Here’s an oxymoron for you — today we’re celebrating Earth Day in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. There are only two places where actual “earth” can be seen on the Celebrity Eclipse, as it zeroes in on the Azores, the first terra firma anybody on this ship will have seen in six days.
One is on Deck 15, where real grass is being grown. The other is in an upscale restaurant called Qsine, where chocolate-covered strawberries are served on sticks embedded in 
wheat grass, presumably from Deck 15, because then they can be called “Strawberry Fields Forever.” Note to chef: “Strawberry” and “Forever” last only until the first bite.
If you haven’t heard of Earth Day, or don’t know that it’s always on April 22, where have you been for the last 41 years? There are now 175 countries using it to inspire awareness and appreciation for the earth’s natural environment. As more countries embraced it, so did more cruise ships.
Two-thirds of the planet is water. In Celebrity’s small corner of that, there are no ships 
that are more environmentally friendly than the three in the Solstice Class, and Eclipse is one. On these three ships, and certainly on the two that are coming, 216 upgradable solar panels help power the ships, which are promoted as “efficient mega-ships and laboratories at sea.”
More visible for Eclipse passengers is an area called Team Earth. It’s a place to go and relax, not unlike a library, and some chairs built entirely of recycled plastic are more comfortable than and not nearly as fragile as they look. There are screens playing 
Conservation International videos on being a good earth-ling and on how environmental teamwork can make a difference.
However, Team Earth is so under-utilized and under-appreciated by the patrons — yesterday we saw seven people there playing dominoes — that it wouldn’t surprise us if it’s 
recycled into something else when the next Solstice-class ship, the Silhouette, is unveiled this summer. This despite Celebrity’s desire to promote responsible travel by trying to increase our environmental awareness.
Cruise ships have long been whipping boys for friends of the environment, even though none of them seems to pay attention to all the steps cruise lines in general have taken to be responsible.
They recycle everything that can be recycled on land. They don’t dump raw sewage into the ocean, a common misconception…in fact, most have “zero” solid waste discharge, and Celebrity says its waste-to-landfill ratio is 1.5 pounds per-person, per-day, or one-third of the typical American’s ratio on land. They don’t allow golf balls to be hit off the deck, unless it’s into a net. They reduce air pollution, another flashpoint. The hulls are painted with silicone (non-toxic) to reduce drag and improve fuel efficiency.
They also depressurize aerosol cans for recycling, they use non-toxic cleaning supplies, low-flow shower heads, low-energy lights…and they don’t change the bedsheets every day.
No wonder they’re celebrating Earth Day at sea!