Carnival Cruise Lines - Final Grade: “C”
Carnival Cruise Lines ("Carnival") launched in March 1972. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Carnival is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation. Carnival is now tied with Royal Caribbean for the largest number of cruise ships in a fleet (22 cruise ships), with all of its 22 ships having a carrying capacity of 3,500 or more passengers and crew. Slightly more than half of Carnival's ships were built in the last decade, with 10 of those ships having a carrying capacity of 4,400 or more passengers and crew.
Of Carnival's 22 ships, only one – the Carnival Spirit, which operates in Alaska – has installed an advanced sewage treatment system, resulting in a grade of F for the company's 4% sewage treatment score. In determining the air pollution reduction grade for each cruise line, only ships that dock at a port that currently has shoreside power (thereby avoiding burning dirty fuel in port) were considered. In total, 0% of Carnival's ships that dock at a port with shoreside power are plug-in capable, giving the company an F in this category. In 2009, the Carnival Spirit, Carnival's sole cruise ship operating in Alaska, did not receive any citations from Alaskan authorities for violations of Alaskan water pollution standards, giving Carnival an A for water quality compliance in Alaska. The Carnival Spirit did not receive any citations for Alaskan air pollution standards in 2009.
Carnival Cruise Lines - Cruise Ship Fleet
| Ship Name | Total Persons on Board | Destinations | Sewage Treatment | Air Pollution Reduction | Water Quality Compliance | Final Ship Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carnival Spirit | 3597 | Alaska, Canada, Hawaii, Mexico, U.S. West Coast | A | F | A | C |
| Carnival Conquest | 4850 | Caribbean, U.S. East Coast | F | F | N/A | F |
| Carnival Destiny | 4400 | Caribbean, U.S. East Coast | F | F | N/A | F |
| Carnival Dream | 5021 | Caribbean, Mexico, U.S. East Coast | F | F | N/A | F |
| Carnival Ecstasy | 3537 | Caribbean, Mexico | F | F | N/A | F |
| Carnival Elation | 3548 | Central America, Mexico, South America, U.S. East Coast, U.S. West Coast | F | F | N/A | F |
| Carnival Fantasy | 3548 | Caribbean, Mexico, U.S. East Coast | F | F | N/A | F |
| Carnival Fascination | 3577 | Caribbean, U.S. East Coast | F | F | N/A | F |
| Carnival Freedom | 4850 | Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, U.S. East Coast | F | F | N/A | F |
| Carnival Glory | 4850 | Canada, Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, New England, U.S. East Coast | F | F | N/A | F |
| Carnival Imagination | 3574 | Caribbean, Mexico, U.S. East Coast | F | F | N/A | F |
| Carnival Inspiration | 3571 | Caribbean, Mexico, U.S. East Coast | F | F | N/A | F |
| Carnival Legend | 3597 | Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, U.S. East Coast | F | F | N/A | F |
| Carnival Liberty | 4850 | Caribbean, Mexico, U.S. East Coast | F | F | N/A | F |
| Carnival Miracle | 3597 | Caribbean, Mexico, U.S. East Coast | F | F | N/A | F |
| Carnival Paradise | 3548 | Mexico, U.S. West Coast | F | F | N/A | F |
| Carnival Pride | 3597 | Caribbean, U.S. East Coast | F | F | N/A | F |
| Carnival Sensation | 3560 | Caribbean, U.S. East Coast | F | F | N/A | F |
| Carnival Splendor | 4884 | Mexico, U.S. West Coast | F | F | N/A | F |
| Carnival Triumph | 4527 | Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, U.S. East Coast | F | F | N/A | F |
| Carnival Valor | 4850 | Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, U.S. East Coast | F | F | N/A | F |
| Carnival Victory | 4527 | Caribbean | F | F | N/A | F |
2010 Cruise Report Card Grading Methodology
The Cruise Line Environmental Report Card ranks 11 major cruise lines—Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Cunard Cruise Line, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Royal Caribbean Int’l, and Silversea Cruises—according to three environmental criteria: Sewage Treatment, Air Pollution Reduction, and Water Quality Compliance.
- 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 against the total number of ships in the cruise line.
- To determine the Air Pollution Reduction grade for each ship in a cruise line, only ships that dock at a North American port that currently provides shoreside power hookups were graded.
- To determine the Water Quality Compliance grade for ships operating in Alaska, we used 2009 notices of violation issued for individual cruise ships to each cruise line by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. Ships were given an ‘n/a’ if they traveled to Alaska but avoided Alaska’s strong water quality standards by discharging outside of those protected waters.
- The grades for each of the criteria were averaged to calculate the Final Grade for each cruise line.