Matador Network's Blog, page 951

Europe’s plastic-free ski resort

As we become more and more aware of the sheer volume of microplastics littering our beloved natural environments (from the Rockies to Lake Tahoe and the Pyrenees), efforts to reduce waste and move toward sustainability have thankfully been increasing. One such effort is being undertaken by Pejo 3000, an Italian ski resort in Val di Sole, Trentino. By banning the use of plastic bottles, bags, cutlery, plates, straws, cups, and condiment sachets in early December, the resort is trying to become the first in Europe to fully ban plastic.

The resort has three mountain huts, which already no longer stock plastic items, and further work will be done to eliminate products that produce microplastics. In January, for example, the resort will remove the plastic covers from its one-day ski passes.

According to Christian Casarotto, a glaciologist at the Science Museum in Trento, “If plastic products reach the mountains, they will remain there for a long period of time, even decades, and they will then transform into environmental and health damage, and enter into the food chain. Projects that aim to limit the use of plastic products are urgently needed. They should be applied throughout the Alps.”

Pejo 3000 also plans to improve waste collection, recycling, and energy use in its effort to become Europe’s first completely plastic-free resort.


More like this: Aspen Snowmass raises the bar on ski resort sustainability. Who will follow?

The post Europe’s first plastic-free ski resort is coming to Italy appeared first on Matador Network.

Oldest passengers to be upgraded

In many ways, traveling can get more difficult as you get older, but Virgin Atlantic is doing its best to encourage elderly people to do it comfortably. Until January 1, 2020, the airline is offering the oldest passenger on each of its flights a free upgrade.

Virgin Atlantic was inspired by a man named Jack who earlier this month gave away his first-class seat to an 88-year-old woman named Violet. One of the flight attendants on the flight posted the story on Facebook on December 10, 2019:

“Jack and his family purchased seats In our upper class cabin for a flight home from New York, but when he got onboard, Jack went and found violet in economy and swapped seats with her. He then sat on the row of seats directly next to the economy toilets and never made a peep or asked for anything the rest of the flight. No fuss, no attention, literally did it out of the kindness of his own heart, no one asked him too. Violet is 88 years old, has been a nurse in both the UK and over in America. She travels to New York to see her daughter, but hasn’t been able to for a while because of a knee replacement. Her dream has always been to sit at the front, and Jack made that come true.”

On Christmas Eve, Virgin Atlantic tweeted, “This tale of Jack and Violet has warmed all our hearts this Christmas, and inspired us to spread the festive love. On behalf of us and @RichardBranson, complimentary upgrades will be offered to the most ‘seasoned’ customer on board all our flights from today until 1st Jan 2020.”


More like this: How to game the airline seat-assignment process and maximize your chances of a good, free seat

The post For the rest of 2019, Virgin Atlantic will upgrade the oldest person on each flight for free appeared first on Matador Network.

December 26, 2019 solar eclipse

If you happened to be traveling in the Middle East and Asia yesterday, you might have been fortunate enough to glimpse a beautiful celestial spectacle. Visible in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, an annular solar eclipse graced the sky, with the sun forming a ring of fire around the moon. Annular solar eclipses occur when the moon covers the sun’s center, but leaves the outer edges exposed, which then appear to form a bright ring. During total solar eclipses, the moon covers the entirety of the sun.

For Singaporians, the eclipse was a treat not to be missed. Albert Ho, president of the Astronomical Society of Singapore, said, “This will be the first of only two annular eclipses visible from Singapore for the rest of the century. So in that sense, it’s a very rare event for us.” Indeed, the next solar eclipse in Singapore isn’t expected to occur until the year 2063.

If you missed this one, plan for the next annular solar eclipse that will occur in June 2020 and will be visible from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Yemen, Oman, Pakistan, northern India, Tibet, China, and Taiwan.

Photo: NASA

The next total solar eclipse will take place on December 20, 2020, and will be visible from the South Pacific, Chile, and Argentina.

There are around two solar eclipses per year visible from somewhere on Earth.


More like this: The next 10 total solar eclipses around the world

The post ‘Ring of Fire’ eclipse shone bright over Asia and the Middle East yesterday appeared first on Matador Network.

