December 7, 2009

Royal Caribbean
It is the Oasis of the Seas, by far the biggest cruise ship ever built. It is too big to stop at any port in Europe; it holds 6,300 passengers so they had to rebuild a terminal to handle them all, with ninety check-in stations. They were able to squeeze them all in with an architectural trick from John Portman’s Hyatt Hotels in the seventies: make an atrium. It is like two hotel towers stacked on a barge. It is the Las Vegas of the seas, with seven “neighborhoods” of ice shows, theaters, rock climbing walls and surfing simulators.
And they call it green….Read the full story on TreeHugger

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October 26, 2009

Photo credit: Jessica Root
When my boyfriend had surprised me with two round-trip tickets to Cancun for my birthday, let’s just say I was surprised. He’s in school for a Masters of Science in Environmental Management. I like to wax poetic about the benefits of ecotourism. Cancun, the infamous Spring break destination (thanks, MTV!) known for over-developed hotel strips, excessive water usage and lackadaisical waste management hardly makes it to any greenie’s get-away list.
Little did I know that Cancun, home to the Yucata…Read the full story on TreeHugger

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