Bottled water

[Clarea]

so is it okay to bring our own water or not???

 

this thread has not made that so clear.

It's against Royal's rules, but they usually don't enforce that rule for water.

[monorail81]

Does anyone know if you can order the water package after you are onboard or is it something that HAS to be done ahead of time? If I can get the package onboard, is the price the same. Thinking about using the OBC...

[Clarea]

Does anyone know if you can order the water package after you are onboard or is it something that HAS to be done ahead of time? If I can get the package onboard, is the price the same. Thinking about using the OBC...

You can get the bottled water package onboard.

[thegima]

I've yet to see anything strict on packaged bottled water, I always throw a 6pk in a suitcase just so we have the bottles and can refill them. I did however see this last year right after getting on day 1.. Couldn't imagine walking around with this much crap, let alone 2 cases of water! :D

 

[rjrice1]

Never...as I said we just have a luggage tag on it and never did it NOT make it to my cabin.

If we ever have any left, or snacks not open and etc we give it to our steward.

Sometimes I bring "good" treats from home too.

Last cruise I made a "basket" for ours. Put soap, shampoo, snacks and other things they can use but can be expensive for them..

They are so appreciated too.

[Setting sail for fun]

I am going to try the bottled water this next cruise. I have had the swelling as well!

[2time_cruiser]

[emoji4] i order the water this up coming cruise, because I simply did not like the taste of the water, on the ship last time. And I drink a lot of water.

 

Not swelling on my part last time, only on the scale from all the food [emoji3]

 

Sendt fra min GT-I9295 med Tapatalk

[robtulipe]

All water on the ship is 100% pure -- in fact it is purer than Evian and the other bottled waters that are spring sourced (OR NOT!) or come right from the city water plant for the bottling company city. I find on most ships that the cold water coming out of the tap is NOT cold but warm to almost hot. So drinking water is really OK on a ship -- you will not swell or get sick because of the water and the water is very "soft" because no minerals present -- means hard to wash the soap off.

 

 

I did not say that you will not swell in the legs on the ship -- I said that the water will not be cause! The process of making the water is a variation on boiling the sea water and capturing the steam which is then cooled back to liquid. The machinery is huge! The process does not allow any salts, minerals or impurities because they can not go into the steam state.(behind scenes tours on many ships and all water is produced pretty much in the same processes) Usually at the end of the cruise they tell you how many gallons of water were processed during the week or so.

 

According to ship's doctors and my own personal doctor, the reason your feet tend to swell on trips is difference in air pressure (on the flights), often more sitting around, SALTIER food and snacks and more food than what you cook at home, more alcohol, and more walking and activity in the heat than you are used to. Water is not the culprit. I hate my purple legs that go on vacation but I hate support hose more. I just try to make as many good decisions as I can and see the ship Dr. if they don't go down after a few days.

 

I know from my research that the use on cruise ships of Reverse Osmosis to supplement Waste Engine Heat Distillation (evaporated and condensed process) to provide the ship's water from sea water can result in that the ship's water having a high sodium content.

Reverse Osmosis is more likely to be used on itineraries with close together port stops like the Eastern Caribbean out of San Juan where there isn't a lot of sail time and distance between the ports so the main ship engines are in operation less time thus less waste engine heat is available for the distillation process. RO water purification is less likely to be used on long distance cruises (TA, repositioning and Hawaii from mainland) where there is lots of waste heat available from the engines to operate the water distillation units with the distances the ship is covering.

The above information is from a university professor with a doctorate in chemical engineering who use to work for a major engineering firm that designed water treatment system. Simple stated it is difficult to design a RO membrane that can physically separate salts, mostly NaCl, from sea water, mostly H2O, since both are similar in size. RO is much more effective in removing much larger molecular weigh and size organic compounds that when in drinking water gives it a bad taste and color.

Also DW's and my experience in the past is that we have had less limb swelling drinking ship's water on our long distance cruises than on our many eastern Caribbean ones.

Edited July 13, 2015 by robtulipe

[LilBlackDress]

Water is not water. The ships water is very hi in sodium and makes my ankles swell. I'm not the only one who has this problem.

