Why do you bring water onboard?

[chasetf]

It does amaze me that people pay more for bottled water (by the gallon) than they do for gasoline. :eek: :o :confused:

 

And it is just filtered tap water. :mad:

[piemom9397]

I did tell myself that for the next cruise I would bring more bottled water, but only to take on excursions. Yes, it seems petty to not want to pay $2 for a bottle of water in the Caymans, considering how much we just paid for the cruise, but still! I plan on taking a couple of more & refilling them. The ship's water wasn't baaadd, it was just different. But it is totally wonderful when you're thirsty from swimming or snorkeling in the ocean!

[dot73]

I find that the drinking water in the restaurants tastes really good but that tap water in the room is awful and I don't drink it. I bring a couple of bottles of water on board to keep in my room but drink only ship water in restaurants. Once my room bottles are empty, I just refill them in the buffet restaurant.

[Lowie]

i bring water because for me it is cheaper then having to walk up to a bar or wait person and ask for water, only to be brought a tiny glass and then have to tip that person. and yes, i know i don't HAVE to tip, but i feel it is the right thing to do. also, on carnival the servers gave us attitude when asked for water, we never asked on NCL as we brought our own.

my dh wakes up and downs a huge amount of water every morning and he prefers bottled.

and for excursions i like having a few to bring along.

for 4 people all this really adds up, so we bring a case along and then refill those if we run low.

[ChBoxers800]

Whybring water on board? To mix with my smuggled scotch of course! :D

[cruisinbuddy]

I know this question must have been asked before but the "search" won't work for me today.

 

I see many posts of cruisers wanted to know where they can buy water to bring on the ship. Why? Is the water of bad drinking quality?

 

I am going on my first cruise In December 2008 so I have no experience with food or water.

I just got off of the Crown Princess and drank only the tap water, it tasted better than home. Some people will only drink bottled water. Why I don't know.

[rchauv]

I think it depends on the ship. When I was on Liberty of the Seas it was fine. However, when I was on Majesty of the Seas, the first time I turned on the tap, brown water came out. Eventually it cleared, but I don't care what anyone says, I don't want to drink brown water--even if they tell me it's just food coloring (I actually don't know what it was...all I know is that it was brown).

 

Think iron, the same stuff anemic people take in iron pills. Iron compounds can be used in water treating (flocculent). With flocculation, iron assists in the filtration process by agglomerating the smaller particles in water that cause turbidity. It works when the now larger particles are allowed to settle out or are filtered.

 

Iron won't kill you. When it is found in pipes, it is ususally a result of some small amount of corrosion in a system that has not flowed for a while. But, of course, who wouldn't wait until the water cleared up before using it.

[eltigre]

The water on board is just fine.

I thought the swelling was from the salt used in cooking . . . something I don't get at home.

I always bring one water bottle per suitcase. To take ashore - even if refilled from the ship. And, most importantly, as a "throw down" in the event by suitcase gets selected for a booze search.

 

 

Please explain throw down:confused:

 

 

Learned lots on this subject...I bring a couple of bottles & refill from dispensers not touching spout:p BUT the salt content I didn't know about & with some health concerns that is very important info:o Thanks you all

[NAS-KARR]

I know this question must have been asked before but the "search" won't work for me today.

 

I see many posts of cruisers wanted to know where they can buy water to bring on the ship. Why? Is the water of bad drinking quality?

 

I am going on my first cruise In December 2008 so I have no experience with food or water.

I don't know. . . . . you tell me, because I don't.

[Texas_firefighter]

I know this question must have been asked before but the "search" won't work for me today.

 

I see many posts of cruisers wanted to know where they can buy water to bring on the ship. Why? Is the water of bad drinking quality?

 

I am going on my first cruise In December 2008 so I have no experience with food or water.

 

The ship's water is fine. We do it to have water on excursions or just walking and touring. We just toss a few in a backpack.

[ehfl]

As one who had some experience with water treating, I am wondering whether folks are getting water softening and desalinization confused. In softening, you exchange hardness (mainly Calcium and Magnesium ions) with Sodium ions (supplied from salt) and in that case the Sodium content rises. In desalinization, by definition, you are removing salt from water. That is done by an evaporative process.

