Royal Caribbean Cruises and the World Wildlife Fund have announced a five-year global partnership to help with the long-term health of the ocean.

RCL’s CEO and Chariman Richard Fain made the announcement in Donsol in the Philippines, a whale shark sanctuary which is one of the WWF’s conservation areas.

The cruise line is donating $5 million to the WWF, as pledging to meet new pollution targets.

“Our mantra at Royal Caribbean is ‘Continuous Improvement’, and this partnership with WWF represents a great opportunity to make a big step forward in meeting our special responsibility to protect the oceans,” he said.

“It is also gratifying to see that our determination to make a meaningful difference is shared by our employees and our guests. This new partnership aligns all of us at RCL with WWF’s mission to conserve the world’s ocean. Together we are setting aggressive goals and together we will start implementing them the right ways.”

RCL’s other brands like Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises will also be running conservation education programs for its guests onboard its ships.

Education programs include expert speakers onboard, in stateroom TV, events and event magazines and kids programming.

Mr Fain told Cruise Passenger that many of RCL’s guests have raised concerns about the conservation of the ocean.