Is Water From the Tap on River Cruises as Good as on Large Cruise Ships?

We have taken numerous ocean cruises and the tap water is wonderful. We usually bring our own water bottles and refill just before going on an excursion. Is the water on river boats as good? I can't imagine they have a water treatment system anywhere near the size of those on large ships.

Or, do they supply bottled water for free?

What do you experts think? We leave this Sunday and will be boarding the Viking Primadonna on August 27. Thanks.

Kathy

We have taken numerous ocean cruises and the tap water is wonderful. We usually bring our own water bottles and refill just before going on an excursion. Is the water on river boats as good? I can't imagine they have a water treatment system anywhere near the size of those on large ships.

 

Or, do they supply bottled water for free?

 

What do you experts think? We leave this Sunday and will be boarding the Viking Primadonna on August 27. Thanks.

 

Kathy

We have been on two river cruises with Vantage and the water on both has been very good and definitely as good or better than on ocean cruises. Because the river boats travel near land at all times they usually get drinking water from land suppliers. On our first cruise the captain said he had favorite ports where he obtained drinking water that was particularly good and that he avoided filling up in other ports.

Vantage also provides bottled water in the cabins and gives out complimentary bottled water on many shore excursions. We too carry refillable bottles and use them as needed. I don't know about Viking but I know some lines provide bottled water for a fee while others do not charge.

I usually carry an empty bottle through security at airports and fill it before boarding the plane or buy water on the concourse so I have a supply of water in the seat back in front of me instead of in a cup on the tray table. The air gets really dry on the long transatlantic flights and it is important to keep hydrated.

Enjoy your trip!

and would NOT drink boat water,,,sorry,,,just never know,,,and really depends on country too...be safe...;)

I always drink the tap water on board. Been on Viking, Uniworld, AMA, Grand Circle and Gate 1. Most of the trips that I have been on (except for Viking China) have charged for the bottles of water that are in the room.

I always drink the tap water on board. Been on Viking, Uniworld, AMA, Grand Circle and Gate 1. Most of the trips that I have been on (except for Viking China) have charged for the bottles of water that are in the room.

AMA does not change for the bottle water in the room.

River cruise ships do take on city water. They don´t have any facilities for turning river water into drinking water. So the tap water is save for drinking. Especially in Germany the water is higly controlled and usually even safe for baby food.

steamboats

AMA does not change for the bottle water in the room.

They did when we went several years ago. There are a lot of cruise lines that NOW offer free H2O that didn't before. :D

The key is where your river cruise is going...we've been on 4 Vantage cruises, one Louis cruise (Greece) and one Star Flyer to Costa Rica. There have only been 3 where we were told NOT to drink tap water on the ship and that was Egypt, Jordan and Costa Rica. on Star Flyer there was a fresh water fountain on board that could be used to refill water bottles. Everywhere else the water on board was safe to drink from the tap and the last two Vantage cruises they provided bottled water in our cabin every day and small bottles whenever we left the ship....free. In Greece and Italy we were warned not to drink from public fountains as well. So, you see, it all depends on where you're going. Only place I would hesitate in Europe would be Russia and that's my next Vantage trip, so I really don't even know for sure about that one.

I'm reminded of the time we were in Madrid on the Plaza Mayor having dinner. One of our traveling companions ordered a bottle of water from the waiter. He brought an opened bottle of water, the cap was not sealed. Our friend never thought about it. Sure enough..... our friend was sick a day later with an upset stomach. We wondered if the 'fresh' bottled water was really just tap water with the waiter making an extra euro on the side.

On Avalon they leave 2 fresh bottles of water per day in your cabin, and I'm sure you could ask for more. I don't remember if they said not to drink the tap water.

Just wondering, Paulinda, is that water on Avalon mineral water or "plain" water?

rhinered - it's 'plain' water, no bubbles.

The only bubbles we drank was in the beer. And speaking of beer, make sure you have a Kolsch while in Koln and make sure it's from a tap not a bottle.

I'm reminded of the time we were in Madrid on the Plaza Mayor having dinner. One of our traveling companions ordered a bottle of water from the waiter. He brought an opened bottle of water, the cap was not sealed. Our friend never thought about it. Sure enough..... our friend was sick a day later with an upset stomach. We wondered if the 'fresh' bottled water was really just tap water with the waiter making an extra euro on the side.

 

Interesting....in Egypt we got very specific instructions not to accept any bottled water in a restaurant that was not opened in front of us and we were warned to "listen for the psssss sound"! I actually saw a man in front of the Cairo museum take a garbage bag filled with empty water bottles, fill them up from the sprinkler hose, replace the caps and glue the caps shut! You just knew these bottles were going to be sold on the street to unsuspecting tourists! I am surprised that it happened to you in a restaurant in Madrid though. We have found in our travels that most nice restaurants in big cities in Europe have clean drinking water. You have to be especially careful in places like Egypt, Africa, parts of China and parts of Greece and Turkey. (Athens and Istanbul are usually ok) But I never drink from a public water fountain and never buy bottled water from a street vendor. I think any of the major river cruise ships like Vantage, Viking, AMA, GCT, etc. are perfectly safe to drink from the tap, use ice in your drinks and swallow in the shower! :)