A video showing off a massive cruise ship has sparked controversy online over cruise liners as a whole.
The TikTok account Gabriel-The Cruise Vibe (@thecruisevibe_) shared a tour of the Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world.
@thecruisevibe_ Is this the nicest cruise ship in the World? Come with me on a 60-second tour! #iconoftheseas #royalcaribbean #cruise #cruisetok #travel #vacation #travelvideo #creatorsearchinsights ♬ Time of Our Lives - Pitbull & Ne-Yo
The video shows some of the many amenities on board the ship, including malls, restaurants, pools, slides, and more.
The Icon of the Seas is a historically massive ship; it's nearly 1,200 feet long and 159 feet across. At double occupancy, it can hold 5,610 passengers, with a maximum of 7,600 passengers. It has every conceivable modern amenity you could want in a cruise ship, and is bigger than many small towns.
But with a big ship comes massive diesel engines that burn massive amounts of fuel. And the Icon has power to spare; 3 27,000 horsepower diesel-electric hybrid engines keep the ship moving, and that diesel pumps carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
But the potential pollution doesn't stop there. All those amenities, including the basics like electricity in the rooms, water in the taps, showers, and toilets, and TVs, much less the restaurants, bars, and activities, require electricity to run. And that electricity is provided by six generators on board that run on liquid natural gas or LNG.
While the cruise industry touts LNG as a cleaner alternative to diesel, that's not actually true. A 2024 study from Cornell showed that LNG has a 33% larger carbon output than coal when processing and shipping are taken into account. It also tends to leak, because the molecules are smaller and can pass through pipe fittings that other fuels can't, and the byproducts from burning it include methane, which is significantly more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.
And while the Icon is the largest cruise ship, there are dozens of others all across the world that are pumping massive amounts of planet-heating gases into the atmosphere to keep you entertained on the high seas.
Commenters were quick to note their feelings on the massive vessel.
"Don't do it," said one. "Tried it twice. Tooooo many people. It's difficult to do anything on this ship."
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Definitely 👍 "As a seafarer, these ships are a nightmare to even think about," said another.
"Cruises shouldn't exist, they're literally an environmental disaster," said a third. "What's the point when you don't even see the open sea 90% of your stay. Like just stay at a resort on land, it's the same thing."
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