drinking tap water

Is the water ok to drink from the tap in our cabin shower room? We have the UBP but know it doesn't include bottled water. We wondered about taking a few bottles on with us then refilling them when needed.

The tap water is VERY good on the ships. I always bring bottles and refill them and put them in the cooler.

Water is fine and excellent

Safe sailing

As mentioned, ships' water is excellent, probably as good as most bottled water. If you don't bring a few bottles with you, you can buy bottled water on the ship and then refill those.

The tap water is just fine. Honestly, better than most bottled waters I've tried.

Is the water ok to drink from the tap in our cabin shower room? We have the UBP but know it doesn't include bottled water. We wondered about taking a few bottles on with us then refilling them when needed.

The water in your cabin's sink taps is the same water used everywhere onboard, including ice makers, food prep, mixed drinks, and the water at the dining table. So, yes, it is fine to drink.

Water taste is a very subjective topic, and some find the taste of the chlorine required by regulation to be added to the water for sanitation to be unpleasant. This can be remedied in two ways:

Take your refillable water bottles to a water dispenser at the buffet, or at any bar and refill. There will be instructions to use a glass in the dispenser and to fill your bottle from the glass. Another sanitation regulation. These dispensers have charcoal filters to remove the chlorine, more for maintenance reasons for the equipment than for taste.

Fill your water bottles the last thing at night, and leave them open, either on the counter or in the fridge overnight. In that time, the chlorine will dissipate naturally, and your water will taste "better".

The tap water is great. The only negative is sometimes the tap water is lukewarm and quickly cured with some ice.

Is the water ok to drink from the tap in our cabin shower room? We have the UBP but know it doesn't include bottled water. We wondered about taking a few bottles on with us then refilling them when needed.

was told by the ship's chief engineer in the officers Q&A that the tap water at the bathroom sink is the same tap water at the buffet.

so yes ok to drink

We refused to pay for water...the tap water is fine. The food, ice and beverages are made from tap water! You will need ice....it will never "run cold".

I remember in the very old days there were two taps in the sink, one said do not drink.

Any bar will be happy to give you a glass of water with ice. I drink water all day long at the bars.

I'm responding to this question because it comes up on all of the cruise line post. We only sail Princess but the water purification systems on all cruise ships are basically the same. I've taken ship tours and talked to the Engineering Officer and the systems they have is as good as the suppliers of bottled water.

If you want to have water to take with you around the ship and even on shore take a water bottle (Wal-Mart, etc.) and put ice in it and water from the cabin tap. You can take it to one of the bars or buffet to get ice and water. My DW and I both have water bottles/container to use.

Why pay for something that is free? Makes no sense.

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Island Princess 2008 Alaska, Island Princess 2009 (B2B) Alaska, Royal Princess (Old) 2010 Alaska, Golden Princess 2011 Alaska, Coral Princess 2012 Panama Canal, Star Princess 2012 Alaska, Island Princess 2013 Alaska, Crown Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Caribbean Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 Eastern Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 New England, Emerald Princess 2014 Western Caribbean, Emerald Princess 2015 Western Caribbean, Ruby Princess 2015 Alaska

For 51 years I've been drinking tap water on ships with no problems!

As mentioned, it tends to come out of the tap a bit warm so do pour it over ice. :)

LuLu

After reading this post, I assume the tap water in the buffet and at bars is carbon filtered. A snippet for those who don't want to read through it:

My SO got in the shower while I relaxed but soon my peaceful afternoon was shaken by a screaming/crying woman. The shower water had turned her hair green. Now I can tell you one thing, no matter how many time you tell a hysterical woman that she looks good with green hair and that you like the punk-rock style she does not hear you!!!!! She made a frantic call to customer relations where they said “we know of no problems with the water but we will get back to you”. She had green hair, the bottom of the shower was green and the shower walls were green. Something was amiss.

 

In reality, they were working on the water system and had water turned off on most the ship for maintenance. They perform this type of maintenance when most passengers are off the ship. They were in the process of restoring the water and had injected a major dose of chlorine which was to be flushed through the system. If you were unlucky enough to be taking your shower right at that time, well it wasn’t good.

HUGE fan of saving money and the earth and sea we so enjoy by drinking the tap water!

I bring two wide mouth water bottles. FYI, it's best practice to refill your water bottle in the buffet by using a glass to fill & pour. They don't want your water bottle touching the dispenser.

Well, all I can say is that some of us obviously have stronger "tastebuds" than others, and I am one of them. The slight taste of something similar to chlorine in the tap water in the cabin bathroom, makes me "gag" and almost throw up, and I really can't even brush my teeth with it - so I use bottled water for that. My husband have no problems with the tap water, and I have huge problems with it.

Yes, it is the same water they serve in the bars and restaurants - but then it is cold with ice and usually also "aired" for a while, and then it is OK to drink, even for me. Not great - but OK. I still can taste the "chlorine", but that taste is much weaker compared to when I get the water in my mouth directly from the tap in the cabin bathroom. It is also a fact that the taste of "chlorine" is less now than it was a few years ago, so they obviously have a better purifying system on board now.

