Any plan to eliminate plastic water bottles? Like Oceania?

[RachelG]

We have glass recycling and don’t have to remove labels.  But plastics are a whole different thing.  They are very picky about what type of plastic.  Hard plastic only, no plastic films or soft plastic.  Very annoying.

 

as far as on ships, we found the reusable water bottles on Oceania not great.  I was concerned about bacteria as they are not sealed.  And I don’t know when they get washed.  It just seemed they got refilled.

[Anchorbuoy]

Looks like it has happened:

https://www.rssc.com/news

 

Regent Seven Seas Cruises® Will Enhance Guest Experience and Environmental Commitment By Serving Vero Still And Sparkling Water Starting Spring 2019

Transition to Vero Water® purification system will eliminate approximately 2 million plastic water bottles annually across the Regent fleet

MIAMI (Feb. 11, 2019) – Regent Seven Seas Cruises^®, the leading luxury ocean cruise line, today announced it will serve guests prestigious Vero Still and Sparkling water fleetwide starting this spring. Vero is the gold-standard on-premise water purification system in luxury hotels, resorts and Michelin starred restaurants worldwide, using a proprietary five-stage Nano-Filtration process to reduce impurities, chemicals and imperfections – resulting in a perfectly refreshing and smooth taste.

[Anchorbuoy]

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/20364-regent-to-eliminate-2-million-single-use-plastic-water-bottles-annually.html

 

Regent to Eliminate 2 Million Single-Use Plastic Water Bottles Annually

The transition from traditional bottled water to premium Vero Still and Sparkling water will eliminate approximately two million plastic bottles annually across the cruise line’s fleet while improving the taste of complimentary still and sparkling water, the company said.

Vero’s onboard purification and filling process will enable the cruise line to purify, chill and serve in Vero luxury glass bottles still and sparkling water on all its ships.

“Regent is committed to providing an unrivaled experience that includes serving our guests the very best tasting water on their voyage,” said Jason Montague, president and chief executive officer of Regent Seven Seas Cruises. “In addition, the Vero water purification system helps reduce our carbon footprint and sustains our beautiful natural resources.”

As part of its Sail & Sustain environmental program, Regent will be the first luxury ocean cruise line to eliminate single-use plastic bottles, according to a press release. 

The cruise line also recently eliminated single-use plastic straws.

“We are delighted to be a part of the preeminent luxury guest experience on board Regent Seven Seas Cruises,” said David Deshe, Vero Water founder and president. “It’s truly a privilege to partner with a world leader in luxury cruising and an organization that is committed to pioneering environmental stewardship in the travel industry. Working together, we anticipate preventing millions of single-use plastic bottles from ever being produced, shipped and ultimately ending up polluting the environment.”

Vero Water service will be implemented in two phases during the coming year. Phase One focuses on implementing the onboard water service in suites, restaurants, lounges and bars o board Seven Seas Voyager (by April 5), Seven Seas Explorer (by April 8), Seven Seas Mariner (by June 5) and Seven Seas Navigator (by June 18).

In Phase Two, guests will be provided with their own eco-friendly reusable Vero Water bottle.

Edited February 11, 2019 by Anchorbuoy

[UUNetBill]

Very interesting...

 

[Gcto]

Interesting is one way of putting it :-)

I looked at the Vero site and read their info, watched the video etc. Got tons of questions how this is implemented to make it usable for the passengers. 

1. Will each cabin have one of their dispensers ? That would be a lot of plumbing in each suite. 

2. If not, how will the bottle(s) be refilled ? Will their be a set amount of bottles for each passenger (1 ? ) and you go and refill at refill stations ? Or will Cabin staff refill ? 

3. How do I get more water during the night (or day) when the bottle runs out ? Call room service ? Slipper on to the next refill station ? Usually we have a few bottles of water in the fridge at all times. If there is just one bottle per passenger...this might be an issue.

4. Statement by Regent announces reusable plastic bottles for off the ship use. Those can be refilled where ? Vero site states that their bigger refill stations can provide 75 liters of chilled water per hour. That'll be fun when leaving the ship when everyone tries to refill their bottles at the exit :-)  And we thought TSA lines were bad :-)

 

Like with so many recycling issues, a good system not only serves the intended purpose, but also makes it convenient for passengers to use.

 

Food (water) for thought.   

[Travelcat2]

I would like to learn more information on the quality of the water and what methods are used to clean the bottles.  Will they use the same "treated" water that is on the ship?  And, will they still serve Perrier on the ship during meals?  

[MalbecWine]

When we went on another line to the Galapagos we had refill stations to fill our bottles and it was reverse osmosis ship water.  No plastic is allowed there and in fact where we live plastic straws are going away next month only biodegradable straws will be allowed.  

