To explore crisis communication from the public’s perspective, a sentiment analysis, using the KNIME software, and emotion detection, carried out with the R software, on the comments made by the public under the communication strategies adopted by the three main cruise operators on social media X was used. These methodologies were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the communication strategies in terms of sentiment and the emotions aroused in the public. In addition to classifying sentiment as positive, negative or neutral, eight key emotions, such as trust and expectation, were explored using the NRC dictionary. Therefore, the adoption of a lexical methodology, based on the use of a dictionary, allowed for an in-depth exploration of the public’s perceptions and their level of appreciation of the business strategies adopted by the three operators at different stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.