It’s easy being Green!

National Earth Day is an annual event, celebrated last week on April 22 on which day events worldwide were held to demonstrate support for environmental protection.

We are constantly reminded about our Carbon Footprint when flying and driving but do we ever really consider how green a cruise line is when choosing and booking a cruise, large cruise ships were due to be banned from Venice from January 2015 due to pollution and erosion but there has now been a U’turn on this decision and the ban has been lifted in ‘the absence of any practical alternative navigation routes’

This raises the question of what the cruise lines do to protect the environment and how green they actually are

It’s good news for the environment, cruise lines have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to develop and implement new technologies to reduce harmful air emissions and are in the process of deploying exhaust gas scrubbers to cut harmful emissions from ships’ engines.

A number of ships are installing the necessary equipment to use shore power where feasible in ports where it’s available.

The cruise industry has made significant strides to cut energy consumption inside ships by switching to low energy LED lights and high efficiency appliances, recycling hot water and applying special window tinting to reduce air conditioning needs.

With Eco-Smart Cruising,  NCL is leading the cruise industry with many innovative environmental policies and technologies from garbage, waste and recycling programs to reducing the operational impact on the environment. In 2013 alone, NCL’s recycling efforts saved more than 23,000 mature trees!

Did you know Windstar’s sailing yachts can generate more power by wind in their sails than by the using their diesel engines? That’s why we try to use our sails as much as possible.

Not all cruise lines have such good press, Carnival have come under criticism from Friends of the Earth however Carnival Corporation the world’s largest cruise company, today announced it will meet its goal to reduce its rate of greenhouse gas emissions from shipboard operations by 20 percent.  This goal was established by the company as part of Carnival’s ongoing efforts to reduce environmental impact from its operations.

We can all do our bit to help to be Greener, reuse linens and towels, keep balcony doors closed to conserve energy and recycle on board – it’s our planet and we need to look after it!