How cruise ships became a catastrophe for the planet | It's Complicated

Cruising is booming - 2023 ticket sales have surpassed historic levels and 2024 has seen the launch of the largest cruise ship ever built.
But as cruise tourism's popularity has increased, so have the pollution problems it brings. To customers, it may not be evident that any problems exist, since some cruise line companies claim to be becoming more climate-friendly.
The truth can be quite different. Josh Toussaint-Strauss interrogates what impact the world's biggest ships are having on the planet.
From the Guardian:
‘Biggest, baddest’ - but is it the cleanest? World’s largest cruise ship sets sail
www.theguardian.com/environme...
‘A good cruise is one that doesn’t come’: Europe’s ports bear brunt of ship pollution
www.theguardian.com/travel/20...
Shipping’s dirty secret: how ‘scrubbers’ clean the air - while contaminating the sea www.theguardian.com/environme...
Sources:
0:22 - "50% US citizens" -
Source: TIME/Harris Poll
time.com/6285915/cruise-indus...
2:48 - "4 times worse than flying"
Source: the International Council on Clean Transportation
theicct.org/marine-cruising-f...
2:56 - "Same particulate matter as 1m cars"
Sourse Nabu report
en.nabu.de/news/2017/23046.html
3:04 - "4x sulphur oxides as all Europe's cars"
Source: Transport & Environment study
www.transportenvironment.org/...
3:17 - "25% of all ocean waste comes from cruise ships" -
Source: Ocean & Coastal Management journal
www.sciencedirect.com/science...
3:25 - impact on marine life
Source: PHAROS4MPAs
iczmplatform.org/storage/docu...
3:51 - 24% lower if speed reduced
Source: Seas at risk report
seas-at-risk.org/publications...
4:20 LNG engines leak methane
Source: the International Council on Clean Transportation
theicct.org/wp-content/upload...
4:20 Methane traps 80x more heat than Co2
Source: MIT
climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/why-d...
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#CruiseShip #Cruise #Travel #Climate #Pollution #News

[@theGuardian]

0:22 - "50% US citizens" - Source: TIME/Harris Poll time.com/6285915/cruise-industry-climate-action-emissions-passengers/ 2:48 - "4 times worse than flying" Source: the International Council on Clean Transportation theicct.org/marine-cruising-flying-may22/ 2:56 - "Same particulate matter as 1m cars" Source: Nabu report en.nabu.de/news/2017/23046.html 3:04 - "4x sulphur oxides as all Europe's cars" Source: Transport & Environment study www.transportenvironment.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/The-return-of-the-cruise-June-2023.pdf 3:17 - "25% of all ocean waste comes from cruise ships" - Source: Ocean & Coastal Management journal www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0964569121003331 3:25 - impact on marine life Source: PHAROS4MPAs iczmplatform.org/storage/documents/lBKMxs0Wvm99Y9EpeBhGezNFaECM6c4hK24nCitv.pdf 3:51 - 24% lower if speed reduced Source: Seas at risk report seas-at-risk.org/publications/multi-issue-speed-report/ 4:20 LNG engines leak methane Source: the International Council on Clean Transportation theicct.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ICCT_Comer_COP27_methane_slip_mp4-1.pdf 4:20 Methane traps 80x more heat than Co2 Source: MIT climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/why-do-we-compare-methane-carbon-dioxide-over-100-year-timeframe-are-we-underrating

[@alexmartian3972]

4 times more than flying per passenger. Per minute I presume? /s Compared to personal "business" jets, having if not swimming pools, but at least decent saunas?

[@benheidemann3836]

Thanks for citing sources - only news org I know who does this on YT

[@LegsDavo]

When a company says their new product or service (or cruise ship) is "More Environmentally Friendly", it's not, it's just less environmentally un-friendly than before.

[@magesalmanac6424]

Yeah it’s always greenwashing.

[@phaedrussmith1949]

Companies don't say it, the people that work for the companies say it. Those people are us.

[@barryhaley7430]

What is wrong with less environmentally damaging than before?

