Spring Break is right around the corner, and cruises are being booked as quickly as ever despite the Costa Concordia shipwreck in Italy two weeks ago.
The Costa Concordia, carrying over 4,200 passengers, capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio after crashing into a reef on Jan. 13.
The wreck left 17 people dead, and 15 are still missing.
Despite the recent disaster, Florida travel agencies have not seen a decrease in business for any cruise line.
John May, owner of Continental Capers Travel and Cruises in Gainesville, said he is seeing a lot more sales this year for all cruise lines.
"We haven't had any repercussions from it at all," he said. "Sure, everybody knows about it and realized how bad the safety procedures were on that, [but] I haven't had anybody cancel or even think twice about it."
According to the Tampa Bay Times, U.S. Coast Guard rules state ships must conduct safety drills within 24 hours after leaving a port, which the Concordia did not do.
"It's a wake-up call for all cruise lines to work on their safety practices and the training of their crews," May said.
Marie Marcano, manager of Kendale Lakes Travel in Miami, said the Costa Concordia disaster has not and will not affect the number of people booking cruises.
"I've been telling people that it was something just locally and something that just one or two people on the ship that did it," she said. "It's not industry-wide."
Marcano said the United States is stricter about safety drills than Europe.
"The Coast guards are on top of things, and it's a lot better here," she said.
Prices for some cruises have gone up because more people are booking them, she said.
The most popular destinations are Europe, South America and the Caribbean.
Adam Silver, a 19-year-old industrial and systems engineering sophomore, recently booked a cruise to the Bahamas for Spring Break.
Silver said the shipwreck in Italy didn't affect his decision to go on a cruise.
"Look at the statistics," he said. "I would say you probably have more of a chance of dying in a car crash."
