A poll of US companies has claimed that Carnival Corporation is the most improved brand at the midway point of 2014. 

The cruise giant – which owns brands including Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises and Holland America Line – has made huge strides in its public perception following a series of disastrous events in early 2013, YouGov Brand Index revealed.

The company’s gains were said to be almost double that of second place firm Bank of America.

“No company has made greater strides in perception than Carnival after a series of cruise ship mishaps in the first quarter of 2013,” said Ted Marzilli, CEO of BrandIndex. “As we noted last February, “Carnival not only brought its consumer perception back in line with the rest of industry this past fall, but their sales potential with consumers has rebounded above the rest of the cruise sector.”

In the UK the mid-2014 list was topped by Findus, Aldi and HMV.