Disney Cruise Line announced that it eliminated more than 99 percent of all guest-facing, non-essential, single-use plastics on its ships and island destinations as of the end of fiscal 2025.

The company has credited the milestone in its sustainability journey to its cast and crew.

“The real magic on deck and at our island destinations is the dedication of our cast and crew,” said Barry Compagnoni, vice president of safety, sustainability and medical operations.

“They are the ones bringing our sustainability goals to life every single day, and their impact is visible everywhere you look.”

The company said in a blog post that its teams have rethought traditional dining service, and crews have steadily moved away from single-use items, replacing them with reusable and refillable alternatives.

The company stated that it has already moved away from single-use plastic straws, merchandise bags, cutlery and individual condiment packets fleetwide; teams are now tackling everyday packaging and more.

This includes a transition away from individual, single-use packaging for bulk containers and using reusable serving ware at food and beverage locations.

At Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point and Disney Castaway Cay, there are no guest-facing single-use plastics, and at Disney Castaway Cay, island operations teams have rolled out redesigned trash cans.

According to the press release, shifting away from single-use items has fundamentally changed how the sails.

By transitioning to reusable shopping bags, the merchandise crew has eliminated nearly one million plastic bags annually.

Teams have replaced plastic water bottles with recyclable aluminum options and manage refill stations across both guest and crew areas. They’ve also adapted to serving specialty coffees and drinks at 24-hour beverage stations in plastic-free, paper cups.

Operations teams are also looking beyond guest-facing areas to influence the supply chain.

By partnering closely with vendors, purchasing teams now buy guest room towels in bulk, eliminating excess single-use plastic wrap before it ever boards the ship, the company stated.

The company is also using reusable pallet covers, replacing plastic wrap at the loading docks in Port Canaveral, Port Everglades and Singapore.

Other initiatives across the cruise company include:

• Stateroom hosts implementing waste-reduction efforts
• Disney Cruise Line Castaway Club loyalty gifts being distributed in paper-based packaging rather than traditional plastic sleeves, and
• Using refillable bath product dispensers in every stateroom.