Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival Cruise Lines - Final Grade: "F"

Carnival Cruise Lines launched in March 1972 and is headquartered in Florida. Carnival is a subsidiary of Carnival Corp., which is incorporated in Panama and controls almost 50% of the worldwide cruise ship market. Carnival has 27 ships in its fleet, and all 27 ships have carrying capacities of 3,000 or more passengers and crew with half of the fleet having a carrying capacity of 4,400 or more passengers and crew.

Of Carnival’s 27 ships, 13 have installed advanced sewage treatment systems, resulting in a grade of D- for the company’s Sewage Treatment score.

To date, we believe 19 of Carnival’s ships are shore power capable, but only 9 dock at ports with shoreside power hookups giving the company a D for Air Pollution Reduction. However, 3 of Carnival’s ships (Carnival Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee) burn liquified natural gas fuel which unfortunately emits significantly more life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions over the short-term than low sulfur fuel, lowering their overall Air Pollution Reduction grade from a D+ to a D.

Twenty-four of Carnival’s 27 ships have exhaust gas scrubbers installed giving it an F for Water Quality/Scrubber Use since scrubber use merely converts air pollution into toxic water pollution.

Carnival is one of the cruise lines that did not respond to our inquiries about its environmental practices with specifics, awarding them an F for Transparency.

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Carnival Cruise Lines - Cruise Ship Fleet

Ship Name Cruise Line Total Persons on Board Destinations Sewage Treatment

Sewage Treatment

Has the cruise line installed the most advanced sewage and wastewater treatment systems available instead of dumping minimally treated sewage directly into the water? In determining a cruise line’s Sewage Treatment grade, we compared the number of cruise ships in the cruise line that have installed advanced sewage treatment systems against the total number of ships in the cruise line. Ships with AWTS were downgraded in 2020 since no companies publicly report on the performance of those advanced systems.

 Air Pollution Reduction

Air Pollution Reduction

Has the cruise line installed shorepower or adopted cleaner fuel worldwide? In determining the Air Pollution Reduction grade for each ship in a cruise line, ships that dock at a port and plug in to available shoreside power hookups were graded. In addition, ships were given credit if they utilize low sulfur fuels continuously worldwide at levels lower than required by international law. Use of scrubbers is not considered since the scrubbers in use by the cruise industry simply convert air pollution emissions into water pollution through their scrubber wastewater discharges.

 Water Quality Compliance

Water Quality Compliance

To what degree did cruise ships violate water pollution standards designed to better protect the Alaskan coast? In determining the Water Quality Compliance grade for cruise ships, we used notices of violation issued for individual cruise ships to each cruise line by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation from 2010 to 2019. In addition, we downgraded ships for their use of scrubbers since scrubbers convert air pollution emissions into water pollution.

 Final Ship Grade
Curved Grading Scale
A 100-85 Excellent
B 84-70 Satisfactory
C 69-50 Needs Work
D 49-25 Poor
F 24-0 Unacceptable
N/A Not Graded No Discharge in Alaskan Waters or Scrubber Use

**For the 2021 Cruise Ship Report Card, we graded 18 cruise lines and 202 cruise ships of those 18 lines operating around the world. All cruise ships from each cruise line were included in this report card. Friends of the Earth relied on data gathered from the internet, government sources, the cruise line industry, and other public sources in order to determine the grades assigned to the cruise lines. Friends of the Earth did not independently verify that the technology graded in the report card was installed on the individual cruise ships.
Carnival Conquest Carnival Cruise Lines 4,130 Caribbean, Mexico, Florida, Miami 00 04 00 00
Carnival Pride Carnival Cruise Lines 3,064 Canada, Caribbean, Central America, Europe, U.S. East Coast, Florida 00 04 00 00
Carnival Mardi Gras Carnival Cruise Lines 8,500 Caribbean, Europe, Florida, Transatlantic 05 01 03
Carnival Freedom Carnival Cruise Lines 4,130 Caribbean, Florida 05 00 00 00
Carnival Sunrise Carnival Cruise Lines 4,092 Caribbean, Florida, Miami 00 00 00 00
Carnival Vista Carnival Cruise Lines 6,427 Caribbean, Florida 05 00 00 00
Carnival Luminosa Carnival Cruise Lines 3,876 Alaska, Australia, Canada, East Asia, Hawaii, South Pacific, U.S. West Coast 00 07 00 00
Carnival Firenze Carnival Cruise Lines 6,685 Mexico, U.S. West Coast 05 07 00 03
Carnival Jubilee Carnival Cruise Lines 8,376 Caribbean, Texas 05 02 03
Carnival Panorama Carnival Cruise Lines 6,596 Alaska, East Asia, Mexico, U.S. West Coast 05 07 00 03
Carnival Spirit Carnival Cruise Lines 3,054 Alaska, Caribbean, Central America, Europe, Gulf of Mexico, Hawaii, U.S. West Coast, Florida, Transatlantic 05 07 00 03
Carnival Glory Carnival Cruise Lines 4,130 Caribbean, Europe, Florida, Transatlantic 00 04 00 00
Carnival Liberty Carnival Cruise Lines 4,134 Caribbean, Central America 00 04 00 00
Carnival Horizon Carnival Cruise Lines 6,427 Caribbean, Florida, Miami 05 00 00 00
Carnival Radiance Carnival Cruise Lines 4,578 Hawaii, Mexico, U.S. West Coast 00 07 00 00
Carnival Elation Carnival Cruise Lines 3,090 Caribbean, Florida 00 04 00 00
Carnival Sunshine Carnival Cruise Lines 4,152 Caribbean, U.S. East Coast, South Carolina 00 00 00 00
Carnival Breeze Carnival Cruise Lines 5,076 Caribbean, Mexico, Texas 00 04 00 00
Carnival Magic Carnival Cruise Lines 6,110 Caribbean, Florida, Miami 05 00 00 00
Carnival Splendor Carnival Cruise Lines 4,162 Australia, South Pacific, Southeast Asia 00 04 00 00
Carnival Venezia Carnival Cruise Lines 6,684 Canada, Caribbean, Central America, New England, U.S. East Coast, Florida 05 00 00 00
Carnival Dream Carnival Cruise Lines 5,015 Caribbean, Central America, Europe, Mexico, Texas, Transatlantic 05 04 00 02
Carnival Miracle Carnival Cruise Lines 3,058 Caribbean, Central America, Europe, Hawaii, Mediterranean, U.S. West Coast, Florida, Texas, Transatlantic 05 07 00 03
Carnival Valor Carnival Cruise Lines 4,160 Caribbean, Europe, Gulf of Mexico, Transatlantic 00 00 00 00
Carnival Legend Carnival Cruise Lines 3,054 Alaska, Canada, Caribbean, Central America, Europe, Hawaii, Mediterranean, Mexico, U.S. West Coast, Florida, Texas, Transatlantic 00 07 00 00
Carnival Celebration Carnival Cruise Lines 8,245 Caribbean, Florida, Miami 05 02 03
Carnival Paradise Carnival Cruise Lines 3,044 Caribbean, Florida 00 04 00 00