 

The port from which I cruise from loads up with city water for its primary source which therefore does not alter the sodium content in either direction.

 

Desalinization on ships is done through reverse osmosis, not evaporation. RO systems are not 100% efficient, and over time, tiny holes develop in the membranes that allow more salt to pass through. Ship water (used for drinking and cooking) contains more salt than most municipal water.

 

You can counteract the additional sodium by taking potassium supplements, or by drinking bottled water.

[arizonaperson]

I know this question must have been asked before but the "search" won't work for me today.

 

I see many posts of cruisers wanted to know where they can buy water to bring on the ship. Why? Is the water of bad drinking quality?

 

I am going on my first cruise In December 2008 so I have no experience with food or water.

 

You can buy bottled water on the ship, they sell big bottles usually near the gangway prior to getting off the ship to go on a shore excursion.

I bring my own onboard because I like the little small bottles, I think they are 8 oz., I buy them at walgreens.

I pack a very small cardboard box with water and small(see the pattern) bottles of wine and check it like luggage on the plane and at the dock side with my luggage,works perfect. Attatch a cruise luggage tag to the box,once you are at the pier. I like my small bottles. Perfect to throw in a purse or backpack to go ashore.:)

[wieslaw]

Desalinization on ships is done through reverse osmosis, not evaporation. RO systems are not 100% efficient, and over time, tiny holes develop in the membranes that allow more salt to pass through. Ship water (used for drinking and cooking) contains more salt than most municipal water.

 

You can counteract the additional sodium by taking potassium supplements, or by drinking bottled water.

 

 

Hi,

 

perhaps you have the knowledge how the water is produced on ships that I do not ...... but this information is provided for the Mariner of the Seas:

 

" Fresh water production

Two Alfa Laval Desalt Steam Flash and Energy Recovery Evaporators - each one produces 230,000 gallons / 900 metric tons per 24 hour period ( that will be 460,000 gallons or 1,800 metric tons for the two evaporators in 24 hours).

 

One Pall Rochem Sea-Water Desalination Unit (Reverse Osmosis) "Rosmarin" 80404-50/300-A-SW - produces 80,000gallons / 300 metric tons per 24 hour period. "

 

So the main production of fresh water on that ship is done with the evaporators.

 

On Celebrity's Constelation"

"The drinking water is produced by two evaporators of flash type Serk Como - 184,920 gal each per 24 hours period

and one reverse osmosis - 106,000 gal per 24hr.

 

So that ship got most of the fresh water from using the evaporators.

 

Wes

[Vampire Parrot]

Nearly all modern cruise ships produce their water using evaporators. For example, the Carnival Spirit class (and direct derivitives such as HAL's Vista class, P&O's Arcadia and Cunard's Queen Victoria) have two 650 ton-per-day evaporators to produce fresh water.

 

They also have a reverse osmosis plant, but it's capacity is much lower.

 

VP

[Jungle Jane]

I just got off of the Crown Princess and drank only the tap water, it tasted better than home. Some people will only drink bottled water. Why I don't know.

 

 

Because as a few of us have said, the room tap water tasted terrible. I did find the restaurant water to be fine but would not be comfortable bringing my empty water bottles to the restaurant and filling them up. Rather just bring or buy bottled water for in my room or at port.

 

I have yet to taste bad bottled water but have tasted plenty of off tasting tap water.

 

Water is too important to me to suffer with icky tasting water-if it tastes bad I won't drink it and it's too important to flushing your system and keeping you hydrated to skip, esp. in that heat.

 

To each their own, it's really not that big of a deal.

[Tinkrbell]

I think the tap water is great and notice no difference from home. I think many people take water because they don't drink tap water at home either. Most of the bottled waters are just filtered tap water anyway!

[Jungle Jane]

I have great tasting tap water at home. The water in my stateroom was undrinkable, tasted awful. I think drinking bottled water on my cruise was the first time in months I had purchased bottled water. It's not cheap on board either!

[Quampapetet]

The water on the ship I went on did not taste good. It tasted like tap water on land does. Thank goodness for bottled water, even though I bought it on the ship (didn't have room to take it with me)!

