Sustainable Cruising Guide to Environmentally-Friendly Cruises – Beragampengetahuan

Our sustainable cruising guide is for travellers committed to cruising more eco-consciously and responsibly, whether you’re considering a cruise for the first time or you’re a cruise lover keen to do cruises that are more environmentally friendly, more sustainable, more responsible and more ethical. Our A-Z guide to more sustainable cruising covers everything from the most eco-friendly cruise boats and companies to don’t-cruise destinations.

If it’s the chance to get on the water, gaze at turquoise seas, travel slowly, sniff the salty air, and feel the ocean breezes in your hair that make cruises so alluring for you, there are countless ways of cruising more sustainably, eco-consciously, responsibly, and ethically than on a colossal ocean liner – that offer closer contact with the very things that originally appealed about cruises, but became secondary to entertainment, eating, shopping, and shore excursions.

River, canal and harbour cruises, hiring small boats and choosing smaller cruise ships that carry hundreds rather than thousands of people are all more responsible, sustainable, eco-friendly cruising options compared to monumental cruise liners – ‘cities at sea’ that do tremendous environmental damage, kill marine life, are massive polluters of the air, oceans, and ports they call into, an eyesore, a major contributor to overtourism, and aren’t welcome by local residents.

Today is World Tourism Day and this year’s theme is ‘Tourism and Sustainable Transformation’. The World Tourism Organisation’s aim is to highlight “tourism’s transformative potential as an agent of positive change”, not only ‘economic development’ (and we’d add: not only profit), and that what’s needed for a sustainable world, among other things, is responsible stewardship of natural resources, reducing emissions, conserving biodiversity, and safeguarding our natural resources and ecosystems.

When we launched beragampengetahuan in 2010 with our yearlong global grand tour dedicated to slow travel, local travel and experiential travel, we were on a mission to share ways in which travel could be more immersive, enriching and engaging, and also more sustainable, responsible and ethical. That quest was at the core of every decision we made, whether it was where, when and how we travelled, the things we did, where we shopped, what we cooked and ate, and what we chose to cover here. No other travel blog, or even travel magazine, shared that commitment at the time.

We’ve got lots of guides to travelling slower, greener, and more locally, responsibly and sustainably. But we’ve only briefly covered sustainable cruising. We thought it time to revisit the subject – partly because there’s never been more urgency as far as the climate crisis and planet’s future is concerned, with the rapidly accelerating and unprecedented rise in temperatures, ocean warming, ice melting, and sea levels, and the more frequent, intense and extreme weather events.

The result will be even more destructive weather events, including more intense floods, fires, heatwaves, and longer droughts; the loss of islands, beaches and coastline; degraded animal habitats, loss of water and food sources, extinction of species, disrupted eco-systems, and destruction of diversity; and an immeasurable loss of human lives as a result of extreme temperatures, displacement due to weather events, spread of disease, food insecurity, and conflict.

We also thought it time to revisit the subject because there’s so much misinformation, denial and hypocrisy in the travel media that it must be confusing for travellers making decisions as to where, when and how to travel. Travel magazines publish ‘green’ editions of their publications with editorial advocating more eco-conscious, sustainable and responsible travel, yet fill their magazines with full page ads promoting the latest monumental ocean liner, Antarctic expeditions, and cruises to Alaska and Greenland.

Cruise ship tourism is the fastest-growing tourism sector and the most environmentally-damaging form of tourism, generating significant air, noise and water pollution. Ocean liners emit far more carbon emissions than planes and hotels, and produce a tremendous amount of sewage, solid waste and wastewater, including billions of litres of toxic waste discharged directly into the oceans. Yet there are more sustainable forms of cruising and all-inclusive holidays, which is essentially what a cruise is.

Our A-Z guide to more responsible cruising is by no means comprehensive, but we hope it inspires you to seek out more sustainable and more environmentally friendly ways of cruising and experiencing the world’s most beautiful harbours, rivers, canals, waterways, and seas, when you get on the water that you endeavour to do it in the least harmful way to marine life and the environment.

Sustainable Cruising – A-Z Guide to More Responsible and Eco-Friendly Cruises

Our A-Z guide to sustainable cruising and how to cruise more responsibly and eco-consciously covers everything from places to avoid to environmentally friendly cruise boats. Colossal ocean liners are never eco-friendly nor sustainable, no matter their so-called ‘green’ initiatives.

