Crystal Cruises
Green cruises? Sounds like an oxymoron, right? When it comes to carbon emissions, these floating monstrosities can pack a punch greater than an airplane. Yikes. Surf-rider reports that a typical cruise ship with 3,000 passengers generates 1 million gallons of gray water; 210,000 gallons of sewage; 25,000 gallons of oily bilge water; 100 gallons of hazardous or toxic waste; 50 tons of garbage and solid waste; and diesel exhaust emissions equal to thousands of cars on the road. (from treehugger.com)
Tres vert, no?
But I digress…if the wide open seas are your thing, here’s an option. The description is from cruisecritic.com
“On Crystal ships, all waste is sorted then incinerated on-board, recycled or disposed of on shore. The cruise line revamped its purchasing policy to buy more items in bulk (and only from vendors that also practice sustainability), minimizing packaging waste. Other initiatives have included the installation of low-flow showers, energy-efficient one-touch lighting in all cabins, water filtration systems in specialty restaurants and eco-friendly dry-cleaning. The cruise line also collects unused toiletries, which are recycled, sterilized and transformed into new products that are distributed to impoverished nations…
All crew members participate in mandatory training on environmental practices and are invited to join additional optional environmental learning programs.
Special Projects/Awards: Crystal won the Cruise Ship Environmental Award from the San Francisco cruise port in 2005 and 2011; the port authorities in Stockholm and Venice have recognized the line for its environmentalism, too. Crystal’s Visions Enrichment Program includes lectures on conservation from such experts as conservation biologist Bill Toone and Icelandic geologist Jon Sigurdsson.
Crystal’s “You Care, We Care” voluntourism program allows cruisers and crew to participate in community-based conservation projects in destinations the ships visit, for no additional cost to passengers. Projects have included restoration of native foliage in New Zealand, collaboration with animal rescue organizations in Europe, volunteer work at an Alaskan salmon hatchery, restoration of a hurricane-ravished garden in St. Maarten and park cleanups in Mexico.”
For more information, go to crystalcruises.com
