Plastic straws on DCL?

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Alaskat

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jan 7, 2017
New to the site but I just returned from my first Disney cruise on the lovely Magic and was surprised to see SO MANY plastic straws blowing about the deck. I picked up several to save them from going overboard. With so many signs about not throwing things overboard and so many mentions of "we are a green company," I wondered why they would automatically add a plastic straw to every drink served instead of asking if you'd like one, and why they don't use the paper ones that they have at Animal Kingdom? Has anyone else noticed or been bothered by this?
 
On my recent Wonder sailing, they offered paper straws at the outdoor drink stations but not at Cabanas. On day 5 or 6, the plastic straws showed up outside. Maybe they ran out of the paper ones. That being said, I've never noticed straws blowing around the top decks.
 
New to the site but I just returned from my first Disney cruise on the lovely Magic and was surprised to see SO MANY plastic straws blowing about the deck. I picked up several to save them from going overboard. With so many signs about not throwing things overboard and so many mentions of "we are a green company," I wondered why they would automatically add a plastic straw to every drink served instead of asking if you'd like one, and why they don't use the paper ones that they have at Animal Kingdom? Has anyone else noticed or been bothered by this?[/QUOTE



Must admit i have never noticed straws blowing around on any of our cruises but i am glad they do not use the paper straws as i really hate them, maybe if they were smaller they might be ok but i would actually stop purchasing certain drinks if they used them.[/QUOTE]
 
Must admit i have never noticed straws blowing around on any of our cruises but i am glad they do not use the paper straws as i really hate them, maybe if they were smaller they might be ok but i would actually stop purchasing certain drinks if they used them.

Plastic straws that go over the deck could choke marine animals who try to eat them. Paper straws however will break apart in the water and thus be much less likely to injure marine animals. I think that's more important than whether you'll purchase a drink because of straw feel.
 


Plastic straws that go over the deck could choke marine animals who try to eat them. Paper straws however will break apart in the water and thus be much less likely to injure marine animals. I think that's more important than whether you'll purchase a drink because of straw feel.


Maybe if people actually took responsibility for their rubbish that should be put in the bins instead of leaving others to pick it up there wouldn't be a problem, but of course that will never happen. I only did say 'some' drinks as i can't see many people drinking an alcoholic cocktail with a paper straw. Do any other cruise lines use paper straws i wonder?
 


New to the site but I just returned from my first Disney cruise on the lovely Magic and was surprised to see SO MANY plastic straws blowing about the deck. I picked up several to save them from going overboard.

Plastic straws that go over the deck could choke marine animals who try to eat them. Paper straws however will break apart in the water and thus be much less likely to injure marine animals.

We sailed on the Fantasy last month. Plastic straws were in use on the pool deck. It was a very windy cruise (Aqua Duck closed for days due to high winds), but never saw straws flying about anywhere or any litter of any kind flying around or going off the side of the ship. They keep the ship clean and neat (constant clean-up) & don't leave garbage around. The straws are in a closed dispenser that you have to push down on to get a straw from, so bunches of them aren't left loose to blow about. There are also plexiglass walls around the pool decks, so a rogue straw would have to try really, really hard to fly off the ship.

This whole "issue" is overblown, imo. Parden the pun.
 
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I've been on many DCL cruises (and several on other cruise lines as well) and have never seen "many" plastic straws blowing around (not saying it couldn't happen, just saying in 40 DCL cruises - some in some very bad weather - I've never seen it or heard of this being an issue). On windy days, you do get some small things like straws and the condiment cups blown from glasses/plates but usually the crew are even more on top of cleaning to keep these items from going all over the place. On the upper decks where there is food service, there are glass walls to limit the area that something can be accidently blown or thrown overboard. So even if there were "many" straws blowing around on deck very few if any would go overboard. (once they fall to the deck, they may be blown around and hard to catch but generally I doubt there is enough lift to get it airborne enough to blow overboard.)

Are you talking about straws being automatically added to your drink in the MDRs or bars? If so, you can indicate that you don't want the straw and they will remove it if they already had it in your drink and dispose of it properly (and in the MDRs, your servers will probably note your preference not to have a straw and not add it in the future.) Personally, in the MDRs, it's a controlled environment and I would expect to be offered a straw. If I order a mixed or frozen drink from the bar, I also would expect that it would have a straw (never really thought about drinking a pina colada without one). In neither of those cases would I enjoy a paper straw as it would be a soggy mess before I finished the drink. I have seen paper straws on board but they come and go.
 