Most harmful ways to describe food

I love to eat. I love gooey, melty mac and cheese and creamy, tangy penne vodka. I love crispy chicken sandwiches topped with a crunchy pickle, soft white chocolate chip cookies, and heaps of vanilla soft serve splattered with rainbow sprinkles. Some people get joy from reading or hiking or playing piano. I derive almost all my joy from food.

So you can imagine my dismay when, about five years ago, a new food trend emerged, which tried — and nearly succeeded! — to make me feel disgusting and miserable for taking pleasure in salt, snacks, sweets, and carbs. Fueled largely by Instagram, followers of this trend preached, with near religious fanaticism, the power to solve every problem in your life: depression, acne, bloat, stress.

This dieting trend invented an entirely new language to define the right type of food: Whole fruits and vegetables. Superfoods (kale, quinoa, chia seeds). The diet is clean. It will help you detox and flush toxins from your body. Under these terms, food becomes entirely utilitarian. The words weight loss and skinny won’t appear in posts about clean eating, but the meaning is clear: This diet will transform your life for the better because it will make you thin. And in the universe of this diet, thin equals morally superior. Thin is good, everything else should make you guilty, feel ugly, feel bad.

The restrictive language people use to talk about food these days is especially poisonous when its deployed during travel. To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with people who choose to diet on vacation. However, these terms detract from what makes eating unfamiliar food a powerful experience while traveling: Food can be a conduit through which we can connect and empathize with our fellow humans, learn about their history and traditions, and ultimately find common ground. Denying yourself that eye-opening, life-changing experience because the latest lifestyle trend considers food nothing more than a tool to make you thin would be a tragedy.

This language also promotes the idea that eating this way on vacation should prompt immediate penance — a cleanse or faux detox, during which you must apologize or punish yourself for enjoying food. The message that you should shun some foods because they might make you fat isn’t just dangerous to mind and body,but it can also strip food of its fundamental ability to bring people joy and fellowship. No matter how you choose to engage with food, guilt and self-loathing should stay far, far away from the dinner table.

While it is absolutely true that the production of certain foods hurts the environment, not everyone has the resources, time, or priviledge to grapple with those issues in their daily lives. If you can make choices about your diet to help the environment, great. If you can’t, activism and advocacy for sustainable options will change that. Torturing yourself over the platter of greasy barbecue you just devoured definitely will not.

So here is my 2020 resolution: Next year I will not use language that shames people for what they eat or pushes weight loss on them — or myself. Here are five words and phrases I won’t be using to describe food in 2020.

1. Clean eating

Photo: Anna Kucher/Shutterstock

Perhaps the most insidious aspect of dieting culture that has popped up in the past five or so years is the connection between food and morality. Eating a plant-based diet isn’t the problem. It’s that the phrase “eat clean” implies that some bodies are more pure and sacred than people who don’t subscribe to their diet. That your body is dirty or polluted if you ingest anything other than vegetables freshly pulled from the earth.

The word “clean” immediately creates a distinction between two imagined types of people: Those who care about their bodies and health, and those who are too lazy to care. These categories are made up! It helps the health of literally zero people if we make them feel so ashamed of their choices that they stop listening to what their bodies need and start following a diet praised by some stranger on the internet. Also: The term clean straight up doesn’t make sense. Vegetables are covered in dirt and bacteria even after you wash them, sorry!

2. Detox, cleanse, and toxic

These are manipulative, deceptive terms that, according to health experts, can actively harm you physically and can — infuriatingly — make you feel ashamed and anxious about your liver and digestive system’s natural and normal processes. Wellness retreats and spas increasingly offer packages promising to detox your body. While these experiences may be refreshing, it’s a shame that people feel pressured to “clean” their bodies after a vacation spent eating well. Or that they should actually spend their vacation days on a “detox retreat.” The only way to detox your body is through your liver. The air is polluted, certainly, but you can’t flush made up toxins out of your body with some mixture of lemon and cayenne and cucumber. Reading up on how to sample every type of pasta in Italy shouldn’t come with the caveat that you’ll have to repair your body afterwards with a juice cleanse. Let’s let people enjoy things without reservation.