[@phaedrussmith1949]

@@barryhaley7430 It's deceitful.

[@wasylwasylson7349]

Everything so called "green" is in reality, at most, less "dirty". Including so-called renewable energy - where do all the parts, including the parts needed for maintenance of wind turbines or solar panels, come from? Industry cannot be powered (certainly not fully) by solar or wind energy. Neither can mines. Almost everything that we use, "green" or not, comes from mass production and the latter is never "green". The usage of the word "green" in itself is nonsense, it's just a marketing term (political marketing included) and such terms are misleading by design more often than not.

[@samnewman4314]

I got a cruise ship advert on this 😭

[@DeannaAllison]

So did I!

[@soccerguy325]

At least that AdCents is going toward decent journalism! 👍

[@MrEvolutionable]

I knew that cruise ships were pretty bad polluters but I was not aware they were THIS polluting! How can anyone claim that they are even remotely environmentally friendly?

[@peterisawesomeplease]

yea i was always under the impression that per passanger they were not particularly bad but yea apparently even on a per passenger level they are horrendous.

[@Heve62]

Its never said they are. Companies say the new one is more than the last one which is true

[@OscarOSullivan]

If you want to go on a blue or green water ship for fun sign up for a tall ship, keeps you in shape and offers a more interesting more varied experience.

[@OscarOSullivan]

If you want to go on a blue or green water ship for fun sign up for a tall ship, keeps you in shape and offers a more interesting more varied experience.

[@techcafe0]

these giant floating theme parks on the seas cannot possibly be environmentally responsible or sustainable

[@barryhaley7430]

Compared to what? Universal Studios, The Disney theme parks? Airplanes? Automobiles?

[@Mtmonaghan]

Other wrongs don’t make it right

[@barryhaley7430]

@@Mtmonaghan Well, nothing humans do as well as all other organisms have no impact on the environment. All life forms are always affecting the planet. That is the natural process. We are always making trade offs. In the long history of the planet, it will adjust quite well long after humans have gone extinct. And we will eventually go extinct. 90% of all life forms that have ever existed have gone extinct. That’s 90% of 4 billion species. Is the cruise industry less sustainable than the airline industry? The automobile industry? In the long run, humans aren’t sustainable.

[@cd3949]

@@Mtmonaghan You're also expelling CO2 just sitting there typing this. What to do... What to do...

[@konstantin_d.m]

@@cd3949 "whataboutism" doesn't help anyone. But since you started it: Yes, every living being emits CO2e by simply "being (and staying) alive". But that's not the point. The point isn't even to forbid any kinds of luxuries. However, it should be blatantly obvious, that giant resorts are usually quite harmful for the environment (simply because they don't really care about sustainability). Now, if you stick one of those resorts on a huge ship, pulling those extremely heavy resorts across our seas - of course their emissions are going to skyrocket! It's simple maths Even simpler solution: Dock the cruise ship somewhere, connect it to the electrical grid, waste and wastewater mgmt, and you've still got your luxurious "seaside" resort, but none of the emissions of burning hundreds of tons of fuel, simply to get passengers across the globe to places they're not even gonna (properly) visit.

[@ljacobs357]

Not to mention their contribution to overtourism at major ports. Cruise tourists spend considerably less than land-based tourists. I avoid destinations when large cruise ships are in port.

[@khetwalll]

i think you are talking about Cozumel and Bahamas 😂

[@alexr167]

An interesting fact was overlooked, even though ships can drive with natural gas they only do near ports, as soon as they leave their waters they switch to engines that run on heavy oil.

[@smvsspould]

There are cruise ships that run on only LNG though?

[@jakefleewood4088]

Yes this is true about changing once they leave port. But most modern ships which are capable of running LNG also run Marine Gas Oil as an alternative fuel, not Heavy Fuel Oil. Yes alot of the older ships run on Heavy Fuel Oil which is where the sulphur pollution comes from but. But newer ship mostly use Marine Gas Oil which is better

[@banksiasong]

The details about the cruise ship pollutants and wastes is terrifying.

