Refilling Water Bottles Onboard

[salty dingo]

I just read this, in case you want to drink distilled water instead of the tap water. Source:

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4498/kw/Bottled%20Water

 

Distilled water may also be purchased onboard at $3.00 USD per gallon by contacting Room Service.

For reference, a 12-pack of bottled water costs $4.50 and contains a tad over a gallon of water total. So if you want to save a buck and a half, buy by the gallon!

I think this would be a good option for people who bring their own refillable water bottles, or don't want to fill up a landfill with empty plastic bottles.

[beachbum53]

For some, drinking bottled water is an addiction. For others, it's a convenience when tap water isn't readily available. The ship's tap water is fine for me. I bring a Tervis tumbler with me, put some ice and water in it, and drink free water on the ship. When we go ashore, we buy a couple of bottles of water before heading down the gangway.

[sanmarcosman]

Distilled water tastes flat because the essential minerals have been removed. Thanks but no thanks.

[OctoberSky]

Isn't ship water super safe because they use reverse osmosis?

[shof515]

Isn't ship water super safe because they use reverse osmosis?

it can be but you have to be careful. when i did a behind the scenes tour, i found out they add minerals and other stuff to the water

[Nic6318]

Hi

 

Drinking distilled water isn't necessarily a good choice. The lack of vitamins and minerals changes the taste, so that many people don't like it.

 

It is good for using in your battery or a cpap machine because of it's properties but for consumption you would be better off drinking what they provide for free or their bottles of water, which is typically tap water put through a reverse osmosis process.

[chengkp75]

it can be but you have to be careful. when i did a behind the scenes tour, i found out they add minerals and other stuff to the water

 

There are only two things allowed to be added to potable water onboard ships, and that is chlorine for sanitizing and calcium carbonate to control pH (this is the antacid ingredient in Tums). Reports of ships adding "minerals" for "taste" is urban legend.

 

For the OP, there is quite a bit of difference between the pack of bottled water, which is municipal water run through an RO filter, and distilled water, both from a taste standpoint and a health standpoint.

[sparks1093]

If the concern is adding empty bottles to the landfill (they are actually recycled) then CCL does offer 1 liter bottles of water for $3.75 (and if you've sailed with CCL before you'll receive one in your cabin free). We get a case of the smaller bottles because they are easier to take ashore for excursions.

[beachbum53]

Isn't ship water super safe because they use reverse osmosis?

 

If the water wasn't safe, then it wouldn't be used to make ice, or lemonade, or tea, or coffee. And you wouldn't be able to use it when you brush your teeth.

[Je Souhaite]

I just read this, in case you want to drink distilled water instead of the tap water. Source:

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4498/kw/Bottled%20Water

 

Distilled water may also be purchased onboard at $3.00 USD per gallon by contacting Room Service.

For reference, a 12-pack of bottled water costs $4.50 and contains a tad over a gallon of water total. So if you want to save a buck and a half, buy by the gallon!

I think this would be a good option for people who bring their own refillable water bottles, or don't want to fill up a landfill with empty plastic bottles.

 

Personally I don't like the taste of distilled water. But something tells me it's the same stuff you can get from the spigot up on the Lido deck

[chengkp75]

Personally I don't like the taste of distilled water. But something tells me it's the same stuff you can get from the spigot up on the Lido deck

 

What you get from the Lido deck is a mixture of distilled water, RO product, and municipal water.

[OctoberSky]

I never implied it wasn't safe. I implied it was safer than city tap water because of the RO treatment.

[chengkp75]

I never implied it wasn't safe. I implied it was safer than city tap water because of the RO treatment.

 

The RO units are not used to purify any municipal water loaded in port, but to produce fresh water from sea water. Once onboard, the RO units are not part of the water system, unlike the ones used in houses or bottled water plants.

[OctoberSky]

Interesting, I didn't realize they load drinking water at the ports. Do they do that because it's cheaper than operating the RO system?

[chengkp75]

Interesting, I didn't realize they load drinking water at the ports. Do they do that because it's cheaper than operating the RO system?

 

It all depends on the itinerary. The ship cannot make water from sea water within 12 miles of shore, so the percentage of port time to sailing time affects the ability to make water. It also depends on where the ship calls, as to what the cost of water is. Ships like the QM2 with a lot of sea days on a TA, and only a day at each end in port, most likely don't load water in port. The Norwegian Sky, on her short 3-4 day Bahamas cruises had so little time at sea that they never even attempted to make water, they loaded 100% from port.

 

Many ships use flash evaporators to make the bulk of their drinking water. These take very little energy to operate, since the heat to boil the water comes from the coolant of the diesel engines. But, depending on how fast the ship needs to go, affects the number of diesel engines that run, and this affects the amount of "waste heat" they can provide to the evaporators, again affecting the ability to make water.

 

RO units require more energy to operate than evaporators, but are generally smaller, and aren't relied on for the bulk of water production. Whether it is cheaper to operate these than loading water in port can be a toss up depending on a lot of factors like the age of the RO unit, etc.

