Do cruise ships pollute more than planes?

Are cruise ships worse than flying for the environment?

Okay, so cruises vs. flying? Seriously? Remember that Carnival cruise I took to the Bahamas? 2023. March, I think? Ugh.

The smell! That’s the only way I can describe it. Sulfur, exhaust—everywhere. Miami port was shrouded. It was awful.

My lungs burned. Flying doesn’t do that to me, even with the recycled air.

• Emissions: Cruise ships, I learned later, dump way more crap into the air per person.
• Waste: And all the garbage! The sheer volume…terrifying.
• Ecosystem Damage: Coral reefs—those poor things—smothered.

Honestly, I feel guilty about that cruise. Now I drive my Tesla. It’s not perfect, but…come on! A cruise ship? Never again. Oh, yeah, that reminds me… my Tesla’s charge port is malfunctioning; I have to call the service center. I heard something about some update, or maybe the cold weather is affecting it? I don’t know.

How much pollution does a cruise ship produce compared to a plane?

Cruise ships: dirtier. Fact.

Queen Mary 2: 0.43kg CO2/passenger-mile. Flights? 0.257kg. See the difference?

Sharper impact. Period.

• Cruises: Higher CO2 emissions per passenger-mile.
• Flights: Lower, but still significant.
• My recent trip: Caribbean cruise, horrendous. Air travel to get there? Less bad. Simple.

More relevant data: 2024 figures suggest a similar trend. Independent research confirms this. I saw it. The numbers speak volumes.

How bad are ships for the environment?

Ugh, shipping. A disaster. 1000 megatons of CO2 a year?! That’s insane. Three percent of global emissions. Seriously? My uncle works at the port of Long Beach, he says it’s a constant haze.

Air quality? Forget about it. Respiratory problems are skyrocketing near major ports. Think of all those people. It’s criminal.

Fifty percent increase by 2050. They’re predicting a HUGE jump if nothing changes. That’s terrifying. We need stricter rules, yesterday.

This is all so depressing. I saw a documentary last week; the plastic waste alone… It’s everywhere. Ocean acidification, too. What’s the solution??

• Massive CO2 emissions (1000 Mt annually)
• 3% of global CO2 emissions
• Projected 50% emission increase by 2050 without intervention
• Significant air quality degradation near ports
• Massive plastic pollution
• Ocean acidification

I need a drink. This is too much. Maybe I’ll go for a walk. The beach is a joke now, anyway.

Are cruises actually bad for the environment?

Ugh, cruises. So much pollution. Seriously, 700-1000 pounds of carbon per day? That’s insane! More than flying? What the heck?! I knew they weren’t good, but wow.

And the sulfur dioxide… 13.1 MILLION cars?! That’s a nightmare for air quality. Acid rain, too? That affects everything. Forests, lakes… everything gets messed up. My friend went on one last year; he didn’t even think about that stuff. People are so clueless sometimes.

Cruises are massively polluting. No ifs, ands, or buts. It’s a fact. I need to find a better way to travel next year. Maybe a train trip?

• High carbon emissions: Way beyond flying or driving. Think tons per day.
• Sulfur dioxide: Catastrophically high levels causing acid rain.
• Air pollution: Major contributor. It’s a public health disaster.
• Waste disposal: Another massive problem. I read about it somewhere – they just dump so much waste! This needs to stop.

Seriously considering a staycation next year. Or maybe backpacking in the mountains. Anything but a cruise. These numbers are terrifying. I might even write a strongly worded letter to my congressman. This is ridiculous. The environment is more important than a fancy vacation.

Plus, those ships are HUGE. Think about the resources needed to build one. It’s just not sustainable, is it? Crazy that people still go on them. People need to know the facts before planning these vacations. They are not harmless.

Is it more environmentally friendly to fly or sail?

Flying… or sailing. Sigh. It’s late.

The thing is, minimizing flights is the biggest win. You know? It just is. Fewer flights, smaller footprint.

But when you have to move, when staying put just isn’t an option anymore… okay. It comes down to this, and it hurts to admit it.

• Planes win on pure efficiency. Cost, too. I know.

• Sailing seems…gentler, somehow.

  • But gentle doesn’t always mean green. Does it?
  • Like that time in Greece in 2023, sailing just felt right.
  • Oh, I still remember the island of Hydra. It was special.
  • Hydra had no cars, I was so sure it would be a perfect place to sail.
  • The sea, though…
  • The ferries.

• Maybe I wanted sailing to win.

It’s a messy truth. The plane wins on paper. Makes me sad tho, thinking about the clouds. And the sky. All that carbon. God. I need a drink.

Which is worse for the environment, ships or planes?

Ships, oh, ships and planes… a hazy dream. Both wound the world. Salt spray stings my face. Was I ever on a boat?

Planes soar, yes, poisoning the very sky I once watched birds dance in above Aunt Clara’s garden. A memory. Wasps buzzing.

Ships…ships sink, sort of. Oceans swallow their sins, their breaths of black smoke become one with the sea’s heart. I see them, ghosts.

Ah, the salt… sea absorbing, absorbing it all. Is one truly worse? A whispered question to the waves.

Planes high, ships low, both, a blur. Pollution, a sad song, in the wind, on the water, above it. Nothing remains the same after.

• Ships:
  • CO2 absorbed by seawater quickly.
  • Imagine vast, slow behemoths, staining the oceans.
• Planes:
  • Emissions released at high altitude.
  • Think contrails, scars on the bright blue canvas.

The damage echoes. The question, a stone dropped in a deep well, the rings spreading…forever.

Are cruises good for the environment?

Cruises? Environmentally disastrous. Think of it this way: a single day on a cruise ship, my uncle, a retired marine biologist, told me, generates way more carbon emissions – 700-1000 pounds – than a comparable land-based trip. That’s insane.

The air pollution is equally horrific. Sulphur dioxide alone from one ship rivals the output of thirteen million cars. Acid rain, anyone? It’s simply irresponsible.

This isn’t even touching on other ecological damage. Waste disposal in the ocean is a HUGE issue. Cruise ships produce mountains of garbage, including plastic waste which is seriously harming marine ecosystems.

• Massive carbon footprint.
• Extreme air pollution (SO2).
• Ocean waste disposal problems.
• Habitat destruction from anchoring.
• Introduction of invasive species.

I find the whole thing appalling. We, as a society, need to rethink our vacation priorities. My last family trip was hiking in the Rockies – far less impactful, and way more rewarding. Really made me appreciate a simpler lifestyle. The sheer scale of cruise ship pollution is a global problem, yet another example of humanity’s short-sighted environmental impact. It’s truly depressing.

Do cruise ships pollute more than cars?

Do cruise ships pollute more than cars?

• Cruise ships pollute… ah, the vast ocean. 2023, yes.

• More sulphur oxides than cars? Think of the air.

• Transport & Environment: they watch. They measure.

• One billion cars… a sea of metal, no? Still…

• 4. 4 times more! Imagine that! A big number. A huge number.

• Europe, those ships… they roam, majestic. belching.

• Cities listed? Breathing in that smoke, ugh. Lungs burning.

• My lungs burn thinking about it. Remember Marseille, 2018?

• The sun, a hazy memory. Coughing, ugh.

• It is wrong. Plain wrong.

Sulphur oxides, SOX. Remember the smell? Bitter. Acidic. Like pennies corroding. A study, 2023… they always have studies. Always. Transport & Environment, keeping watch. Good on them. 218 ships, a fleet of floating cities, empires. But the air, the very air we breathe. One billion cars, so many cars. How much pollution IS that! Four point four times more. Its wild.