Elite Tourists Trashing The Environment

www.bbc.co.uk...

Starting in Alaska, the 32-day voyage will see the 1,700 passengers and crew travel 1,500km across the top of Canada, ultimately ending in New York.
Berths on the 14-deck luxury liner are not cheap, starting at around $20,000 per person and running up to $120,000 for a deluxe stateroom.

. . . an exercise in tourism that has an enormous per capita carbon footprint," Prof Michael Byers from the University of British Columbia told BBC News.
Prof Byers, who holds a chair in global politics and international law, was invited on the trip to give a series of lectures to passengers. He refused, as he believes this summer's trip will only encourage others.
"This voyage is a significant contribution, at least on a per capita basis, to climate change by people who are going to see an ecosystem before it is destroyed by climate change. I find that irony quite terrible," he said.

One of the features of this year's voyage will be visits to small and remote communities in the Arctic during visits to port. Prof Michael Byers says this one of the most unappealing aspects of the journey.
"They (local populations) have endemic tuberculosis, sky high rates of diabetes, with people who are living in poverty and desperation," he said.
"The people who are coming off the cruise ships are not in the 1%, but in the 0.1% of the world's financial elite, it is another example of just how extreme this particular voyage is."

Astronaut lecturers?
www.cruiseandferry.net...

Twin brothers and NASA astronaut captains Scott Kelly and Mark Kelly will make their first-ever appearance together as guest lecturers onboard Crystal Serenity this June.

They will present live lectures and participate in Q&A sessions in Crystal Serenity’s lounges and theatres during her seven-night sailing from Anchorage to Vancouver. Departing on 26 June, the itinerary will take guests to Sitka, Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan, Alaska.

Self rescue would be independent. Seems like they're going to depend on getting bailed out of any potential trouble. www.maritime-executive.com...

In April this year, an international mass rescue tabletop exercise was conducted to discuss coordinated response procedures to a simulated incident on board the Crystal Serenity. The exercise used the Crystal Serenity, because Crystal Cruises volunteered to participate, but the lessons learned will be used for any type of mass rescue operation in the Arctic.

The exercise involved what the U.S. Coast Guard believes was a worst case scenario: the vessel being impacted by a very large piece of semi submerged multi-year ice near the bow and along the forward starboard side. This initial scenario led to the progressive flooding of the vessel and eventually the abandon ship call, leading to a mass rescued operation.

www.adn.com...

. . . even the lower-level penthouses come with personal butlers . . .

As for planning for the worst, Nome Mayor Beneville proceeds with caution.

"No one is expecting anything to happen," he said, "but that's what they said about the Titanic . . .

www.castlesoftheseas.nl...

You can clearly see the placement of her lifeboats is different from most ships, it keeps the decks open and there are no cabins where views are obstructed.

Butlers, icebergs, and a clever idea to keep the lifeboats out of the way.

Sounds potentially interesting.

a reply to: Kester

Not sure what the big deal is here.

Every cruise I have been on is full of uncouth people who act like animals. I don't begrudge people that want to spend extra money to class things up a bit.

a reply to: Metallicus


Cruise ships cause massive environmental damage. Even in dock.

Their per capita pollution is actually worse than a city of the same population, due to weak pollution control laws, lax enforcement, and the difficulty of detecting illegal discharges at sea.

www.beachapedia.org...

The Panel noted that the WDCF represented the views of residents living or working in the vicinity of the Western Docks concerned by the high levels of pollutants affecting the air quality in the area bordered by the docks and surrounding residential areas. Key points of the presentation included the following:

· residents’ concerns had been raised by comments from local children that it was “too smelly and difficult to breathe” to walk to school

www.southampton.gov.uk...

The average cruise ship, which carries around 3,000 passengers and crew members, produces about 21,000 gallons of sewage every day — enough to fill 10 backyard swimming pools in a week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated in 2008. The average ship also emits the same amount of sulfur dioxide as 13.1 million cars, and as much soot as 1.06 million cars, according to the EPA. Exposure to sulfur dioxide can cause asthma attacks and exacerbate or cause other lung- and heart-related complications.

www.ibtimes.com...

Cruise ships are mega crap creators, and this one is going to be dumping all manner of crap in places that haven't yet seen much of this kind of crap. That's the deal. It's all about acknowledging physical reality and our part in changing physical reality for the worse.

Cruise ships are mega crap creators, and this one is going to be dumping all manner of crap in places that haven't yet seen much of this kind of crap. That's the deal. It's all about acknowledging physical reality and our part in changing physical reality for the worse.

Then the LAST PLACE the richies should be cruising is an area where Endemic Tuberculosis is rampant, I guess they (richies) think it is okay because these folks who are dis-eased also live in squalor???

Pathetic, actually typically pathetic. Seeing folks who are diseased makes the trip "extreme"??? How about living in it? I hope these folks get STUCK during this leg of their traipse and get a HUGE dose of sickness and then they find their empathy and open their wallets..

Any idea on the "Why" all these folks are sick?

And the wealthy fly in planes all the time and they pollute on a far larger scale, fly to all their global warming meetings their flights of fancy their holidays
Let's hate them as well

a reply to: Kester

If you can't use your wealth to get away from people like us then what is the point? I am sure the Earth will be fine.

originally posted by: Metallicus
a reply to: Kester

If you can't use your wealth to get away from people like us then what is the point? I am sure the Earth will be fine.

It's not just wealthy.

My brother works in a snow area. He posted pix of what was left behind on "first snow weekend".

Took him a full day, with a crew, just to truck out the trash left from "one dayers" and "weekenders".

People don't care.

a reply to: Annee

It's not just wealthy.

I agree and it isn't too much to ask that people clean up after themselves.

originally posted by: Metallicus
a reply to: Kester

If you can't use your wealth to get away from people like us then what is the point? I am sure the Earth will be fine.

It is because the wealthy keeps wanting more slaves. That is why middle class is dying.

originally posted by: makemap

originally posted by: Metallicus
a reply to: Kester

If you can't use your wealth to get away from people like us then what is the point? I am sure the Earth will be fine.

It is because the wealthy keeps wanting more slaves. That is why middle class is dying.

I fail to see the relevance of your comment to my post.

originally posted by: Metallicus

originally posted by: makemap

originally posted by: Metallicus
a reply to: Kester

If you can't use your wealth to get away from people like us then what is the point? I am sure the Earth will be fine.

It is because the wealthy keeps wanting more slaves. That is why middle class is dying.

I fail to see the relevance of your comment to my post.

Ah forget it. I thought your taking about people trying to leave a certain area. There is no where to run today. Too much satellite and GPS. Even military will come take you back to their so called city.