Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

The one thing I strongly dislike about cruise ships...

BoiiMcFly

By BoiiMcFly,
in Ask a Cruise Question

 Share

Recommended Posts

BoiiMcFly

BoiiMcFly

Posted
Posted (edited)

Is the amount of pollution and waste they produce. I find ships amazing, but I really wish they could be a lot more environmentally friendly.

 

Sometimes that makes me not want to cruise. Has this affected anyone's decision about whether to cruise or not?

Edited by BoiiMcFly
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Flatbush Flyer

Flatbush Flyer

Posted
Posted
Is the amount of pollution and waste they produce. I find ships amazing, but I really wish they could be a lot more environmentally friendly.

 

 

 

Sometimes that makes me not want to cruise. Has this affected anyone's decision about whether to cruise or not?

 

 

Zero sum game here. In fact, the ship is far less impactful than the equivalent number of passengers and crew once back in their own home.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites
navybankerteacher

navybankerteacher

Posted
Posted

The two-to-three thousand people on a typical cruise ship are going to vacation one way or another. Think about the carbon footprint they would leave if they did it in their own cars. Think of the McDonald's wrappers and soft drink and beer cans they would leave in their wake - compared with what is controlled and either recycled or efficiently disposed of on a ship.

 

Sure, our planet would be cleaner and greener if people spent their vacations in their back yards - raising turnips and eco-friendly quinoa - but what they will do without cruise ships - in real life - should give you greater cause for concern.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
leaveitallbehind

leaveitallbehind

Posted
Posted (edited)
Is the amount of pollution and waste they produce. I find ships amazing, but I really wish they could be a lot more environmentally friendly.

Sometimes that makes me not want to cruise. Has this affected anyone's decision about whether to cruise or not?

 

Such as? More environmentally friendly - in what way are they failing now? Factual examples would help support your comments to be more credible - not just your opinion or speculation on another post again, please.

Edited by leaveitallbehind
Link to comment
Share on other sites
easyboy

easyboy

Posted
Posted
Is the amount of pollution and waste they produce. I find ships amazing, but I really wish they could be a lot more environmentally friendly.

 

 

 

Sometimes that makes me not want to cruise. Has this affected anyone's decision about whether to cruise or not?

 

 

Not at all.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BoiiMcFly

BoiiMcFly

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Such as? More environmentally friendly - in what way are they failing now? Factual examples would help support your comments to be more credible - not just your opinion or speculation on another post again, please.

 

Here are some facts to back up my opinion: https://www.google.com/amp/www.ibtimes.com/cruise-ship-pollution-cruise-sewage-air-pollution-rising-concern-ships-sail-toward-2380131%3famp=1

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jagsfan

jagsfan

Posted
Posted

What is ibtimes? I clicked on the link on my phone but got nothing.

Sometimes a ship will be fined for polluting, usually because of a systems failure. Either they are self reporting or they are being watched. Either way, I would say the cruise lines are environmentally aware and have cut back any pollution tremendously in the last 20-30 years.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
chengkp75

chengkp75

Posted
Posted

 

I've got a few moments to answer this quickly, currently bringing my ship into Charleston.

 

First off, FOE has a decided agenda, and many of their "facts" are slanted or just incorrect.

 

Take the "The average cruise ship, which carries around 3,000 passengers and crew members, produces about 21,000 gallons of sewage every day — enough to fill 10 backyard swimming pools in a week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated in 2008". What they don't mention is that every drop of that sewage has to be treated to at least the same standards as waste water in the US, and in most cases, even back in 2008, to near drinking water status. Since then, more and more ships are installing "Advanced Waste Water Treatment Systems", at costs of several million dollars per ship, to treat every drop of waste water to clear, fresh drinking water standards.

 

Next, take the statements about Crystal's NorthWest Passage cruise. What they conveniently forget to mention, amidst their talk of soot and sulfur dioxide, is that the entire cruise was done within the 200 mile limit of the North American ECA, so the entire cruise was done on marine diesel fuel, which meets the most stringent maritime industry standards, the US EPA for NOX, SOX, and soot emissions, as opposed to the residual fuel oil that FOE talks about with regards to these pollutants.

