Where does the pool water come from?

[ksc1984]

On the Amsterdam last week, the eve of our last sea day we were having 12 to 18 feet waves and rough gale winds. The water would not stay in the pools so during the night, the crew drained the pools and hot tubs. The pools were empty all sea day. The next day, when we came back from Victoria, the pools had been filled with 81 degree water. However now, there was not hot water for bathrooms. Was the hot water problem from:1-filling the pools up with water from the hot water heater or 2-everyone taking a shower on the night before disembarcation ?

[ROZO'SBEAU]

Did you ask on the ship or at the Front Office? What did they tell you?

[ksc1984]

:rolleyes:Sorry, just realized I posted this at the wrong place. Anyone know how to move it?

 

Just curious if they reuse the water from the pool, drew fresh water or pumped some from Victoria. Rozo'sbeau -If I find out, I'll let you know.

[Calgon1]

The ship gets it's fresh water from onboard condensers. As far as the hot water issue, I would suspect that it was a large demand just prior to the end of the cruise.

[Rocklady]

Funny you should ask - Our cruise director, Jimmy, said that during a rough day at sea a lady on an earlier cruise asked just that question. He explained that Amsterdam desalinates the ocean water and uses that in all its pools. "Oh," she exclaimed - "That explains why the pool is so rough today." True story. LOL

[ksc1984]

Funny, but it wasn't me!!

[BruceMuzz]

Cruise ships DO NOT pump hot water into their pools. They pump in cold water and use the pool's heaters to bring it up to temperature.

 

It is rather expensive to produce fresh water at sea. Instead of paying top dollar to fill the pool at sea, they probably decided to wait and bunker fresh water in Canada, where it is very inexpensive.

 

Alaska itineraries are a problem for fresh water production. The itinerary often doesn't allow sufficient water production onboard. It could be the case that the ship did not have enough fresh water (80 - 100 tons) onboard to refill the pool at the time, and had to delay until they had produced enough.

[Sir PMP]

On the Amsterdam last week, the eve of our last sea day we were having 12 to 18 feet waves and rough gale winds. The water would not stay in the pools so during the night, the crew drained the pools and hot tubs. The pools were empty all sea day. The next day, when we came back from Victoria, the pools had been filled with 81 degree water. However now, there was not hot water for bathrooms. Was the hot water problem from:1-filling the pools up with water from the hot water heater or 2-everyone taking a shower on the night before disembarcation ?

 

The water came from your room...

[jcrandle]

Cruise ships DO NOT pump hot water into their pools. They pump in cold water and use the pool's heaters to bring it up to temperature.

 

It is rather expensive to produce fresh water at sea. Instead of paying top dollar to fill the pool at sea, they probably decided to wait and bunker fresh water in Canada, where it is very inexpensive.

 

Alaska itineraries are a problem for fresh water production. The itinerary often doesn't allow sufficient water production onboard. It could be the case that the ship did not have enough fresh water (80 - 100 tons) onboard to refill the pool at the time, and had to delay until they had produced enough.

 

Canadian water used to be cheaper, till the Canadian dollar approached parity with the US dollar. Now the pools are filled with water purchased wherever the dollar is strongest, currently Poland and Lithuania!

[NordicPrince]

. He explained that Amsterdam desalinates the ocean water and uses that in all its pools.

 

Contrary to all this stuff about buying water for the pool, this is the correct answer.

[jtl513]

Contrary to all this stuff about buying water for the pool, this is the correct answer.

BruceMuzz is a ship's officer (not presently HAL) with about 30 years experience. HIS is the correct answer: it is usually much cheaper to buy water in port than use fuel to desalinate it, and it is purchased whenever possible. :cool:

[BruceMuzz]

A bit of trivia for you.

The condensers and reverse osmosis machines on my ship - along with the Aircon compressors - are the largest and costliest machines to operate.

 

Depending on fuel prices and engine loads, fresh water can cost anywhere from US$4 - to US$6 per ton to produce onboard.

Swimming pools on ships typically hold anywhere from 80 to 100 tons of water.

You can do the math to find out what it costs to fill one pool with fresh water.

 

At the same time every passenger and crewmember is using an average of 1 ton of water per day.

