Carbon and Cruising

[RamblingMad]

How are you guys dealing with this conversation?

Lately, it’s coming up a lot with my friends. While I had a great cruise on the Fantasy, my friends tell me that cruise ships are terrible for the environment. I really want to do an Alaska cruise next year, but now I feel guilty about it.

Is Disney doing anything to become more carbon neutral with their new ships? Is this even on their radar?

 

[Numtini]

I tell them cruising is about the most environmentally and economically irresponsible thing one could possibly do on a vacation. I see no reason to lie to them and I'm not going to lie to myself about it either.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

How are you guys dealing with this conversation?

Lately, it’s coming up a lot with my friends. While I had a great cruise on the Fantasy, my friends tell me that cruise ships are terrible for the environment. I really want to do an Alaska cruise next year, but now I feel guilty about it.

Is Disney doing anything to become more carbon neutral with their new ships? Is this even on their radar?

Well, they've reduced plastic (lids for sodas, straws), individual bathroom amenities bottles.

 

[nancipants]

I found this fact sheet from Disney: https://disneyparksnews.com/uploads/sites/4/2019/07/DCL_Env_Fact_July-2019.pdf

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I tell them cruising is about the most environmentally and economically irresponsible thing one could possibly do on a vacation. I see no reason to lie to them and I'm not going to lie to myself about it either.

You're not wrong, regardless of whitewashing. Being the "most environmentally friendly!" cruise line is still to be an environmental disaster. It's a matter of degree.

 

[mevelandry]

How are you guys dealing with this conversation?

Lately, it’s coming up a lot with my friends. While I had a great cruise on the Fantasy, my friends tell me that cruise ships are terrible for the environment. I really want to do an Alaska cruise next year, but now I feel guilty about it.

Is Disney doing anything to become more carbon neutral with their new ships? Is this even on their radar?

Side note: We're using public transportation and have no kids ... While our friends have 1-2 cars (and more) and 1 to 4 kids. They know better than to confront us with our carbon footprint.

You can tell them the truth... While adding that cruise lines are slowly making improvements (slowly going LNG, removing tablecloths, removing straws, going for apps rather than paper journals, etc.) ... They are definitely not perfect but they are moving in the right direction.

 

[RamblingMad]

You can tell them the truth... While adding that cruise lines are slowly making improvements (slowly going LNG, removing tablecloths, removing straws, going for apps rather than paper journals, etc.) ... They are definitely not perfect but they are moving in the right direction.

They know the truth. I know the truth. I still feel guilty about it though. Ignorance bliss was so much better.

 

[mevelandry]

They know the truth. I know the truth. I still feel guilty about it though. Ignorance bliss was so much better.

The deal I made with myself is that I'm trying to be a little bit more serious about everything else (consume less, recycle more, etc.) ... Nobody is perfect.

 

[BadPinkTink]

How are you guys dealing with this conversation?

Lately, it’s coming up a lot with my friends. While I had a great cruise on the Fantasy, my friends tell me that cruise ships are terrible for the environment. I really want to do an Alaska cruise next year, but now I feel guilty about it.

Is Disney doing anything to become more carbon neutral with their new ships? Is this even on their radar?

if you want to go on a cruise, and have the finances and time to go on a cruise, and you enjoy being on a cruise, then book that Alaska cruise.

Your friends are very wrong for making you feel guilty about how and where you vacation.

25 years ago, when I was a teenager I was in an environmental club in school. We set up recycling, planted trees in the school grounds, did trash clean ups in the local area and so much more. I was environmentally aware long before it became trendy. We were called The Freako Ecos in school.

I have no time for the cool trendy environmental groups and activists in 2019. I'm sure many of the ones who are jumping on the bandwagon now in 2019 called me a freak in 1992.

Many of those spouting concern for the environment have no intention of making changes in their daily lives. They make you feel guilty for wanting to go on a cruise, but are a multi car household, don't recycle their household waste, don't use a reusable coffee cup in Starbucks etc etc.

The motto of the environmental club I was in all those years ago, was Act Local, Think Global. Making long term sustainable changes in your day to life has far more of an impact that pie in the sky airy fairy trendy bandwagon things like oh stop air travel, stop going on cruises.

 

[revdon64]

Friends? Friends don't make friends feel guilty about going on a vacation that they enjoy.

