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Costa marketing chief defends line against “unfounded” allegations

Costs Cruises is offering guests who are having second thoughts about already booked cruises in the wake of the Costa Concodia catastrophohe the opportunity to cancel without penalty.

And in a message to its selling agents, Norbert Stiekema, pictured, executive vice president of sales and marketing, has defended the line’s reputation and countered criticism of its quality and professionalism which, he said, “are unfounded”.

“The coming weeks and months will be extremely demanding but we intend to tackle the challenges with the professionalism, energy, sound business sense and innovate approach to the product that have always been our distinguishing features,” he added.

Norbert Stiekema’s statement in full

“At this time our top priority is to provide full assistance for all those people involved in the tragic Costa Concordia accident. We are also currently implementing all the actions required to address issues concerning the protection of the superb marine environment in the area of Giglio Island.

“Anyone who knows us well, like you agents, is aware that Costa Cruises operates in full compliance with all safety regulations and that our internal procedures are in line with – and in some cases even stricter than – those laid down in international standards.

“We would like to reiterate our thanks to all of you for the many expressions of appreciation that we have received over the last few days.

“Our reputation, which has always been synonymous with quality and professionalism, has unfortunately been called into question by a great deal of negative publicity arising from allegations in the news, many of which are unfounded.

“Your messages, and those of many of your customers and our guests, are a tremendous source of encouragement fortifying Costa’s 24,000 employees, who are proud to belong to this great enterprise, which for 64 years has been committed to turning the dreams of millions of passengers into dream vacations and – at the same time – creating wealth and prosperity for the tourism industry as a whole.

“Our ethics and our core values have always focused on the safety and welfare of the Guest as well as customer satisfaction. In this connection we deem it important to make an initial, tangible gesture to anyone who has booked one of our forthcoming cruises and who, in light of the recent incident, might perhaps now feel uneasy about sailing.

“Anybody in this position wishing to do so, may cancel their booking on any cruise without payment of a cancellation fee, provided this is done by February 7, 2012.

“The coming weeks and months will be extremely demanding but we intend to tackle the challenges with the professionalism, energy, sound business sense and innovate approach to the product that have always been our distinguishing features.

“It is at times like this that friends like you play an even more crucial supporting role. We know we can count on you for your firm backing and support in your relations with your Customers, our future Guests.

“We will be grateful to our agents for continuing to place their trust in us and for renewing our partnership, and this appreciation will be expressed tangibly at a later date.”

The death toll in the Costa Concordia disaster has now risen to 15 and a further 17 people are unaccounted for.