Oceania to ban plastic drinking bottles

[cbb]

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/20315-oceania-cruises-to-eliminate-plastic-water-bottles.html?fbclid=IwAR2gJabAyxQ-nveir5eCPM7UmHCmMLswtEfACMT9QpnZwC820bZT3GlQb1s

 

you'll be given reusable ones and you can take them home!

[LHT28]

it will be interesting to see how this works

too bad it starts after our TA on Marina

 

I hope they supply soap in the cabin to clean the bottles

[KS&JW]

I'm excited about this.  We don't use disposable water bottles at home and I did not like using them on the ship.  Especially since we drink a lot of water.  

[GeezerCouple]

What does this actually mean, especially this part:

 

"Phase One focuses on implementing the onboard water service in suites, staterooms, restaurants, lounges and bars which will start in April and is expected to be completed by mid-June, the company said."

 

Will there be water - both still and sparkling - dispensers in the cabins/suites??  

That would mean a lot of plumbing, or individual units (like SodaStream?) in each?

 

Interesting.

GC

[LHT28]

Time will tell

at least  April is not far off before the 1st phase begins

[GeezerCouple]

1 minute ago, LHT28 said:

Time will tell

at least  April is not far off before the 1st phase begins

 

Right.  And we'll be on board Marina in early May.

We'll report back whatever we find.

 

GC

[hiccups]

We were provided with metal water bottles on our 2015 Uniworld river cruise.  Glad to see this practice spreading to ocean cruising.

[catsngoats]

This is wonderful.  All kinks should be worked out by my Jan 2020 sail on Marina.

[emd138]

5 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

What does this actually mean, especially this part:

 

"Phase One focuses on implementing the onboard water service in suites, staterooms, restaurants, lounges and bars which will start in April and is expected to be completed by mid-June, the company said."

 

Will there be water - both still and sparkling - dispensers in the cabins/suites??  

That would mean a lot of plumbing, or individual units (like SodaStream?) in each?

 

Interesting.

GC

This is what was in a different article:

"All passenger accommodations will be outfitted with one-liter reusable glass bottles of still and or sparkling Vero Water, and cabin stewards will replenish as needed."

[edgee]

5 hours ago, LHT28 said:

it will be interesting to see how this works

too bad it starts after our TA on Marina

 

I hope they supply soap in the cabin to clean the bottles

The cause is a just one but some questions: Sanitation is a big concern here. On a long cruise, especially, if you are schlepping these bottles on excursions all over the world, then bring them back on the ship, how sanitary can that be? Also, what will the option to clean/sanitize them? Will their be a charge for replacement if they are stolen by a monkey in Costa Rica? ....or just plain forgotten somewhere?

[LHT28]

Before they gave out free bottled water I took a refillable one  & a small container of dish soap & would wash/rinse nightly

 

I can only imagine  the extra work this will cause housekeeping staff if they have to run to their pantry to refill  the bottles left in the cabins

we may not get rooms cleaned until dinner time

[StanandJim]

42 minutes ago, edgee said:

The cause is a just one but some questions: Sanitation is a big concern here. On a long cruise, especially, if you are schlepping these bottles on excursions all over the world, then bring them back on the ship, how sanitary can that be? Also, what will the option to clean/sanitize them? Will their be a charge for replacement if they are stolen by a monkey in Costa Rica? ....or just plain forgotten somewhere?

I believe that they will continuously replace the empty bottles with sanitary new ones, processed through the ships' bottle washing dishwasher.  

[GeezerCouple]

IF they issue reusable metal bottles:

 

The thought of metal "bottles" to use throughout a cruise is unappealing.  What is inside... is it clean?  Is there moss - or lesser organisms - growing inside?  

The ways one could clean something like this at home just aren't possible on a cruise, and without even being able to see inside...

Blech!

 

GC

[edgee]

4 minutes ago, StanandJim said:

I believe that they will continuously replace the empty bottles with sanitary new ones, processed through the ships' bottle washing dishwasher.  

I certainly hope you are right, but the way they mention a bottle "you can take home" seems to indicate they would be like coca cola containers mainstream cruise lines offer when you purchase a drink package...you get one and its yours to keep. 

[GeezerCouple]

4 minutes ago, edgee said:

I certainly hope you are right, but the way they mention a bottle "you can take home" seems to indicate they would be like coca cola containers mainstream cruise lines offer when you purchase a drink package...you get one and its yours to keep. 

 

We only have incomplete information at this point.

However, it does sound like with the two stages, the bottles that they refill (and sanitize) for in cabin/on-board use might be quite different from what is issued to take off the ship.

 

For that second usage, glass would be too fragile.  Metal... opaque...  Plastic defeats the entire enterprise!

Maybe wood?  That's nice and sanitary, and so convenient to carry as well   Well, it can be recycled, so not all is lost!

