Environmentally Friendly Changes

[Iamcruzin]

7 hours ago, brisalta said:

 

I am old enough to remember when the only straws you could get were paper straws including bendy paper straws. They were actually much nicer to use than plastic straws. Better mouth feel and no taste unlike plastic straws.

 

I have noticed that some land based establishments have started using paper straws again.

I didn't mind the paper straws on Royal Caribbean. I only used them with frozen drinks. The only problem was the colder the drink the faster the straw collapsed. Sometimes it took 2 or 3 straws to get through the drink. It got to the point that I just asked for 2 straws with every frozen drink. Not very cost or environment friendly.

[Musky Ike]

10 hours ago, Lindaru said:

I think this is great, but what happens if you have not emptied the bottle?  Will it begin degrading when it is sitting in your refrigerator unfinished or on a store shelf if not sold within a certain time?
 

I'm sure some smart engineer can increase the lifespan of biodegradable plastics a bit. The problem right now is  is cost . If a disposable bottle costs too much to make it won't happen unless there is no other option.

[caribill]

Possibly what Carnival Cruise Lines is doing may apply also to Princess:

 

Some of these changes are underway, but many more will be coming by the end of this year, including:

• Eliminating most individual servings of packaged items like foil-wrapped butter pats, condiments, salad dressing, cereal boxes and sugar (but excluding artificial sweeteners);
• Eliminating various decorative items used in food/beverage service, such as steak temperature markers, toothpicks, umbrellas, stir sticks and olive picks;
• Eliminating the distribution of all drinking straws, with the exception of frozen drinks, which will be served with an edible straw; wooden coffee stirrers will be replaced with stainless stirrers which can be sanitized and reused;
• All beverages will be served in glass or reusable plastic tumblers; all to-go hot beverages will be served in paper cups with paper lids;
• Shampoo and body wash will be distributed in pumps in all staterooms, suites and spa facilities;
• Plastic water bottles are currently recycled, but we are exploring various alternatives that could replace plastic water bottles in the future.

[MissP22]

2 hours ago, caribill said:

 

 

2 hours ago, caribill said:

Eliminating the distribution of all drinking straws, with the exception of frozen drinks, which will be served with an edible straw; wooden coffee stirrers will be replaced with stainless stirrers which can be sanitized and reused;

Sounds interesting but I wonder if they'll be refusing people an edible straw with a glass of ice tea or will they just give you one upon request. 

[tip]

3 hours ago, caribill said:

Possibly what Carnival Cruise Lines is doing may apply also to Princess:

 

Some of these changes are underway, but many more will be coming by the end of this year, including:

• Eliminating most individual servings of packaged items like foil-wrapped butter pats, condiments, salad dressing, cereal boxes and sugar (but excluding artificial sweeteners);
• Eliminating various decorative items used in food/beverage service, such as steak temperature markers, toothpicks, umbrellas, stir sticks and olive picks;
• Eliminating the distribution of all drinking straws, with the exception of frozen drinks, which will be served with an edible straw; wooden coffee stirrers will be replaced with stainless stirrers which can be sanitized and reused;
• All beverages will be served in glass or reusable plastic tumblers; all to-go hot beverages will be served in paper cups with paper lids;
• Shampoo and body wash will be distributed in pumps in all staterooms, suites and spa facilities;
• Plastic water bottles are currently recycled, but we are exploring various alternatives that could replace plastic water bottles in the future.

All of the above sounds reasonable to me.  Of course some of us care about the environment and then there are those who don’t.

[pms4104]

4 hours ago, caribill said:

Possibly what Carnival Cruise Lines is doing may apply also to Princess:

 

Some of these changes are underway, but many more will be coming by the end of this year, including:

• Eliminating most individual servings of packaged items like foil-wrapped butter pats, condiments, salad dressing, cereal boxes and sugar (but excluding artificial sweeteners);
• Eliminating various decorative items used in food/beverage service, such as steak temperature markers, toothpicks, umbrellas, stir sticks and olive picks;
• Eliminating the distribution of all drinking straws, with the exception of frozen drinks, which will be served with an edible straw; wooden coffee stirrers will be replaced with stainless stirrers which can be sanitized and reused;
• All beverages will be served in glass or reusable plastic tumblers; all to-go hot beverages will be served in paper cups with paper lids;
• Shampoo and body wash will be distributed in pumps in all staterooms, suites and spa facilities;
• Plastic water bottles are currently recycled, but we are exploring various alternatives that could replace plastic water bottles in the future.

The thread-starting post indicates Princess' plans and timeframe ... taken from their website

Edited September 1, 2019 by pms4104

[vampiress]

much ado about nothing.  switching to environmentally nicer alternatives will not ruin your cruising experience. they will still have some sort of water to sell you to take off ship. there will still be napkins and straws of a more environmentally friendly variety, but you might have to ask for them specifically now.  they will still have bags in the shops, they will either bring back the reusable bags in the rooms or switch to paper.  this is hardly the end of the world.

[Ombud]

Anyone else catch this article!

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/21436-wartsila-s-auto-gasification-provides-sustainable-waste-disposal-for-regal-princess.html

[BCCRUSINGCOUPLE]

That should save them some cash. I'm sure they'll pass the savings on to the customer.

Totally agree I think a lot of these companies not all play the go green card to cut back on services to save the cash.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ombud]

On 8/12/2019 at 4:01 AM, MissP22 said:

Lets not forget about those useless coupon books. 😏

I anticipate those coupon books going digital like my patter & flyers were on the Caribbean Princess. It was great not getting all that paper!

[Ombud]

On 8/12/2019 at 10:06 AM, pms4104 said:

Just thinking about breakfast ... yogurt in z 55-gallon drum with a ladle?  As to cereal ... Princess will be able to save money by  filling dispensers with off-brand/generic cereal ... and, oh my, what will happen to the pax who take the factory-sealed boxes ashore to snack their hungry 

No ladle, just change the dispensing temperature 

It's not that difficult!

[vampiress]

11 minutes ago, BCCRUSINGCOUPLE said:

Totally agree I think a lot of these companies not all play the go green card to cut back on services to save the cash.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

i don't disagree.  there is definitely that aspect.  in general no business changes unless there is demand or financial savings.  i have no doubt this is a bit of both.  there is definitely money to be had catering to people who are environmentally minded.  i suspect some services will be cut, but i expect new services to replace them, and with that new opportunities for revenue. 

[Ombud]

32 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

Sure. In addition to the commercial to the beginning of every movie they can now insert a commercial every 1/2 hour & force you to watch them.

You sound like someone who hasn't been on a medallion cruise 

[wineglass]

On my cruise on Celebrity Edge last year, they replaced all water bottles with metal bottles, I think they were aluminum

[brisalta]

On 8/11/2019 at 10:09 AM, antsp said:

Non of this makes any sense when you consider the fact they have introduced the Medallion, a single use battery powered device. 

 

Is it actually battery powered or a passive RFID tag that is detected by sensors at check in and on board?

[cruisequeen4ever]

If their changes come at the expense of their customers, that’s when it crosses the line. I hope they’re mindful of the passenger experience as they consider potential changes.

[Travlin grrl]

Thanks for posting. I'm glad they are making some changes. Everyone will get used to it. Just like plastic bags at the store everyone complained when they were banned. Now everyone brings it and it's no big deal. At least it's a start in conserving and less waste. My last cruise in  Europe everyone had hydroflasks, which makes a lot of sense. Keeps your water cold for a long period of time and reusable. 

[chengkp75]

15 hours ago, brisalta said:

 

Is it actually battery powered or a passive RFID tag that is detected by sensors at check in and on board?

It has a coin battery.

[GUT2407]

On 8/12/2019 at 3:17 AM, MsSoCalCruiser said:

And paper straws too.

Funny really we went from paper bags and straws to plastic to save the forests, now we are going back.

[GUT2407]

On 8/12/2019 at 4:08 AM, Lindaru said:

I am already planning to switch from plastic straws to silicone reusables.  As it is, I wash my plastic ones in my drink cup five or six times and reuse before throwing them away.  On that front, I will be okay, but . . . there are other plastics I will be bringing on that I consider somewhat of a necessity such as OTC bottles, zip loc bags to put my make-up remover wipes and other wipes in before throwing away, things of that nature.  Not sure what I can do to alternate those.

Not sure why paper sugar packets are a problem?  Our recycling takes paper and cardboard without complaint.  It gets melted down into pulp and made into new paper products.

 

 

Mrs Gut has been using stainless steel straws for years, she loves them.

[brisalta]

5 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

It has a coin battery.

That sounds wasteful especially if they are single uses as some people have implied.

They have also implied they are always on.

I wonder why they did not just use RFID.

[brisalta]

2 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

Funny really we went from paper bags and straws to plastic to save the forests, now we are going back.

 

Using plastic for bags and straws was never about saving forests. It was about petrochemical industry profits.

You can make paper from various fibre sources other than trees. One source were actually made illegal during the early days of plastic production.

[chengkp75]

7 minutes ago, brisalta said:

That sounds wasteful especially if they are single uses as some people have implied.

They have also implied they are always on.

I wonder why they did not just use RFID.

Not only is it single use, but a sealed unit so the battery can't be recycled.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

17 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

Funny really we went from paper bags and straws to plastic to save the forests, now we are going back.

 I never thought of it that way but you’re absolutely correct. 

[brisalta]

5 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Not only is it single use, but a sealed unit so the battery can't be recycled.

 

That is bad!!!

I suspect who ever purchased the system was clueless and created poor specifications.