What Are the Best River Cruises for the Environment?

River cruise tourism is an increasingly hot topic among vacationers. The industry has been growing like crazy since 2019, offering a smaller and more intimate setting than the more crowded ocean cruise. A break spending time by the water and exploring new places seems like the perfect getaway. However, this can actually have significant negative impacts on the environment. Cruise ships, regardless of size, dump waste into our rivers and oceans, generate air pollution, contribute to climate change, and disturb local communities and marine wildlife.  

River cruises are often seen as better alternatives to ocean cruises due to their smaller size, but there is a lot to consider when it comes to environmental damage and impact to pick the best river cruises. So, before you book that cruise, find out what kind of effect it’s having on the places it travels to. Below, you’ll find an outline of the differences between different types of cruises, how the river cruise industry works, and which ones are the best river cruises for the environment. Taking the time to do some research can do wonders for helping keep our waterways clean and making sure you feel good about those vacation plans.  

River cruises vs. ocean cruises 

Ocean cruises are the ones most people think of when they consider taking a cruise. Ocean-going cruise liners operate mostly in open ocean and have more of a presence in the Caribbean or Mediterranean, in addition to coastlines like Asia and Australia. The fleet size is generally bigger for ocean cruise lines – for example, Carnival Corporation has the largest ocean fleet with a whopping 106 ships and 10 cruise lines in operation. (Carnival Corp. cruise lines have also been involved in multiple environmental prosecutions, but that’s another story.)  

River cruises are just that: cruises that operate mostly in river systems close to inland towns and cities instead of the open ocean. Because they travel in smaller waterways, river cruise ships usually have fewer passengers and aren’t as big in size. Some of the most travelled rivers include the Rhine and Danube in Europe, the Mississippi River in the United States, and the Yangtze and Ganges in Asia.  

On average, river cruise lines have fleets of around 15-30 ships. Viking is the largest with 76. When comparing the environmental impact, ocean cruises have a much larger footprint than river cruises since river cruises tend to use cleaner fuel, don’t utilize harmful technologies like exhaust gas scrubbers, and have less human and operational waste due to their smaller size.  

River cruises still have an impact on our climate, air and water quality 

The results from the analysis we commissioned from Energy and Environmental Research Associates indicate that river cruising (even the best river cruises) yields around 20 – 58% lower emissions per passenger each day than our prior estimates for ocean-going cruises. More specifically, the analysis found that the estimated emissions per passenger day for a typical river cruise are 176kg (0.176 MT) of carbon dioxide for a 1,500 gross ton vessel (approximately 128 passengers), and 338kg (0.338 MT) carbon dioxide for a 3,500 gross ton vessel (approximately 200 passengers). As EERA reports, this is intuitive given that river cruise vessels generally travel at slower speeds, have shallower drafts, and encounter less hull resistance from currents and wave action.  

According to Friends of the Earth’s analysis of larger ocean-going cruises, one individual on a typical cruise ship emits roughly 421kg of carbon dioxide per day. Alternatively, one individual staying in a high-end hotel, using carbon-heavy transportation and choosing higher carbon activities, emits just 81kg of carbon dioxide per day. The carbon footprint of an average land-based vacationer is around 51kg, less than one-eighth of the average cruise goer. So even river cruises have a bigger carbon footprint than land-based vacations. 

Industry and cruise line breakdown

So, which are the best river cruise lines when it comes to having environmental protections and regulations in place? Which ones are more or less harmful? We compiled information on some of the biggest river cruise lines to compare their impact and commitments to sustainability.  

The following information is based on reported technologies from each cruise line. For some lines, it is unknown if these technologies are on every ship in the fleet.  

Best river cruises for the environment 

As pollution and environmental health have been becoming bigger issues, there are all kinds of new technology being put in place to keep things clean (well, clean-er). By adopting advanced water treatment and shore power, the following river cruise lines have shown progress towards cleaning up their act. Additional technologies for each company can be seen in the Friends of the Earth river cruise report.  

• Scenic: Scenic is one of two cruise lines that publishes a public sustainability report. This report publishes greenhouse gas emissions, energy usage, and total waste for their ships. Their ships treat waste and drinking water on-board and have hulls designed to reduce drag and energy consumption.  

• AROSA: A-ROSA has reported that all 17 ships in their fleet are shore power capable and use wastewater treatment systems. They also plan to start releasing a public sustainability report sometime in 2025.  

• Luftner: All Luftner ships have been given the green award, which is an international certificate program launched in 1994 to recognize high safety and environmental standards. It is assumed that their whole fleet has the same green technologies implemented.  

• American Cruise lines: American has reported that all their fleet is shore power capable, but it is unclear how many are able to plug in.  

The best river cruises when it comes to technological advances 

The following cruise lines don’t have known shore power or water treatment in place. While some of these lines do have at least some sustainable initiatives, others either didn’t report their sustainability practices or don’t have any public environmental commitments.  

• Viking: Viking is the largest river cruise line in operation, with a big global reach. They have solar panels and hybrid engines on some ships and reportedly use local ingredients for food. This makes them slightly better than the other lines in this section, but the large number of ships and lack of clean technology is concerning.  

• Uniworld: Uniworld gets some credit for being one of two river cruise lines to publish a public sustainability report. However, they also have few, if any, protections in place and most of their reported plans only revolve around food waste. While this is a good step, it isn’t enough to reduce pollution in a meaningful way. Time will tell if it’s all talk or if they’ll implement more sustainable practices in the future.  

• Scylla: Scylla doesn’t have any public information on its environmental impact on the website, so it’s hard to know what protections they have in place, if any. As of 2024, their ships all reportedly run on renewable fuel.  

• Vodohod: Vodohod also doesn’t have any public sustainability information on the website. They only cruise in Russia and have a fleet of 13 vessels.  

Breakdown of different environmental factors 

What are these green technologies and why do they matter? 

Shore power uses electricity at ports to power cruise ships while they are docked, instead of burning fuel the whole time. Unsurprisingly, pumping noxious pollutants into the air isn’t popular with locals. Shore power thus helps improve air quality for port communities. In addition, onboard treatment technology is used to filter and better clean wastewater. Both technologies make a big difference in quality of life for people affected by cruise lines and aquatic health. 

Land vs. sea travel carbon emissions

Even the best river cruises, and cruises in general, emit way more CO2 than land-based travel. For example, on average, a Seattle cruise passenger is responsible for 421 kg of CO2 emissions, and a land traveler is responsible for 51 kg.   A river cruise falls between the two options, generating 176 kg of CO2 and thus 58% fewer emissions per passenger-day than ocean cruises. While cruises seem more convenient, you get less time and freedom to explore the places you travel to, and you’re directly contributing to large CO2 emissions.  

Cruise alternatives

Changing or having flexible vacation plans is an idea worth considering, especially when there are many eco-friendly experiences that can offer the same type of luxury at a much lower environmental cost. Instead of being stuck on a tiny boat with strangers for a week, you could explore on your own terms. There’s much more freedom to decide how you spend each day, and you can get the same relaxing experience without contributing to environmental damage. Overall, while some river cruise lines are better than others, any cruise is harmful to the environment.Our beautiful planet should be explored in ways that help to preserve that beauty for future generations to enjoy.  

Friends of the Earth has a cruise ship report card that ranks major cruise companies and individual ships on their environmental impact. It is a good way of seeing how much action they have each taken towards reducing their environmental footprint. It is based on criteria for sewage treatment, air pollution reduction, water quality, and how transparent they are about their practices.