As part of our commitment to improve water quality, Surfrider has been working with our partners Friends of the Earth in promotion of more stringent national standards for discharges of cruise vessels. In this vein, we have supported the federal legislation Clean Cruise Ship Act, which is set to be introduced by Rep. Sam Farr in the coming weeks. To promote these efforts, Friends of the Earth has put out a Cruise Ship Report Card (below), which compares the 10 major cruise ship lines on their environmental and human health impacts. You can read more on their website at www.foe.org/cruisereportcard
Cruise Ship Environmental Report Card
Millions of Americans take cruise vacations every year. However, most don’t realize that cruising is more harmful to the environment and human health than many other forms of travel. With ships that can carry up to 7,000 passengers and crew, these floating cities pollute the air we breathe and the water we use and enjoy.
What Can You Do About It? You Can Choose a Greener Cruise!
All cruise lines are not the same! You can choose a cruise line that is reducing its environmental and human health impacts! To help, Friends of the Earth has put together the following report card comparing 10 major cruise lines:
formation* Final Grade
Holland America Line B
Norwegian Cruise Lines B
Princess Cruises B
Cunard Cruise Line C
Regent Seven Seas Cruises C
Celebrity Cruises D+
Carnival Cruise Lines D
Silversea Cruises D
Royal Caribbean Int’l F
Disney Cruise Line F
We evaluated the cruise lines on four environmental factors:
Sewage Treatment Whether a cruise line has installed the most advanced sewage and
wastewater treatment systems available instead of dumping raw or minimally treated
sewage directly into the water;
Air Pollution ReductionWhether a cruise line has retrofitted its ships to “plug in” to
available shoreside electrical grids instead of running polluting engines when docked;
Water Quality ComplianceTo what degree cruise ships violated 2008 water pollution
standards designed to better protect the Alaskan coast; and
Accessibility of Environmental Information How easy the cruise lines have made it
for the average consumer to find information on their websites about cruise industry environmental practices and technology.
Visit website - www.foe.org/cruisereportcard - for an explanation of our grading system, to learn
more about the environmental efforts of individual cruise ships, and to find out what actions you can
take to make cruise lines clean up their act.