 

[RamblingMad]

Friends? Friends don't make friends feel guilty about going on a vacation that they enjoy.

It’s adult peer pressure. They also keep me active and eating well. Some have gone vegan too. I’m a hiker/ backpacker, so this is the type of people I spend my free time with. They keep me honest. And I feel guilty about it. This doesn’t mean that I don’t like cruises. I do.

 

[gotomu212]

It’s adult peer pressure. They also keep me active and eating well. Some have gone vegan too. I’m a hiker/ backpacker, so this is the type of people I spend my free time with. They keep me honest. And I feel guilty about it. This doesn’t mean that I don’t like cruises. I do.

You can buy carbon offsets (similar to the ones they have for taking airplanes). It’s not a perfect solution, but is one action you can take to try and mitigate your footprint.

 

[dclpluto]

Book your Alaska cruise and enjoy. Think of it this way if you didn’t go someone else will probably be in the cabin.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Book your Alaska cruise and enjoy. Think of it this way if you didn’t go someone else will probably be in the cabin.

exactly, the Disney ship will still go to Alaska and will still sail at full capacity. All that will happen is that you wont be on it and you wont get to do something you enjoy , all because your friends made you feel guilty.

 

[revdon64]

Well, you're going to live a rather unhappy life trying to live up to everyone else's expectations, especially when it comes to how you enjoy your vacation. Personally, Personally, I don't think it's anyone's business how, when, or where I take my family on vacation and anyone who'd throw shade or make me feel guilty for that isn't really a friend.

 

[FigmentSpark]

How are you guys dealing with this conversation?

Lately, it’s coming up a lot with my friends. While I had a great cruise on the Fantasy, my friends tell me that cruise ships are terrible for the environment. I really want to do an Alaska cruise next year, but now I feel guilty about it.

Is Disney doing anything to become more carbon neutral with their new ships? Is this even on their radar?

What kind of friends do you have that want to make you feel bad about your choice of vacation? What do they do for vacations and how is it any better?

Life is about balance. Be eco-conscious at home and maybe you can let some slide on vacation. You can't live your life feeling guilty about everything. It will consume you.

 

[71 Truck]

Go on your cruise to Alaska and don't feel guilty about it. I would not worry about what your friends think. They are not paying for your vacation. If you went on the Alaska vacation would they no longer be your friends? If not, they were not very good friends.

 

[Adventurelawyer]

I tell them to shut their filthy pie holes.

Honestly, not a single person gets to tell me jack snap about where or how I vacation and if they do, clearly they can push on because I don't need that kind of manipulative bullsnap in my life. The Wish will be all LNP, which is environmentally friendly. Much better for the environment than those damn lithium batteries in all the electric cars those smug losers are out there driving around. Have you ever seen a lithium mine? I have, and I've also seen an oil and LNG well and I can tell you which one is the actual disaster. These are the same folks who wear vegan shoes around while screaming about carbon and the danger petroleum causes. Guess what vegan shoes are made of? Petroleum. Until these people start walking everywhere barefooted and Leo gives up his private plane, I'll hop on the cruise ship and suck down my mojitos with zulu foxtrot given.

 

[LeiaOfAlderaan]

So do all of your friends ride bikes to every one of their vacation destinations? I don’t see how one can travel and avoid planes, boats, cars, etc. which are all awful for the environment.

I can’t imagine anyone I know trying to make me feel guilty about a vacation. But finding all new friends is probably not a solution for you, so as someone else mentioned you can buy carbon offsets if you still want to cruise and feel less guilty.

 

[DisBNewB]

I get it. I do. I have a lot of friends who are super environmentally conscious as well. I will say none of them made us feel guilty, intentionally or inadvertently, about our cruise, while I often feel bad about other environmental type things when talking with them (despite our carbon footprint being not huge; we definitely use way more plastics than I'd like to, but that's another conversation XD).

I will say that, not that I can imagine cruising ever being a net plus for the environment, and the air pollution score isn't great, I did find some relief in the steps Disney IS taking to make their line Less Environmentally Bad. I stumbled upon the Friends of the Earth cruise line report card, and Disney regularly is at the forefront with working on these things, has good marks for being clear about what they do (or don't do), and haven't had violations in I'm not sure how long. https://foe.org/cruise-report-card/

So, yeah, there are other options than cruising. But in terms of cruising, Disney is at least doing better than a lot of lines (environmentally-speaking).