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Can This Reputation Be Saved?

Won't You Let Me
Take You On A
Sea Cruise?
Heavy weather ahead
for the cruising industry.

But first, a two-wheeled update... Last month we thought it very likely that Lance Armstrong's reputation could be saved. And it seems it has been, in part because former teammate Floyd Landis is now wearing the yellow jersey in the Tour de Performance-Enhancing Drugs. Nothing like another good scandal to move the media onto someone else's doorstep. So, Lance's rep is just fine, thank you. Landis'? Eh, not so much. Of course, he hasn't nearly Lance's history or experience, so there's less of a reputation to lose. It's not so much Landis' reputation that's involved now, it's that of American cyclists -- heck, of all professional cyclists -- in general. (And as long as we're generalizing, it's about the reputation of professional sports in general. But that's another column.)

Rough weather for cruising...

The cruise ship industry – now that's seen some rough sailing. Between tilting decks, fires and disappearances, the cruising industry has tacked from one crisis to another for the past year. As soon as one storm blows over, there's been another one on the horizon, and all the bad news has left bookings dead in the water.

As we've seen for years, a single major crisis that makes headlines for a month is far easier to move past than a steady drip, drip, drip of bad news. And that's what the cruise industry has been hit with. The tabloids (never mind the attorneys) have had a field day with stories of mysteriously disappearing passengers. Then there were those images of Katrina victims on board, together with the news that US taxpayers were paying exorbitant rates to house them there. Add on a tilting deck, a dead teenager and a fatal fire, and it's not surprising that prices are soft and bookings are down.

Part of the problem may lie in how the industry has responded. So far, each individual cruise line has issued (or not issued) its own statements regarding each individual crisis. Some have held back due to NTSB investigations and said nothing at all. Others have come out with explanations months in advance of whatever the NTSB might conclude. There hasn't been any sort of coordinated effort to address the safety issue or even to have a standardized message that cruising won't endanger your life.

Even more telling was the statement from Michael Crye, president of the International Council of Cruise Lines, a trade group, who opined that to run ads touting cruise safety would only invite rebuttals. Well, yeah, running ads probably would. Trying to "scream" the point across certainly won't make would-be passengers any more comfortable. But establishing dialogues with customers and other influentials would certainly be of help. Here's where some corporate blogging might come in handy.

Crye went on to say that, "No amount of back and forth in the press will necessarily be of any great benefit." No, Michael, "back and forth in the press," is never terribly useful. But a little research into what the ticket-buying public is really thinking might not be a bad place to start. Some good relationship building, which is of course what PR is all about, might help as well.

So no, the cruise industry's reputation is not going to get any better in the near term. It's not going to sink completely under, either, but I'd say it will be a bit of a blow until the storm passes and there's smooth sailing once again. -KDP

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