“Norwegian Prima” Leads the Way in Sustainable Cruising

When Norwegian Cruise Line unveiled its newest ship, Prima, earlier this year, it introduced the world to a new standard in sustainable cruising. Everything about the ship was designed with intentional innovation geared to making the life of the cruisers easier and to create an elevated cruising experience that feels like you are visiting a close friend. This intentional innovation carries over to create the most sustainable ship possible, with every detail carefully considered to have minimum impact on the environment. Prima’s impressive efforts at reducing waste, energy use and carbon footprint creates the ideal sailing experience for family travelers wanting to enjoy a luxurious vacation, visit exotic locations and still be mindful of their carbon footprint.

As part of NCL’s push for zero emissions by year 2050, Prima has many wonderful features, like a smokestack filtration system that eliminates sulfur emissions and a water system that uses reverse osmosis for added efficiency and less energy use. Even the paint has been selected with purpose, with the exterior paint used below water level designed to reduce the amount of algae buildup and increase the speed of the ship.

Aboard Prima, everyone does their part, including ongoing mindfulness training, which teaches best practices for minimizing waste and reducing the ship’s impact on the environment. Staff are also encouraged to keep vigilant and always be on the lookout for ways to increase the ship’s sustainability efforts.

The ship’s Sustain and Sail Program, which includes an onboard Sustain and Sail Menu, uses sustainable menu items locally sourced whenever possible. The Metropolitan Bar, located on Deck 7, is a sustainable bar that not only uses products carefully selected from vendors that meet the ship’s strict sustainability expectations but also creates their own products designed to reduce onboard waste. For example, when the ship’s bakers make almond crescents that don’t meet their exacting aesthetic standards, they are used instead to create an almond-flavored syrup for craft cocktails.

When it comes to onboard waste, there are many measures in place. The ship adopted a special machine, lovingly nicknamed “the Orca,” that uses bacteria to break down and dissolve food waste. All non-organic waste created onboard is hand-separated by the crew in order to properly recycle everything once the ship returns to port.

With each new addition to its fleet, NCL ups its game at being a leader of sustainability on the high seas.