3. Guilty pleasure

Photo: The Num Phanu Studio/Shutterstock

Countless food-related articles (some of mine included, in the past!) use language that casts certain foods as “sinful” or “naughty” or use the opposite: “guilt-free.” Chocolate, cheesy pastas, bread of all kinds, to name a few. In the context of travel, this language is especially harmful because it immediately casts people who vacation specifically to experience new foods as gluttonous slobs, abandoning their health in order to indulge. Healthy eating (a term which has no one definition that can be applied to everyone) simply is not a priority for everyone when they travel, and that’s okay. Eating can and should be a pleasure, full stop, for people who seek out food-centric experiences. We — not just food writers, but society at large — have a responsibility to stop implying that people who eat whatever and however much they want should feel shame.

4. Diet

There’s nothing inherently shameful about being on a diet (though it’s been scientifically proven that most of them don’t work). People restrict what they eat for a variety of deeply personal reasons, not all of which are unhealthy. But it’s insidious to assume that everyone is on a diet, or should be on a diet, or is even thinking about dieting, especially on vacation when so many extraordinary experiences are centered around food.

I won’t minimize, dismiss, or discourage any experiences that center on eating excessively or purely for pleasure. I won’t talk about restaurants, food festivals, dessert crawls, breweries, or anything in between with language that shames people for skipping or ignoring their diets. I won’t imply that a fatty, salty slab of meat or a cupcake piled with sprinkles and frosting can only be consumed in opposition to an otherwise healthy lifestyle. I will never talk about food in a way that mentions, implies, or even suggests its effect on your weight. That goes double for the phrase, “packing your stretchy pants.”

Cheat day is similarly banned: You aren’t betraying your body by eating food that you think tastes good. Language like this sucks the joy out of eating.

5. Whole, unprocessed, and superfoods

Photo: Pinkasevich/Shutterstock

There is no such thing as a superfood. Superfoods and “whole” foods are words invented by marketing departments to sell you not just products but an idealized lifestyle. When you break it down, this language falls apart. Is Texas barbecue processed because the meat has been butchered and cooked in a smoker? What about dried and cured Italian prosciutto? Or do they get a pass because they are simple, seasoned meats prepared using traditional methods? The label is arbitrary, changes depending on who is using it, and is ultimately deployed to create a made up distinction between good and bad foods. What you eat has no bearing on whether or not you’re a good person. Food is just food. Some of it comes from the ground, and some of it is sprinkled with cheese dust, but none of it can determine your worth as a person.

No matter what you choose to eat on vacation, it should be your choice — not one you feel pressured into making because the language around food is so restrictive and shaming. In 2020, the only way I will be talking about food is in terms that encourage curiosity, exploration, and cultural connection and understanding.


More like this: The defining moments that changed the food industry every year of the 2010s

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World record US cross-country drive

If you keep putting off that cross-country road trip because you can’t take three weeks off work, you could always follow in the footsteps of these guys and do it over the course of a weekend instead. Arne Toman, Douglas Tabbutt, and Berkeley Chadwick said they drove from New York City to Los Angeles in just 27 hours and 25 minutes, setting a new world record.

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Supposedly driving at an average speed of 103 miles per hour, and reportedly hitting a high of 193, they somehow avoided getting a single speeding ticket.

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They began the journey on November 11 at 12:57 AM at the Red Ball Garage in Manhattan in a tuned-up Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG and arrived at the Portofino hotel in Los Angeles just over a day later, breaking the previous record by a little more than an hour. They used aids like Waze, radar detectors, and even live scouts to identify any police presence and avoid them.

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Needless to say, this method of cross-country road-tripping isn’t exactly recommended. For one, you’ll be lucky if you don’t end up in jail, buried under a mountain of speeding tickets or even badly hurt in a serious crash. And even if you do make the trip in record time, you’ll have missed pretty much everything worth seeing along the way.


More like this: The best road trips in Iceland — from three days to two weeks

The post These guys drove from NYC to LA in less than 28 hours appeared first on Matador Network.

‘Last Supper in Pompeii’ restaurant

This fancy London eatery is taking menu creativity to morbid heights. In 2020 Dinner by Heston will begin rolling out new menus with a series of dishes inspired by the probable last suppers of the citizens of Pompeii, the passengers of the Titanic, and Napoleon Bonaparte just before his death.