[@ebe7157]

They're also wrong.

[@cd3949]

@@ebe7157 Do tell...

[@dromeascr123]

In reality ships do not discharge untreated sewage into the sea. There is a sewage treatment plant on board that regularly passes inspections from port authorities to ensure its functionality. I am not gonna talk about oil or oily waste from the engine room, no one even thinks of dumping these into the sea nowadays as there are plenty of ways to get caught and face very serious legal consequences as chief engineer. The only untreated water that ships throw directly overboard is what's known as gray water and that's the water from sinks and showers. I find this debatable also as this is a lot of water on a cruise ship of 10k people. The atmospheric pollution is also a concern as these burn heavy fuel in the open sea. At ports the merchant ships I work on require to change over to diesel and I don't know why something like that wouldn't apply to cruise ships but oh well, the video implies otherwise. I don't think they are innocent but I also don't like misinformation as I happen to work on ships (oil tankers though)

[@hvr8463]

@@ebe7157 nope

[@douglasengle2704]

There are thousands of oil tankers and container ships traversing half the world on a daily bases. In comparison cruise ships impact on the seas is almost nothing. They have been a problem when running marine heavy fuel oil while in dock that is stomach sickening. Many port areas in the last few years demand all ships switch to running light fuel oil while in their vicinity somewhat similar to highway diesel. Some newer cruise ships are mainly fueled with liquid natural gas with a fuel oil ignition. In a pinch they can run on pure fuel oil. This video was very poorly researched.

[@Rainberna]

Its not complicated. Its called greed.

[@car_tar3882]

Nope if the lines could go zero emissions tomorrow I promise you they would. The sheer amount of energy required to move a hip would require an entire ship full of batteries which probably wouldn’t even float

[@tenossos]

You're confusing greed with capitalism.

[@GraingyAircraft]

Capitalism is just greed managing the means of production.

[@Francebras]

Floating shopping malls or public housing complexes where the sea holds little to no significance for both users and operators.

[@stauber44]

This is what happens when you let an industry grow underregulated. If externalities are not priced, why care?

[@Dayvit78]

There's no way taking a whole hotel with you when you travel can be environmentally friendly. When they say more environmentally friendly, it's like McDonald's coming up with healthier options.

[@gesp5151]

Or MacDonalds being involved in kid’s football- terrible abuse

[@djayjp]

300kg per person per day of CO2 emissions....

[@michaelmay4930]

Seems like unfortunately it’s the small potatoes like family owned fishing businesses that get fried due to lack of equity/resources for lawyers and go under when more rules and regulations are applied for climate and conservations. When it’s the big potatoes that should be eaten

[@mairead5891]

The sheer size of modern cruise ships is utterly obscene, let alone the damage each one is doing to the planet.

[@ghostlygent]

And, what are you yourself doing to control your own negative impact on the environment? (Hint: the answer is NOTHING)

[@jimmylieb5225]

ghostleygent. FDJT

[@DAndyLord]

@@ghostlygent I drive a bus. I remove the need for dozens and maybe hundreds of cars each day.

[@VNeto94]

​@@DAndyLordso you have a job? 😂

[@migspeculates]

​@@ghostlygentScreaming "tu quo que" sounds futile

[@secretagentbloke]

And then there’s the food waste issue………

[@huskiefan06]

That they chop up and feed to the fish. I fail to see the problem here.

[@secretagentbloke]

@@huskiefan06 some people fail to see the Earth is round too

[@DAndyLord]

@@secretagentbloke Fewer than 700 people have ever been to space. Fewer than 700 humans in the history of humanity have ever actually seen that the Earth is round.

[@secretagentbloke]

@@DAndyLord so do you believe the Earth is flat?

[@donlitt]

@@DAndyLordwe have sky scrapers tall enough on earth that the curvature becomes visible

[@banksiasong]

After Covid, I really thought that the cruise industry would fold, given its multiplicity of health risks, to humans, stopover ports, and the planet.

