Eco-Friendly Cruises

Cruises have a bad reputation when it comes to the environment. The amount of waste alone is staggering: Sewage, drain water and garbage are all produced in mass quantities on cruise ships. In addition, cruise ships burn a lot of fuel, sending the byproducts into the air as they go. This is a serious concern for the environment-minded traveler.

Finding an eco-friendly cruise line has gotten even more complicated this year. The Friends of the Earth report card, which grades cruise lines on their sustainability efforts, was boycotted by all cruise lines in 2014. Since then, the report card has added a “transparency” category to its rankings, causing even the highest-scoring cruise lines to receive “C” grades.

However, some cruise lines are definitely better than others when it comes to how they treat the environment. Here’s a quick overview of the four highest-scoring cruise ships for 2014 (the only ships to receive a grade above a “D”) and what they’re doing to reduce their environmental impact:

Disney Cruise Lines
Sewage treatment: A
Air pollution reduction: B-
Water Compliance: A
Transparency: F
Overall grade: C

Even with the big hit from the transparency scores, Disney Cruise Lines comes out with a clear lead in the rankings. Its environmental efforts span from using top-of-the-line technology to purify wastewater, to repurposing used cooking oil and creating biofuels. Environmental officers onboard each ship ensure that every cruise is doing all that it can for the earth.

Holland America Line
Sewage treatment: B
Air pollution reduction: C-
Water Compliance: A
Transparency: F
Overall grade: C

The Holland America Line has received accolades for the environmental programs, most recently receiving Seattle’s Green Gateway Award for Environmental Stewardship. The cruise line had made efforts to reduce the amount of waste it produces, using recyclable products whenever possible. It has also embraced technologies that reduce emissions while cruising, and runs educational programs on ships that inform crew members and passengers about sustainability.

Norwegian Cruise Lines
Sewage treatment: A
Air pollution reduction: D-
Water Compliance: A
Transparency: F
Overall grade: C

Norwegian Cruise Lines has used an aggressive sorting system to raise its recycling rate to over 30 percent of the waste produced onboard. In addition, the line uses low-impact fuels in parts of the world that are more sensitive to air pollution to reduce its impact. The line has also created an opportunity for guests to donate money to a fund that supports sustainable energy efforts in the U.S.

Princess Cruises
Sewage treatment: B-
Air pollution reduction: B
Water Compliance: A-
Transparency: F
Overall grade: C

Princess Cruises provides environmental responsibility training to all of its crew members to ensure that all workers on the ships follow eco-friendly procedures. It meets or exceed all industry standards, and monitors its waste and emissions to move towards an even lighter impact. However, although Princess Cruises’s parent company, Carnival, released a sustainability report in 2013, Princess Cruises specifically hasn’t released such a report since 2009.