So vacationing probably is one of the more wasteful things an individual does. But dammit I'm going to visit places. Just did an Alaskan cruise with 2000 other people on our boat. Not as fun as when we did it alone 5 years ago. I'm thinking that flying to Seattle then cruising through southern Alaska(even with the unlimited buffets) for a week had a smaller carbon footprint than flying to Juneau, doing excursions for 1/2 a week, then flying to Glacier Bay and then doing excursions for 1/2 a week. I mean, if instead of cruising, 2000 people flew separately to the Alaska destinations instead of just pigging out on a cruise, that'd be a lot more burning of jet fuel and whatever driving takes place per family. No?
For an even smaller footprint, you could do a tour of the US using only public transit (buses, light rail, subway, trains). I wonder if anyone has tried that?
It can be done. The first time I visited my wife's family in Toronto, I insisted on not using cars. I walked down the hill to the commuter train, took it to the cross-country passenger train, and took transit at the other end. Father-in-law had a hard time understanding why his kind offers to pick me up at the other end were rejected, but we got over it. After a good visit, I told him he could drop me off at the 'kiss and ride' to start the trip home, but no way was he getting a kiss.
It would be interesting to calculate what that footprint would be. Cruise ships are mobile cities burning vast amounts of fuel and creating huge mounds of garbage. I can't bring myself to do it, attractive though it seems. Wanton excess really isn't my style, much to my wife's dismay. I'm thinking the same scenery from a sailboat or a kayak would be even more spectacular.
Faced with driving east-west (or west-east) cross country in Canada I would have done the same thing. Tom
I've had friends do Europe on trains and buses. I did Ireland via bus and hitching and walking. Except for the flight to get there, this would be comparable.
They definitely are floating cities. I wonder what percentage of the cities' economies of Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway, and Victoria depend on these cruise ships?
Tourism is big business, for sure, and probably a greater percentage of total income for the smaller places. A thousand small towns the world over rely on tourism for their economic survival, and cruise ships are a significant part of that. Even Vancouver saw a decline in tourism revenue last year when many of the lines decided to move their business to Seattle. But your original point of vacationing being a big footprint still stands. It's one of the many areas we all need to tread more lightly.
We did an Alaskan cruise, a couple of years ago. It was really nice. I consoled myself that, at least I didn't eat any dead animals, which is a more significant environmental impact than transportation choices. I'll admit I love to vacation.
kinda like all the bigshots flying their private jets to copenhagen for the global warming conference.
What's a vacation. . . . . oh . . . she-who-must-be-obeyed says that's the five weeks (plus 10 sick days) that I line up with holidays, so I can have larger strings of time in a row, to work around the house. Won't someone please tell me that the cataclysmic meteor is on it's way. .