[mikenbob]

This is awesome news and a wonderful commitment to keeping plastic out of the oceans.  We have used this service at five-star luxury resorts and it is much easier than one may think.  Your grandchildren and great-granchildren will thank you!

[Travelcat2]

Still want to know if anyone knows the quality of this water and what water is used to wash the bottles.  This issue is 100% different than what is done in land resorts - whether five-star, six-star or whatever, land resorts do not have to make their own water as cruise ships do.

[DAK1405]

First time post here.    We always enjoyed reading these boards and have learned so much over last few years. Thank you, to all of you, who take time to share your knowledge and personal opinions.    We have become frequent Regent cruisers in the past two years (Crystal Before) and have come to love it!

This subject is very interesting and important to us because we consume many bottles of water at the GYM  (especially the Gatorade and Vitamin Zero brands), and lots more inside the men's spa area while using the steam and sauna.    We enjoy the ease and convenience of taking multiple bottles, as we depart the ship for tours and excursions.   On long tours, it's very convenient to be able to dispose of the bottles as they are consumed.   Perrier is the water of choice, for lunch and dinner.   We are all for saving the environment, however, this is our vacation and we are paying well over a thousand dollars a night......... washing and cleaning water bottles doesn't scream luxury to us.   The sanitation issue is also a major concern!

Thank You..

 

P.S> Still missing Montaudon!

[Travelcat2]

While I agree with DAK1405, I checked out the verowater.com website.  It is used by high end hotels which, as I previously mentioned, there is a heck of a difference between water being filtered on land and at sea.  However, it is a nice sounding system.

 

My concern about how it is cleaned ends up being irrelevant since we eat from dishes and glassware that are washed by Regent all of the time. 

 

Interestingly, when I went into one section of their website, lo and behold - there was a Regent ship and an article about the upcoming implementation.  It sounds as if Regent is the first cruise ship that this will be on

 

Still up in the air but as DAK1405 indicated, it does not scream luxury.

[mikenbob]

Not looking to start an argument, but filtering water via reverse osmosis on land, sea, or air (international space station) is essentially the same.  The primary difference on a cruise is that the water must first be desalinated.  Beyond that, the process to remove bacteria and particulates is essentially the same.  The end product is pure, safe water.  Regent ships wash thousands of drinking glasses, pitchers, bottles, and other glass products every day in a sanitary environment, so knowthey will implement this program with few issues.

 

I would assume that Regent will continue to carry other fluid replenishment options such as Gatorade, Vitamin water, and perhaps some other branded waters.  

 

We can disagree, but I applaud Regent's leadership in this area.  Having cruised right beside a nearly mile-wide floating plastic (mostly bottles) island in the Pacific, it was clear that we must all share in the responsibility to take care of our planet...even on vacation.

[UUNetBill]

Of course, reducing plastic waste is a good thing - but - it seems to me the bigger problem is poor waste management/lack of recycling that's causing the problems.  Seems to me that educating people and providing an easy and convenient way to recycle plastics would be a more cost-effective solution.

 

Personally, I use reusable plastic water bottles at work and when I'm out and about - I don't often use disposable plastic bottles.  But I do on Regent just because that's the available option.  I'd gladly toss my bottles in recycle bins or bags (and always do when they're available).  But oftentimes we don't see handy recycle receptacles, so we end up bringing the bottles back on board and throwing them away there.  Maybe if there were recycle cans more readily available we could have reduced this problem earlier?

 

I guess if I have to carry a glass bottle around with me, well, I'll do it.  But it looks like I'll be bringing a personal bottle with me from now on...

[PaulaJK]

I applaud Regent.

I realize that we dine/drink from dishes and glasses that have been cleaned by machine with their water.

However until I learned how they will implement the cleaning and refilling of these bottles. I remain concerned about hands and germs. Remember all of those concerns about noroviruses?

Also I would like to see a scientific analysis with contrast between Vero and branded bottled Waters’s indeed land and sea might differ.

 

[1982CruzStart]

i carry a stainless steel bottle with me whenever i travel.  Onboard i fill it from the large water bottles as,  at this time, it is the only way but would happily use a filling station.  I try very hard to minimize the use of plastic bottles and never use them at home. 

I simply throw my bottle and lid into the dishwasher periodically.  I am happy to bring a 2nd stainless steel bottle with me when on a cruise in order to eliminate the need for using plastic bottles.  However i see no problem using whatever reusable bottle Regent comes up with either. 

If i can eat and drink using Regent washed dishes and utensils then i don't see a big deal with trusting them to be able to sanitize a bottle. 

[RachelG]

Am I the only person who thinks water out of a stainless steel container tastes weird?

[Travelcat2]

Just now, RachelG said:

Am I the only person who thinks water out of a stainless steel container tastes weird?

 

No I agree - have stainless steel containers that I don't use for that reason.  