 

Grading Methodology For The 2024 Cruise Ship Report Card

Friends of the Earth’s Cruise Ship Report Card ranks 21 major cruise lines and 243 cruise ships — AIDA Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard Cruise Line, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Hurtigruten, HX|Hurtigruten Expeditions, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Oceania Cruises, P&O Cruises, P&O Australia, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Royal Caribbean Int’l, Seabourn Cruise Line, Silversea Cruises, Viking Cruises, and Virgin Voyages—according to four environmental criteria: Sewage Treatment, Air Pollution Reduction, Water Quality/Scrubber Use and Transparency.

Sewage Treatment
To determine a cruise line’s Sewage Treatment grade, we compared the number of cruise ships in the cruise line that have installed advanced sewage treatment systems (AWTS) against the total number of ships in the cruise line. Ships with AWTS have been downgraded from As to Cs since 2020 because no companies publicly report on the performance of those advanced systems.

Air Pollution Reduction
To determine the Air Pollution Reduction grade for each ship in a cruise line, ships that dock at a port and plug in to available shoreside power hookups were graded. In addition, ships were given credit if they utilize low sulfur fuels continuously worldwide at levels lower than required by international law. Ships were downgraded if they have adopted the use of liquified natural gas which emits significantly more life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions over the short-term than low sulfur fuel. Use of scrubbers is not considered since the significant majority of scrubbers in use by the cruise industry simply convert air pollution emissions into water pollution through their scrubber wastewater discharges.

Water Quality Compliance
To determine the Water Quality/Scrubber Use grade we only grade cruise ships in the cruise line that have installed exhaust gas scrubbers. Many cruise ships have installed exhaust gas scrubbers to reduce smoke-stack emissions and comply with cleaner fuel rules in the US and worldwide. However, while scrubbers reduce some air pollution, most discharge contaminated, toxic wastewater–trading one dirty pollution source for another. We fail ships for their use of scrubbers since scrubbers convert air pollution emissions into wastewater pollution.

Transparency
To determine the Transparency grade for each cruise line we graded each cruise line based on whether it responded to our 2024 requests for information regarding their environmental practices. Companies that responded with full specifics were given As, those that didn’t received failing grades.

The grades for each of the four criteria were averaged to calculate the Final Grade for each cruise line.

Grades In Comparison: Report Cards From Previous Years

2024 Cruise Ship Report Card
2022 Cruise Ship Report Card
2021 Cruise Ship Report Card
2020 Cruise Ship Report Card
2019 Cruise Ship Report Card
2016 Cruise Ship Report Card
2014 Cruise Ship Report Card
2013 Cruise Ship Report Card
2012 Cruise Ship Report Card
2010 Cruise Ship Report Card
2009 Cruise Ship Report Card

**For the 2024 Cruise Ship Report Card, we graded cruise lines and 243 cruise ships of those 21 lines operating around the world. All cruise ships from each cruise line were included in this report card. Friends of the Earth relied on data gathered from the internet, government sources, the cruise line industry, and other public sources in order to determine the grades assigned to the cruise lines. Friends of the Earth did not independently verify that the technology graded in the report card was installed on the individual cruise ships. The grades are based on information understood to be accurate as of September 18, 2024. It is possible that changes in practices by a company since that date would warrant a different grade.