As we say goodbye to plastic straws here are the straws that will be available soon on all the ships from most of the bars

[Roscoe13]

What if, hypothetically, I were to see an opportunity?  Bring on board cases of plastic, single use straws.  Hand out the first ones free to drinkers when they realize the limp straw syndrome is real.  Then, like all good entrepreneurs, charge for more.  Say like .10 a straw...plus 18% gratuity...

[Joe817]

13 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

Agreed. And yeah, I know why they got rid of the straws, and wanting to be good stewards to the environment had little to do with it. That was just a good PR excuse. It wasn't a coincidence that that decision came immediately after a round of court hearings. I was just talking about the new money-making scheme they stumbled upon. Some time had passed from when they got rid of the plastic straws until they started selling their own reusable ones. I'm sure they realized there was a lot of talk from cruisers about bringing their own with them, so Carnival saw an opportunity. 🤑

The new Platinum gift?

[MRVEGAS711]

Enough Said!  

 

 

[joepeka]

12 hours ago, Host Carolyn said:

 

I hope not cause that is not the topIc.......if folks think they are dangerous use silicone ones ...Carnival has decided so......

 

 

 

 

I agree Carolyn. I was just thinking back to a similar thread within the last month or two wherein things got a bit testy on the subject metal straw safety. So far, that thankfully hasn't happened here. 😊

[Cafedumonde]

5 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

That will show them

It’s not a political statement.  It’s about separating sense from nonsense.  

[Organized Chaos]

1 hour ago, Joe817 said:

The new Platinum gift?

 

You're onto to something there. I'm sure it will be their gift at some point in the future. Question is, how big will the thread be on here of people complaining about how crappy their new free gift is? 😉

Edited January 5, 2020 by Organized Chaos

[Organized Chaos]

1 hour ago, MRVEGAS711 said:

Enough Said!

 

I seriously doubt very many plastic straws, if any at all, were ending up in the ocean directly because of passengers. Maybe if a straw ended up on the deck and was blown into the water, but I seriously doubt passengers were chucking their straws and ink pens overboard.

 

But do you know who was actually responsible for dumping plastics overboard? Carnival themselves. That was part of the lawsuit. Some of their ships weren't separating their plastics from the food waste before dumping it, like the law requires. So instead of following maritime laws, they found that it was easier on them (and cut costs) to just get rid of some single-use plastics altogether. Then say it was for the environment. Carnival's history of illegal dumping has been a clear indication that they haven't cared much about environmental impact. The question is, has enough finally been done to set them straight?

 

In the end, some cruise lines getting rid of single-use plastics doesn't even put a dent in the world's consumption of single-use plastics. It's PR fluff and pandering to political correctness.

Edited January 5, 2020 by Organized Chaos

[Joe817]

14 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

You're onto to something there. I'm sure it will be their gift at some point in the future. Question is, how big will the thread be on here of people complaining about how crappy their new free gift it? 😉

Probably as long as the lanyard thread. 

[crewsweeper]

Plastic straws are a bogus attempt at "saving the planet" and "feel good"about doing something.  Some 9 year old wrote a post somewhere a few years back claiming hundreds of millions of plastic straws from your local fast food joint in the midwest somehow managed to all end up in the ocean. More straws in ocean than manufactured. Some "enviro"believed him.

Plastic straws make up a very tiny % of all plastic waste in the US. All plastic waste from US ever found in oceans was less than 1% of total waste in oceans. 90% of ocean trash is from SE Asia where there are no anti-dumping laws.

[evandbob]

Doesn't anyone here believe in American ingenuity and understand how products develop?  The need for an item is either created, effected or noticed.  Different designs test the market, most are half baked or not fully developed like a beta product.  Eventually, a new and improved design gets a larger share of the market, the older product dies off, and the newer ones get further tweaks. In this evolution, the final product may have little resemblance to what it is replacing.

 

Thinking that a suitable replacement for an item would be immediately available is somewhat childish.  The market needs time to gear up, design and manufacture a replacement or improved product that a majority of users will accept and agree to buy/use.

 

How many different designs have our phones been through since dial ups went into the scrap heap?

[nscruiser2005]

I don't see the big deal with no longer using plastic straws. We purchased metal and silicone straws and use them all the time.  It certainly won't ruin my cruise and hopefully no one is that upset by it that they feel it has ruined theirs 🙂

 

[evandbob]

14 minutes ago, crewsweeper said:

Plastic straws are a bogus attempt at "saving the planet" and "feel good"about doing something.  Some 9 year old wrote a post somewhere a few years back claiming hundreds of millions of plastic straws from your local fast food joint in the midwest somehow managed to all end up in the ocean. More straws in ocean than manufactured. Some "enviro"believed him.

Plastic straws make up a very tiny % of all plastic waste in the US. All plastic waste from US ever found in oceans was less than 1% of total waste in oceans. 90% of ocean trash is from SE Asia where there are no anti-dumping laws.

