Every Drop Counts: How Carnival Corporation’s Water Stewardship Flows Throughout the Company
Water is a precious resource. It brings life to the planet, beauty to the seas, and, for our world-class cruise lines, ships to port. Navigating across the world’s oceans, we are intimately connected to the waves, seas and waterways, which serve not only as our pathways around the globe and beautiful backdrops for guest photos, but also as our main source of water.
Just like a land-based hotel or resort, freshwater is vital to nearly all of our shipboard operations – whether you’re a guest relaxing by the pool, enjoying a hot shower after a day of excursions or just staying hydrated throughout your voyage. Behind the scenes, dedicated crew members rely on water to deliver world-class experiences, from meticulously washing laundry and linens to crafting gourmet meals in our bustling galleys. Even HVAC systems need water to keep spaces refreshingly cool.
With over 13.5 million guests sailing on board our 90-plus ships annually, we know that when it comes to water, every drop counts. That’s why we have a comprehensive “Every Drop Counts” water stewardship strategy to use less, sustainably source and supply more and treat water responsibly.
“Operating across the world’s oceans and seas, the one thing that is crystal clear is you can’t separate our work from the way we handle water. It’s truly integral to how we operate,” said John Haeflinger, senior vice president of maritime policy and analysis at Carnival Corporation. “From self-sufficient water production to investing in water-saving technologies and implementing best practices throughout our fleet, we’re committed to a circular economy mindset, making sure we’re conserving, reusing and producing our own water to power our operations.”
Self-Sufficient, Sustainable Sourcing
As we travel the world, we have the privilege to explore incredible places, and many of the remote, coastal areas we visit are not able to provide drinking water access for our guests. Luckily, we have an unlimited amount from the seas that we sail on – so we’re self-producing purified freshwater on board for drinking and other onboard activities such as cooking.
We already source most of our water needs from seawater ourselves using desalination and reverse osmosis technologies on board, never taking resources from places that need it. As a result, annually, we’re able to avoid tens of millions of dollars* in costs associated with purchasing freshwater from other sources. And we’re not stopping there; our team is pushing to self-produce 90% of our water by 2030.
A Culture of Conservation
As a business driven by ocean travel to provide extraordinary vacations, it’s in our best interest to ensure we’re protecting a resource that’s at the foundation of our operations and our planet’s ecosystem.
Through our Every Drop Counts strategy, we’re focused on driving efficient water use by evaluating and refining every aspect of our operations, leaving no stone unturned to make every drop count. This includes implementing water-smart appliances and over 100,000 performance flow showerheads and sink aerators installed across our fleet, saving millions of gallons a year.
We also engage both crew and guests in water conservation efforts. Our crew receives environmental training regularly, while guests are invited to skip daily towel and linen changes and make other small choices to conserve water.
Thanks to our efforts to date, across our fleet, we use significantly less water on board per person than the average person’s daily use on land** – adding up to billions of gallons saved.
Getting the Most Out of Each Drop
In our port destinations, we’re turning water that could otherwise go to waste into landscape irrigation, helping to maintain the natural flora and fauna. In fact, in 2025 alone, we recycled, purified and reused over 2.1 million gallons of water.
A key part of this effort is our investment in Advanced Wastewater Treatment Systems (AWWTS) across the fleet. These systems use multi-stage processes to purify wastewater to a quality that meets or exceeds municipal standards. After treatment, the water is safely released back to sea or used on land for landscape irrigation, reducing our environmental impact and supporting local sustainability.
Treatment and reuse of water onsite not only saves money and contributes to more sustainable operations, it also protects the pristine environments where we operate by ensuring water is returned at municipal-water quality or better, when it is released back to nature.
“Our water treatment operations are a cornerstone of our Every Drop Counts strategy, and, across our fleet, we are ensuring we produce and use water the right way – from start to finish,” said Haeflinger. “Wastewater is a natural byproduct of our onboard operations, and we responsibly purify it before returning it to the sea, complying with – and in many cases exceeding – all regulatory requirements at the local, national and international level.”
As the world shifts toward a circular economy model, we continue to shift how we responsibly and efficiently manage natural resources – reusing, recycling, refurbishing and maintaining materials and products to maximize their useful life and keep them in use for as long as possible. These efforts and our Every Drop Counts strategy are a key part of our larger plan to embrace a circular economy mindset, while supporting our sustainability vision to reduce our environmental impact, contribute to more sustainable operations and support long-term company growth and performance.
For more information on the company’s long-term sustainability vision, visit https://www.carnivalcorp.com/impact/.
*Based on the 2023 average national commercial cost for 1000 gallons of water. Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency.
**Our water use rate is 51 gallons per person per day, which is almost 40% less than the U.S. national average of 82 gallons per person per day. Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency
