Recently, I was invited by my best friend to join her family and their family friends on a weeklong cruise through the East Caribbean. Since I am always one for adventure, I couldn’t say no.  

In the science community, cruises have a notoriously bad reputation. Being on the ship for eight days (with three days at sea) let me notice the smaller efforts the cruise lines are taking to lessen their environmental impact. Here are a few things I observed: shampoo and body wash are in dispensers on the wall (helping to eliminate plastic bottle waste), recycling containers are scattered throughout the ship for food, glass aluminum and plastic, and you had to ask specifically if you wanted a straw in your drink.

Now, here are a few tips to do your part for the environment should you plan to embark soon. These are great tips you can use in your day to day life too.  

1. Hang up your towels to dry rather than getting new ones every day.
2. Don’t eat with your eyes! There are lots of tempting morsels on the ship, but if you can’t finish it don’t put it on your plate. Food waste is the worst thing (and many agree), but this is the easiest to circumvent. Plus, you won’t go home with extra pounds along with your souvenirs.
3. Be water conscious. While us island-goers have been trained with “if it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down,” this does not apply on a cruise ship. Fear not! There are other ways; bring a reusable water bottle, turn the sink off when brushing your teeth, and try to cut your shower time in half.

See for yourself! Seriously, take a few days off to sail around in a ridiculously large floating resort, you won’t regret it. 

Be on the lookout for more to come on my island adventures.