 

Someone needs to come up with a plastic water bottle that seals and is "green".  

 

[UUNetBill]

3 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

Someone needs to come up with a plastic water bottle that seals and is "green".  

Here ya go...

 

 

      

[Travelcat2]

16 minutes ago, UUNetBill said:

Here ya go...

 

 

      

 

   Very funny!

[Jason OKeefe]

 

On ‎2‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 5:09 PM, Gcto said:

1. Will each cabin have one of their dispensers ? That would be a lot of plumbing in each suite. 

2. If not, how will the bottle(s) be refilled ? Will their be a set amount of bottles for each passenger (1 ? ) and you go and refill at refill stations ? Or will Cabin staff refill ? 

3. How do I get more water during the night (or day) when the bottle runs out ? Call room service ? Slipper on to the next refill station ? Usually we have a few bottles of water in the fridge at all times. If there is just one bottle per passenger...this might be an issue.

4. Statement by Regent announces reusable plastic bottles for off the ship use. Those can be refilled where ? Vero site states that their bigger refill stations can provide 75 liters of chilled water per hour. That'll be fun when leaving the ship when everyone tries to refill their bottles at the exit :-)  And we thought TSA lines were bad :-)

 

 

Gcto,

I'm happy to answer your questions:

 

Q: Will each suite have a water dispenser?

A: All suites will be provided with one-liter glass bottles of Vero Still and/or Vero Sparkling water that the suite attendant will replenish on a regular basis or as the guests’ request – exactly the same as the free bottled water service is handled on board today. 

 

Q: Where will the reusable bottles be refilled?

A: By year-end we will offer Vero Water for guests to take ashore, during the second phase of the implementation. We expect to supply all guests with their own personal, eco-friendly reusable Vero Water bottle which will be theirs to use for on-shore experiences during the cruise, and to take home after the voyage. For now, we will continue to offer all guests our current free bottled water service to go ashore.  Additional details on the type of reusable bottles and the process to refill will be shared in the coming months.   

[DeepFreeze63]

23 hours ago, mikenbob said:

This is awesome news and a wonderful commitment to keeping plastic out of the oceans.  We have used this service at five-star luxury resorts and it is much easier than one may think.  Your grandchildren and great-granchildren will thank you!

I sincerely doubt thta either Regent or it's customers are throwing ANY plastic bottles in the oceans! I don't mind leading by good example BUT let's remember the gains are to be made in third world countries where economic and cultural changes are needed.

[mikenbob]

1 hour ago, Jason OKeefe said:

 

 

Gcto,

I'm happy to answer your questions:

 

Q: Will each suite have a water dispenser?

A: All suites will be provided with one-liter glass bottles of Vero Still and/or Vero Sparkling water that the suite attendant will replenish on a regular basis or as the guests’ request – exactly the same as the free bottled water service is handled on board today. 

 

Q: Where will the reusable bottles be refilled?

A: By year-end we will offer Vero Water for guests to take ashore, during the second phase of the implementation. We expect to supply all guests with their own personal, eco-friendly reusable Vero Water bottle which will be theirs to use for on-shore experiences during the cruise, and to take home after the voyage. For now, we will continue to offer all guests our current free bottled water service to go ashore.  Additional details on the type of reusable bottles and the process to refill will be shared in the coming months.   

 

Bravo and thank you!

[DAK1405]

Hi guys, my concern on this subject may have been taken the wrong way.   I am all for anything and everything we can do to protect the environment.     However, in many travel situations, a refillable one liter water bottle will not suffice.   This past May, I completed a cruise through the Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Israel etc.    I had quite a few 8 to 11 hour tours.    Upon departing the ship, it was convenient to grab 3 or 4 waters to use throughout the long, hot days.    I recently completed a Caribbean cruise.   Same situation....long days at secluded beaches.    Again, it was convenient to take a few bottles to stay hydrated in the heat.   As I stated before, I use the gym and spa facilities everyday.    Regent stands out, from other lines, by offering Gatorade, Vitamin Water and Vitamin Water Zero.    It would be very disappointing to lose that amenity.    Recently, I traveled on American Airlines.    The attendents handed each passenger a bottle of water in a squarish container fabricated of paper.    Perhaps this could be a solution, both for Regent passengers and the environment.    The paper containers would still allow a smooth debarkation as hundreds of passengers (wanting to take a cold water with them) head out to their scheduled tours.   After sailing on many different cruise lines, I was always impressed how Regent offered the waters at the gangway!    Again, it would be such a shame to see this special feature disappear!

 

 

 

[Travelcat2]

Does anyone know if the water is cooled or room temperature?  I like cold water and my DH likes room temperature.

[captjohn]

The answer is YES- Just announced- Regent says goodbye to plastic in switch to Vero water.