[@skinnytinny9023]

and they're full of old people which is what Covid was all about. It would be interesting to find out, for instance, how many otherwise healthy 10-15 year olds died.

[@VNeto94]

Like airports and public transportation?

[@thaisgregorio2734]

I knew cruise ships polluted a lot, but I didn't know it was this much!

[@shantyclips6358]

You're mixing up ocean liners with cruise ships! 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@Mega747400]

the second they did that it lost credibility 1 is for travel one is for leisure to very different purposes.

[@tomallen5837]

I don't know about that. There's a whole section dedicated to the evolution of ships. It's in the first third of this video discussing the ocean liners being more of a form of transportation, and then evolving to cruise ships once it was already established that air travel was faster. If you're speaking of charts and stats in this video, yeah it gets a bit muddy, but really what's getting mixed up here? I don't see your point. Please explain.

[@imtiyazlatoo3001]

Next time make a video on environmental catastrophe caused by Billionaires flocking to WEF Davos in private jets.

[@HuplesCat]

Evil is evil whoever does it and comparing evil is zero excuse

[@DysfunctionNoMore]

Passenger ships designed for speed are Ocean Liners - they usually weather storms in the name of meeting schedules. Cruise Ships on the other hand always try to go around bad weather as they are designed much taller and cant take the same kind of beating at sea.

[@newbarker523]

I sea what you did there 🤣

[@Thelionatays]

I’d rather Just go kayaking

[@mozar5175]

For me, a beautiful ride on my electric assisted bike on a quiet country trail is so much better than being stuck on a cruise ship with thousands of overweight passengers running for the buffet!

[@DAndyLord]

@@mozar5175 Wouldn't riding your bike to the buffet be the best of both worlds though?

[@nickpacal8418]

@@mozar5175 Where do you think that battery components were mined from? Unless you are living in the forest like our ancestors and surviving off of the earth and not using ANY modern technology you have zero right to say anything.

[@HuplesCat]

@@nickpacal8418totally untrue. We all have a right to speak and be heard unless we speak hate. Equating kayaking or e biking with cruise ship vacationing is really funny. Thanks for the big oil 😂😂😂

[@jeffw8218]

HEY MAYBE YOU SHOULD DO A VIDEO ON WHERE THE 75% of ocean waste comes from? THE ANSWER IS THE 9 MOST POLLUTED RIVERS IN THE WORLD, ONE IN AFRICA AND THE REST IN SOUTH EAST ASIA.

[@chippysteve4524]

Seeing as we're talking about the connection between holiday choices and pollution,don't forget about The Guardian constantly plugging exotic holidays/international flights .

[@jonathanirons231]

I wholeheartedly share this criticism and am extremely wary of any claims made by cruise companies. However, ... Comparing a cruise ship with other forms of transport is misleading and disingenuous. The reality is that you need to compare the emissions of a cruise ship with those of the airplanes, buses, cars, hotels, theme parks and restaurants that they are replacing. I would be interested to see how the emissions of 5000 holidaymakers on land would stack up for a similar time period.

[@BrettVano]

As a consumer these are huge concerns for me and I hope the cruise companies will take heed. Thanks for the video.

[@virtualwatcher4024]

Excellent video!

[@So1b0w4t3Jah]

I saw a cruise ship go into port one time and it was insane. The entire town just absolutely smothered in diesel pollution.

[@Hansulf]

Make a tariff at the port. The more green measures the cruises fulfill, the lower the tax. See how fast they change their ways. Incentives are everything

[@marpintado]

This species has amused itself to death.

[@kevindruce8915]

Thanks for sharing this. I am always surprised that the small islands do not charge these types of vessels for the pollution that they create.

[@jandp2941]

It is all about the immediate money 😢

[@blakeaaron5698]

Wow, I didn’t realize cruisers are this bad. Thanks for the reporting.

[@migspeculates]

"I looove it when we're cruising togetheeer" ❤

[@Bluetangg]

Thank you. I do not know these facts.

