64 Cabins Items provided in cabins can be a huge source of waste and pollution, in particular from single-use plastic, but investments by cruise lines in reducing this impact are noticed and appreciated by guests. TUI Cruises says that reducing plastic waste is not new for the company. “Cabins are already equipped with glass water jugs, which guests can fill at corridor water dispensers, eliminating the need for disposable plastic bottles. On all new TUI Cruises ships, cabin showers are equipped with a refillable shampoo and shower gel dispenser, saving 370,000 throw-away packs per year fleet-wide.” The company has also introduced measures such as “placing terry-cloth slippers in bathrobe pockets rather than packed individually in plastic, eliminating 250,000 plastic wrappings per year. In future, laundry bags made of bio-based plastic will replace 270,000 plastic bags.” Virgin Voyages says that refillable, rather than disposable, soap and shampoo dispensers are available in the cabins, and that “sensors in the cabins automatically close window curtains, turn off lighting, and lower air conditioning settings when unoccupied.” Elixir Boutique Cruises states: “Hotel amenities are eco-friendly in equally eco-friendly packaging”. Appliances Royal Caribbean Group has a focus on improving energy efficiency in the appliances installed on its ships and its brand Celebrity Cruises says: “We have high-efficiency appliances throughout the ship in order to minimise their impact on climate change and reduce our energy load. Every type of appliance onboard our ships is being evaluated for efficiency, including TVs, coffeemakers, ice makers, ovens and dishwashers.” CroisiEurope states: “Most of our ships are equipped with energy-efficient electrical devices.” Hapag-Lloyd Cruises provides guests with choices regarding how they use the Nespresso machines provided on almost all of the ships. “In addition to the classic Nespresso pods, they can also choose pods made by Feel Good, which are 100 per cent biodegradable and compostable.” Lighting Switching to LED lights is an easy win that most companies are taking advantage of. American Cruise Lines says: “American uses low-energy LED lighting throughout the ship as well as EPA Energy Star equipment to reduce overall onboard energy consumption. This means both less energy consumed and less electricity generated.” Other companies that have switched to LED lighting, at least in some parts of their ships, include Phoenix Reisen, Poseidon Expeditions and Aqua Expeditions, while Avalon Waterways says it has installed LED lighting throughout its ships, fleet-wide. Hapag-Lloyd Cruises says: “We are optimising energy consumption beyond the ships’ engines through smart management and LED lighting, for example.” Royal Caribbean Group is using LED and fluorescent lights to reduce energy use and produce less heat. Tradewind Voyages also mentions the benefit of heat-reduction gained by using LED lighting onboard, along with reducing electricity demand. CURRENT REPORTED ACT I V I T Y
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQ1NTk=