6 Ways Holland America Is Being More Eco-Friendly

So let’s just address the giant elephant in the room — Holland America isn’t paying me to write or promote this, but it’s something I noticed on our cruise to Alaska and it really stuck out to me at different times, so I figured it 100% warranted a blog post. When I see people or brands going out of their way to protect Planet Earth, I really think it’s worth celebrating. It’s easy for businesses to claim they are eco-friendly, but it’s entirely another to see it put into action. Today I’m sharing 6 ways Holland American is being more eco-friendly, all of which were observed by ME while cruising with them 🙂

6 Ways Holland America Is Being More Eco-Friendly

From their site: “Holland America Line has a deep commitment to safeguarding the oceans and the environment. Responsible energy, water and waste management are important components of the company’s sustainability strategy. Six of the 14 Holland America Line ships use shore power at the ports of Québec, Seattle, San Diego and Vancouver.”

1. Re-using towels.

I think it’s pretty standard these days in a hotel room to be given the option of re-using your towel to save on water and energy, so I was pretty excited to see they were implementing it onboard the ship, too. The sign was in plain view and any towels that were not placed on the floor were not replaced by the steward. This was a no-brainer for us since we don’t replace our towels every day at home – why do it on the ship?

2. Hand towels in bathrooms.

Typically, I’ve only seen cloth towels used to dry your hands in the bathroom in upscale resorts or fancy restaurants, but I was totally amped to see it in every public restroom I went into and used on the ship. Cutting back the use of paper towels in general just makes me happy!

3. No printed photo gallery.

The first cruise I went on, I remember there being a full gallery of photos that the ship photographer had taken of all the passengers at various times on board. While it was really fun to be able to go to the photo gallery and see our photos, HOLY CRAP! The amount of wasted printer ink and paper on photos that people don’t even look at or buy had to be astronomical. On our cruise with Holland America, the photos that we had taken at random times on board or before dinner were all uploaded automatically to an app on our phones that we had access to at all times. From there, we were able to view the photo and decide if we wanted to download it or buy prints.

4. Discontinued use of plastic cups and straws.

While we were visiting Glacier Bay in Alaska, a National Park, we were informed that in an effort to help keep the National Parks cleaner and in compliance with the NPS, serving beverages in plastic cups and giving out straws would be discontinued while we were there. In a perfect world, they would be banned altogether, but it’s a step in the right direction to be sure! P.S. – how gorgeous is Glacier Bay (photo below)?!

5. Eco-friendly cleaning products.

Each day, multiple times per day, our room was cleaned and the bed was made. One day I happened to arrive back to our room while it was being cleaned by our steward and I noticed that he wasn’t using things like Windex or Clorox or anything like that. He explained that all the cleaning materials used by staff onboard Holland America ships is entirely eco-friendly. How cool is that?

6. Environmental officers onboard each ship.

I wouldn’t have ever known about this, except for during our time at Glacier Bay – I got to meet him! Aboard each Holland America ship, there is an environmental guide that is well versed in the local environment and is able to educate both staff and guests about what is going on around them. We chatted during our time at Glacier Bay, which is where I learned about the plastic cups and straws action named above, and I feel like it’s such a great way to combine travel with information. #knowledgeispower

I guess what I’m really trying to say is…BRAVO! Like I said before, I really love when I get to see companies standing behind their values and putting words into action. So let’s chat…Have you ever traveled with Holland America? What about other cruise ships?