How Disney Cruise Line Is Reducing Single-Use Plastics and Waste
Disney Cruise Line is making changes across its ships and Bahamian island destinations to reduce waste and limit the use of single-use plastics—and many of those changes are happening in places guests may not immediately notice.
From the galley and dining rooms to staterooms, merchandise shops and the loading docks, Disney Cruise Line cast and crew members are finding new ways to reduce waste while maintaining the guest experience.
According to Disney Cruise Line, more than 99% of guest-facing, non-essential single-use plastics had been eliminated from its ships and island destinations by the end of fiscal year 2025.
The effort is not limited to one department. Instead, sustainability has become a fleetwide effort involving food and beverage, housekeeping, merchandise, purchasing, hotel operations and the teams working at Disney's island destinations in The Bahamas.
A Fleetwide Effort to Reduce Single-Use Plastics
Many of the most noticeable sustainability changes aboard Disney Cruise Line ships have involved everyday items that guests previously used once and discarded.
Disney Cruise Line has already eliminated items such as plastic straws, merchandise bags, plastic cutlery and individual condiment packets from its fleet.
The next step has been looking at the less obvious sources of waste.
Food and beverage teams have increasingly replaced individually packaged products with bulk containers, while reusable serving pieces have replaced disposable alternatives in various dining locations.
For guests, the change can be easy to overlook. The food and beverages remain largely the same, but the amount of packaging required to serve them has been reduced.
According to Barry Compagnoni, vice president of safety, sustainability and medical operations, the cast and crew are the people who turn Disney Cruise Line's sustainability goals into everyday practices.
Their work can be seen throughout the ships and island destinations.
Lookout Cay and Castaway Cay Rethink Island Dining
Disney Cruise Line's island destinations provide another opportunity to rethink how guests are served.
When Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point was being developed, the food and beverage teams had an opportunity to build sustainability into the guest experience from the beginning.
The result is an island dining operation that does not use guest-facing single-use plastics. Meals are served using reusable dishware, flatware and cups.
Disney Cruise Line has also introduced the same type of reusable service ware at Disney Castaway Cay.
Beyond reducing waste, the change gives the island dining experience a different feel. Instead of disposable plates and utensils, guests are served using durable tableware designed for repeated use.
New Waste-Sorting Efforts at Castaway Cay
Sustainability efforts at Castaway Cay extend beyond the dining areas.
The island operations team has introduced redesigned trash receptacles that incorporate separate areas for recycling and food scraps.
The goal is to make waste sorting easier for guests while allowing the crew to manage those materials more efficiently once they have been collected.
It is another example of a change that may not seem particularly noticeable during a day at Castaway Cay but can make a significant difference across thousands of guests and meals.
Nearly 1 Million Plastic Bags Eliminated Each Year
Disney Cruise Line's merchandise teams are also contributing to the reduction in single-use plastics.
The transition to reusable shopping bags has eliminated the need for nearly 1 million plastic bags each year, according to Disney Cruise Line.
Considering the number of merchandise purchases made across the fleet, this is an example of how a relatively small change at checkout can have a much larger impact over time.
Food and beverage teams have made similar changes.
Plastic water bottles have been replaced with recyclable aluminum options, while refill stations are available in guest and crew areas.
Even the cups used at 24-hour beverage stations have been changed, with specialty coffees and other drinks served in plastic-free paper cups.
Sustainability Changes Start Before Guests Board
Some of the most interesting changes happen before an item ever reaches a Disney Cruise Line guest.
Operations and purchasing teams have been working with suppliers to reduce unnecessary packaging throughout the supply chain.
One example involves guest room towels.
Rather than receiving towels individually wrapped in plastic, Disney Cruise Line now purchases them in bulk, eliminating excess plastic packaging before the products even arrive aboard the ship.
Reusable pallet covers are another behind-the-scenes change.
At loading docks in Port Canaveral, Port Everglades and Singapore, reusable Disney Cruise Line pallet covers are replacing plastic wrap used to protect merchandise and inventory during transportation.
The function remains the same—the inventory needs to be protected—but the protective material can now be reused instead of discarded after a single use.
Stateroom Hosts Are Playing a Major Role
Some of the largest reductions in plastic involve the people guests interact with every day: Disney Cruise Line's stateroom hosts.
When Castaway Club members receive their onboard gifts, stateroom hosts now distribute lanyards and other amenities using paper-based packaging rather than traditional plastic sleeves.
Since 2024, this change has eliminated more than 3 million plastic sleeves from Disney Cruise Line operations.
The bathrooms in Disney Cruise Line staterooms are another example.
Refillable bath product dispensers eliminate the need for individual plastic amenity bottles. By maintaining and refilling these dispensers, housekeeping teams help prevent the distribution of more than 2.2 million individual plastic amenity containers each year.
These are changes that happen behind the scenes, but the cumulative impact can be substantial.
Why Small Changes Matter on a Cruise Ship
A cruise ship operates on a massive scale.
Thousands of guests can sail on a single voyage, and every meal, beverage, merchandise purchase and stateroom service can potentially create waste.
That means eliminating one disposable item may not seem significant on its own. Multiply that change across an entire fleet, however, and the numbers quickly add up.
This is why Disney Cruise Line's sustainability efforts extend beyond a single headline initiative.
Reusable shopping bags.
Bulk purchasing.
Refillable bathroom dispensers.
Reusable dishware.
Paper cups.
Recyclable aluminum water bottles.
Reusable pallet covers.
Improved waste sorting.
Each individual change addresses a small part of the overall operation.
Together, they represent a much larger shift in how Disney Cruise Line approaches waste.
The People Behind the Changes
The common theme throughout Disney Cruise Line's sustainability efforts is the involvement of its cast and crew.
Gary Latouche, director of hotel operations, merchandise, photography and spa, described the effort as a team process focused on identifying problems and finding practical solutions.
That collaborative approach is particularly important aboard a cruise ship, where changes have to work not only from an environmental standpoint but also within the realities of daily ship operations.
The same philosophy applies to the island destinations and shoreside supply chain.
As Shelley Gold-Witiak, director of hotel operations and guest experience integration, explained, the teams have been working toward these goals for years, with the results becoming increasingly visible throughout the operation.
Disney Cruise Line's Sustainability Journey Continues
Disney Cruise Line's sustainability efforts aren't limited to eliminating plastic straws or replacing shopping bags.
The broader effort involves examining how products are purchased, packaged, transported, served and ultimately discarded.
Many of the changes are nearly invisible to guests—and that's part of what makes them interesting.
A reusable pallet cover at a loading dock, bulk-purchased towels, a refillable soap dispenser or a reusable plate at Castaway Cay may not seem like major changes individually.
But when those changes are repeated across an entire fleet and millions of guest interactions, the impact becomes much more significant.
Disney Cruise Line's sustainability journey is therefore less about one dramatic change and more about thousands of small decisions made every day by the cast and crew who keep the ships and island destinations operating.
And according to Disney Cruise Line, that shared commitment is what will continue moving its sustainability efforts forward.
Thanks to Disney Experiences for the original article and photos
