Over the next few months I’ll be working with my daughter to plan her wedding. The grand plan includes a seven day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. Surprisingly, but with gratitude, she has invited the entire family to join her on this amazing adventure. As a travel agent, I know the carbon footprint left by a cruise ship, but I also love to cruise. I began to wonder, is there a cruise line that would support my belief about reducing our negative impact on the earth?
I was delighted to discover Costa Cruises (which partners with Carnival Cruise Line) and their “Green Fleet”. Costa was the first cruise company to be awarded the voluntary “Green Star” notation for its entire fleet by RINA, an Italian shipping certification agency (Costa is an Italian based fleet). The rating was based on corporate compliance with the highest international standards for social accountability, environmental protection, workplace health, safety and quality. Since a cruise is, without question, in this wedding’s future, I decided this cruise line would allow us to honor my daughter’s plan while staying true to a desire to travel as responsibly as possible.
The “Green Star” designation certifies that Costa ships do not damage the environment and that they contribute to keeping the air and the sea clean. It also means that they comply with the highest standards in environmental protection for prevention against pollution of the air and the sea, going beyond regulations required by the international MARPOL standards in use. These standards assign ships a series of technical and managerial requisites that contribute to the safeguarding of the environment. The special “Green Star design” however, is only given to ships that, from the very first planning stage, are designed to guarantee maximum respect for the environment.
The “Green Star,” RINA also awarded the company “B.E.S.T. 4” status, a system of voluntary certification attesting to the best international standards in terms of social accountability . Furthermore, as a means to best manage various environmental issues, in 2002 Costa Cruises established the Environmental Compliance Division to oversee environmental protection and compliance with related international legislation, appointing an official on board each ship specifically to help in this task. Costa Cruises’ environmental protection program is outlined in its Environmental Compliance Plan (ECP), a manual that integrates perfectly with the safety management and pollution prevention system.
In addition, since July 2005, Costa has supported the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for the protection of three of the most endangered marine Ecoregions in the world including areas of the Mediterranean Sea, the Greater Antilles and Northeastern Brazil. Targeted operations to assist these regions are carried out by WWF Italy via the generous donations of Costa guests and the company. Costa also provides its guests with informative and educational onboard material to highlight WWF’s efforts, including information for children who participate in Squok Club activities.
As an added bonus, we were able to book cabins at just $399 for the entire seven days!
