.e. social media, news media, etc. • Keep a transparent line of communication so the public can feel that trust can be made and kept. • Work in coordination with the various organizations that are involved with the crisis: governmental organizations, transportation services, etc. • Provide accessibility to the various stakeholders within the organization. • Provide information in a timely manner i.e. first and regularly. • Provide information that is accurate and useful to the public. • Keep a follow-up record for the public to make sure that the various promises are kept that are made throughout the crisis.
  • 18. CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 18 References 5 convicted for 2012 shipwreck of Costa Concordia near Italy. (2013). NY Daily News. Retrieved June 13, 2014, from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/5-convicted-costa- concordia-shipwreck-article-1.1404333 Bryson, J. M. (2004). What to do when stakeholders matter: Stakeholder identification analysis techniques. Public Management Review, 6, 21-53. Coombs, W. (2004). Impact of past crises on current crisis communication. Journal Of Business Communication, 41(3), 265-289. doi:10.1177/0021943604265607 Coombs, W. (2007). Protecting organization reputations during a crisis: The development and application of situational crisis communication theory. Corporate Reputation Review, 10(3), 163-176. doi:10.1057/palgrave.crr.1550049 Coombs, W. (2012). A need for more crisis management knowledge. Ongoing Crisis Communication: Planning, Managing, and Responding (Third edition). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Costa Concordia Captain Francesco Schettino boards grounded off Italy coast for 1st time since disaster. (2014, February 27). CBS News. Retrieved July 13, 2014, from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/costa-concordia-captain-francesco-schettino-to-board- ship-off-italy-coast/ Firger, J. (2014). Norovirus suspected in new Princess Cruises outbreak. CBSNews. Retrieved June 11, 2014, from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/princess-cruises-reports-new- norovirus-outbreak/ Gerlak, L., & McGarry, M. (2014, January 16). The state of the cruise industry in 2014: Global growth in passenger numbers and product offerings. Cruise Lines International
  • 19. CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 19 Association. Retrieved June 11, 2014, from http://www.cruising.org/vacation/news/press_releases/2014/01/state-cruise-industry- 2014-global-growth-passenger-numbers-and-product-o Growth of cruise industry outpaces its scrutiny. (2013, Feb 28). USA TODAY Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1313208606?accountid=13921 Haiken, M. (2014, April 12). Is It Safe To Take A Cruise? 8 Virus Outbreaks In 3 Months. Forbes. Retrieved June 11, 2014, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2014/04/12/8-cruise-ship-outbreaks-in-2014- is-your-cruise-safe/ Howell, G. J., & Miller, R. (2010). Organizational response to crisis: A case study of maple leaf foods. Northwest Journal Of Communication, 39(1), 91-108. Johnson, B. (2014). Norovirus Sickens Cruise Ship Passengers. NBC Bay Area. Retrieved June 13, 2014, from http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Norovirus-Sickens-Crown- Princess-Cruise-Ship-Passengers--254441121.html?akmobile=o Irvine, C. (2013). Costa Concordia recovery: timeline of cruise ship disaster. The Telegraph. Retrieved June 13, 2014, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/10312026/Costa-Concordia- recovery-timeline-of-cruise-ship-disaster.html Nadeau, B. (2013, November 12). Costa Concordia captain didn't fall, but jumped into lifeboat, crew member testifies. CNN. Retrieved June 11, 2014, from http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/12/world/europe/italy-costa-concordia/
  • 20. CRISIS EVENTS IN THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY 20 Newcomb, A. (2013). Carnival Cruise Ship Stranded Near Mexico. ABC News. Retrieved June 13, 2014, from http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyle/2013/02/carnival-cruise-ship- stranded-near-mexico/ Rivers, D. (1970, January 1). Covering a cruise ship disaster. CNN. Retrieved June 13, 2014, from http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/04/world/covering-costa-concordia/ Sisco, H. (2012). Nonprofit in crisis: An examination of the applicability of situational crisis communication theory. Journal Of Public Relations Research, 24(1), 1-17. doi:10.1080/1062726X.2011.582207 Sutton, J., Alsup, D., Ahlers, M., Johnston, C., Smith, E., Botelho, G., et al. (2013, February 12). Busted toilets, hot rooms, headaches after fire strands cruise ship in Gulf. CNN. Retrieved June 11, 2014, from http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/11/travel/cruise-ship-fire/ Trott, R. (2014, July 13). Costa Concordia wreck to be moved. BBC News. Retrieved July 13, 2014, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28285287 Tuttle, B. (2013). Four months after the ‘Poop Cruise,’ the Carnival ‘Triumph’ sails again - and is sold out. Time Magazine. Retrieved June 13, 2014, from http://business.time.com/2013/06/14/four-months-after-the-poop-cruise-the-carnival- triumph-sails-again-and-is-sold-out/ Wilkinson, K. (2013). Cruise ship stranded. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 11, 2014, from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-02-14/news/chi-cruise-ship-20130214_1_cruise- ship-costa-concordia-carnival-cruise-lines