The Pompeii meal was inspired by an exhibition at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum entitled “Last Supper in Pompeii.” The meal will feature carbonized bread of Pompeii and Bay of Naples butter (squid-ink infused butter); smoked pickled mussels with some garum (Roman smelly fish sauce); and libum, a dessert of baked cheese curds. As well as the museum exhibition, the restaurant also drew upon a first-century Roman cookbook to craft the menu.

Photo: Ashmolean Museum

Photo: Ashmolean Museum

More than simply a gimmick to get people in the door, the unique menu is intended to serve as a link between the past and present, using food to give patrons a real, historical sense of what people ate back in 79 AD.

Xa Sturgis, Director of the Ashmolean Museum, said in a statement, “In the food-obsessed culture of today, there is scarcely a better topic that can help us make a connection with the people of the ancient world.”

To dine like a deceased Pompeiian for free, you can enter a competition being held by the Ashmolean. Otherwise, the three-course meal will see you back $115.


More like this: How to eat dim sum without embarrassing yourself

The post Carbonized bread and fish sauce: Eat like a doomed Pompeiian at this London restaurant appeared first on Matador Network.

Best rooftop bars and restaurants

Atlanta is one of our favorite food cities in the United States thanks to tea parlors and barbecue spots, lemon icebox pie, and craft breweries. But when you’re eating in restaurants and drinking in bars on the ground level, you miss the glittering skyline of new and historic buildings and the greenery of the BeltLine and other city parks. It’s only from above that you see the perfect mix of green and modern. And the best way to experience it all is by enjoying the view from a rooftop, cocktail in hand and food on your plate. Because the only thing better than enjoying a delicious meal or perfect cocktail is tasting and sipping with a gorgeous view on the horizon.

These are our five favorite elevated outdoor spaces in the city where food and drink service comes with a view.

1. The Rooftop at Hotel Clermont

Photo: Asher Moss

Hotel Clermont is one of the best places to stay and eat in Atlanta, in no small part thanks to the French-American food at Tiny Lou’s. The hotel also has one of the coolest rooftops in the city. As you get off the elevator, find a seat at the bar or settle into the vintage patio furniture on the astroturf. Sweeping views of the Atlanta skyline are accompanied by street food-inspired bites and seasonal drinks (think Frosé in the summer and Hot Toddies come fall). This hotspot gets busy during prime evening hours, so we suggest arriving for a pre-dinner drink or a late-night tipple.

Where: 789 Ponce De Leon Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30306

2. O-Ku

Photo: Heidi Geldhauser

If you’re in the mood for sushi, O-Ku serves a delicious, innovative take on classic Japanese cuisine with classic nigiri and sashimi sitting on the menu next to a signature menu of sushi topped with ingredients like foie gras, wagyu beef, and truffles. The restaurant also features an expansive rooftop with a perfect view of the city’s Midtown skyline. Order a cocktail (try the Shochu Wanna Drink made with shochu, lime, cucumber, mint, and black pepper) before diving into dishes like Otoro tartare topped with pickled wasabi stem, uni, truffle ponzu, scallions, and caviar. Try to time it right so you can order dessert right as the sun is setting over Atlanta’s skyscrapers.

Where: Westside Ironworks, 1085 Howell Mill Rd NW A3, Atlanta, GA 30318

3. Ponce City Market

Photo: Ponce City Roof/Facebook

There’s enough shopping and eating at Ponce City Market to keep one occupied for hours. But perhaps the coolest part of this massive retail space is The Roof. The venue hosts special seasonal happenings (ice skating with private heated igloos in the winter, adult summer camp in the warmer months) and Skyline Park, which features rides and games like mini-golf and a three-story slide. If all that activity is making you thirsty, stop by beer garden 9 Mile Station or the swanky 12 Cocktail Bar for drinks and snacks.

Where: 675 Ponce de Leon Ave., NE, Atlanta, GA

4. The Regent Cocktail Club

Photo: The Regent Cocktail Club Atlanta/Facebook

Not only is The Regent Cocktail Club one of the best cocktail bars in Atlanta, it also has one of our favorite rooftops in the city. Industrial chic meets old-school glamor on the inside, and a wraparound outdoor space gives imbibers a nice view and some fresh air while they sip. On the menu, you’ll find classics like a barrel-aged Manhattan alongside signature drinks like the Peachtree & Regent, made with High West Rendezvous Rye, fernet, orgeat, and citrus. Order a plate of delicious wings and enjoy The Regent’s lineup of live music as you gaze over the city skyline.