 

<since smiles or twinkly eyes cannot be seen online, that is a joke!>

 

GC

[Paulchili]

What do people do at home with their in the car coffee cups, which are sometimes metal (obviously I am not talking about the McDonalds disposable cups).

Do they put it into a sterilizer or do they just wash it out with warm/hot water? Do they actually buy a new metal sippy cup every day for the coffee in the car?

Why can’t the same thing be done on the ship, especially if you are the only one reusing it?

Edited February 1, 2019 by Paulchili

[Classiccruiser777]

Excellent news in my book. The less single use garbage created the better.

[shank63]

Whatever it is, let’s hope it’s a better solution than the paper straws.

[LHT28]

they have glass & some sort of plastic bottles

https://www.verowater.com/

[LHT28]

57 minutes ago, shank63 said:

Whatever it is, let’s hope it’s a better solution than the paper straws.

do they have paper straws now?

[sailfar]

So it is excellent to get rid of all those plastic bottles.  One thing that concerns me is something I witnessed on my last cruise, the room stewardess dumped the somewhat empty and full water glasses in our room into the ice bucket. This was a shortcut in time for her, but the possibility of passing germs from one roommate to another, and ice bucket exchanged with another room  a chance for norovirus spreading room to room like wildfire.  After I witnessed this, I stopped using ice from the ice bucket and escaped getting norovirus on several cruises.

 

It would be nice to get rid of all the paper with ink and lamenated notices that we get in our room each day also, while we are trying to save the planet.  We need a dedicated channel on the TV with all the advertising.   All we need is the schedule of the day on a channel. and a reminder to put the port authority numbers into our smart phones. Our account on TV would also save a lot of paper and time spent at the desk downstairs.e

 

In any event we fully support this effort and will bring a small bottle of dish detergent to use with hot water to keep our bottles clean.  We do this at home.

 

Keep up the good work Oceania.  We love cruising with you and are on our 26th cruise!

[edgee]

3 hours ago, Paulchili said:

What do people do at home with their in the car coffee cups, which are sometimes metal (obviously I am not talking about the McDonalds disposable cups).

Do they put it into a sterilizer or do they just wash it out with warm/hot water? Do they actually buy a new metal sippy cup every day for the coffee in the car?

Why can’t the same thing be done on the ship, especially if you are the only one reusing it?

Generally I agree with your point except I am not sure how the refilling stations will be designed. If folks filling bottles touch the rim to the water dispenser lots of potential for transmission of germs...thinking potential noro virus spread here. Also, the idea of paying for a luxury cruise but having to bring dishwashing soap to wash your water bottle does not appeal to me.

[Paulchili]

32 minutes ago, edgee said:

Generally I agree with your point except I am not sure how the refilling stations will be designed. If folks filling bottles touch the rim to the water dispenser lots of potential for transmission of germs...thinking potential noro virus spread here. Also, the idea of paying for a luxury cruise but having to bring dishwashing soap to wash your water bottle does not appeal to me.

Hopefully the refilling stations will be like those at the airports which are activated by a sensor and the bottles tops are well below the spout; if you lift your bottle too close to the spout the water will not flow as the sensor will not be triggered; or they could be activated only by holding & pressing your bottle down - hence you cannot touch the spout while filling your bottle . Since the size of the bottles will be known and constant, either model would work if designed properly.  Also, it sounds like people will have the option to refill their bottles in their own cabin from botttles of still & carbonated water, thus avoiding any contact of their bottles with “strangers”.

As far as the soap, I will not be bringing any. I will be the only one using my bottle and am not likely to self infect myself. If I don’t have the Noro I will not suddenly give it to myself. Washing the bottle with hot water under these circumstances will suffice for me. Treat it like your toothbrush - I don’t normally use dishwasher soap between uses as it is my own toothbrush - I just rinse it. Maybe some people do use dishwasher soap after every use?

As always, YMMV

Edited February 1, 2019 by Paulchili

[LHT28]

11 minutes ago, sailfar said:

So it is excellent to get rid of all those plastic bottles.  One thing that concerns me is something I witnessed on my last cruise, the room stewardess dumped the somewhat empty and full water glasses in our room into the ice bucket. This was a shortcut in time for her, but the possibility of passing germs from one roommate to another, and ice bucket exchanged with another room  a chance for norovirus spreading room to room like wildfire.  After I witnessed this, I stopped using ice from the ice bucket and escaped getting norovirus on several cruises.

 

I stopped useing the ice in the bucket  when I saw pax helping themselves from the cart in the hall while  the staff were busy

 

not everyone has a smart phone  so I need paper with  port agent's info plus other things

[LHT28]

Just now, Paulchili said:

 

Treat it like your toothbrush - I don’t normally use dishwasher soap between uses as it is my own toothbrush - I just rinse it. Maybe some people do use dishwasher soap after every use?

As always, YMMV

I put toothbrush in a glass with some mouth wash  figure the alcohol will kill any germs 😉