[@PortCharmers]

I spent a few days in London last summer, and there was a cruise ship moored on the Thames for a while. Nothing special during daytime, but when I passed it in the late evening, it was belting out enormous clouds of smoke. Don't tell me it was coincidence. They knew exactly this sort of pollution is less visible at night.

[@VNeto94]

They need more power and they also usually move to another destination at night.

[@_ata_3]

Very dumb things people do: Sell and buy trips on cruise ships.

[@joedudley6137]

Their is so much misinformation in this. The cruise ship is the transport and the accommodation and the entertainment and the dining which is not taking into account by comparing the CO2 emissions of a flight Vs a full week long cruise

[@peterisawesomeplease]

If anything that is being nice to the cruise ships though. Flights are some of the worst per person C02 emitters you can find. I more fair comparison would be vs a hotel stay. But that would make the cruise ships look even worse. Note that most people fly to their cruise ship port too.

[@alexphelps7042]

Being Floridian I completely forgot that somebody might wanna fly to port & then take a cruise. That definitely doesn’t make sense, never mind the environment that’s a poor financial choice. Who’s doing that? Is it really the majority?

[@VNeto94]

​@alexphelps7042 maybe only big resorts in destinations where you can travel short distances near your place to experience a lot more of the local culture are a rival to what the best cruises offer.

[@HuplesCat]

There

[@user-wx6vz2vn3y]

We should stop this

[@Tcyc-le3pi]

Is this guy telling us a bedtime story😂

[@DanTheCaptain]

Cruises are just about the worst polluters you could think of. The notion that they’re trying to market themselves as “environmentally friendly” is honestly quite laughable. The cruising industry is also still very unregulated so anything that comes out of the shipping industry I take with a grain of salt.

[@dasautopilot7097]

how are cruise ships legal? its not like they do anything useful like containerships. they just polute for fun

[@VNeto94]

Tourism is useful. Thousands of jobs are useful. You don't get to say what's useful if it's a sucessful business model.

[@GeorgeGeorgeOnly]

You ain't getting me on one of those cruise tubs! Seriously, thousands of people packed in like sardines in a metal can, Literally! Not my scene at all, and how is that not a disaster waiting to happen?! And now it turns out that these boats are not remotely green in any way.🙄 Yep! 😐Should've seen that coming.😒😏

[@bitcoincryptofreedom3652]

Who cares if it's green. The elite of the WEF preach climate change. But will happily fly in their private jets, whilst preaching to the plebs they should reduce their carbon footprint. Watch what they do not what they say.

[@dondoodat]

​@@bitcoincryptofreedom3652 Just listen to the experts, the scientists. The elite you refer to have only talked about climate change because they've been forced to. Don't fall for thinking they are leading the conversation when they are doing everything to avoid it. You're right in saying watch what they do, not what they say, but you're saying it for all the wrong reasons.

[@ghostlygent]

Sardines... in a metal can. You're totally right. Cruises are NOT for you. Anyone that ignorant belongs in a Days Inn.

[@jimmylieb5225]

FDJT

[@ladykayla7417]

@@ghostlygent yeah, he’s telling us he’s never been on a cruise ship but thinks he knows what it’s like. Just like every non-cruiser out there. It’s like cruise-hater bingo reading/listening to some people.

[@un1verse596]

put giant sails ontop

[@stevenhenry5267]

You see catastrophe,I see a living opportunity.

[@FinickyGreek]

They'll never get me to board a floating petri dish, no matter what the price.

[@GotKimchi]

Yeah, cruising is bad when you visit all those ports. How about you fly to each port instead, drive a car, get some food elsewhere! Surely that doesn't contribute to the death of the planet right? Can you imagine all those thousands of passengers getting on planes from all over the world ? Unless you are going to stay home for the rest of your life, there is nothing you can do to not contribute to the death of the planet

[@claudiaroedel1368]

Really??? Cruiseships *"choose"* to use Diesel??? Diesel is ships fuels and almost all cruisesships use it instead of Heavy Marine Oil but - hydrogen fuel cells and other alternative fuels are only on testing phase. Also MARPOL has very strict rules about garbage handling. I find it hard to believe 25% of ocean garbage comes from cruise ships. Fishing vessel are responsible for much more plastic garbage than cruise ships.