Where: 3rd floor of American Cut 3035 Peachtree Rd NE #140 Atlanta, GA 30305

5. SkyLounge

Photo: SkyLounge Atlanta/Facebook

Perched on the 11th floor of the Glenn Hotel, SkyLounge is an elegant indoor-outdoor space, the latter of which is enclosed in cooler weather for year-round enjoyment. As you take in the fresh air or gaze out the massive windows, take a moment to check out the drink menu. It’s small but mighty, and you can choose from a few wines by the glass and tasty classic and signature cocktails. Don’t miss SkyLounge’s weekend programming if you’re in the mood for live music.

Where: 110 Marietta St NW, Atlanta, GA 30303


More like this: The best Atlanta restaurants and places to eat right now

The post The best rooftops in Atlanta to eat, drink, and be merry appeared first on Matador Network.

Countries where new year isn’t 2020

In many countries around the world, people are gearing up for another iteration of the Roaring Twenties. In these Roaring Twenties, Flappers are just Halloween costumes and speakeasies are little more than novelty bars, but there’s no denying the fervor surrounding the idea of ushering in a new version of the infamous decade. We easily forget, however, that the numbers on this new calendar year aren’t the same for everyone. In Japan, it’s year 2. In Israel, it’s 5,780 (the roaring 5,780s?). While most countries do adhere to the Gregorian calendar, which was introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, several have calendars rooted in their own religious or political history. Here are a few countries where the new year won’t be 2020.

1. North Korea

Photo: Astrelok/Shutterstock

The Gregorian calendar begins at what is believed to be the date of Jesus Christ’s birth, but North Korea’s concept of time begins at the birth of its own godlike figure — Kim Il-Sung. Its calendar, known as the Juche calendar, begins in 1912, making the coming year in North Korea 110. The calendar is named after North Korea’s Juche ideology — a system of thought developed by Kim Il-Sung himself — which maintains the importance of self-reliance and a strong national leader. Adopting this unique calendar is one of many ways North Korea asserts its independence from the rest of the world.

2. Thailand

Photo: I love photo/Shutterstock

Thailand’s calendar is based around the life events of its own paragon of spirituality. According to the Buddhist lunar calendar, which begins from the moment Buddha achieved nirvana, this new year in Thailand will be 2,563. Figuring out the date of the Buddhist calendar is pretty easy; all you have to do is add 543 to the Western calendar year. In addition to Thailand, this calendar is also used by Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.

3. Ethiopia

Photo: Alex Sinclair Lack/Shutterstock

Ethiopia is throwing it all the way back to 2013 this New Year. No, it’s not because the country is desperate to relive the twerking fad or the birth of the royal baby — its calendar is simply seven years behind the Gregorian one. It’s because Ethiopia’s year is based on the ancient Coptic calendar, which calculates the birth of Christ to be seven years later than the Gregorian calendar. The Ethiopian calendar also has 13 months to a year, and each day starts at sunrise rather than midnight.

4. Israel

Photo: John Theodor/Shutterstock

It probably shouldn’t surprise you that one of the world’s most ancient civilizations also has the most ancient calendar. The Hebrew calendar begins from the new moon on October 7, 3761 BC, making this the year of 5,780. Although the Gregorian calendar is also used in Israel, all Hebrew holidays, birthdays, and days of memory are officially celebrated according to the Hebrew calendar, with each month starting on the new moon. If you thought being in the second decade of the 2000s felt surreal, how about living in the sixth millennium?

5. Iran

Photo: Efired/Shutterstock

Unlike many countries, whose calendars are based entirely upon religious tradition, Iran’s calendar has more to do with astronomy. The Persian calendar, or the Solar Hijri calendar, is Iran’s official calendar, and it was created by a group of astronomers. The calendar measures time based on Earth’s movement around the sun, and unlike the Gregorian calendar, it is dictated by astronomical observations. Because the Solar Hijri calendar is tied to astronomical seasons, it’s actually more accurate than the Gregorian calendar. This year Iran will ring in the year 1,398, and it will be joined by Afghanistan, which abides by the same system.