 

One of the big drawbacks to loading water in port, is that it must be from a hydrant hat has been tested by a third party, within the last month, for water quality (which is why Caribbean cruises generally only load in the US ports). The water must also be loaded to separate tanks from the ones being used to provide the water to the ship, and not used until a coliform bacteria test comes back negative, and that takes 18-24 hours, so this water is "out of bounds" for a while.

 

Particularly on turn-around days, look at the ship and the dock, and you will likely see fire hoses, that are marked with blue bands painted on them, and that are supported at each connection by little wooden horses. These are the potable water hoses.

[OctoberSky]

Thanks, that is interesting info! I used to work in drinking water regulation, so this is neat to me. 😁

 

Sorry op if we hijacked your post!

[cb at sea]

I just ask for a glass of ice water when I want one...no need to carry cups and bottles around the ship with you. Any bar or eating venue will give you ice water upon request!

[AmazedByCruising]

The ship cannot make water from sea water within 12 miles of shore, so the percentage of port time to sailing time affects the ability to make water.

 

One of the questions I wanted to ask you, Chief. Why is that? 12 miles sounds like a legal distance ("you can't simply drink our water!", but then it would be 24nm by now), but I guess it's about the quality of the sea water itself? I mean, water taken in 1nm from Papeete feels safer than water taken in 12nm from, let's say, Shenzhen.

 

The Norwegian Sky, on her short 3-4 day Bahamas cruises had so little time at sea that they never even attempted to make water, they loaded 100% from port.

 

Why wouldn't they store seawater during that short time, to be turned into potable water later, instead of storing enough potable water for the whole cruise at once?

[chengkp75]

One of the questions I wanted to ask you, Chief. Why is that? 12 miles sounds like a legal distance ("you can't simply drink our water!", but then it would be 24nm by now), but I guess it's about the quality of the sea water itself? I mean, water taken in 1nm from Papeete feels safer than water taken in 12nm from, let's say, Shenzhen.

 

 

 

Why wouldn't they store seawater during that short time, to be turned into potable water later, instead of storing enough potable water for the whole cruise at once?

 

While you are correct that the distance may vary depending on the port or area, as it is due to pollution (mainly sewage discharges), it is simply easier to set a single limit than to say we have to test each and every area of coastline to determine where the pollution levels are acceptable to make water. And the water off Papeete may have different pollutants than China.

 

To do what you suggested would require several thousand tons of sea water tanks, and the fuel to carry this water around. The Sky uses 700-800 metric tons of water each day, so to load all the sea water into these extra tanks in a short period would change the draft of the cruise ship very rapidly, and changing the draft of a ship changes the hydrodynamics and the fuel efficiency. A ship is designed to sail most efficiently at one draft. Ballast water is used to keep a cargo ship at its designed draft when there is little or no cargo onboard. When cargo is loaded, ballast water is discharged, so the ship stays at the same draft. Cruise ships don't change their "cargo" very much, so their draft changes very little, so there is little need for ballast water.

 

Also, once the sea water would be taken into the tanks, it is no longer considered clean sea water, since there is no way to know what has happened to the water in the tank in times past. Lots of sea life that requires aerated water to survive, tend to die off in ballast tanks where the water is not free flowing, or subject to sunlight and limited oxygen. This would complicate the pre-treatment of water before being introduced to either evaporators or RO units.

[salty dingo]

Thanks, that is interesting info! I used to work in drinking water regulation, so this is neat to me. 😁

 

Sorry op if we hijacked your post!

No, you are too late, I was quickly made aware that distilled water was tasteless and that led to the hijacked the post.

 

FWIW - I take a good multi vitamin every day so I don't care for any extra stuff in my water.

 

To me, water, like Vodka, tastes best when it has no flavor. And, like distilled water, I can at times be tasteless. Usually due to Vodka.

[AmazedByCruising]

While you are correct that the distance may vary depending on the port or area, as it is due to pollution (mainly sewage discharges), it is simply easier to set a single limit than to say we have to test each and every area of coastline to determine where the pollution levels are acceptable to make water. And the water off Papeete may have different pollutants than China.

 

To do what you suggested would require several thousand tons of sea water tanks, and the fuel to carry this water around.

 

I misunderstood the way Norwegian Sky worked, thinking it already was carrying around all potable water needed for a 4 day cruise from the start.

 

The Sky uses 700-800 metric tons of water each day, so to load all the sea water into these extra tanks in a short period would change the draft of the cruise ship very rapidly, and changing the draft of a ship changes the hydrodynamics and the fuel efficiency. A ship is designed to sail most efficiently at one draft. Ballast water is used to keep a cargo ship at its designed draft when there is little or no cargo onboard. When cargo is loaded, ballast water is discharged, so the ship stays at the same draft. Cruise ships don't change their "cargo" very much, so their draft changes very little, so there is little need for ballast water.

 

Also, once the sea water would be taken into the tanks, it is no longer considered clean sea water, since there is no way to know what has happened to the water in the tank in times past. Lots of sea life that requires aerated water to survive, tend to die off in ballast tanks where the water is not free flowing, or subject to sunlight and limited oxygen. This would complicate the pre-treatment of water before being introduced to either evaporators or RO units.

 

Once again thank you!