Costa Concordia Discount Insult? Survivors Offered 30 Percent Off Next Cruise

By Vincent Funaro, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Costa, the cruise line that operated the Costa Concordia, reportedly offered a discount to survivors of the ship that crashed earlier this month.

The company offered 30 percent off of a future cruise for survivors of the accident, according to a recent report from the New York Daily News.

"The company is not only going to refund everybody, but they will offer a 30 percent discount on future cruises if they want to stay loyal to the company," said a spokesman for the Costa. So far there has been no news on refunds for flights customers have bought for future Concordia cruises.

The Costa Concordia cruise ship partially sank on Jan. 13 of this year after it crashed into a reef and was ran aground. 15 people were reported to be dead with many others injured, along with 23 passengers missing.

A lawsuit has been filed against the cruise line that over 100 passengers from the cruise have contributed their names to. They are seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages from the company. A Miami-based filing is asking for $160,000 per person.

Some customers have commented on this discount being offered by Costa, calling it "insulting."

The company is also making other attempts at smoothing over the situation. One of these methods has Costa calling survivors of the accident and "asking if they are suffering nightmares or sleepless nights," according to recent reports.

The death toll was raised to 15 people by Italian officials on Monday. A Costa Cruises press release also stated that "there may have been significant human error on the part of the ship's Master, Captain Francesco Schettino."

Schettino is currently facing criminal charges for manslaughter and abandoning ship. The captain apparently "tripped onto a lifeboat," and made his escape from the shrinking cruise ship