A new poll of travelers by Harris Interactive taken after the Carnival Triumph engine room fire shows air travel is viewed as more reliable than cruising.
Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement "Air travel is much more reliable than taking cruises."
However, when asked which mode of transportation was safest, the results split 50-50.
The Harris Poll surveyed 2,230 adults online between Feb. 19 and Feb. 21.
The survey also found that after the Carnival Triumph incident, travelers gave cruises lower scores for perceived quality and trust, and the intent to purchase a cruise dropped for Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Cruise Lines.
Harris said that the intent to purchase a Carnival cruise fell 13% compared with data collected for Harris Poll Equitrend between Jan. 11 and Feb. 8.
"While purchase intent is dropping for some brands, those lost potential sales are not being captured by any of the other tested cruise lines," said Harris Poll Insights vice president Deana Percassi. "Those potential customers are simply sailing away."
Follow Tom Stieghorst on Twitter @tstravelweekly.