 

My ship cannot produce any fresh water when we are in port.

We can produce fresh water only when we are several miles at sea, and traveling at a certain speed. Some itineraries - especially those in Alaska - do not allow us to be several miles at sea, and traveling at the required speed very often.

We often are forced to change itineraries, speeds, and arrival/departure times to allow us to produce enough water for our operation.

 

If we are forced to dump one or more pools due to bad weather or "accidents" by passengers, my engineers suddenly need to come up with hundreds of tons of fresh water that were not in their plan.

If we have sufficient water to do so, we bite the bullet, go over our fuel consumption budget, and fill the pools.

If we do not have sufficient water onboard, we delay filling the pools to allow you to take showers and the crew to wash the dishes.

 

If we are close to a port with reliable water that is low priced, we might delay filling the pool in order to save on fuel costs by bunkering the water in port.

 

Currently, fresh water in Victoria sells for US$3 per ton. It doesn't seem like a very large savings difference until you consider that we may choose to buy several thousand tons.

[jtl513]

Depending on fuel prices and engine loads, fresh water can cost anywhere from US$4 - to US$6 per ton to produce onboard.

 

Currently, fresh water in Victoria sells for US$3 per ton.

Thanks - I didn't realize that there was that much difference.

[Taxguy77]

Thanks for the explanation, one of the most interesting posts I have read. I find all of your, and others who are well versed in their subjects, fascinating and worth reading a lot of other posts to get to.

[Appygirl]

I think your pool question was answered.

 

About the temperature of the shower water - this is what was explained to us by the ship's hotel manager. The water pipes are in decks that passengers don't have access to. The pipes are not insulated and for lack of a better word, the hallways where the water pipes run are not temperature controlled. The pipes are the same temperature as whatever the hallway temperature is which varies depending on the outside temperature of where the ship is sailing. If you're in warmer climates its really tough to get cold water. Right when you want a cool shower after coming in from 100+ temps and humidity the shower might be cool for a few seconds and then warms up no matter if you have the cold tap on as far as it goes. The opposite problem in Alaska and colder temperatures.

[sparky-elpaso]

A bit of trivia for you.

The condensers and reverse osmosis machines on my ship - along with the Aircon compressors - are the largest and costliest machines to operate.

 

Depending on fuel prices and engine loads, fresh water can cost anywhere from US$4 - to US$6 per ton to produce onboard.

Swimming pools on ships typically hold anywhere from 80 to 100 tons of water.

You can do the math to find out what it costs to fill one pool with fresh water.

 

At the same time every passenger and crewmember is using an average of 1 ton of water per day.

 

My ship cannot produce any fresh water when we are in port.

We can produce fresh water only when we are several miles at sea, and traveling at a certain speed. Some itineraries - especially those in Alaska - do not allow us to be several miles at sea, and traveling at the required speed very often.

We often are forced to change itineraries, speeds, and arrival/departure times to allow us to produce enough water for our operation.

 

If we are forced to dump one or more pools due to bad weather or "accidents" by passengers, my engineers suddenly need to come up with hundreds of tons of fresh water that were not in their plan.

If we have sufficient water to do so, we bite the bullet, go over our fuel consumption budget, and fill the pools.

If we do not have sufficient water onboard, we delay filling the pools to allow you to take showers and the crew to wash the dishes.

 

If we are close to a port with reliable water that is low priced, we might delay filling the pool in order to save on fuel costs by bunkering the water in port.

 

Currently, fresh water in Victoria sells for US$3 per ton. It doesn't seem like a very large savings difference until you consider that we may choose to buy several thousand tons.

 

I couldn't imagine how I as a passenger could possibly use 1 ton of water a day - until I did some research to find out how many gallons that was.

 

A gallon of water weighs 8.33 pounds - heavy stuff. So that ton of water is only 240 gallons.

[jtl513]

A gallon of water weighs 8.33 pounds - heavy stuff. So that ton of water is only 240 gallons.

I think 240 gallons per person per day is a lot. I like long showers, and we use about 250>270 g/d for two people, which includes washing clothes, running a dishwasher, and topping up the swimming pool about twice a week in the summer. (That takes about 300 gal per inch at the top. Thankfully we have a well for the lawn sprinklers!)

