Cruising Your Way To A Greener Earth

My family absolutely loves going on cruises! We usually go once a year and although I have always loved the abundant supply of food, fireworks, and fun, I had never considered how many resources they waste until now. According to Environmentalleader.com, cruise ships use three times more CO2 than airplanes!

Now, I understand that when you want to go on a cruise, there is just no other satisfying vacation option. So, after researching cruises, I found a couple of cruise lines that try to reduce damage done to the environment. This way you can feel a little less guilty while cruising.

Over the past four years, Royal Caribbean has won a variety of awards including “Best Eco Friendly Cruise Line” by Porthole Cruise Magazine. They use a program called “Save the Waves”, which focuses on waste reduction, special wastes, the disposal of remaining wastes, and environmental training. They have eliminated all disposable plastic items such as shampoo bottles, plastic plates, and flat ware. I was very impressed with this just thinking about how many plastic amenities are usually in the bathroom when I arrive at a hotel or cruise. Disposal of liquid and food wastes are discharged in waters more than 12 nautical miles from land.

According to Royal Caribbean’s website, Royal Caribbean uses a treatment called Advanced Wastewater Purification (AWP) systems, to reduce the impact on the environment. Royal Caribbean employs environmental officers for various positions:

• Oversight of the company's onboard environmental program
  
• Environmental training for every crew member
  
• Solid and hazardous waste management
  
• Chemical management and workplace safety

Carnival Cruise Line also makes an effort to be environmentally friendly. They store substances such as cooking oil and grease in special holding tanks to recycle at port. These holding tanks must make a huge impact as we can all imagine how much cooking oil they use based off of the mass amounts of food on cruises. Carnival also donates items such as mattresses, televisions, blankets and computers that are in usable condition to local organizations in various ports. I love that they donate these goods to other ports besides the departing one, because we are contributing to other countries as well who need these items more.

Now that you know about a few options to travel a little bit more earth friendly on cruises, you can ask if the cruise you are considering makes eco- friendly efforts to protect the environment. Until next time, have fun and travel green!