It’s far removed from the world up above, where holidaymakers bound for the South Pacific are sipping a cocktail mixed by a robot at the Bionic Bar, lounging by the pool at the Solarium or getting their kicks on a skydiving simulator. In the waste management room below deck, crew members onboard Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas sort recyclables around the clock, separating into tubs for caps, corks and cans; clear, green and brown glass, crushed down like glinting mosaic pieces. It’s part of a bid to keep every waste stream the 5000-guest ship produces out of local landfill. It’s a cog in a broad-reaching ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) framework mapped out by one of the world’s largest cruise companies. This framework, in turn, forms part of a much bigger picture that is galvanising the entire cruise industry: a goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Maligned as it has been for its impact on the environment and the coastal communities it sails into, the decarbonisation of the entire cruise industry is a grand plan that some might consider fanciful at best, or an attempt at greenwashing and obfuscation at worst. But behind the scenes of cruise lines big and small, ocean, river and expedition, the path is marked by milestone goals that are being met. For instance, Royal Caribbean opened the world’s first net-zero cruise terminal in Galveston in late 2022. Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) recently announced the modification of its final two Prima Class Ships to accommodate green methanol as an alternative future fuel source. And sustainable trailblazer Hurtigruten is on track to deliver the world’s first zero-emission ship by 2030.
A WATERSHED MOMENT
With global demand for cruising surpassing pre-pandemic levels (it is the fastest-growing segment of the tourism sector) and as climate change intensifies and overtourism remains a concern, innovation is the only way forward. And there’s more momentum than ever. Did the pandemic - a time that saw cruise ships very publicly grounded prove a watershed moment? “It was certainly an opportunity to pause, reflect and consider what the best ways are to go about exercising our responsibilities,” says Royal Caribbean’s vice president and managing director, Gavin Smith. “Everyone found ways to improve for the better,” agrees Tim Jones, vice president and managing director, Australia & APAC, for Celebrity Cruises. He cites the acceleration of certain areas that had always been a priority,
