How Do Cruise Ships Handle Sewage?

Cruise ships are responsible for handling sewage, which is crucial for mitigating health risks and controlling unpleasant odors. The ship’s facilities, including toilets, sinks, showers, and laundry, undergo rigorous treatment processes to ensure stability and prevent pollution. Ballast water is stored in appropriate tanks, and cruise ships have implemented sophisticated treatment systems, including toilets, holding tanks, and wastewater treatment plants. Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas is a zero-landfill ship, and crews recycle, burn food waste, and purify water.

Wastewater is treated in an advanced wastewater-purification plant onboard the ship, which is above the US federal standard for purified water. Cruise ships also dump harmful fuel waste into the oceans, which is governed by international protocols and U.S. domestic laws. The cruise industry actively treats wastewater aboard their ships, with most operating advanced wastewater treatment systems (AWTS). Airtight holding tanks and specialized ventilation systems help hide and eliminate unpleasant odors from human waste. Vacuum suction lines zip toilet contents to marine sanitation farms, which siphon out the water, treat it until drinkable, and pump it back into the ship.