 

I guess BruceMuzz's "ton per day" figure includes an allocation to each person for the ships kitchens, laundries, and pools ... but it still seems high to me. For deck washing etc I believe they use "grey water", not first-use fresh.

[alpal1993]

We were on the Amsterdam June 14-28.The pool was emptied several time both times while we were in Glacier and Hubbard.At that time the pools were cleaned.We had lots of children and those were the primary users of the pool.Luckily for us we had smooth seas.

Never experienced any problems with the water pressure or temperature of the water in our cabin.

I think all pools are filled with Ocean water,but not all are heated.

[jtl513]

I think all pools are filled with Ocean water,but not all are heated.

See post #7

[BruceMuzz]

I think 240 gallons per person per day is a lot. I like long showers, and we use about 250>270 g/d for two people, which includes washing clothes, running a dishwasher, and topping up the swimming pool about twice a week in the summer. (That takes about 300 gal per inch at the top. Thankfully we have a well for the lawn sprinklers!)

 

I guess BruceMuzz's "ton per day" figure includes an allocation to each person for the ships kitchens, laundries, and pools ... but it still seems high to me. For deck washing etc I believe they use "grey water", not first-use fresh.

 

jtl513,

You guessed correctly that fresh water usage is averaged from all users on the ship. The laundry and galleys use massive amounts of fresh water daily.

But you were wrong with the grey water. All water taps on the ship MUST carry only potable water. This avoids any chance of cross-contamination in the system. The decks are washed with the same fresh drinking water that comes from your bathroom tap. Toilets flush with fresh water as well.

[olefin32]

 

At the same time every passenger and crewmember is using an average of 1 ton of water per day.

 

 

A ton of water per day! Now come on. :D

Ton of H2O = 240 gallons.

 

Wife and I use less than 3,000 gal a month of water for our home, that amounts to less than 50 gals per day for each.

We both shower ever day.

Have a dishwasher and cloths washer.

We don't use city water for the yard, we have a lake pump for the yard sprinkler system.

[catl331]

A ton of water per day! Now come on. :D

Ton of H2O = 240 gallons.

 

Wife and I use less than 3,000 gal a month of water for our home, that amounts to less than 50 gals per day for each.

We both shower ever day.

Have a dishwasher and cloths washer.

We don't use city water for the yard, we have a lake pump for the yard sprinkler system.

I agree that 240 gal/p/d does sound pretty high to me - but BruceMuzz did just say that they use fresh water for deck washing, and they probably mop their kitchen floors every night. If they have to dump and refill the Lido pool once a week that's 1.5 to 2 gal per person per day! :p

[bob brown]

Very interesting thread!

When the ship purchases water from a "reliable source", is it processed or tested on board to be sure it is equal to the ship-produced water?

[BruceMuzz]

If you were planning to wash the outside of the Empire State Building, how many gallons of water do you think you might need?

Probably quite a few.

 

Most of today's modern cruise ships are about the same size as the Empire State Building. Unlike that building, my deck department washes down and scrubs the upper decks every morning. That alone consumes several hundred tons of water every week. Washing windows, anchor and chain, and the sides of the ship before painting consumes several hundred tons more.

 

My ship has 5 freshwater pools and 8 jacuzzis onboard (including the crew pool and jacuzzis). They hold a total of around 450 tons of fresh water. We automatically drain, clean, and re-fill them twice weekly. Passenger "accidents" and unacceptably high uric acid levels force us to drain and refill them an average of one more time every week.

The numbers add up very quickly.

 

When we bunker water in port, the Port Authority produces a water inspection report from the local health department. We do not always trust that report, so we test the water again before using it. In any case, we add bromine, chlorine (sometimes), and then subject all potable water to high level ultraviolet radiation before it enters the water system.

[olefin32]

I agree that 240 gal/p/d does sound pretty high to me - but BruceMuzz did just say that they use fresh water for deck washing, and they probably mop their kitchen floors every night. If they have to dump and refill the Lido pool once a week that's 1.5 to 2 gal per person per day! :p

 

But his post said...

every passenger and crewmember is using an average of 1 ton of water per day.

I use app 80,000 gals a month watering our yard but that has nothing to do with what wife and I use in the house. :p