[@jakeandsarahhealthnuts3299]

I kind of agree with you. I am not sure that they are accurate about 25% of ocean garbage coming from cruise ships. I doubt there are more then 5,000 total ships out there

[@Bloodgod40]

4:53 Is not a cruise ship. That's a ferry.

[@LeeMoore-tu4gr]

A a person with disabilities going on a cruise of the Mediterranean or Alaska is a great option but after seeing how bad it is for the environment I'll have too look elsewhere in the future :(. It is so nice going to a different port each day and then going back to your "hotel room" and arriving the next day in a destination.

[@alexphelps7042]

Don’t give up! This video was unfair it’s so frustrating to see it make an impact on people. No matter how you cut it pushing a whole resort around on a raft is not enviromental friendly & these companies should not greenwash. However at no point in this video were fair comparisons made to actual vacations. Sure the ship is less efficient than the plane but newsflash! Nobody flies somewhere & then does nothing. Hotels dining entertainment all use energy too and none of that accounted for when comparing to cruise ships, which offer it all.

[@VNeto94]

Weak.

[@brothertaro2008]

A new study shows that Trump's energy policies would increase climate pollution equivalent to the combined annual emissions of the European Union and Japan.

[@cd3949]

A study funded by the WEF.

[@VNeto94]

Which study? I gotta share it.

[@johnk-pc2zx]

Wasn't all that particulate matter keeping the temperature down?

[@Meghnaaad]

Why can't we ban these? Also formula car sport? What's the sense?

[@stevenwilliambaylessparks3730]

Grotesque

[@lorenam8028]

How did it become such a mess? Easy. GREED. The same reason any other mess turns massive.

[@SpikeyTech]

LNG isn't eco friendly at all. Climate Town made has an excellent video explaining that while it *technically* doesn't produce *carbon* emissions, it's methane which is several times more potent than CO2.

[@___beyondhorizon4664]

Cruises are for heavy people who don't bother to walk to attractions. Pack/ unpacked once, eat 3 buffets+ tea time a day. Pack loose fitting clothes for weight gain 😅 The news about the 3 years cruise prompted people to sign up, some said its better than nursing home costs. Unfortunately no insurance company willing to insure the voyage due to the current wars.

[@jakeoreilly9627]

Nothing eco about cruise ships

[@donlitt]

It’s funny how if you scroll to the bottom you begin to read the pro cruising comments haha 😂

[@ethannstevensteven4949]

Wow, I had no idea. You see a cruise ship out in the ocean and it looks so peaceful and surreal....in reality, it's a cesspool of pollution. I wonder if cargo ships are as bad.

[@jackprier7727]

The above news story says that "1% {cruise ships} produce 25% of the world's ocean waste" so steer your wonderment toward that-

[@DeccyJ]

Absolutely nothing about the billions of sealife, fish, lobster, octopus etc consumed (gorged) by cruise ship passengers & crew - literally destroying oceans, waterways and eco-systems which cruisers apparently 'love' so much?

[@ankurshah23]

It will never happen in the Caribbean corridor or these islands will vanish. They survive on cruise days. Now its a question of emitting toxic gases in the water and air versus actual humanity surviving in the Caribbean.

[@donlitt]

I love going on cruise ships. Endless fun. I just wish they didn’t dump trash into the ocean

[@extrude22]

Hard to belive the guardian doesn’t know the difference between a cruise ship and an ocean liner

[@Juan-fv4sg]

I… I just didn’t think they were THIS bad

[@tony8074]

How can a floating city be environmentally friendly?

[@TroyQwert]

How many ppl think about the said when going on a cruise?

[@donstaves]

WOW!!! Can we please scrap these cruise ships???

[@clankb2o5]

I cannot believe these statistics, my mind is blown

[@richardstrick]

Mainly because they are not real .