Some general rules for sustainable cruising: the smaller the boat the more sustainable and more environmentally friendly it will be; smaller modern boats that ply narrow and shallow waterways leave the lightest footprints (think: canals, rivers and harbours); the next best choice are ’boutique’ or ‘luxury’ small ships with advanced technologies that carry less than a few hundred people rather than a few thousand passengers.

Antarctic Cruises

The environmental impact of an Antarctic cruise is massive, imperilling its fragile eco-system. Antarctic cruises hurt the world’s last pristine region far more than they help it. The carbon footprint of one tourist on an Antarctic cruise is around the same as one European’s footprint for a year, larger than any other kind of tourism due to the distance travelled and cruise ships being such heavy polluters.

Just 40 years ago only a few hundred tourists visited Antarctica a year; more than 120,000 tourists visited Antarctica in the 2023-24 summer season, the vast majority by cruise ship. Along with planes, helicopters, trucks, and generators, ships produce black carbon, which melts the snow faster, which researchers estimating that each tourist causes Antarctica to lose some 83 tonnes of snow a year.

This story in The Atlantic makes a case for why Antarctica is the last place on earth anyone should go and why you should take Antarctica cruises off your bucket list: travelling to Antarctica is carbon-intensive, with cruises and flights contributing to the climate change causing ice to melt and threatening wildlife; hikes damage flora that takes a decade to go; humans can introduce disease and invasive species; and studies have shown the presence of tourists stresses out penguins. Of course, it’s not only Antarctica cruise ships should be avoiding, it’s the Arctic Circle, Alaska and Greenland.

Boat Hire

Hiring a small boat for cruising harbours, rivers, canals, and lakes is the most responsible and most eco-friendly kind of cruising you can do. The smaller the boat and fewer the people, the more environmentally friendly your cruise will be. Obviously the best choice for the environment with the least impact is a kayak, canoe or row boat. We once hired a foot-pedal swan boat on a lake in Beijing, which was lots of fun.

Sydney, Australia, is home to the world’s most beautiful harbour and getting onto the water is the best way to experience stunning Sydney Harbour, especially over summer and on New Years Eve. For hiring small boats for cruising Sydney Harbour, try Boatique, where you can rent small boats such as catamarans, sailing boats, yachts, power boats, and luxury cruisers.

Smaller recreational boats have a small environmental footprint and are the most sustainable way of experiencing Sydney’s breathtaking waterways. Trust us on this one: we were lucky to live on Sydney Harbour for many years. We took ferries to work every day, and swam at harbour beaches and swimming pools, so we saw firsthand the environmental damage of enormous cruise ships.

Not only were monumental cruise ships an eyesore, but their emissions impacted water and air quality. Some 92% of harbour sediments are contaminated, seagrass beds destroyed and micro-plastics exceed international levels. Don’t take a cruise ship that enters Sydney Harbour. Fly to Sydney, as planes emit far fewer emissions than ships, and hire a small boat instead.

Some eco-friendly boat hire tips: always choose reputable boat hire companies such as Boatique that rent out modern fuel efficient boats that are maintained regularly for the lowest emissions. When hiring small boats, take care when anchoring to avoid damaging seagrass, don’t take single use plastics, use reef-safe sunscreen, and follow ‘leave no trace’ practices: don’t throw anything overboard, and take all garbage home.

Carbon Emissions

Cruise ship travel is the most environmentally-damaging form of travel. No argument. Research has shown that cruising is worse for the climate than flying, releasing twice as much carbon dioxide, with the most efficient cruise ships emitting more carbon dioxide per passenger kilometre (CO₂/pax-km) than a passenger jet: the world’s largest ships emitted 250 gCO₂/pax-km compared to transatlantic aircraft emissions averaging around 10 gCO₂/pax-km to 130 gCO₂/pax-km.

One ship can release as much CO₂ as a million cars. The world’s largest cruise ship company, Carnival, was the most climate-polluting cruise liner in Europe in 2023, emitting more carbon emissions in a year than the city of Glasgow, which had a population of over 600,000 people at the time. The largest cruise ship of the second largest cruise liner company, Royal Caribbean, carries 6,500 passengers, so that’s not hard to imagine.

Danube River Cruises and Rhine River Cruises

River cruising is far more sustainable than ocean cruising and cruises along the Danube River and Rhine River are not only some of the most popular river cruises in the world, they’re also some of the most environmentally friendly river cruises.

