Question QUESTION: Hi, Linda--
I'm researching cruise lines for a master's class in library sciences. As part of my project, I'm going to book a cruise that can not only promise me and my family a great time, but also show me it is concerned about protecting the seas from pollution as much as possible. Which cruise line is the most environmentally friendly? Thanks!
ANSWER: Hi Beth,
Good question and how neat...R&R and classwork as well. All of the cruiselines feel they are ahead of the maritime laws and tout about being "green" and "eco-friendly". Of the cruise lines we've sailed with (Carnival, royal Caribbean, Princess, Celebrity and Costa) I see the most visibility on Royal Caribbean ships. You will see containers for trash, plastic and aluminum. All three cruise lines offer the option to recycle your towels.
Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise lines have all been sued for environmental issues. Princess cruise lines has not. Costa is registered in Italy and has received accolades from their shipping regulators for being green.
Cruising is a great way to vacation, but unless you're on a really small ship, cruising does leave its footprint on the environment.
I feel that Royal Caribbean and Princess are the 2 best for mainstream cruislines that are environmentally sensitive.
I would suggest that maybe on your 2-3 day of cruising you go to the Pursers office and tell them you're working on research on pollution etc and see if it was possible to meet with the chief engineer and maybe he'll have some more info for your research.
Enjoy your cruise Beth and best of luck with your studies.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Hi, Linda--
Thanks for your fast reply. I have two follow up questions. What did the various cruise lines do about the lawsuit? Did they make improvements?
Also, the other criteria I'm using to book my family's next cruise is how kid-friendly the ship is. My young son enjoyed the Kids' Club on NCL. I was wondering how well you think Carnival, Princess, and Royal Caribbean compare to NCL in regards to the children's program.
Answer Beth, on this question I'll need to defer to google or bing for more precise answers. Living in Florida and RCCL and Carnival being housed here, there were a lot of articles in the newspaper and on the news, but as I age, my memory lacks the focus of those olden days. I do remember that Princess, though never sued installed some new process of hydroelectrics for reprocessing waste water and grey water and they made sure the press noticed their changes. Carnival had ads on TV as well touting their changes.
Carnival made a lot of changes according to the articles and also paid a large sum of money in fines as did RCCL. I honestly don't know how much is hype and how much is true, but with RCCL they post notes in your cabins about recycle program and in your daily "newspaper" as well.
RCCL paid fines as well and if memory serves me correctly, all of their staff attend classes on protecting the environment.
I wish I could be of more help, but I don't want to give you information that is not accurate.