[@clement2780]

how about river cruises

[@benheidemann3836]

More of this kind of journalism please 😊

[@vsznry]

Cruising seems like the worst idea ever.

[@alexphelps7042]

I’m not convinced, cruise ships stand out cause they are easy to study being all under one roof, none of these comparisons included an entire vacation like cruises offer. Imagine a European family flying to Disney World for a week. With baggage they’ll almost certainly be taking a (probably ICE) car to an airport where they’ll use municipal power in their country for a while, they likely have a connecting flight in the continent where they’ll use other more different power from the 2nd airport. Then onto another plane from another company to fly to Orlando where they’ll begin using electricity from that city in that airport, then they’ll take a private cab from that airport or maybe one of the contracted diesel coaches to their hotel. Assume our family is not multi millionaires so their hotel isnt Disney branded & they’re not using electricity in the same municipality as the Disney parks. Over the course of the vacation they use either a rental car or dozens of private ride shares, eat at who knows how many restaurants, maybe one of the days they go to the coast and start using power in yet another city. Then repeat the same sequence of multiple airports to go home & add a random layover cause airplanes are so fun. Trying to calculate the complete enviromental impact of THAT vacation, group it with comparable trips & compile enough data to be statistically significant is so far removed from looking at how much of a fuel/oil/gas a boat uses &dividing by # of passengers I don’t think it can be effectively done. And pointing out how one piece of a trip is more efficient than an entire one just isn’t useful

[@fruitpunch5260]

And people getting a cruise aren’t also getting taxis to and from cruise ports? And taxi’s/buses in each destination when the cruise docks?

[@extraterrestrial7424]

Venice, Barcelona and other tourist cities have actual inhabitants??

[@VNeto94]

Barcelona does. But I get the overflow problem. It's not even about the "natural environment", but the human environment, because packed places are bad for other tourists that mainly come from the airports (not truly environment friendly as well).

[@VNeto94]

Venice is very tiny and highly concentrated. They have to control the sudden inflow of people.

[@yuhno808]

I wonder if using a nuclear engine will make the cruise ships have near zero emission.

[@VNeto94]

It would. It will.

[@alvapazz]

And for what? We’re just the absolute worst

[@billyponsonby]

If you’re watching this then you’re unlikely to be a Royal Caribbean customer.

[@richardluce775]

Actually have been on 4 royal carribean cruises. So should we ban golf courses and carving up a mountainside for a ski resort??? You get my point? Any human activity is usually not “Enviromentaly Friendly”.

[@stuartsutherland7664]

What the readers of the Guardian don't like is that the common people get to enjoy a luxury holiday, and we can't have that!

[@christopherblake8227]

Floating petri dishes devoid of culture. I would pay to avoid getting on one!

[@Mega747400]

5000 people it would take 14 Boeing 777's to carry the same amount so 28 GE90 turbofans using 100 tons of fuel PER AIRCRAFT in 15 hours while a cruise ship generally uses 100-300 tons a day. so, the same amount of people by aircraft would burn 1,500 TONS of Fuel in a single day.

[@redzzon]

There is the business of drilling for oil that leaves a debt for earth to fill gaps. Then there is drilling for debt, public and private and individuals. Some drilling of individuals will lead some to fill gaps by selling their assets and some innovate to improve their process and some compete and fire incompetence at their jobs. How did that start, with entertainment drilling for a persons access to money. Maybe it results in earthquake/stress.

[@lorenam8028]

"Eco-tourism" and cruise ship do NOT go together. Anyone who believes it is possible, is probably also paying for carbon offset credits. 🙄

[@roberthicks2191]

Is the problem cruise ships or tourism? What is the waste and pollution from land based resorts, and are cruise ships just a roll-up of transportation plus resort all in one? The sum of tourism impacts?

[@stephenboyington630]

Land-based resorts are unlikely to use the dirtiest form of fuel for their energy needs, and are unlikely to pump their waste and sewage directly into the ocean.

