Following the sinking of the cruise ship, the Costa Concordia, comms professionals have criticized the crisis communications of Costa Cruises.

Criticisms include the delay in producing a spokesperson and the quick decision to attribute fault to the captain for the incident. The more recent reports of customers being offered a discount on future cruises have also been met with disapproval and have been viewed as insensitive attempts to make a sales opportunity out of
the tragedy.

“There are some straightforward, tried and tested principles in crisis management. In its handling of the cruise ship disaster, Costa seems to have taken a different tack, ending up in an even worse place,” says John Deverell, the chief executive of new crisis management consultancy, Keyhaven.
“There is little or no indication to date that they, or Carnival, had a workable, rehearsed strategy for dealing with crisis, something that, given their business, you would have thought absolutely fundamental. Sticking to the facts, not speculating and being consistent would have been a good place to start.
 

“By comparison, Costa’s assertion on day one about the positive actions the captain carried after hitting the rocks, and the subsequent change of tune on day two when he was blamed, and then their declining to comment altogether, hardly give a reassuring sense of being in control.
“Overall, as far as the cruise ship crisis is concerned, there is a pervading sense that the wreck was caused by incompetence and the company’s actions and statements since then have done nothing to dispel this negative view. Recovery of reputation will be a long and hard slog from here.”
 

Commenting, Sandy Lindsay, group MD at Tangerine PR, says: “In my opinion the comms team ‘handling’ the sinking of the Costa Concordia broke every rule in the book. The ‘radio silence’ when the tragedy first struck was profound – it seemed the media was doing what it does best in the absence of a spokesperson: making it up.
“Where was the representative on the scene? Rule one, broken. And blaming the captain for the whole thing? That’s the biggest ‘no-no’ in the book. What on earth is to be gained by blaming an individual that you employed and you (supposedly) trained, when it all goes horribly wrong? It can only devolve into a ‘he said, she said’ scenario, as is happening now. Badly done.”

The holding company Carnival Cruises is taking a break from social media activity, writing on Facebook: “Hi, everyone. Out of respect for all those affected by the recent events surrounding our sister line, Costa cruises, we are going to take a bit of a break from posting on our social channels. We will still be actively listening and answering any questions you have about your past or upcoming cruises, but for now, the majority of our time will be spent focusing on all those affected by this event.”
 

Burston-Marsteller has been brought on board to handle the corporate and crisis comms following the incident. Clarence Mitchell, MD at Burson-Marsteller, confirmed that the initial compensation package had been offered to affected customers privately but explained that it would not be discussed publicly.
 

According to Mitchell, the priority for the communications strategy is to “make sure the company’s position is accurately represented.” He continues, “Because of the legal position, no further comment will be made on the investigation or judicial process. Of course, those affected will continue to be supported both privately and publicly.”