Personally, I don't use straws in any of my drinks, and I was never offered one. My wife might have had one in her "drink of the day." I don't remember.
 
New to the site but I just returned from my first Disney cruise on the lovely Magic and was surprised to see SO MANY plastic straws blowing about the deck. I picked up several to save them from going overboard. With so many signs about not throwing things overboard and so many mentions of "we are a green company," I wondered why they would automatically add a plastic straw to every drink served instead of asking if you'd like one, and why they don't use the paper ones that they have at Animal Kingdom? Has anyone else noticed or been bothered by this?

We too just returned from our DCL Fantasy and was shocked by all of the straws on the ship (in every drink) and on Castaway Cay! I picked up other peoples trash including several straws that they left on the beach right next to the water. Straws are SO UNNECESSARY!!! Appearantly straws seem to be an American "luxury" because when we stopped in Cozumel / Playa del Carmen Mexico there was a sign at the lunch table during our excursion:
"NO STRAW PLEASE.
A straw is manufactured in 1 minute.
It is used for an average of 10 minutes.
It decomposes over a period of 100 years.
A great number of seabirds, dolphins, sea turtles, and fish are affectedupon finding straws in their ecosystems.
The world economic forum predicts that by the year 2050 there will be more pieces of plastic than fish in the oceans.
At Experiencias Xcaret WE UNITE WITH this important change."
If Mexico is aware and taking action, so should Disney and the USA!
 
I may have missed someone else mentioning this, but I just saw it in the news recently that many Florida beach towns are banning straws.

The danger to marine life is the main concern, plus the liter.

Inregards to straw garbage, please clean up after yourself. Thank you.
 
noting that this is the 4th post from the OP, their perception of a lot of straws blowing around might be based on an acute awareness of animal safety...

I cannot imagine how these straws broke free from their holder unless, maybe, it was Straw Wars Day at Sea?

We all need an acute awareness of animal safety, and look after our planet. We " collectively " are ruining our oceans with plastic and rubbish.
 
We too just returned from our DCL Fantasy and was shocked by all of the straws on the ship (in every drink) and on Castaway Cay! I picked up other peoples trash including several straws that they left on the beach right next to the water. Straws are SO UNNECESSARY!!! Appearantly straws seem to be an American "luxury" because when we stopped in Cozumel / Playa del Carmen Mexico there was a sign at the lunch table during our excursion:
"NO STRAW PLEASE.
A straw is manufactured in 1 minute.
It is used for an average of 10 minutes.
It decomposes over a period of 100 years.
A great number of seabirds, dolphins, sea turtles, and fish are affectedupon finding straws in their ecosystems.
The world economic forum predicts that by the year 2050 there will be more pieces of plastic than fish in the oceans.
At Experiencias Xcaret WE UNITE WITH this important change."
If Mexico is aware and taking action, so should Disney and the USA!

I wouldn’t think they still do this. Back in the early 90’s when I was in the marines on a navy ship. They just threw the trash overboard. Just googled if they still do this. No plastic is allowed to be dumped overboard
 
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This was talked to death in another thread a short time ago. The discussion got quite heated. Some people like straws, some people need straws for physical reasons, some people hate them. I don't see them going away. The answer is for people to be responsible with their trash.

ETA Just noticed that this is an old thread someone resurrected.
 
If people need them stainless steel straws are an easy permanent solution. The waxed paper straws are another. At home we use stainless and glass.
 
If people need them stainless steel straws are an easy permanent solution. The waxed paper straws are another. At home we use stainless and glass.
The biggest issue with the glass/stainless straws - you need to wash them. In a fashion that cleans out the inside of the straw. There's really no dish washing facility on board a cruise ship.
 
The biggest issue with the glass/stainless straws - you need to wash them. In a fashion that cleans out the inside of the straw. There's really no dish washing facility on board a cruise ship.

It's just as easy to clean as the cups some people bring plus these straws don't get accidently reused under the soda machines. I wouldn't bring or want the glass ones onboard as they do break.
 
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