You can cruise the Danube and Rhine Rivers on silent, emission-free electric powered sightseeing boats and low carbon footprint solar-assisted hybrid boats, and choose dinner cruises that offer farm-to-table cuisine and organic wines to support local farmers and wine producers.

For longer multi-day river cruises, you can settle into cabins on some of the world’s most eco-friendly river-cruising ships that run on electric-diesel hybrid systems, use less fuel, have solar heating and cooling, and are far quieter than most river cruise ships.

The best Danube River and Rhine River cruises are committed to reducing food waste and offering sustainable culinary experiences, with chefs shopping local markets en route, buying fresh seasonal produce, while giving back to local communities and economies.

Eco-Friendly Cruise Lines

The world’s most eco-friendly cruise ship line according to Friends of the Earth’s Ship Report Card (see ‘F’ below) is Norwegian-owned Hurtigruten. Based in Oslo, Hurtigruten has a fleet of just nine small cruise ships, carrying from 600 to 800 passengers and crew.

All of Hurtigruten’s ships have installed advanced sewage treatment systems, are plug-in capable and travel to ports where they can use shore power, don’t use scrubbers, and use cleaner fuel, and are transparent about their environmental practices. Hurtigruten hopes to launch ‘SeaZero’, the world’s first electric emissions-free cruise ship in 2030.

Friends of the Earth Cruise Ship Report Card

Friends of the Earth’s annual Cruise Ship Report Card compares the environmental footprint of 21 major cruise lines and 243 cruise ships. It rates their treatment of sewage (has the cruise line has introduced the most advanced wastewater treatment systems), efforts to reduce air pollution (has the cruise line installed shore power and adopted cleaner fuels), use of scrubbers to reduce air pollution (scrubbers convert air pollution into toxic wastewater), and transparency (whether the cruise line responded to requests for information about their environmental practices).

Gulet Cruises

A sailing holiday in Türkiye on a gulet is one of the most sustainable and eco-friendly cruise holidays you can do. As long as you sail on a traditional handcrafted wooden gulet with two- or three-masts that are properly rigged for sailing rather than depending on diesel power, which most gulets do these days. Ask questions about the boat and the company’s commitment to sustainable tourism and environmentally friendly practices when you book your holiday or charter a boat.

The beautiful port towns of Bodrum and Fethiye on the Turkish Mediterranean are the places to charter a gulet cruise, book a spot on learn-to-sail holiday, or do a day-trip on a gulet. We once spent a summer in Turkey and became addicted to gulet cruises. After we got off our first gulet we went and booked spots on another the next day. Diving directly from the deck into the clear turquoise sea was divine.

Luxury Cruise Lines

Luxury cruise lines such as Seabourn (whose fleet of smaller ships carry between 430 and 970 passengers and crew) and Silversea (whose smaller ships carry between 190 and 1,280 passengers and crew) have strong reputations as being more sustainable and environmentally-friendly simply because they’re ‘small’ compared to the colossal ‘cities at sea’ that carry between 3,000 and almost 10,000 passengers. 

But both cruise lines still have poor report cards (see ‘F’, above), as not all ships use advanced wastewater treatment, only some have shore power capability, and both companies, which are owned by Carnival and Royal Caribbean groups, and incorporated in Panama and Liberia respectively, were not transparent when it came to providing information about their environmental practices. Still, the ships are smaller, which means comparatively fewer emissions and less pollution.

Noise Pollution

Gargantuan cruise ships generate underwater noise pollution that is a major threat to marine life. Noise pollution degrades the acoustic habitat of sea life in the same way that smoke/smog impacts life on land, disrupting the orientation, navigation, communication, feeding, and breeding habits of sea creatures, displacing marine life, and killing noise-sensitive sea life. This alone should be a major deterrence for nature lovers.

Plastic Pollution

Cruise ships generate an obscene amount of solid waste, including plastic, paper, cardboard, cans, bottles, and food waste. But plastic is the most environmentally-damaging, as it’s not biodegradable, and whether it remains at sea or washes up on shore, can tragically kill marine life. For example, sea turtles see plastic as food, and plastic consumption can lead to death by suffocation, starvation and poisoning.

The most eco-conscious cruises and charter boats have eliminated single-use plastics, including water bottles, toiletries, straws, plastic cutlery, and packaging, replacing them with re-useable containers or compostable materials such as bamboo or plant-based plastic substitutes, recycling when possible, and returning plastic waste to shore.

