159 Cruise lines are navigating a period of rapid change as environmental commitments shift from pledges into measurable practice. Increasingly, lines are expected to show concrete progress on their sustainability goals, as benchmarks are set by new regulatory frameworks coming into force. The International Maritime Organization’s Net-Zero Framework, approved by its Marine Environment Protection Committee in April 2025 and due to enter into force globally in 2027, will introduce mandatory well-to-wake fuel-intensity limits and a global carbonpricing mechanism for ships of 5,000gt or more – a threshold that includes the vast majority of the world’s cruise fleet. In Europe, the FuelEU Maritime regulation, fully in force since January 2025, already sets its own greenhouse-gas intensity requirements for ships calling at European Union and European Economic Area ports, alongside a separate carbon price under the EU’s Emissions Trading System. Heike Naigur, senior director of sustainability at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH), says this shifting landscape is reshaping how the company approaches itinerary planning and deployment long before a ship ever reaches a dock. Naigur oversees ‘Sail & Sustain’, NCLH’s sustainability framework, which she says has moved environmental thinking from the margins of planning into its centre. “NCLH’s Sail & Sustain programme has strengthened the integration of environmental considerations into business decisionmaking,” she says. “Beyond operational efficiency, we are increasingly evaluating factors such as biodiversity, decarbonisation, infrastructure readiness and community impacts when collaborating with our destinations.” That evaluation increasingly leans on hard data. “We use a range of tools, including decarbonisation roadmapping, biodiversity assessments, operational efficiency data and geospatial risk analysis,” says Naigur. An example of this change in approach is Norwegian Cruise Line’s eDNA biodiversity monitoring programme in Alaska, run in partnership with environmental data specialist NatureMetrics. Initially launched as a 10-voyage pilot in 2024, it has expanded to 18 sailings across the 2026 Alaska season onboard Norwegian Bliss, Norwegian Encore, Norwegian Joy and Norwegian Jade, with crew collecting seawater samples that are analysed for traces of marine life along the Inside Passage. “Through our collaboration with NatureMetrics, our eDNA programme provides location-specific biodiversity information that helps us better understand environmental conditions in key destinations in Alaska and beyond,” says Naigur. “These insights support informed decision-making and help identify opportunities to reduce impacts while protecting the destinations our guests enjoy visiting.” Turning that data into itinerary planning decisions means weighing it against a wide range of commercial realities. Emissions regulations, access to alternative fuels and shore power Photo: Norwegian Cruise Line Port sustainability initiatives have become an important factor in the itinerary planning process, according to Heike Naigur “ We recognise that successful cruise tourism depends on healthy communities”
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