A TV documentary depicting cruise staff working long hours for extremely low pay has damaged consumer perception of the sector, research suggests.
Nine out of 10 respondents described the revelations as “shocking” and just over half (53%) said they were “less likely” to consider a cruise holiday as a result, according to a survey by Explore Research for Travel Weekly.
Celebrity Cruises pledged to investigate following the Channel 4 Dispatches programme Cruises Uncovered broadcast on October 1.
The documentary reported that some cruise staff earned the equivalent of £2.24 an hour and worked six months without a day off.
A survey of 500 UK adults found 17% watched the programme and another 25% heard about it. Yet 71% of all respondents, regardless of whether they had watched, heard about or missed the programme, found the allegations “very shocking” and 22% “fairly shocking”.
There was a difference in attitude to taking a future cruise: 61% of those who saw or heard about the programme said they were less likely to consider a cruise, against 46% of those who hadn’t heard about it.
Perhaps worryingly for the sector, former cruise passengers were most likely to have watched (60%). Those aged 35-54 were most likely to say the revelations made them less likely to go on a cruise (58%). One-third (34%) had taken a cruise. Almost one in five (19%) of those who saw the programme said they would still book a cruise.