Lesson Nineteen: Cruises
How they’re a boatload of trouble for our planet
Cruising’s not just for retirees and honeymooners any more.
Cruise travel is big business. Before COVID-19 hit, over 28.5 million people were expected to take a cruise this year - which reflects a 20% increase over the last five years. More routes, bigger ships and better facilities on board have opened up cruising to a whole new group of people.
The world’s largest cruise ship is the Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas. It holds up to 6,680 passengers and a 2,200 crew.
So, what’s so bad about cruises?
As you can tell from those pics, cruises essentially are floating cities. The amount of fuel that is needed to move that much weight and to sustain onboard activities is immense. The top 3 reasons cruises are seen as environmental nightmares are: 1) Fuel Emissions 2) Food and Supplies 3) Waste.
1) FUEL EMISSIONS
Traditionally, ships use diesel engines, gas turbines, or a combination of both. Diesel fuel is linked to pollution as it produces nitrogen oxide emissions, which have been linked to respiratory disease and lung cancer. Similarly, the fuel emits a ship-ton of sulfur dioxide - which is the key contributor to acid raid. A lot of popular port-cities are really affected by this.
2) FOOD AND SUPPLIES
For the Celebrity Summit (a cruise ship that I recently went on that held 2,218 passengers + 999 crew), the kitchen crew would be responsible for producing 15,000 meals a day. Think of all the ingredients and refrigeration required for that scale of food. 😬Not to mention all of the toilet paper, napkins, soap, to accommodate all of the cabin and deck bathrooms.
3) WASTE
On top of the pollution caused by their exhaust fumes, cruise ships have been caught discarding trash, fuel, and sewage directly into the ocean. When that’s not happening, all cruise ship sewage goes through what is called “sewage treatment.” This is where solid and liquid waste is separated and sterilized, then the solid is incinerated and the liquid is released back into the ocean.
SUMMARY
I believe taking vacations and getting away is important and good for the soul. As most things when it comes to climate change, we need to be mindful of the impacts we have on the planet and plan for how we can minimize them.
If you find yourself on a cruise, here are a few eco-friendly things you can do:
Offset your carbon emissions for your flight and your cruise
Bring your own reusable bottles. You’ll probably end up going through 2-3 water bottles a day if you don’t.
Same goes for coffee/tea mugs I found that the on-board cafes usually default to takeaway cups. Pack natural sunscreen - it’s good for you and good for the fishies 🐠🐡
Minimize your energy consumption. Turn the lights off in your cabin when you're out, turn the AC off during the day, etc.
Do your research and ask questions! Which questions? Well…🤓:
How do they deal with waste water?
Do they use a purification system?
Do they treat their ballast and bilge water?
What do they do with their waste?
How much do they recycle?
What happens to their recyclable waste?
How to they decrease emissions?
Do they use scrubbers or alternative fuels?
How do they reduce power usage?
Is there low-energy lighting, efficient air conditioning?
Do they use environmentally friendly cleaning supplies?
Is the fish and seafood onboard sustainably sourced?
What about other meat?
Have you ever been on a cruise? Have you ever noticed things like this? What are your thoughts?
