Bottled water

[OlsSalt]

Just got off Veendam yesterday. We purchased water for the first time in over 40 years of cruising because of a salt issue I have and I read that the ship's water while perfectly fine to drink does contain more salt than bottled water. The least expensive water available on our cruise was Evian. We got 6 bottles (1 ltr each) for $24 I believe - a slight discount over buying a bottle individually. We would refill our personal drink bottles in our room before heading out for the day and that amount lasted us for the week. If you do decide to do this order it early when you board as it took a day to have it delivered to our stateroom.

 

Where did you read that the ship's water was "higher in sodium"? We recently learned from a ship's engineer the ship water takes out all the sodium, as well as magnesium and potassium, which are the missing links in the body's ability to regulate sodium.

 

So the good thing about some bottled mineral waters is the reintroduction of some trace potassium and magnesium. (Evian is better than others) The rest of the engineer's advice was to simply up your intake of almonds, spinach and cashews - or what other food sources that can also compensate for what gets taken out of the ships water production process.

[POA1]

The newer ships have a water bottle fill station in the Lido. It's a water fountain that has filling attachment. Very handy and sanitary. I do not know if it is on the Vista class and older ships, but it's definitely on the Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam.

 

[jode]

Where did you read that the ship's water was "higher in sodium"? We recently learned from a ship's engineer the ship water takes out all the sodium, as well as magnesium and potassium, which are the missing links in the body's ability to regulate sodium.

 

So the good thing about some bottled mineral waters is the reintroduction of some trace potassium and magnesium. (Evian is better than others) The rest of the engineer's advice was to simply up your intake of almonds, spinach and cashews - or what other food sources that can also compensate for what gets taken out of the ships water production process.

 

I actually read it on several posts on this forum. Never thought about salt in ship water, etc. But due to fluid retention now it caught my interest. I am all too familiar of the need of potassium since my prescription fluid pill also requires a prescription for potassium. Maybe I was being overly cautious but after reading about others having to go to the doctor because their legs swelled so badly I decided to be sure I knew what was in the water I drank as I drink a lot of water daily. I also read that parsley also helps with fluid retention but how much parsley can you eat! We spent $24 on Evian bottled water for the week and I had absolutely no issues with fluid retention etc. so it was worth it for me. Hard to eliminate salt when cruising but between my own prescription for fluid retention and bottled water I was comfortable. I find a lot of information on these boards are good and some not so good. I try to filter what helps me and enjoying learning from others.

[OlsSalt]

I actually read it on several posts on this forum. Never thought about salt in ship water, etc. But due to fluid retention now it caught my interest. I am all too familiar of the need of potassium since my prescription fluid pill also requires a prescription for potassium. Maybe I was being overly cautious but after reading about others having to go to the doctor because their legs swelled so badly I decided to be sure I knew what was in the water I drank as I drink a lot of water daily. I also read that parsley also helps with fluid retention but how much parsley can you eat! We spent $24 on Evian bottled water for the week and I had absolutely no issues with fluid retention etc. so it was worth it for me. Hard to eliminate salt when cruising but between my own prescription for fluid retention and bottled water I was comfortable. I find a lot of information on these boards are good and some not so good. I try to filter what helps me and enjoying learning from others.

 

Look for the posts from chengkp56 - he has beeen a "chief engineer" on cruise ships and offers very credible insights about a lot of onboard myths floating around here. Very recently he helped with this "high sodium" in the ship's water myth - as well as his insights into what is behind the swelling many of us also experience when on board. I made the switch to in cabin Evian too or San Pellegrino in the dining room. But there are still soups and beverages made with the sodium-potassium-magnesium free ships water.

 

Best tip was to head to the Crows Nest Bar and down those salted nuts that contain cashews and almonds. Covers all bases, right? :evilsmile: