Cruise Ship
More than half of British cruisers admit to not familiarising themselves with the safety procedures on board as a third claim they would “forget anyway”, says new research from BonVoyage.
With a memorial to mark the anniversary of the Concordia disaster last month, independent online cruise travel agency, www.BonVoyage.co.uk, wanted to have a closer look into how British cruisers feel in regards to safety procedures on board and polled 1,289 Brit cruisers, each of whom had been on a cruise at least once in the last two years.
It’s good to know that cruisers are generally happy about the level of security on board... Even though accidents are extremely rare, it’s always good to know what to do in case of an emergency.
Just over half said they did not read the safety procedures on board when cruising while nearly two thirds admit that when it comes to flying, they do familiarise themselves with the safety procedures.
The respondents who admitted not paying attention to safety procedures on board a cruise were then asked to explain their reason for not doing so. Just under a third said they tended not to because they ‘wouldn’t remember the procedures anyway’ whilst a fifth thought it was just ‘unnecessary’.
A further 15 per cent explained that they’d rely on other people to tell them what to do in case of an emergency on a cruise, whilst more than a quarter admitting that taking note of the safety procedures would just make them worried.
Steph Curtin, Cruise Development Manager of BonVoyage.co.uk, said: “Since the Concordia tragedy, every cruise line has made it a priority to re-build confidence amongst cruisers.
“I think the quick reaction of the cruising industry to such a tragic event has helped, as the number of UK cruisers has still increased in the past year.”
The respondents who initially admitted not paying attention to safety procedures whilst on a cruise were then showed a list of the safety procedures on board and were asked to choose which they thought were the most important.
According to the results, the top four safety procedures British cruisers feel are the most important whilst on board were the muster drill for 36 per cent; knowing where the nearest fire/safety exit is from the cabin for 29 per cent; and for 22 per cent it was knowing where the lifejackets are kept in the cabin.
Furthermore, when the respondents were asked if they thought they should pay more attention to the safety procedures on board since the Concordia tragedy, of they’d cruised since then, 61 per cent answered yes.
Steph added: “It’s good to know that cruisers are generally happy about the level of security on board, but even if cruising is one of the safest modes of transport, it is essential that cruisers pay more attention to safety procedures.
“Even though accidents are extremely rare, it’s always good to know what to do in case of an emergency.”
The poll also revealed that 94 per cent of cruisers felt happy with the level of the security and safety on board.
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