GALVESTON, Texas – The cruise ship disaster in Italy has some in Galveston worried that it could have an impact on their economy.
Carnival cruise ships pump about $40 million into Galveston's economy every year.
Ticket brokers are bracing for cruise cancelations in the wake of the disaster, especially from first-time travelers. Carnival has not said if it has lost bookings in Galveston as a result of the wreck.
"I'm freaking out now more," said Rae Perez. "I've never been on a cruise in my life."
She said she had not heard about the Costa Concordia disaster until she was about to board a Carnival cruise ship in Galveston.
Costa is owned by Carnival.
Six passengers have died since the ship crashed Friday and at least 29 people are missing.
"It was chaotic," said Oscar Rosales, a Texas man who was on the Concordia. "It was like, 'Where do we go?' No direction. We didn't have our life vests on at that point. They said, 'Don't worry about it. There are plenty of vests on deck four.' But there weren't any."
The Concordia wreck may be the costliest ship disaster in history. Some analysts expect the total loss to reach $1 billion.
Carnival stock fell 20 percent in early trading Monday, but many analysts expect losses in share price and customer confidence to be short term.