6. Japan

Photo: yukihipo/Shutterstock

If a country starts anew each time its calendar year resets to zero, Japan might be the youngest county in the world right now. Japan measures its years by the length of its emperors’ reigns, with each period in Japanese history designated by a word that represents that emperor’s time in power. The previous era under Emperor Akihito was called the “Heisei” era, which means “peace everywhere.” It lasted from 1989 to 2019, when his son Naruhito took the throne. Now Japan is in the Reiwa era, which translates to “beautiful harmony.” When Emperor Naruhito ascended to power, Japan’s calendar reset. Come January 1, Japan isn’t just rewinding to the Roaring Twenties, it’s going all the way back to year 2 (or “Reiwa 2”).

7. Saudi Arabia

Photo: Hany Musallam/Shutterstock

Like many Islamic countries, Saudi Arabia has a dual calendar system, using the standard Gregorian calendar as well as the Islamic calendar, and providing two dates for many events. The Islamic calendar is primarily used to mark the dates of important religious events, though it also dictates the coming of the new year. This new year will be 1442, but it won’t be starting on January 1. One of the most unique things about the Saudi Arabian New Year is that it falls on a different day each year. 2019 came in September, whereas 2020 won’t be arriving until August 21. And as may be expected from a strictly religious nation, New Year’s celebrations don’t take the form of alcohol-fueled parties, but contemplative gatherings focused on religion and self-reflection.


More like this: 12 underrated destinations with epic New Year’s Eve parties

The post 7 countries where the new year won’t be 2020 appeared first on Matador Network.

Hydrogen-powered superyacht

A new boat is coming to the high seas, and it’s unlike anything the world has seen before. The AQUA, a liquid hydrogen-powered superyacht, was first revealed at this year’s Monaco Yacht Show, and it’s predicted to revolutionize yacht technology and design. The 367-foot-long yacht is the first in the world to be powered by liquified hydrogen.

Photo: MI7

This hydrogen is stored in vacuum isolated tanks, and then converted into electrical energy by proton-exchange membrane fuel cells. The generated electrical energy provides power for propulsion, auxiliary systems, and hotel services, and its only emission is water. The two large tanks are visible from inside the super yacht, by the stunning circular staircase and from behind a strengthened glass.

Photo: MI7

Photo: MI7

Design by Sinot Yacht Architecture & Design, the concept art makes it pretty clear that the interior of the yacht is just as impressive as its underlying mechanics. The five decks of the boat can accommodate 14 guests in four guest staterooms, two VIP staterooms, and one owner pavillion. And, it would not be the height of luxury without a cascading infinity pool, floor-to-ceiling windows, and an indoor health and wellness center.

Photo: MI7

Photo: MI7

More like this: How to live, work, and travel the world on a yacht

The post This hydrogen-powered superyacht is the future of luxury appeared first on Matador Network.

Windstar cruise ship updated

Sustainability is a buzzword with travelers nowadays. Globetrotters are carbon offsetting their flights, single-use plastics are being ditched for more eco-friendly alternatives, and tourists are choosing environmentally friendly hotel options, all in an effort to lessen their footprint on the earth. When it comes to getting from here to there — whether by car, plane, or train — there is a particular strain on the environment, especially when it comes to cruising.

In an effort to provide guests with a more pleasant and sustainable experience, one company, Windstar Cruises, “stretched” one of its vessels, which involved cutting the ship in half, adding a section, and soldering it back together to make room for more passengers. But how exactly can making a boat more significant result in a more sustainable cruise? It seems counterintuitive — a bigger boat and increased passenger capacity produces more waste, requires more energy, and displaces a higher volume of water.

But the project is part of Windstar’s ongoing sustainability plan entitled the “$250 Million Star Plus Initiative.” At Fincantieri’s shipyard in Palermo, Italy, the brand is overhauling three cruise ships, with the plan set to be completed in late 2020. The end result is a massive effort to modernize and make cruising less harmful to the environment — here’s how it’s playing out.