Sailing Holidays

Sailing boats offer some of the most sustainable ways of getting on the water and you can get as active or be as lazy as you like. You can get hands-on on a learn-to-sail adventure or have a flop-and-drop holiday on a luxury clipper — which has many of the features of an ocean liner that cruise-lovers appreciate, from a swimming pool and water-sports to buffets and entertainment, but on a smaller scale.

Learn-to-sail holidays on low-emission wind-propelled sailing boats are the most sustainable sea-going holidays and can be as relaxed or as serious as you like, with some of the more laidback sailing vacations to be found on the Mediterranean, in countries such as Turkey, Greece and Croatia, which combine sailing lessons with down-time and sightseeing, and offer cosy on-board accommodation, and on-deck dining under the stars.

Some of the more structured sail training courses, which offer intensive instruction and certification, include a sustainable sailing component covering responsible anchoring and mooring, sustainable provisioning, fuel and energy efficiency, and marine pollution. Look for Blue Flag membership, which ensures rigorous requirements have been met as far as environmental sustainability and responsible practices go, and also covers beaches, marinas and tourism boats.

A luxury clipper might not be as sustainable as a catamaran or small yacht, but a 220-passenger clipper is still far more environmentally-friendly than a 2,200-passenger cruise ship. Before booking a clipper holiday, check their website or email questions about their commitment to minimising their environmental impact and eco-friendly practices: do they prioritise wind propulsion, have energy-efficient engines, use high quality fuel, treat wastewater, recycle, and so on.

Train Journeys

If the all-inclusive holiday and perceived glamour of a ship cruise is a bigger appeal for you than being at sea then save up and splash out on a luxury train journey, such as The Ghan and Indian-Pacific in Australia, the Orient Express in Europe, and Belmond’s Eastern & Oriental Express in Southeast Asia, which are all-inclusive with fantastic food, more interesting activities, and plenty of proper glamour.

They won’t get you on the water, but they’ll get you close on disembarking. In Australia, from Sydney you can tag on a beach holiday at the end in Rottnest Island or do a road trip in Western Australia, home to many of the world’s most beautiful beaches. In Europe, you’ve got the Mediterranean and islands like Mallorca, where it’s easy to escape the hoards to more off the beaten track beaches. In Asia, an island or beach resort is never far away.

Venice and Other No-Cruise Destinations

We’re calling these places ‘no-cruise’ destinations, but no-go destinations also works. These are the cities that don’t want cruise ships and their passengers, largely due to overtourism (see ‘O’), but also because of pollution and the fact that most cruise ship passengers don’t contribute much to the economy. And why would you want to go to a place that doesn’t want you there?

A number of port cities have banned cruise ships or are regulating cruise ship tourism. After decades of campaigning by Venetians, Venice finally banned large cruise ships in 2021, prohibiting ships weighing more than 25,000 tonnes from entering the Giudecca Canal. Barcelona, Europe’s busiest cruise ship port, has closed one terminal to cruise ships and will close two more terminals to mitigate the impact of overtourism.

Palma de Mallorca has placed restrictions on cruise ships, capping the number of ships. Amsterdam introduced a tax on cruise ship passengers in 2019 and is gradually reducing the number of ships that dock at its port with a plan to ban all cruise ships from 2035. The Greek islands of Santorini and Mykonos introduced a charge to cruise passengers and is introducing restrictions on cruise ships and passenger numbers, while Dubrovnik has also capped passenger numbers.

Wastewater Treatment

In this excellent overview on how cruise ship tourism contributes to pollution and how the cruise industry can become more sustainable, Earth.org reports that a colossal 3,000-passenger cruise ship can generate more than 176,000 gallons of sewage a week, which is over a billion gallons a year for the industry, and the equivalent of 1,515 Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to the USA’s Environmental Protection Agency.

When choosing a cruise ship, select those with the most advanced wastewater treatment systems, but be aware that while most cruise ships have treatment plants that can remove pollutants from sewage before it’s discharged into the ocean, heavy metals and non-biodegradable organic chemicals can still remain after secondary treatment. Friends of the Earth scores all major cruise lines low on sewage treatment.

If you have tips to more sustainable cruising, to cruising more responsibly and eco-consciously, feel free to leave them in the comments below.