 

(MOST bottled water, by the way, is SPRING water. SOME bottled waters ARE just purified tap water, but that is why you have to read the label! If it doesn't say "Spring" but "Purified", it is purified tap water. The purified tap bottled waters are pretty oily - I can't stand Dasani and that other popular one. I drink spring waters, like regional waters [Zephyrhills in FL, Poland Spring in New England, etc.] as well as Evian and Fiji and such.)

[utahgal]

I'm totally confused. When I look at the layouts of the cabins I don't see a sink that can be used for tap water to drink. The only sink I see is in the bathroom. Do you go to a water fountain or other area of the ship to get the tap water you drink?

[cathi]

Doesn't matter how many layouts you look at - the only tap water in your cabin is in the bathroom. Most buffets have a ice water spout alongside the juices which is where most people fill their bottles, etc. Trying to get a bottle under the tap in your cabin is nigh on impossible!

[Eeyoregon]

I don't usually bring water but I definitely bring my own soda...because I am cheap!! I love having a can of soda in my cabin and just can't pay the $2+ for one can.

 

I also take my own soda with me on the shore excursions and if in Mexico, I bring my own bottled water. I have an auto-immune disease and have been told by other cruisers and my physician that the "bottled" water in Mexico is often just tap water that they fill the bottles with and I can't take that risk.

[Jungle Jane]

The tap water I'm referring to is in the bathroom, using the provided glass. YUCKO! The stuff in the Windjammer and dining room is fine and I drank glasses and glasses of it, just wouldn't have felt comfortable filling my bottles from a spout right there. Just me. I figured for one week out of my life I can spring for bottles of water.

[rchauv]

Hi,

 

perhaps you have the knowledge how the water is produced on ships that I do not ...... but this information is provided for the Mariner of the Seas:

 

" Fresh water production

Two Alfa Laval Desalt Steam Flash and Energy Recovery Evaporators - each one produces 230,000 gallons / 900 metric tons per 24 hour period ( that will be 460,000 gallons or 1,800 metric tons for the two evaporators in 24 hours).

 

One Pall Rochem Sea-Water Desalination Unit (Reverse Osmosis) "Rosmarin" 80404-50/300-A-SW - produces 80,000gallons / 300 metric tons per 24 hour period. "

 

So the main production of fresh water on that ship is done with the evaporators.

 

On Celebrity's Constelation"

"The drinking water is produced by two evaporators of flash type Serk Como - 184,920 gal each per 24 hours period

and one reverse osmosis - 106,000 gal per 24hr.

 

So that ship got most of the fresh water from using the evaporators.

 

Wes

 

RO is making inroads in usage due to the energy considerations and there will be more of it. However, one prior answer suggests that the output from the RO process may not be tested. I'm just not buying that at all. All waters will be monitored and records will be maintained. That's part of what ships' crews do.

 

If Ensign Pulver (Mister Roberts, what a movie) could have responsibility for laundry and morale in a relatively small WW II supply ship, how could a modern cruise ship with a couple of thousand passengers sailing from a country with more lawyers than doctors......?

[Vampire Parrot]

SRO (Seawater Reverse Osmosis) uses energy that has to be produced from the ship's engines - SRO works by pressurising sea water and forcing it through a membrane.

 

Evaporators use heat from the ship's engines exhausts. This energy is "free" as they work by using the energy in hot exhaust gases that are going up the funnel anyway. The disadvantage of evaporators is that the engines do have to be running! When in port, often only one engine is running which means not enough hot exhaust gases are being produced, which means the evaporators don't produce as much fresh water. (Most cruise ship's have 4 or more engines.) In this case, SRO is used and water is also brought on board from shore.

 

But don't worry about the water being brought on board being unsafe - it's tested and treated, as is the water from the evaporators and the water from the SRO plant. Detailed records are kept.

 

It's actually good for the ship's plumbing that water is brought on board, as water produced from evaporators and SRO is very soft, and very soft water is not good for pipework.

[BruceMuzz]

Vampire Parrot,

 

You got it nearly correct.

In port it really doesn't matter what type of water plant we have. Cruise Ships don't produce water in port. But not for the reasons you may think. Water in harbors and close to shore may be polluted by any number of things. We just cannot take the chance that our water plant may or may not get the pollutants out of the sea water in that area.

 

Most cruise companies - at the advice of USPH - only produce fresh water outside the 12 mile limit.