Cpap and ship water

[Buck Turgidson]

We'll be on the Koningsdam next month and was curious about using ships tap water for Cpap, any opinions?

[SDARCH]

You can buy distilled water on board.  You can even preorder and have it delivered to your room before you board.

[JCP3]

I wouldn't do it unless it was an emergency.   You can preorder a gallon of distilled water prior to boarding for $2.95.  If you wait until you get on the ship it is $5.95 or free.  I'm about 50/50 free or charged. 

 

[Don Kehote]

So, there's a bunch of ways that this can be addressed, which is fortunate!

 

First:  There's the Special Needs Form.  Login, and go to Respiratory Needs, and let them know that you are bringing your CPAP.  That will alert them to set you up with an extension cord if needed.  Below that, you can tell them that you need to order distilled water.

 

Second:  You can just order it onboard if you like.

 

Third:  I use tap water exclusively, and am not yet dead.  I am not a doctor, so that's just based on my observation, but I'm pretty sure I am still around.  I just give the reservoir a good old vinegar soak once I get home, and don't ever let it run empty.

[canadianbear]

54 minutes ago, Buck Turgidson said:

We'll be on the Koningsdam next month and was curious about using ships tap water for Cpap, any opinions?

I have used tap water on my sailings on HAL for my CPAP and never an issue.  Or if you’re more comfortable you could use bottled water.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

1 hour ago, SDARCH said:

You can buy distilled water on board.  You can even preorder and have it delivered to your room before you board.

I would recommend doing it.

[Blackduck59]

While the ship water may be fine and some have had no problem with it. I would just get the distilled water. It's way cheaper than any part of your CPAP you may have to replace. Such as your heated breathing hose that may collect some of the trace minerals etc. that  may be vaporizer and collect in the hose. Distilled water is cheap, and easy to get on board.

[RuthC]

I have used the ship's tap water when I have run out of distilled, and there is none left on board to purchase. By the end of the cruise, the receptacle needed a good cleaning, including scrubbing with a toothbrush, and I also cleaned the nosepiece thoroughly. Couldn't do anything about the hose. 
But, if I ever run out of distilled again, and it can't be replaced, I would use tap water again. I just prefer to order enough distilled in advance now. 

[caminomama]

I used the ship water in April with no problems.

[kirkc]

My spouse and I have used nothing but tap water in our CPAPs for years…and I mean years. Have never, repeat, never had an issue. We change the water out every evening. You’ll never convince me that the whole distilled water thing isn’t crap.  Sorry, but that’s my experience and opinion.

[sciencewonk]

22 hours ago, kirkc said:

My spouse and I have used nothing but tap water in our CPAPs for years…and I mean years. Have never, repeat, never had an issue. We change the water out every evening. You’ll never convince me that the whole distilled water thing isn’t crap.  Sorry, but that’s my experience and opinion.

Tap water and bottled drinking water have minerals in it.  With long-term use, these minerals may build up in your machine and affect its performance.  Distilled water doesn't have minerals and avoids this potential problem.  Tap water in different areas have different amounts of minerals.  San Diego has a lot of them and would probably cause issues with a cpap.  The Bay Area has much less mineral in the tap water (I think Sacramento is probably the same).

 

Short-term use of tap water on the ship will probably be okay, but with a gallon of distilled water available for $2.95 USD, I always order the distilled water for delivery to my room on the first day.  BTW, it can be ordered online in the beverages link for your cruise.

[Don Kehote]

Just checking in:  Still using tap water, still not dead.  At least I don't think so.  Kinda smell like it, but the verdict is not in.

[kirkc]

Keep feeding the bear and buying the BS.  Tap water for me. 

[isosika]

We are new to HAL, but not to cruising.  We are going on our first HAL cruise in January.  I have been looking at the HAL website almost daily to make sure I have not forgotten anything but I have never seen anything related to distilled water being available to order.  Can someone give me an idea of where I can find it?  Thank you.

 

[Blackduck59]

I think it may be under beverage packages. It's definitely available on the website. It is very inexpensive and comes by the gallon. 

[porsena]

I think all HAL's ships use diesel-electric drive. Isn't the stateroom tapwater produced by seawater ditillation using waste heat from the diesel engines? 

[RuthC]

5 minutes ago, porsena said:

Isn't the stateroom tapwater produced by seawater ditillation using waste heat from the diesel engines? 

Not always. Sometimes it is bunkered from a source ashore. I had some terrible tasting water one time in South America. IIRC, it was in Buenos Aires. 
That's the only time I remember such bad tasting water, but it is when I learned it wasn't always made on board. 

[sciencewonk]

1 hour ago, isosika said:

We are new to HAL, but not to cruising.  We are going on our first HAL cruise in January.  I have been looking at the HAL website almost daily to make sure I have not forgotten anything but I have never seen anything related to distilled water being available to order.  Can someone give me an idea of where I can find it?  Thank you.

 

Log in to your account on the HAL website.  Click on your cruise under My Bookings.  Click on Beverages on the banner across the top.  In the Filter By menu on the left, click on Water (bottom of menu).  dI water should be listed.

[chengkp75]

10 hours ago, porsena said:

I think all HAL's ships use diesel-electric drive. Isn't the stateroom tapwater produced by seawater ditillation using waste heat from the diesel engines? 

As Ruth says, no.  Some water is made from sea water in evaporators, that produce distilled water.  Some is made by Reverse Osmosis (RO) water makers that produce drinking water quality water from sea water, but it is not pure enough to be considered "distilled" water (it has a maximum of 20ppm total dissolved solids in it).  This water, especially the water from evaporators, is slightly acidic, which can cause corrosion in the ship's piping system (as well as not being healthy to drink in large quantities), so calcium carbonate (the antacid ingredient in Tums) is added to the water to neutralize it.  So, there will always be a small mineral content in the water.

 

And, as Ruth says, some itineraries do not allow enough time at sea (port intensive), or enough speed while at sea (more speed, more diesel engines running, more waste heat to make water) to make all the water needed for the cruise, so the ship will bunker water from shore.  You can see when they do this, there will be fire hoses with blue bands on them, running from the dock to the ship.

 

Water from all three sources tends to get mingled together in the ship's system, so you never really have water from just one source.

[ClippyJoe]

We ordered distilled water for our last cruise on the Konigsdam,just last month. When we came aboard there was a note saying none was available. We had preordered several weeks in advance. My husband ended up using the ships water for the duration of the cruise with no problems. 

 

[ClippyJoe]

My husband just reminded me that he was told there was distilled water in the gym. We never followed through on that because it was so late in the cruise .

[isosika]

On 11/5/2023 at 5:21 PM, Blackduck59 said:

I think it may be under beverage packages. It's definitely available on the website. It is very inexpensive and comes by the gallon. 

 

Found it.  Thanks.  Got it ordered for our 21-day in January.