NCL Water Package Change

[dmwnc1959]

Don't know if this has been mentioned already or not - word on the street is that NCL is transitioning away from their current water packaging to these metal containers. The description has also changed to indicate as much...

 

[snorklinbarb]

Yes, had them on Prima recently.

When full they are quite heavy to carry around like on a tour.

I also found them tough to open.

 

Once underway, they were good keeping water cold.

[schmoopie17]

Funny how they mention the plastic bottles being replaced, but not the cardboard containers. It's almost like they never existed.

[stellarose33]

if they are refillable I guess they want us to just one bottle the whole time . I am just brining my standard faux hydro flax. 

[mking8288]

25 minutes ago, snorklinbarb said:

Yes, had them on Prima recently. When full they are quite heavy to carry around like on a tour. I also found them tough to open.

Hi, Barb ... how are you?  We didn't see or had them on the Prima TA, housekeeping must've gave us the remaining paper cartons.

 

Our friends mentioned getting them on the last 2 Joy sailing out of NY, obviously NCL is switching vendor again ... to sail and sustain.  

 

Also, about a 5% reduction per carton or bottle, downsized from 16.9 oz. to 16 oz. (complimentary ones used to be 20 oz. Aquafina for Platinum/+ and higher) ... multiple that by the tens of thousands of cartons for the fleet on a weekly basis, the negotiated cost savings probably add up for procurement/purchasing.  

[Ellis1138]

I'm glad to see this, because the Flow cartons were terrible for the environment. Aluminum bottles, while not ideal for being portable, have a much lower impact.

 

That said, the cruise tap water is generally very high quality and filtered through reverse osmosis, so I drink that.

[goldmom]

Had these recently on the Joy.  I agree, they are heavy and quite hard to open but I like the idea that they are reusable.  They also didn't have the funny taste that I sometimes got from the paper cartons.

[schmoopie17]

55 minutes ago, Ellis1138 said:

 

That said, the cruise tap water is generally very high quality and filtered through reverse osmosis, so I drink that.

We've always had warm tap water on ships. Need to make sure your ice bucket is full.

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, dmwnc1959 said:

Don't know if this has been mentioned already or not - word on the street is that NCL is transitioning away from their current water packaging to these metal containers. The description has also changed to indicate as much...

 

 

 

 

I just mentioned the change in passing on post #187 below. Now, for our old, arthritic hands, the metal cap is really hard to get off. 

 

 

Cans and Cans of water!

[grouchomarx]

We were on a cruise once that had these metal bottles and every single bartender would crack them open before handing them off because they knew how hard they are to open. I don’t like the way the water tastes either.  I drank the least amount of water on that cruise that I ever have.  

[eileeshb]

New item for the packing list then .. lid opener .. 

and if there’s a chance of a taste issue I’ll bring hydration sachets to flavour it. 

[david_sobe]

I am glad for the change (I guess).  Plastic hurt the environment and they said takes too long to dissolve and break apart in landfills.  But would not metal be worse and never break down?  Plastic toxins in the water killing us softly. Now we have metal toxins to look forward to 😲
I could care less but just curious.

Edited June 3 by david_sobe

[eileeshb]

6 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

I am glad for the change (I guess).  Plastic hurt the environment and they said takes too long to dissolve and break apart in landfills.  But would not metal be worse and never break down?  Plastic toxins in the water killing us softly. Now we have metal toxins to look forward to 😲
I could care less but just curious.

The metal is easier to recycle than anything else and those sorts of bottles are safely reusable as they can go into a dishwasher for cleaning. 

[shof515]

is the platinum water also these bottles too or are they still using cartons?

[eileeshb]

I’m waiting to see when they’ll jump onto reusable plastic glasses for the outside bars.

they’ve just introduced a recycle deposit on plastic bottles/cups and metal cans in Ireland. My local stadium now requires a €1 deposit in addition to the cost of your drink and you get the €1 back when you bring the cup back to the recycle desk,  I can’t understand why the cruise lines are not already doing this as the cups are heavier and less likely to blow off the ship into the water. They already use plastic glasses at the buffet beverage stations.

[mking8288]

1 hour ago, shof515 said:

is the platinum water also these bottles too or are they still using cartons?

Platinum/Sapphire friends onboard the Joy last week and the week before sailing to/from Bermuda had these bottled water in the cabin, and 2 of them sailing under CAS, had 12 cans of water waiting ... All, all of them said they're a PITA to twist & open.  

 

On a positive spin, the wide mouth making it easier to reuse and refill at the buffet using a clean glass each time, after rinsing them out - continued to see lots of cruisers ignoring the proper way to refill.  Of course, it would help if NCL invest and install water bottle refilling stations, a common sight at airports and other places ... oh, wait nevermind, then no water sales to sail & sustain.  

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, shof515 said:

is the platinum water also these bottles too or are they still using cartons?

Yes. That was, for the most part, the only bottled water available. 

 

There was still the 1L box of Flow water for sale in the minibar. 

 

There are still Aqua Pana and San Pellegrino for sale in bottles. 

Edited June 4 by BirdTravels

[traelee01]

On the Star and Prima this week, we've had pop top soda cans of water. Once they're open you have no lid or anything.

It actually makes me miss the cartons. Twist cap aluminum would definitely be better than these

[david_sobe]

Just now, traelee01 said:

On the Star and Prima this week, we've had pop top soda cans of water. Once they're open you have no lid or anything.

It actually makes me miss the cartons. Twist cap aluminum would definitely be better than these

Looks like they perfected their cans with these.

[Panhandle Couple]

This last week on the Escape, the water was in std 16 oz "pop top" cans that were not refillable.

Same can as soda or beer.

They are much easier to recycle on board (crushable) or in most any port in the world.

Edited June 4 by Panhandle Couple

[dexddd]

These are very similar to what MSC serves at Ocean House.  Reminds me of a Coors 16 oz.  Maybe one of the beer companies supplies.

 

They are hard to open but no issue with taste.

[PelicanBill]

I wonder if the ships are doing trash/recycling separation or just compacting all trash.  People are REALLY bad about properly using recycling receptacles when offered. Cabins don't have a recycling bin or didn't 2 years ago. We still have large regions in the US that don't even offer household recycling so those people don't think of it at all.  I think most of these cans will be put in trash.

[schmoopie17]

I hate drinking out of those metal (beer) cans. Sharp cold metal on the lips is not a pleasant feeling. If I ever have a beer from a can like that, I always pour it into a glass.

 

Having said that, if people don't like drinking directly out of the cans, they can always pour it into an NCL plastic cup. Kind of defeats the purpose of "sustainable"...

[Two Wheels Only]

6 hours ago, dexddd said:

They are hard to open but no issue with taste.

 

They aren't THAT difficult to open.....compared to trying to open one that has been chilling in a cooler filled with ice and you try to open a can after swimming. 😄

Edited June 4 by Two Wheels Only

[Manchester is blue]

Does the gym still have the chilled filtered water machine where I can fill my water bottles for free ?