Oceania to ban plastic drinking bottles

[LHT28]

they have photos of the dispensers on the website  just depends on what O orders I guess

https://www.verowater.com/systems

[cbb]

just added 'small squeeze bottle of detergent" to my list of cruise stuff and now i feel all righteous for doing this.  Big fan of this decision by O! 

 

[RJB]

13 hours 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?

+ 1

[cbb]

The bottles that are a big sanitation concern when taken into port don't worry me.  I regularly brought back the throw-away bottles that O gave me on the way out, plus my hands & shoes were not sterile when I reboarded.

 

I know O tries to put a cleansing mat & hand station at the bottom of the stairwell, but I've seen people step over the mat and not use the hand station.

 

No matter how hard we try we are going to come in contact with "stuff" but if I can wash my hands, carefully rinse the soles of my shoes, (keep that cabin carpet clean!) and wash out a bottle then I've done what I can for myself.  (plus I'm not adding to the plastic bottle problem we saw around the world)

[BillPizzaiolo]

8 hours ago, LHT28 said:

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

Better yet a nice bottle of Vodka or Grappa to wipe out any germs would work for me.  

[RJ2002]

I applaud O for taking this step. 

 

Even after just one O cruise, it strikes me as the type of cruise line and management team that will ensure passengers aren't having to drink the filtered water from unclean reusable bottles.

[doowopbob]

12 hours ago, LHT28 said:

do they have paper straws now?

Yes they do.  Just came back from cruise on Marina.  For the first part they had no straws at all, then you got the paper ones which to be honest I would rather have none.

[pinotlover]

Uniworld River Cruises has been handing out the metal water containers for at least a year. We used them last summer/ Fall in Europe. Theirs even comes with a clip so it can hang from a backpack. They are great!

 

one filled them from the water dispenser daily. This meant you had to think and refill it and not just grab a bottle while walking off ship. Thinking was difficult for some and they’d end up buying water or cola along the way because they’d have nothing to drink. Not thinking on a hot day is not a good plan, especially when visiting remote spots!

 

We’d rinse them out and wipe off the mouth piece every morning, never a problem! As an old soldier that would drink solely out of his canteen for weeks at a time, this fear of contamination is humorous! The only thing it got after crawling  through the mud and the brush , with it on our sides, was maybe a swipe of the hand. Where are you expecting to be dragging that water bottle that you expect all these harmful bacteria?

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, doowopbob said:

Yes they do.  Just came back from cruise on Marina.  For the first part they had no straws at all, then you got the paper ones which to be honest I would rather have none.

well  I guess i will have to see how they work with the milkshakes  & if not good  then will give up on milkshakes onboard

[shank63]

36 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

well  I guess i will have to see how they work with the milkshakes  & if not good  then will give up on milkshakes onboard

I bring a supply of plastic straws when traveling and where necessary use clandestinely.

[Paulchili]

6 minutes ago, shank63 said:

I bring a supply of plastic straws when traveling and where necessary use clandestinely.

How do you dispose of them?

[Paulchili]

5 hours ago, cbb said:

just added 'small squeeze bottle of detergent" to my list of cruise stuff and now i feel all righteous for doing this.  Big fan of this decision by O! 

 

Cynthia,

whatever floats your boat (or ship) 

Detergents are known more for their ability to cut the grease than their antimicrobial activity. How the detergent will exactly help to “sterilize” the bottle, other than make you feel better, I am not sure. 

That said, feeling better is good and not to be dismissed 🙂

I too feel that eliminating as much plastic as we can is a good thing.

[cbb]

Paul,

The ONLY reason that i'm adding the deterg is that I went online and several sites said to use detergent to clean the bottle EVERY day. 

 

Seriously doubt that i'll do that, but research said essentially that in trying to go green, we should make sure that green things aren't growing in our drink container.  So I thought perhaps I'd take a little 3 oz squeeze bottle; i'm not trying to sterilize anything.

 

Of course I'm someone who reuses a plastic water bottle and when it starts to look gnarly and bent then i pitch it.  I'm not a very picky person......

[ORV]

16 hours ago, Paulchili said:

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

There you go making sense again. Stop that. 

