After successfully launching their Ocean Ambassador Programme in 2017, Captain Cook Cruises Fiji continues with its environmental friendly policies by eliminating as much single use plastic items on board MV Reef Endeavour and on Tivua Island.

Plastic drinking straws will no longer be available on board, with optional recyclable paper straw available for those particularly elaborate cocktails.

Plastic cups will be replaced with reusable cups.

The company will also recycle all Vai Wai water bottles back to the supplier.

Captain Cook Cruises Fiji’s Managing Director, Jackie Charlton, said the decision to re­duce plastics use was an easy one to make after realising they could do even more for the environment by minimizing plastics on board.

“Plastic pollution is a real threat to our oceans and after the suc­cess of our Ocean Ambassador Programme, we wanted to lead the way environmentally on board, just like we were doing onshore remov­ing all plastic straws and cups from the Reef Endeavour,” Mr Charlton said.

In November 2017 Captain Cook Cruises Fiji launched a new en­vironmental and sustainability initiative, the Ocean Ambassador Programme.

The programme is aimed at remov­ing rubbish pollution in remote Fiji with a focus on plastic to look after and sustain the Fijian environment.

The initiative focuses on cleaning up waste from the remote beaches and villages visited by Captain Cook Cruises.

The crew at the same time educate villagers, crew and passengers; col­lect valuable data about the types of waste found in the Fiji Islands.

Since the programme started, crew and passengers have collected on average 70-120kg of rubbish per week from beaches they have vis­ited.

Captain Cook Cruises Fiji oper­ate a range of accommodation, day and dining cruises including three, four, seven and eleven-night cruises around the Mamanuca, Yasawa and remote Northern Islands of Fiji.

There is also a day tour to their privately owned Tivua Island and nightly dinner cruises departing from Port Denarau in Nadi.