The cruise industry is beginning to take responsibility for its impact

Photo: Windstar Cruises

Navigating the world’s oceans in what is essentially a floating hotel often gets a bad rap. After all, lugging thousands of people around in a vast ocean liner while using tons of fuel, offering expansive buffets of food, and disrupting waterways, rightly causes environmental concern. Many brands are trying to make cruising more sustainable, as companies are opting to lobby for cleaner oceans and have less of an impact overall. Those considering large ship cruises can now analyze the greenness of companies and sailing vessels by consulting a report card, of sorts, from environmental group Friends of the Earth.

Windstar, however, is a small cruise line — moving hundreds rather than thousands of people through the water — so its overall environmental impact is already less than other cruise ships, and the company makes great strides to ensure cruisers an eco-friendly ride. Its fleet of six boats includes three sailing vessels, the Wind Surf, Wind Star, and Wind Spirit. These ships aren’t powered by the sails alone, but when sails are used in tandem with the engines, fuel consumption is significantly reduced as opposed to when the engines are the sole operator.

But, it isn’t these sailing ships that are undergoing renovations. Windstar’s three sail-less, Star class ships — Star Breeze, Star Pride, and Star Legend — are the ones being stretched and renovated. The Star Breeze was officially cut in October 2019 to make room for the insertion of an 84-foot section that promises a more expansive pool area, larger common areas, and a better journey overall. The upgrades also include new bathrooms in each suite.

John Gunner, Windstar’s vice president of expansion projects, says, “I believe the onboard experience will be enhanced with larger/better spa facilities, more dining venues, and more space on deck and around the ship.”

How Windstar is using these upgrades to reduce impact

Photo: Windstar Cruises

Expanding may not sound sustainable, but it’s actually those upgraded washrooms that are giving the ship an eco-friendly boost. Along with the washrooms, advanced wastewater treatment systems will be installed on the Star class ships, improving waste treatment and water quality compliance. “(This) will be a behind the scenes improvement but one that’s really important both for the environment and the efficient running of our ships,” Gunner says.

New engines are also being installed, which will reduce emissions of nitrous and sulfur oxides, both products of engine combustion released in the form of smoke. “The engines are more efficient because they are new, plus the new configuration enables us to use shaft generators at sea for electrical generation. Thus, we will run fewer engines leading to less fuel per passenger per day,” Gunner says.

These new engines not only meet, but exceed, the global International Maritime Organization limit, which goes into effect on January 1, 2020. The overachieving is part of a general approach by Windstar’s holding company, Xanterra Parks & Resorts, to help travelers experience the world with a softer footprint through zero waste and sustainability initiatives. Due to the smaller size of Windstar’s ships, they can visit smaller ports than other cruise lines, which further increases the need to concentrate on creating greener vessels to navigate waterways gently.

Thinking outside the buffet

Photo: Windstar Cruises

New engines and improved wastewater treatment is not where sustainability initiatives end for Windstar. Onboard, chefs source food locally when it is possible, and have even been known to allow guests to tag along to local markets to purchase fresh produce. Windstar has partnered with the James Beard Foundation to create a unique culinary experience for guests. Instead of large buffets, meals are prepared to order, which reduces waste and allows for smaller, more curated accessory buffets to include crowd-pleasing staple items. “The team now complements the buffet with an extensive à la carte menu of delicious dishes, allowing guests to customize a meal that is cooked to order,” Gunner said.

Another big trend is to reduce wasteful single-use plastics. Refillable Natura water bottles are placed in the cabins to encourage guests to decrease waste. Plastic straws and stir sticks are also not dispensed on board unless they are specially requested.

Now that the Star Breeze has undergone its transformation, it will set sail in February of 2020, but the question lies in whether Windstar will make any tweaks to the renovations of the Star Pride and Star Legend based on what it has learned. The short answer is yes. “We are learning in many areas which will enable a more efficient project for the other two ships,” Gunner says.

The changes allow for an additional 100 passengers to experience the Star Breeze, taking the total from 212 guests up to 312. Yet, with the extra space and common areas, passengers will still enjoy an intimate journey. And as it undertakes forthcoming journeys, Windstar is doing its best to consider its impact on the future of our world by creating greener, cleaner vessels for navigating the oceans.


More like this: The 10 new coolest small cruise ships coming in 2020

The post Why this cruise company is actually making its ships bigger to be more sustainable appeared first on Matador Network.