 

One thing I see happening is due to this new policy that people will start bringing their own containers, for a number of reasons, they don't like the one ones provided, etc. This opens the door for people to walk around the ship with drinks from their room. Heads will explode. I can't wait. 

[pinotlover]

ORV;

 

I love it!! The new champagne flutes, martini glasses, or whatever one wants! Head will be exploding!😂

 

Speaking of that, who says that water bottle is full of water? Maybe they’ll fill it with gin and tonic and carry it in their OP cold pack! 😜. Maybe they don’t want to waste any volume with the tonic! Those 2 hour bus rides could become a lot more enjoyable! 😂  

 

Vodka can be a great sterilization tool! Who wants detergent! 😄🤫

Edited February 1, 2019 by pinotlover

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, cbb said:

Paul,

The ONLY reason that i'm adding the deterg is that I went online and several sites said to use detergent to clean the bottle EVERY day. 

 

Seriously doubt that i'll do that, but research said essentially that in trying to go green, we should make sure that green things aren't growing in our drink container.  So I thought perhaps I'd take a little 3 oz squeeze bottle; i'm not trying to sterilize anything.

 

some re usable  water bottles get slimy after a few uses if not cleaned  I see no problem using a drop of soap either

then rinse with hot water

[LHT28]

30 minutes ago, ORV said:

. This opens the door for people to walk around the ship with drinks from their room. Heads will explode. I can't wait. 

do not give them ideas 

[cbb]

"This opens the door for people to walk around the ship with drinks from their room." 

 

Dang Paul, I had already thought of that.....and i wonder what the sterilization factor is for white wine--particularly the Villa Maria Sav Blanc?   I'll research that one personally!!!

 

[GeezerCouple]

4 minutes ago, cbb said:

"This opens the door for people to walk around the ship with drinks from their room." 

 

Dang Paul, I had already thought of that.....and i wonder what the sterilization factor is for white wine--particularly the Villa Maria Sav Blanc?   I'll research that one personally!!!

 

 

As long as you let the wine slosh all over the glass and onto your hands, you'll fine... nicely all cleaned up!

 

 

GC

[Paulchili]

8 hours ago, ORV said:

There you go making sense again. Stop that. 

I'll try but no firm commitment for now

[floridatravelersforlife]

Gosh, I hope Vero water is better than what we experienced on the Celebrity Edge.  Celebrity adopted metal beer type  prepackaged containers for it's  water offering.  To us the water was awful, lots of after taste.  Plus the ingredients list was exactly the same as Desani purified water.  Ugh!   Far off from the Spring Water that used to be offered.

[RJB]

32 minutes ago, floridatravelersforlife said:

Gosh, I hope Vero water is better than what we experienced on the Celebrity Edge.  Celebrity adopted metal beer type  prepackaged containers for it's  water offering.  To us the water was awful, lots of after taste.  Plus the ingredients list was exactly the same as Desani purified water.  Ugh!   Far off from the Spring Water that used to be offered.

This is not what we are paying thousands of dollars for.  Need to find a better way or leave things as is.  No way I am going to spend my time cleaning water bottles.  Can stay home and do that. 

[pinotlover]

Must say there is a large douse of irony and a bit of humor with this thread! We have one thread going where people adamantly refuse to get recommended vaccinations and this one where people are worried about possible germs on a drinking container only they use! 😂

Edited February 2, 2019 by pinotlover

[Aloha 1]

My biggest concern is the system uses the desalinated water produced on board. That water has a much higher sodium content than the water found in Dasani, etc..That's a big concern for those who need to restrict salt intake. I cannot find anything on the Vero website that says they remove sodium from the water.

[BillPizzaiolo]

11 minutes ago, Aloha 1 said:

My biggest concern is the system uses the desalinated water produced on board. That water has a much higher sodium content than the water found in Dasani, etc..That's a big concern for those who need to restrict salt intake. I cannot find anything on the Vero website that says they remove sodium from the water.

Are you sure of those facts?  From my experience desalinated water used on ships has no minerals and no salt because it is used in the turbines which would be damaged by those ingredients in H2O.  That's one reason why it tastes different from spring water.

 

Yes people could get germs from their own water bottles depending on who they kiss or if they touch a dirty handrail and then touch their face or touch the cap and threads of the bottle. Too much to worry about but fun to see how much time we can waste on line, trolling each other.