 

As CLIA is quoted in the article, the cruise lines are spending a billion on waste water treatment plants, exhaust scrubbers, and all the other advanced technology that is required in today's tight regulatory environment.

 

Why do I say that FOE has an agenda? Because cruise ships account for about 1% of the world's shipping, but tend to spend the most money on environmental management, by far. Why doesn't FOE complain about the vast numbers of cargo ships that ply the world's oceans burning residual fuel without scrubbers, and at high sulfur levels? Because then their Mercedes SUV's and Iphones would cost more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
leaveitallbehind

leaveitallbehind

Posted
Posted
I've got a few moments to answer this quickly, currently bringing my ship into Charleston.

 

First off, FOE has a decided agenda, and many of their "facts" are slanted or just incorrect.

 

Take the "The average cruise ship, which carries around 3,000 passengers and crew members, produces about 21,000 gallons of sewage every day — enough to fill 10 backyard swimming pools in a week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated in 2008". What they don't mention is that every drop of that sewage has to be treated to at least the same standards as waste water in the US, and in most cases, even back in 2008, to near drinking water status. Since then, more and more ships are installing "Advanced Waste Water Treatment Systems", at costs of several million dollars per ship, to treat every drop of waste water to clear, fresh drinking water standards.

 

Next, take the statements about Crystal's NorthWest Passage cruise. What they conveniently forget to mention, amidst their talk of soot and sulfur dioxide, is that the entire cruise was done within the 200 mile limit of the North American ECA, so the entire cruise was done on marine diesel fuel, which meets the most stringent maritime industry standards, the US EPA for NOX, SOX, and soot emissions, as opposed to the residual fuel oil that FOE talks about with regards to these pollutants.

 

As CLIA is quoted in the article, the cruise lines are spending a billion on waste water treatment plants, exhaust scrubbers, and all the other advanced technology that is required in today's tight regulatory environment.

 

Why do I say that FOE has an agenda? Because cruise ships account for about 1% of the world's shipping, but tend to spend the most money on environmental management, by far. Why doesn't FOE complain about the vast numbers of cargo ships that ply the world's oceans burning residual fuel without scrubbers, and at high sulfur levels? Because then their Mercedes SUV's and Iphones would cost more.

 

Thanks for the excellent and fact based response. At least the OP decided to provide the link to the information on which he is basing his (and in his words) "opinion".

Link to comment
Share on other sites
leaveitallbehind

leaveitallbehind

Posted
Posted (edited)

 

Should have included this with your original comments. But at least now we can see where you are getting your information from. As chengkp75 pointed out, not sure how accurate - or objective - the "facts" are, however.....

Edited by leaveitallbehind
Link to comment
Share on other sites
maryjaden

maryjaden

Posted
Posted

I do not Ponder this prior to my vacation. Though I will say after the All Access tour I did on Oasis, I was impressed with how much the ship was doing to be environmentally friendly and the processing systems they have on the ship for a variety of discharges and wastes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
AmazedByCruising

AmazedByCruising

Posted
Posted
Is the amount of pollution and waste they produce. I find ships amazing, but I really wish they could be a lot more environmentally friendly.

 

Sometimes that makes me not want to cruise. Has this affected anyone's decision about whether to cruise or not?

 

All cruises I've been on couldn't stop talking about how they want to protect the environment, how much they invested in this and that, and I really couldn't care less. On a ship I don't feel like being on a floating Chernobyl. Nor do I think cruiseships add much to pollution in general.

 

Obviously, cruises are expensive and a luxury we could survive without, which makes cruiselines low hanging fruit for environmentalist campaigners. The ocean itself would probably hardly notice cruiseships exist. Submarine vulcanos erupting probably do more damage (measured in sulfur, CO2, etc) than all ships combined and the ocean can handle that just like it did 50 million years ago.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
leaveitallbehind

leaveitallbehind

Posted
Posted (edited)
Here is a list of the best/worst cruise ships concerning eco-friendliness. http://www.foe.org/cruise-report-card

 

...again, same questionable source. I'll take the information presented by chengkp75 as accurate. But based on you prior threads I'm sure the facts won't sway your opinion. :rolleyes:

Edited by leaveitallbehind
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail on Sun Princess®
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...