[@alexphelps7042]

Disney world burns coal. Well coal & just a dash of nuclear power from a plant with the worst waste disposal in the western world. Disney is just one example but I wouldn’t say it’s “unlikely” resorts would use the worst, they’re only in it for the money

[@rafaelwilks]

Cruise ships would be okay if they were powered with either hydrogen fuel cells or nuclear reactors, and if all the waste was contained onboard. Otherwise, if a cruise ship doesn't meet these criteria, it should totally be banned.

[@VNeto94]

Haha no.

[@rafaelwilks]

@@VNeto94 why

[@jakeandsarahhealthnuts3299]

Yeah I am not boycotting cruise ships. I went on one about 3 months ago and had the best time of my life. I try and do my part by being Vegan,

[@Germanicea]

So I cant drive my car because its not ULEZ compliant but just over 200 ships pollute as much as 250m cars. Brilliant.

[@alexphelps7042]

The presenter used a little trick when he said that to you. If you check his sources you’ll find that sentence is actually about 1 specific sulphur compound not the most common Co2 or any kind of aggregate value of all pollutants

[@kellybrown8638]

Icon of the Seas, what a HELLISH cruise!

[@VNeto94]

You should see youtube reviews of that cruise.

[@varen4662]

he who says that the light from the ship will cause problems for life in the water does not know the darkness of the sea

[@VNeto94]

Or the vastness of it.

[@MrRMT1986]

If The Guardian had it there way, cruising would be banned. Only Leo DiCaprio would be allowed to own a 100 foot yacht.

[@jimmylieb5225]

FDJT

[@MrRMT1986]

@@jimmylieb5225 Alright. Way to use discourse to argue, because you have no argument.

[@thomaslanders2073]

Cruise ships are disgusting from a hygiene point of view 🧐

[@RusskiCommieBot]

Have you been on a cruise?

[@delftfietser]

So are university canteens, the next Taylor Swift or kpop concert, the crowded bus or tram you take, and dense urban living ( suburbs and remote learning are lifesavers). Get on with the night cleaning crew of any large public building and rethink your fear.

[@clement2780]

travel and environment are not compatible never mind humans are not

[@paullangford8179]

I can't see the attraction of what's basically a floating shopping mall with hotel features.

[@VNeto94]

It's the other way around, but I get the point. It's similar to a Las Vegas resort that wants to overcharge you for everything + entertainment and casino.

[@physetermacrocephalus2209]

It is not complicated. Just look at thst thing. And its all dedicated to hedonism. Don't get me wrong; cruises are fun, but lets not act like this issue somehow snuck up on us. By the way, ocean liners are not directly comparable to cruise ships like that. Why is journalism so bad now.

[@BIBIWCICC]

One of the biggest polluters on the planet!

[@FindtheRightRoad]

I am skeptical of some of the statements made in this video. Where is the evidence? 25% of all Ocean pollution comes from cruise ships?? Really?

[@tombarry2523]

Exactly 👍

[@donlitt]

We only have a tiny fraction of the ocean mapped out but somehow we know that 1/4 of all the pollution is from cruises 😂😂

[@blueishxx]

monstrosities'

[@sweetnaomi56]

They're still horrible this is why I won't go on cruises

[@TheFrancisLalanne]

something's wrong with the dictation and/or microphone

[@Norsilca]

Man, I'm so tired of the terrible reporting on things like this. Clearly these have a bad ecological impact but the facts are presented so poorly I have no idea how bad! 1. When they compare it to flying, is the CO2/passenger per mile, per trip, or what? 2. The particulate matter comparison is per ship vs. per car. There are a lot more people on a ship than in a car! Tell us how much it is per person! 3. 25% of all ocean waste comes from cruise ships, and from the graphic in that pie chart it implies they're dumping trash. But they're banned from dumping trash. Are they saying they're all illegally dumping trash all the time? Or are they talking about food waste, sewage, etc? If it's the latter, their graphic is misleading to the point of effectively lying. But if it's the former, that's huge and bears a mention! Either way, I want to know!

[@reamsel]

and where is EU?!!? They banned plastic straws but allow this???