I have the premium package and I'm also bringing a 12 pack on board for the cabin.

 

I have a terrible time with cankles and what I call flintstone feet when I fly and/or sail. I talked to my doctors about it and they told me to get up and walk the aisle in the plane every 30 mins or so. I normally stand in the back the entire flight. And for the ship they advised along with the 3 liters of bottled water I am suppose to drink per day to walk the up and down 1 flight of stairs a couple of times a day or as much as my leg will tolerate.

 

As much as I know the tap water is OK for consumption. Please don't flame me for drinking bottled water. I have chronic kidney stones and water is my drink of choice. Just like most people can taste the difference between Coke and Pepsi, I can taste the difference in water!

[UniPac]

There was a very interesting posting in a different thread regarding the water supply on a ship.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=40786975#post40786975

 

 

Okay, a few misconceptions and misrepresented facts here, so I as a Chief Engineer of 38 years standing will weigh in on this topic:

 

1. Most water onboard is produced from sea water. This is done in two ways; distillation and reverse osmosis. Distillation is done as one previous poster eloquently spelled out. It is pure distilled water. Reverse osmosis presses water molecules through a porous membrane at high pressure, with the pores of the membrane sized to only allow water molecules, or smaller to pass through. Both sodium and chlorine ions in the sea water are too big to pass. This water will have some minerals in it, but usually not sodium as many cruisers submit when complaining about water retention, since the pore size is too small. Both types of watermakers can only be operated when outside 12 miles from shore. The evaporator uses the heat from the cooling water (think your car's radiator) of the engines, so the ship needs to be running several generators (like at sea) to run the evaporators. Reverse osmosis units are strictly electrical, but again, you are not allowed to take in sea water for de-salinization while in port.

 

2. Some water is taken while in port, not necessarily the "home port". This happens when the itinerary is port intensive, so the ship cannot operate the watermakers enough time to make up for the port time.

 

3. All water, whether produced onboard, or taken from port, is treated with chlorine to kill bacteria, before it is placed in the ship's tanks. The water that is circulated through the ship's piping is constantly being monitored and treated with chlorine to maintain the required USPH residual chlorine level. This is why many say the water tastes funny. Chlorine is also an agent of water retention in humans.

 

4. The drinking water dispensers, soda guns at the bars, and ice makers all have carbon filters attached to remove the chlorine (it causes problems with the internals of the machinery), so many swear by only drinking the water in the buffet, and this is why.

 

5. A ship of 2200 passengers and 900 crew will use about 800-1000 metric tons (200,000-260,000 gallons) per day.

 

6. Some water is also reclaimed from the A/C units (if you've got one at your house, you know about the condensate pump to take away the water). Depending on the itinerary and time of year, this can be 100-200 metric tons per day. This water is generally used in the ship's laundry.

 

7. Food waste is ground to the consistency of oatmeal, and is pumped overboard at night. This can amount to 10 cubic meters of food waste.

 

8. Most cruise ships these days have what is called an "Advanced Waste Water Treatment" system. This system takes ALL of the water used onboard: gray water from sinks and showers, galley water from sinks and dishwashers, laundry water, black water from toilets, and processes it before sending it over the side when at sea. These plants can treat water to nearly pure drinking water status. They are tested every other month for whether they meet the requirements for coliform bacteria that they are sending over the side. It is better than 90% of municipal systems. There is one engineer whose sole duty is to operate and maintain the waste water treatment system. These systems will handle the full amount of water used onboard (800-1000 metric tons/day on the ship I referenced above), in a constant treatment flow, and when in port, the water is stored in tanks for discharge at sea.

Edited July 13, 2015 by UniPac

[robtulipe]

A sodium ion, which has a Molecular Weight of 23, is only slightly larger than a water molecule, MW of 18, so it is extremely difficult or almost impossible to produce a Reverse Osmosis membrane with all openings or pores that will only allow water or H2O to pass through.

