Even as the newest Disney ship prepares to make its maiden voyage later this month, cruisers are getting more skittish about setting sail, according to a new poll. Some 47 percent of respondents to a SodaHead.com poll said they are less likely to take a cruise in the wake of last week’s fire aboard the Costa Allegra. The Costa Allegra, like the Costa Concordia, is owned by Carnival Corp, the same company that owns Santa Clarita-based Princess Cruises. The poll results follow a serious fire aboard the Costa Allegra last week, which necessitated the ship, with 1,000 people aboard, to be towed. The incident came just six weeks after the Costa Concordia ran aground off the coast of Italy killing 32 people. SodaHead.com said it took a poll of 1,450 people in January following that incident and found that 27 percent of respondents would be less likely to take a cruise following the Concordia incident. After the recent fire on the Costa Allegra, SodaHead.com found that 47 percent of 835 respondents were now less likely to cruise based on both incidents, a 20 percentage point increase in less than two months. The age of the respondents played a factor in the results, the polling site said. Some 53 percent of those over 65 said they are now less likely to cruise, while 31 percent of those between 25 and 34 are having second thoughts about getting on a ship. The incidents have not stopped Disney cruise lovers from embracing cruising. As the newest Disney ship Fantasy celebrated a star-studded christening in New York last week, Thomas Staggs, chairman of Disney Parks and Resorts, told CruiseCritic.com that all four of Disney’s ships are 75 percent booked for 2012 and that he’s “not worried” about the outlook for the rest of the year. The new Disney ship is leaving New York and heading to homeport of Port Canaveral, from where it begins its seven-night journeys to the eastern Caribbean on March 31. Judy Temes