But when many of you say that the tap water on ships are better than most bottled water you can buy ashore, then I have to strongly disagree. Because the bottled water does NOT have that faint taste of chlorine...

The most important message to get across, is probably that the tap water on ships is OK to drink, and doesn't cause any illness. But the taste may wary from ship to ship - and also from person to person, depending on their tastebuds...

Finally I just wanted to add that at home, I only drink tap water - but I live in Northern Norway (above the Arctic Circle), and our tap water comes from the mountains surrounding the town where I live - so maybe I am "spoiled"... :p

I have mentioned this before, and will mention it again - my husband does nasal lavage every day - the tap water on NCL causes him problems (no problems on Princess, RCI or Carnival), so there is something different about the water on NCL ships which means we must either buy their bottled water or bring our own. Just FYI!

Agree with previous posters. The tap water is fine.

Well, all I can say is that some of us obviously have stronger "tastebuds" than others, and I am one of them.

 

It is also a fact that the taste of "chlorine" is less now than it was a few years ago, so they obviously have a better purifying system on board now.

 

The most important message to get across, is probably that the tap water on ships is OK to drink, and doesn't cause any illness. But the taste may wary from ship to ship - and also from person to person, depending on their tastebuds...

 

I always say that water "taste" is probably the most subjective thing that people talk about. Some may find their home water tastes "delicious" and visitors, who are used to water from a different source think it's awful.

Not sure why you think the lesser taste of chlorine is due to a better purifying system onboard. The chlorine is added to the water for sanitation reasons. Unlike your house, where the water sits still in the pipes until you open a tap, the water on a ship is constantly being recirculated, from the tank, up to all places that use water, and returned to the tank. This is so the residual chlorine can be monitored, and adjusted continuously. Many municipal water supplies chlorinate the water, but given the time the water sits in the underground pipes, the chlorine dissipates naturally before it gets to your sink. Public health regulations require that there always be some chlorine residual in the water (0.2-0.5ppm) at the farthest point from where the chlorine is added. So, there will be a monitor on the bridge (most common "farthest point" from the engine room) that checks the chlorine content, and then adjusts the dosing pump in the engine room accordingly.

Since this monitor is at the farthest point away, cabins that branch off the water mains closer to the engine room can have higher chlorine content than what is being used to control. And in times of very high water usage, the residual content at the far point will drop considerably, and so the dosage at the engine room can go quite high, and those nearby cabins will get water with more chlorine.

The only purification that removes the chlorine is at the ice makers, bar guns, and water/drink dispensers. These are charcoal filters that must be renewed twice a year, and are for maintenance reasons (the chlorine builds scale in the equipment) rather than for taste.

The "green hair" syndrome is most common among older women with blue rinses, or women who have colored their hair, and is a combination of chlorine and acid (acid is added to the water if needed because chlorine will only sanitize within a narrow Ph band around neutral, and the ship adds calcium carbonate (active ingredient in tums) to neutralize the natural acidity of distilled water, so the Ph may vary. It is the chlorine and acid reacting with the peroxide in the hair. It happens a lot with the pools and hot tubs as well, due to their significantly higher chlorine content than home or public shore pools.

The tap water is great. The only negative is sometimes the tap water is lukewarm and quickly cured with some ice.

Yup!...never a problem with taste..just temp!

Does anybody know if the tap water is suitable for cpap machines?

Does anybody know if the tap water is suitable for cpap machines?

This has been discussed on here on CC..no definitive answer.....I just decided to preorder distilled water..to play it safe and comply with my CPAP machine directions...;)

Does anybody know if the tap water is suitable for cpap machines?

I don't need a cpap, but I have heard from doctors and suppliers that for short periods tap water is fine. Some worry about the chlorine in the water being inhaled, so either get water from a dining venue, or de-chlorinate the water as I've posted above (let it sit open for several hours). The calcium carbonate added to the water may, over time, produce some scale, but for a week's cruise this most likely won't be a problem. If you are worried, you can contact special needs to have distilled water delivered.

Does anybody know if the tap water is suitable for cpap machines?

According to my DME -

Distilled is best. If I am travelling, bottled water is fine for up to two weeks. If I can't get bottled water, get the freshest and least chlorinated I have access to. At home, that means if I realize at 11 pm I ran out and I don't want to drive to a 24 hour gas station to get bottled water, I use the water from my brita filter but not my tap because my tap has pretty strong chlorine. They didn't say no chlorine but they said it is best to avoid it if I can. Also, the water is really just to get humidification which isn't necessary for CPAP functioning. It just makes us more comfortable. So turning that part off if you are stuck is an option too.

But, when I let NCL know about my CPAP they promised that I will have a jug of distilled water waiting for me. They did tell me to bring a 4 ft extension cord too. I will probably bring my battery too as a back up.

The tap water is great. The only negative is sometimes the tap water is lukewarm and quickly cured with some ice.

Remember to have your cabin steward leave you plenty of ice.

Fill that empty water bottle and put it away in the mini-fridge for

use the next day. Better yet empty that fridge of what you are not

using and fill it with water bottles for when you need it like having

potable water on those shore excursions with questionable water !