NCL Turtle Power!!! Heroes for the half shell...

Sea turtles, tortoises, I don’t know what my obsession is with them, but I love them, they are so cute, however when we hear of the horror stories of poachers stealing their eggs and the skins and shells being used for allsorts of horrific things it makes, my heart ache.. I was absolutely thrilled to see that one of the best known cruise companies ‘NCL’ have now agreed to donate $5 dollars from every booking for the EPIC that was made on 22nd April in celebration of Earth Day 2010. The monies will be donated to help support the sea turtle release programme run by the Officer Snook Water Pollution Program / Youth Environmental Programs, Inc. Norwegian Epic, the line’s biggest and most innovative Freestyle cruise ship, will feature several environmentally-friendly features particularly in its heating and cooling, lighting, waste handling, sewage and glazing systems. Included in Kids’ Crew programmes across the fleet, Officer Snook the mascot for its educational programming teaches children of all ages about the importance of clean water, and the effects and prevention of marine pollution.

Norwegian Epic’s Environmental Features:

When guests exit their stateroom, the power to the lighting is shut off and the air conditioning level is automatically lowered. Similarly, balcony doors are fitted with a micro-switch that regulates the cooling in the stateroom when the door is opened. A dedicated lighting specialist reviewed the ship's lighting system and implemented the latest energy saving devices available and as a result, LED lighting is used extensively. The air conditioning system has been designed to improve efficiency as it utilises energy efficient fan coil units that condition and re-circulate the air both in the guest staterooms and public areas; temperatures in the public spaces will be monitored to best control air flow.

In a further effort to control ship temperature, the glazing on the ship’s windows has been upgraded to reflect the sun and not absorb too much heat. Additionally, the engines have a cooling water system, which will be heated up when the engines are running. The heated water is recovered and used to heat other areas of the ship. In addition, Norwegian Epic is fitted with an advanced waste water treatment system.

(Enviromental information taken from the NCL Website)