One of the problem with taking on ground fresh water while the ship is in port is this water mostly comes from low laying land areas close to the sea, applies to most of the ports in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas and Florida, is the ground fresh water floats on top of a salt or blackish water table and that fresh water is being depleted. The result is more salt is entering or contamination those fresh water supplies.

Edited July 13, 2015 by robtulipe

[Bowie MeMe]

I know from my research that the use on cruise ships of Reverse Osmosis to supplement Waste Engine Heat Distillation (evaporated and condensed process) to provide the ship's water from sea water can result in that the ship's water having a high sodium content.

Reverse Osmosis is more likely to be used on itineraries with close together port stops like the Eastern Caribbean out of San Juan where there isn't a lot of sail time and distance between the ports so the main ship engines are in operation less time thus less waste engine heat is available for the distillation process. RO water purification is less likely to be used on long distance cruises (TA, repositioning and Hawaii from mainland) where there is lots of waste heat available from the engines to operate the water distillation units with the distances the ship is covering.

The above information is from a university professor with a doctorate in chemical engineering who use to work for a major engineering firm that designed water treatment system. Simple stated it is difficult to design a RO membrane that can physically separate salts, mostly NaCl, from sea water, mostly H2O, since both are similar in size. RO is much more effective in removing much larger molecular weigh and size organic compounds that when in drinking water gives it a bad taste and color.

Also DW's and my experience in the past is that we have had less limb swelling drinking ship's water on our long distance cruises than on our many eastern Caribbean ones.

 

That's interesting. I guess since I take more long distance cruises to lands where the water supply is unsure than I take short Caribbean cruise this may be why my experience is different. Unfortunately leg swelling is more of a problem at home than it used to be and if I make bad food choices (ham/bacon/hot dogs etc) I immediately swell up for a few days:(. Medications for common "elder" diseases like high blood pressure and heart etc can also cause swelling. I will travel with my beloved Orthoheel flip flops and maxi dresses --- problem if not solved at least doesn't show to others.

[robtulipe]

DW and I have learned to avoid many of the highly salted foods, like soups and those that are cured or with sauces, onboard cruise ships.

Edited July 13, 2015 by robtulipe

[orville99]

If you get the bottled water package, they deliver all the bottles in your package to your stateroom at room temparature, and it's up to you to cool them.

 

If you get bottled water as part of the Replenish, Premium, or Ultimate beverage packages, then they are cold.

 

You can also get ice water at any of the ship's bars, and depending on which ship you're on you can also get ice water at some of the food venues (i.e. Park Café; Sorrento's; Promenade Café, etc.) With the basic "Refreshment" package (soda cups), you can also get ice water at the freestyle machines.

[Formerly known as Seabee]

And remember...the bottled water you purchase has absolutely no regulatory restrictions on it and is not monitored by any required testing. Could be full of nasty little things. :rolleyes:

[Setting sail for fun]

I am thinking of ordering the Royal Replenish package for my upcoming cruise.

 

I have had problems with swelling when drinking the water and flavored waters on board ship.

 

I know the bottled water will be fine. Does anyone know about the other drinks offered in this package? Are the cokes made with ships water?

 

Sorry if this is a silly question.

[2CatsInFlorida]

Found the information on water treatment below. I will keep using the Evian bottled water.

 

 

Reverse osmosis, also, by removing alkaline mineral constituents of water, produces acidic water. Acidic water can be dangerous to the body system, causing calcium and other essential minerals to be stripped from bones and teeth in order to neutralize its acidity. Trace elements of minerals were intended to be in water; their removal leaves tasteless, unhealthy drinking water.

[Setting sail for fun]

I actually don't drink bottled water at home. It is just the effect that I get from drinking the water on the ship (swelling). I am sure it may not effect everyone.

[perditax]

Would love a link to research showing that drinking filtered water on a cruise is "dangerous".

 

Research, not a random web site.

[searoses]

It's not dangerous....it's too salty for some people who are sensitive...I am one of them.....my Dr asked me to try it on my last cruise.....I was shocked there was a marked difference !.....plan to bring my own water next time to see if the same happens...