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Cruise line initiatives support World Oceans Day

Cruise lines highlighted a bevy of initiatives to support World Oceans Day on June 8.

Anne Kalosh, Editor, Seatrade Cruise News & Senior Associate Editor, Seatrade Cruise Review

June 7, 2024

5 Min Read
CRUISE Jeff Spachman snorkeling
Recreational scuba divers and snorkelers to contribute to Rescue a Reef's conservation and restoration effotsPHOTO: ROYAL CARIBBEAN GROUP

Royal Caribbean Group partnered with fútbol club Inter Miami CF to sponsor six months' worth of coral restoration expeditions with Rescue a Reef. The citizen science program run by the University of Miami Rosenstiel School will help provide hands-on opportunities for South Florida communities to contribute to coral gardening and reef restoration.

The collaborative efforts will result in over a thousand coral colonies being planted by locals onto the reefs just miles from Miami's shoreline. Volunteers can register at https://umiami.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6yAiOg1bV8ctvOS.

'Royal Caribbean Group Reef'

Royal Caribbean Group and research divers from Rescue a Reef welcomed Inter Miami's midfielder and Miami native Benjamin Cremaschi on a coral restoration expedition. Cremaschi and Nick Rose, VP, head of ESG, Royal Caribbean Group, dived into 'Royal Caribbean Group Reef,' a new coral restoration site for research and rehabilitation. Working together they laid the groundwork that will build up lively neighborhoods of coral colonies that provide shelter, food and nursery areas for numerous marine species.

'Spending a big part of my life around our oceans, first as part of a Navy family and then starting my career as a shipboard environmental officer, I know first-hand how important it is to keep our oceans healthy to sustain our planet,' Rose said. 'It was an incredible experience to come together with Benjamin and expert researchers to protect the beauty of the oceans and to be able to create opportunities for our local communities to join us.'

OceanScope

Royal Caribbean Group also launched a video series developed in partnership with OceanScope, a University of Miami Rosenstiel School program that equips the company's ships with instruments to provide scientists with oceanographic and atmospheric information. The videos will be available to cruisers on Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises' mobile apps and on Silverseas' stateroom TVs.

Celebrity Cruises' plastic reduction partnership

At Celebrity Cruises, passengers fleetwide are invited to activities on the theme of 'awakening new depths' that celebrate the oceans and motivate momentum for ocean protection. Every embarking cruiser on an itinerary coinciding with World Oceans Day will be gifted a reusable Ton To Ton tote bag.

Each bag prevents 130 grams of plastic from entering the world’s oceans, and 65 metric tons of non-recyclable ocean-bound plastic will be collected from polluted areas in Cambodia and Vietnam.

OceanScope will take over the Celebrity app on the day. From their pockets, passengers can learn more about the program and book related activities on board.   

This weekend, a presentation from Celebrity’s Oceans Ahead environmental officers will give travelers a peek behind the scenes into ship operations and the line's carbon footprint reduction efforts. 

And the line's youngest ocean activists can also take part in a variety of Camp at Sea activities, such as a sea life watercolor exhibit, marine life videos and a WWF sea turtles and oceans activities book.  

CRUISE Coral Gardeners

Cruisers on any Windstar Voyage can now donate $35 to adopt a coral through Coral Gardeners

Windstar's work with Coral Gardeners

Windstar Cruises' work with Coral Gardeners, a partnership launched in October 2022 on Star Breeze in Moorea, originally adopted 1,000 corals and encouraged travelers on their Tahiti cruises to adopt a coral for a $35 per person donation. 

Now the line is expanding the program, allowing all cruisers sailing in any destination the opportunity to adopt a coral. To date, more than 3,500 heat resistant corals have been adopted by Windstar and their passengers and planted by Coral Gardeners in Tahiti. 

Windstar’s ultimate goal is to open a dedicated nursery supporting 5,000 corals in 2025. The line also arranges shore excursions to the gardeners' facilities in Tahiti and have shipboard lectures, in addition to informing passengers about the importance of using reef-safe sunscreen and selling only reef-safe sunscreen on board.

CRUISE penguins Atlas Photo

Atlas Ocean Voyages forged a new partnership with the Global Penguin Society, an organization dedicated conserving the world's penguin species and the coasts and oceans they inhabit

Atlas Ocean Voyages supports penguins, whales and their habitats

Atlas Ocean Voyages entered into a collaboration with the Global Penguin Society, an internationally recognized organization dedicated conserving the world's penguin species and the coasts and oceans they inhabit.

Available on select Antarctica expeditions beginning with World Navigator's Nov. 22 departure, passengers can gain insight into penguin rookeries and the society’s research through onboard lectures and guided shore landings.

The Global Penguin Society’s mission is to protect all 18 species and their ecosystems in the Southern Hemisphere by generating sound science, protecting habitats and providing education.

Atlas Ocean Voyages is also extending its ongoing partnership with ORCA, a marine conservation charity dedicated to studying and protecting whales, dolphins and porpoises, along with their ocean habitats globally.

On World Voyager's 2024 Arctic expeditions, ocean conservationists will focus on raising awareness, collecting scientific data and actively contributing to safeguarding whales and dolphins. The initiative aims to involve Atlas passengers in citizen science projects, allowing them to play an integral role in conservation efforts.

Virgin Voyages' 'Sea Change' video

Virgin Voyages created a new 'Sea Change' video featuring its happenings cast to outline the regular, day-in, day-out things the line does to try to make a positive environmental impact. 

 

About the Author

Anne Kalosh

Editor, Seatrade Cruise News & Senior Associate Editor, Seatrade Cruise Review

Anne Kalosh covers global stories, reporting both breaking and in-depth news on cruising's significant people, places, ships and trends. A sought-after expert on cruising, she has moderated conferences around the world, including the high-profile State of the Industry panel at Seatrade Cruise Global. She created and led the acclaimed itinerary-planning case study for Seatrade's cruise master classes held at Cambridge and Oxford universities. She has been the cruise columnist for AFAR.com, and her freelance stories have appeared in a wide range of publications, from The New York Times to The Miami Herald.

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