 

 

How do you explain the gyre of plastic in the Pacific Ocean that is larger than the State of Texas?  There is another gathering volume in the Atlantic.  Single use and disposable but not degradable plastic, and microbeads pose tremendous danger to our food chain. Straws are a part of it and we must start somewhere.  Single use take out containers from fast food joints and coffee shops and plastic liquid containers are all part of this problem.

 

Blaming others and doing nothing is not a solution.

 

Perhaps anyone who doubts the deleterious effects of waste plastic should go on a cruise through these ocean gyres to experience the damage.  Then they can start a thread about how plastics ruined their cruise. Or they visit a wildlife rehab or rescue center that attempts to save wildlife that has swallowed or been wrapped in plastic to witness the damage first.  Lastly, if they still deny, eat or drink an extra helping of microbeads in their daily morning beverage of choice.

Edited January 5, 2020 by evandbob

[TNcruising02]

California seems to have a huge problem with trash in the ocean.  At least they do in Long Beach.  Instead of banning plastic straws, they should figure out productive ways to keep all of that trash out of the ocean.

[Joe817]

I honestly don't understand why a method of recycling plastic straws has not been developed yet. I mean we do it for soda bottles, plastic milk cartons, old magazines and newspapers.....why not plastic straws? Yes, I'm aware of the current argument against it saying "plastic straws stop up the sorting machinery". Well, I believe that. But why not develop a sorter, that will not gum up the equipment? And what about sorting out the plastic straws on a cruise, and accumulate them in a special recycle bin, tub, etc? Maybe I'm over simplistic in this approach....I dunno. 

[jimbo5544]

5 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

I don’t think it’s about “showing them.” At least it isn’t for me. It’s just about being able to consume my beverages with a straw that I don’t have to wash and won’t melt or get soggy.

Understand, we bring our own.  

[Organized Chaos]

10 minutes ago, evandbob said:

Doesn't anyone here believe in American ingenuity and understand how products develop?  The need for an item is either created, effected or noticed.  Different designs test the market, most are half baked or not fully developed like a beta product.  Eventually, a new and improved design gets a larger share of the market, the older product dies off, and the newer ones get further tweaks. In this evolution, the final product may have little resemblance to what it is replacing.

 

Thinking that a suitable replacement for an item would be immediately available is somewhat childish.  The market needs time to gear up, design and manufacture a replacement or improved product that a majority of users will accept and agree to buy/use.

 

How many different designs have our phones been through since dial ups went into the scrap heap?

 

Since this is a straw thread, I'll stick to that product. A vast majority of the world's consumers will not be satisfied with any other straw that isn't disposable. Sure, some people are quite content to carry around their reusable straws, but in the overall picture, those people are a very small percentage. Society wants convenience, and that's only getting worse. It's gone from inventing products and services that make our lives more convenient to now making products and services that just make people downright lazy. So inventing a better straw is a great idea, but the current replacements suck. It'll have to be something that's disposable, but still performs just as good as plastic straws.

[Joe817]

If I were a chemist, I'd invente a biodegradable 'plastic straw'. I'd make millions! 

[FLcruzer123]

If you miss the plastic straws you can always buy a box at your local supermarket of from Amazon and take them with you.

Edited January 5, 2020 by FLcruzer123

[Mrs.C05]

We bring our own plastic straws, but we also have our own metal straws too. The paper ones are so stupid to use, since they just wilt and you end up drinking wet pieces of straw paper. Ick!

[jdemps]

41 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Understand, we bring our own.  

yep, me too.  I buy the straws made from compostable corn so I guess a turtle could eat it if someone else throws it into the ocean....

[2PinaColadas]

9 hours ago, n6uqqq said:

 

Perhaps they stumbled upon it after their multimillion dollar fines for illegal discharges? Straws are the current politically correct thing to go after right now 😉

You are exactly right.  It's the PC thing to do--at the moment.  I will bring my own straws (metal and plastic smoothie straws for my pina coladas /BBCs? Miami Vices etc..) It's not a big deal.  Replacing Coke products with Pepsi products is my biggest issue with Carnival -- at the moment.  LOL 

 

 

[dcwalker]

These look great. I hope they're selling them on the Magic next month.

[vwwolfe]

Agave Straws are the way to go.  Perform just like plastic, stay firm for the duration of the drink, and are biodegradable.  

[siestakeys04]

On 1/4/2020 at 6:24 PM, Eli_6 said:

Anything is better than this:

They start off okay but as you take a little long sipping your drink it is soggy then it’s like now what.

[LandlockedCruiser01]

This affects me very little.  I'm a beer fan for the most part, with an occasional shot, like for "fueling up" before a fun night.  None of them require straws.  I seldom, if ever, buy anything requiring straws, like cocktails or frozen drinks.  Once at embarkation for sure, and maybe once or twice later.  They're usually not much stronger than fruit juice, and therefore a waste of money.  I tried all three types of sugar straws on my last cruise.  Since I tend to drink quickly, I always finished my drink before my straw went limp.  Then I ate the straw.  But for those that nurse their drinks, I can see it being a problem.

 

So if sugar straws aren't working out so far, perhaps Carnival would be willing to consider pasta or cornstarch straws.  Carnival suits, what say you?

Edited January 6, 2020 by LandlockedCruiser01