Use of laundry in the Amazon

[ToadsDad]

For those of you that have taken a cruise up the Amazon, can you tell me if the self-serve laundry was available to use or were there restrictions when cruising on the river.  Thanks.

[eylarson]

All waste water is stored on the ship, ocean or river.  

[chengkp75]

8 hours ago, eylarson said:

All waste water is stored on the ship, ocean or river.  

Well, I would say that all waste water is treated on the ship, not stored.  Ships the size of Viking's will generate about 400-500 tons of waste water per day, so storing that would cost a lot in fuel to carry around until they could pump it out for treatment.  The ship's waste water treatment plant handles the black water from toilets, the gray water from sinks, showers, laundries, galleys, and dining venues.  There are no special restrictions on treated waste water discharges in the Amazon basin, to my knowledge.  Besides, most cruise ship waste water treatment plants are designed to turn all waste water to near pure fresh drinkable water before it is discharged.

[Pushka]

Similarly the use of laundries is banned when cruising through the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. 

[Heidi13]

On 11/23/2018 at 6:40 PM, eylarson said:

All waste water is stored on the ship, ocean or river.  

Agree with Chengkp75's response, blue water cruise ships don't have the storage space to store black/gray water until finding a port with treatment facilities. The costs of pumping ashore for treatment/disposal is also high.

 

All modern cruise ships have a treatment plant that treats the black & grey water, which is then pumped ashore, as fresh water.

 

I am also not aware of any restrictions for discharging treated waste water in the Amazon River. Although, I have not yet sailed on the Amazon, my best guess is that I see no reason to close the pax or crew self-service laundries. 

[Peregrina651]

That said, perhaps it is best to ask this question of Viking directly. You can reach them at tellus@vikingcruises.com

[ToadsDad]

For anyone that's interested in my original question, I'm currently on the ship and heading for the Amazon.  According to the captain, the self-serve laundry will be closed during the 8 days we'll be in the Amazon, due to the fact that the ship cannot produce fresh water for use while in the river.  It sounds like we'll also be asked to conserve water as much as possible in our daily life during that time.  I don't know what the restrictions will be for sending laundry to be done by the ship.

[chengkp75]

On 11/29/2018 at 2:28 PM, ToadsDad said:

For anyone that's interested in my original question, I'm currently on the ship and heading for the Amazon.  According to the captain, the self-serve laundry will be closed during the 8 days we'll be in the Amazon, due to the fact that the ship cannot produce fresh water for use while in the river.  It sounds like we'll also be asked to conserve water as much as possible in our daily life during that time.  I don't know what the restrictions will be for sending laundry to be done by the ship.

Ah, that makes sense, but I'm interested in why they don't take on water from shore.  I assume you are going to Manaus for at least a day?  I was on a ship in Manaus for a month, and we took shore water (brought to use by small boats as we were anchored), and with normal chlorination procedures we had no issues with the water.  You would likely not make up all consumption, but it would limit any restrictions on water usage.  Sounds like Viking has not thought this through.  Is this their first Amazon sailing?

[Peregrina651]

On 11/27/2018 at 9:34 PM, Peregrina651 said:

That said, perhaps it is best to ask this question of Viking directly. You can reach them at tellus@vikingcruises.com

 

On 11/29/2018 at 2:28 PM, ToadsDad said:

For anyone that's interested in my original question, I'm currently on the ship and heading for the Amazon.  According to the captain, the self-serve laundry will be closed during the 8 days we'll be in the Amazon, due to the fact that the ship cannot produce fresh water for use while in the river.  It sounds like we'll also be asked to conserve water as much as possible in our daily life during that time.  I don't know what the restrictions will be for sending laundry to be done by the ship.

 

LOL. Can't get more direct than that.