Taste of the tap water on Sun Princess??

[smalldog]

Hi all, I just posted much the same question over at the Princess board too, but thought since Sun Princess is Oz-based, it might be worth posting it here too.

 

I'm about to do my first Princess cruise on the Sun Princess, and I've read some conflicting reports about the drinking water. I drink lots of water and I don't drink coffee etc so I really notice the taste of the water.

 

Can you tell me please what the water out of the tap in the cabin is like? Would I be wise to bring a filter jug with me? And if so, how big is the cabin fridge?

 

The only other ship I've cruised on before was the HAL Volendam, where I used the water straight out of the tap. I believe (but may be wrong!) that the water purification on that ship is reverse osmosis, same as the filter tap I have on my sink at home. It certainly tasted much the same.

 

I think the Sun Princess might use a different system, but I'm not sure. Would greatly appreciate any perspectives you guys can offer.

 

Thank you in advance for your help! :)

[Kinkacruiser]

The replies on the other post are absolutely correct. Just because they leave bottled water in the cabin, doesn't mean the ship water (from the bathroom I assume) is not safe to drink. You can also fill your water bottles from the HC if you like it icy cold. Enjoy your cruise.

[happyaussies]

We spent 42 nights on the Sun Princess and I was concerned about the water also but we found it plesant and enjoyable. the fridge is only a small "bar" fridge and we used the rinsed out large thermal waterpot from our room service. (holds about 1 litre I'd think)

We asked our cabin boy to keep our ice bucket full and we had icey cold water when we needed it.....delicious!

 

PS

but then again we are from Adelaide where they say no ship ever takes on the water.........lol!

 

B&B

[The_Big_M]

Not sure what technology is used, but I had no issues with the tap water. It's not the same as local water (unsurprisingly) but didn't taste bad in any way.

[Aus Traveller]

We have been on the Sun Princess for a few long cruises this year and always drink the tap water. I don't like water with any taste in it and found the water on the Sun P absolutely OK. The fridge is quite small, but we were able to fit a 4litre wine cask in.

[smalldog]

Thanks everyone. Sounds like the water should be OK then. I saw a review where someone complained of a chemical taste in the Sun Princess water, but that might have been just a one-off thing.

 

Really appreciate the input from people who've been on the ship! :)

[smalldog]

The fridge is quite small, but we were able to fit a 4litre wine cask in.

 

When i was on the HAL Volendam previously (the only other ship I've been on yet) they didn't have a fridge in the cabin at all. So I'm pretty excited to have a fridge of any size! Thanks!

[Aus Traveller]

Thanks everyone. Sounds like the water should be OK then. I saw a review where someone complained of a chemical taste in the Sun Princess water, but that might have been just a one-off thing.

 

Really appreciate the input from people who've been on the ship! :)

After reading this board for a few years, I have come to the conclusion that with anything you like to name, there will be someone who will complain about it. :)

[smalldog]

After reading this board for a few years, I have come to the conclusion that with anything you like to name, there will be someone who will complain about it. :)

 

Ain't that the truth. ;)

[mukadreaming]

We were on the Sun Princess Aug/Sep this year and, for the most part, was quite happy to drink the tap water. The water in the dinning room did taste much better, not sure if it had extra filtration. However, once I got sick (food poisoning, watch out for the buffet, especially if going into the tropics) I found the tap water quite blah!

 

Even though, whilst I was sick, I was confined to cabin (2 days) and eating hardly anything, I still got charged excessively for lemonade. Bottle water is also expensive and not free even if confined to cabin. The "healthy menu" was very uninspiring and the only beverages available were ice tea (unavailable) and hot tea which was yuk! Therefore, lemonade alternating with ORS were my drinks of choice and I had a fair bit of jelly, too. I recommend taking with you a large bottle of ginger ale or lemonade for medicinal purposes.

[Aus Traveller]

We were on the Sun Princess Aug/Sep this year and, for the most part, was quite happy to drink the tap water. The water in the dinning room did taste much better, not sure if it had extra filtration. However, once I got sick (food poisoning, watch out for the buffet, especially if going into the tropics) I found the tap water quite blah!

 

Even though, whilst I was sick, I was confined to cabin (2 days) and eating hardly anything, I still got charged excessively for lemonade. Bottle water is also expensive and not free even if confined to cabin. The "healthy menu" was very uninspiring and the only beverages available were ice tea (unavailable) and hot tea which was yuk! Therefore, lemonade alternating with ORS were my drinks of choice and I had a fair bit of jelly, too. I recommend taking with you a large bottle of ginger ale or lemonade for medicinal purposes.

We were on the Sun Princess for the Aug/Sept cruise, probably the same one you were on. There was an outbreak of Noro virus on that cruise and it is likely that is what you picked up - not food poisoning. You mention you were confined to your cabin for two days so that also shows that the medical staff diagnosed Noro. Please don't refer to it as food poisoning.:) It is totally different.

 

Noro virus occurs in lots of environments where people are close together. On the Sun Princess the Captain announced that there were a lot of passengers sick with Noro and the crew implemented a 'red' alert. They took exceptional measures to halt the spread of the virus.

[mukadreaming]

We were on the Sun Princess for the Aug/Sept cruise, probably the same one you were on. There was an outbreak of Noro virus on that cruise and it is likely that is what you picked up - not food poisoning. You mention you were confined to your cabin for two days so that also shows that the medical staff diagnosed Noro. Please don't refer to it as food poisoning.:) It is totally different.

 

Noro virus occurs in lots of environments where people are close together. On the Sun Princess the Captain announced that there were a lot of passengers sick with Noro and the crew implemented a 'red' alert. They took exceptional measures to halt the spread of the virus.

 

As a registered nurse who has worked for many years in isolation wards, I know the difference between Norovirus and food poisoning. I became very ill within hours of having afternoon tea in the buffet. It was quite hot up there and I had a tuna and mayonaise savoury, which I came to regret. My husband, with whom I slept next to and shared everything with, including water bottles, never became ill. All people with any form of vomiting and/or diarrhoea are confined to cabin as a precaution.

 

Princess would never, ever admit to having an issue with their food services, though I did hear that there had been a problem in the kitchens. When I first became ill, they so wanted to blame Bali, but the time lag was too long. I ended up on antibiotics, which are not useful for viral gastro infections. Within 12 hrs of commencing Cipro, I was on the mend and coped with the shore excursion into Saigon.

[Aus Traveller]

Thanks for the full information. :)