Hey, just because you’re on vacation doesn’t mean you can’t help make the world a better place… right? Here are a few pretty simple things you can do that will not only help the planet, but make you feel better about yourself in the process!
1. Pick Up 1 Piece of Trash While in Port
Imagine if every single cruiser who visited, say, Bermuda while on their cruise picked up one piece of stray trash and threw it away. Heck, imagine if half of all visitors took this incredibly simple initiative? Now multiply that by every port that every ship visits around the world and imagine the impact we could have!
2. Avoid Using Disposable Napkins and Tableware
This one isn’t always possible, but using cloth napkins and actual silverware – both of which can be washed and reused over and over – cuts down massively on the amount of paper and plastic items which have to be disposed of.
3. Don’t Waste Food
Remember when you were younger, and mom would lecture you to eat everything on your plate because people in other countries were starving? Ironically, a lot of cruises visit the very places where those starving people live. There’s nothing preventing you from going back to the buffet for seconds or even thirds, so why not take smaller portions rather than taking mountains of food you may not actually wind up eating? It’s all-you-can-eat, not all you can carry back to your table, whether you’re going to eat it or not.
4. Don’t Abuse Our Host
A whole lot of folks got hot under the collar upon hearing that a passenger had been booted from a ship for flicking a cigarette overboard. But is there any bigger way to disrespect the very ocean we are sailing upon than by throwing your garbage into it? Next time you’re sitting somewhere on a ship gazing out at the sea, imagine what you were actually seeing was other people’s garbage bobbing on the surface.
5. Be Proactive
The passenger is always right. And that means that we need to make sure that we stay on top of our favorite cruise lines to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Be an informed consumer, and make sure to let cruise lines know that the environment is important to you, and that your money will go to the folks who do everything in their power to maintain the highest possible standards when it comes to lessening their carbon footprint.
How do you do your part to protect the environment when cruising?
