What is the big deal about a floating Skyscraper (ie., Queen Mary II) aside from its engineering feat?

Question

From an environmental perspective, it is a floating polluter. . .

Answer 1

Well, firstly the QMII is hardly a 'floating polluter'. She, and indeed most if not all of the new cruiseships built today, have incredibly advanced waste treatment systems.

To give you an idea of how good, and if you dont belive me do some research online, the waste water that comes out of the other end of our waste treatment systems is clean enough to drink - in fact it has been proven to be cleaner than some US states tap water!

NOTHING harmful goes 'over the side' ie into the water from cruise ships - after Carnival was fined millions for doing that all companies are obsessive about their environmental responsibilities.

All recyclable materials are collected and sent ashore for recycling, all hazardous materials are sent to specific installations to be safely disposed of..... you name it,we do it.

If you were to take a cruise on one of the new ships and are able to get an engine room tour the engineers would be more than happy and probably proud to show you the multitude of systems we have for reducing and safely disposing of our waste.

If you want proof of how good these systems are, we are allowed to discarge 'waste' from our waste system in alaskan waters, even when alongside - even though the alaskan authorities (rightfully) are obsessive about keeping their state pristine.

In addition to this, possibly the most enviromentally sensitive place on the earth, Antartica, will be having one of the largest Princess ships paying regular visits - that would not have been allowed had it not passed incredibly rigerous testing to ensure it will not adversley effect the environment.

As for what is the big deal? well, yes, they ARE an engineering feat, but they also offer 1000's of people a complete and very varied holiday without having to go anywhere - their every need is catered for onboard.

As for why are they so big? well, the larger they are, the more serivces they are able to provide, but the bottom line is profit - due to a thing called economies of scale cruise lines are able to make alot more profit carrying 3000 passengers on one ship than split on 2 different ones......

Hope that answers your question