VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - The Costa Concordia cruise ship still sits like a beached whale off the coast of Italy after running aground on Friday. Six bodies have been recovered and 16 people remain unaccounted for.
Monday, a Virginia Beach couple returned home from the beached cruise ship.
Karen Kennedy and Rick Langlands said nothing at the airport except they were happy to be home. Kennedy was set to do an interview tonight on Rock Center with Brian Williams, but had to cancel because of the anxiety from the tragedy at sea.
The accident has travel agents bracing for a possible drop-off in cruise ship reservations. This time of year is big for cruises and what happened to the Costa Concordia certainly doesn't help.
"It's such a bizarre tragedy," Travel Agent Elizabeth Psimas said. Psimas, who has been in the industry for 27 years, has never seen anything like this before. Never.
"Ferry boats capsizing in third world countries, maybe, but you don't see cruise ship accidents of this magnitude anymore," Psimas said.
Psimas said the accident is a huge reminder of the importance of carrying travel insurance, especially if you bought your trip online.
"Who are you calling if something goes wrong if you bought the cruise online? When you buy insurance you have someone fighting for you...getting your insurance lined up...they help get you a passport, lost money, lost credit cards. Travel insurance makes sure everything will be taken care of," Psimas explained.
Travel insurance costs between five and seven percent of the cost of the cruise line tickets or the cost of any trip.
Psimas is shocked the ship captain, who is now under arrest for manslaughter, left the ship and the lack of organization on the part of the ship's crew leaves her dismayed.
"Nobody was taking names. People are still listed as missing that are possibly fine," Psimas said.
The cruise liner running aground will cost its owner Carnival up to $95 million, with the company's insurance provider covering $30 million of that total. Captain error has been deemed as the cause of the crash.
The Costa Concordia is also now an environmental crisis. Winds have picked up and the ship will likely dump fuel in the waters off Tuscany. The Environmental Minister estimates 500,000 gallons of fuel could begin leaking.
Source: http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/portsmouth/travel-insurance-reminder-after-tragedy
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