Disney Cruise Line Cast and Crew Drive Major Environmental Sustainability Efforts

From reusable dining ware to redesigned waste stations, some of the biggest sustainability changes aboard Disney Cruise Line are happening in places guests might not immediately notice. Behind those efforts is a fleetwide team of cast and crew members working to reduce waste and rethink everyday operations.

What’s Happening:

• Disney Cruise Line says it eliminated more than 99% of all guest-facing, non-essential single-use plastics across its ships and island destinations as of the end of fiscal 2025. The milestone represents years of changes across dining, retail, housekeeping, transportation, and operations, with crew members playing a central role in putting those initiatives into practice.

• “The real magic on deck and at our island destinations is the dedication of our cast and crew,” said Barry Compagnoni, vice president of safety, sustainability & medical operations. “They are the ones bringing our sustainability goals to life every single day, and their impact is visible everywhere you look.”
• One of the most visible areas of change is food and beverage service. Across dining rooms, quick-service locations, and buffets, culinary and food service teams have been moving away from traditional single-use items and toward reusable and refillable alternatives.
• Disney Cruise Line had already eliminated staples such as plastic straws, merchandise bags, plastic cutlery, and individual condiment packets fleetwide. Teams are now looking at additional sources of everyday packaging, including replacing individual portions and containers with bulk alternatives and incorporating reusable serving ware into more guest experiences.
• The changes are designed to reduce waste without sacrificing the dining experience, allowing crew members to continue serving the same meals and beverages while using fewer disposable materials.
• Disney's island destinations in The Bahamas have also become important testing grounds for these efforts. When Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point was being developed, food and beverage teams had an opportunity to build many operational practices from the ground up with waste reduction in mind.
• As a result, Disney Lookout Cay operates without guest-facing single-use plastics, using reusable dishware, flatware, and cups throughout its meal service. The same service items have since been introduced at Disney Castaway Cay, helping reduce the amount of disposable material used during meals while also creating a more traditional, elevated dining experience.

• Waste management has also received an operational makeover. At Castaway Cay, island operations teams have introduced redesigned trash cans that incorporate separate receptacles for recycling and food scraps directly into the guest environment. The system allows crew members to sort and manage waste more efficiently while making the process easier for guests to participate in.

• Retail operations are another area where relatively small changes can have a significant cumulative impact. Disney Cruise Line's merchandise teams have transitioned to reusable shopping bags, eliminating the use of nearly 1 million plastic bags annually.
• Food and beverage teams have also replaced plastic water bottles with recyclable aluminum alternatives and manage refill stations in both guest and crew areas. Specialty coffees and other drinks available at 24-hour beverage stations are served in plastic-free paper cups.
• Gary Latouche, director of hotel operations, merchandise, photography and spa, emphasized that the changes have required collaboration across teams.
• “The culture was there to push us forward as a team,” Latouche said. “We made the lists, but it’s a real team effort to find solutions and put them into practice.”
• Disney Cruise Line's sustainability efforts also extend behind the scenes, including changes to the supply chain before products even reach a ship. Operations and purchasing teams are working with vendors to reduce unnecessary packaging, including purchasing guest room towels in bulk to eliminate excess single-use plastic wrap before the products arrive onboard.

• Reusable Disney Cruise Line pallet covers are another example. The covers have been introduced at loading docks in Port Canaveral, Port Everglades, and Singapore, where they replace plastic wrap previously used to protect new merchandise inventory. The reusable covers serve the same protective purpose while reducing the need for disposable plastic.
• Stateroom hosts and housekeeping teams are also helping drive the changes directly within guest rooms. When Castaway Club loyalty gifts are distributed, lanyards and amenities are now packaged in paper-based materials instead of traditional plastic sleeves. Since 2024, that change has removed more than 3 million plastic sleeves from operations.

• Refillable bath product dispensers in staterooms are another major source of waste reduction. By maintaining and managing the dispensers, housekeeping teams help eliminate the distribution of more than 2.2 million individual plastic amenity containers every year.
• “We’ve been working toward this for years and we are all really invested in meeting our goal, and the results show that,” said Shelley Gold-Witiak, director of hotel operations & guest experience integration.
• The scale of these changes illustrates how sustainability initiatives can extend far beyond a single department. A reusable shopping bag, a paper package, a refill station, or a different way of delivering supplies may seem like a small adjustment on its own, but the impact can grow significantly when those changes are repeated across an entire fleet and millions of guest interactions.

• For Disney Cruise Line, the effort is ultimately about making sustainability part of everyday operations. Crew members across the ships and island destinations are being encouraged to look for opportunities to reduce waste, rethink processes, and find alternatives that can become part of the guest experience.
• Melanie, manager of spa and operating participants, said the goal is also to encourage individuals to recognize the role they can play in creating change.
• “To make a change, it takes every single one of us on this planet,” she said. “It’s not one person, it’s not one team, it’s not one company. Whatever we do, we just hope that it’s inspiring.”
• From the dining room to the loading dock, Disney Cruise Line's sustainability journey is being shaped by the people working behind the scenes and interacting with guests every day. The more than 99% reduction in guest-facing, non-essential single-use plastics marks a significant milestone, but the continued changes across ships and island destinations demonstrate that the effort is ongoing.

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