Ice cubes on cruises

[metahead]

Are they made from the desalinated water, or shipped in, in bags?

[leaveitallbehind]

I'm not aware of ice being provided on board by anything other than the ships' water.

 

Not sure why you are asking, but if there is a concern, water on board is made from several different processes and is perfectly safe.  The ships crew survives on it for months at a time while at sea.

Edited February 22 by leaveitallbehind

[CruiserBruce]

Definitely made from the ship's water, although some water onboard is fresh water brought on board in ports.

 

I agree, the water made on board is about as safe as any other water you might drink. 

[SbbquilterUT]

The water for drinking, ice and cooking is all Reverse Osmosis and very safe to drink.  We lived in the Middle East for years and there was a difference between our desalinated and our RO filter.  We travel with refillable bottles and enjoy the taste of the water (also drink RO at home). 

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, SbbquilterUT said:

The water for drinking, ice and cooking is all Reverse Osmosis and very safe to drink.

No, it's not.  It is, depending on the ship and the itinerary, a blend of Reverse Osmosis seawater, distilled seawater, and shore water.

 

For the OP, yes, all ice is made onboard, from water either made onboard, or loaded in port.

Edited February 22 by chengkp75

[John Bull]

I remember about ** years ago when  my father was in the British army and I was a nipper, we sailed  UK to Hong Kong by troopship. 

In the Mediterranean we were told there'd be no fresh water until Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and if we didn't conserve water they'd have to replenish with de-salinated water in Aden (Yemen).

We didn't, and they did.

It was foul 😮😮😮

 

But it's a whole different ball-game nowadays.

Water is excellent  from any tap in the bars, restaurants & drinks stations.

And from your cabin bathroom  (but not from the toilet because apparently they use "grey" water) 😏

 

JB 🙂

[mom says]

7 hours ago, metahead said:

Are they made from the desalinated water, or shipped in, in bags?

Given the number of passengers on most mass market cruise ships, and the amount of ice needed per day, can you visualized a couple of container car  loads of bagged ice being loaded onto the ship at every port? And then finding freezer space for all that? Um, no.

[SbbquilterUT]

6 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

No, it's not.  It is, depending on the ship and the itinerary, a blend of Reverse Osmosis seawater, distilled seawater, and shore water.

 

.

Thanks for letting me know.  I hate single use plastic bottles and have not had any bad water on our cruises.

[SelectSys]

3 hours ago, John Bull said:

but not from the toilet because apparently they use "grey" water

Didn't know that, but it certainly can make sense even though it requires another water distribution network.

[Aquahound]

I am just trying to imagine the size of the freezer that would have to hold all those bags of ice.  😁

[chengkp75]

8 hours ago, John Bull said:

And from your cabin bathroom  (but not from the toilet because apparently they use "grey" water) 

Nope.

5 hours ago, SelectSys said:

Didn't know that, but it certainly can make sense even though it requires another water distribution network.

Gray water is waste water from sinks, showers, galleys and laundries.  It is not used in toilets, primarily for just the reason you mention, having to run miles of additional piping.  Sometimes, treated waste water is used for "technical" water (in engine systems) or in the garbage disposal system.  On a ship, the toilet water supply branches right off the cold water supply to the rest of the bathroom, just like it does in your house.

 

Vacuum toilets use only 1 liter of water per flush, compared to the 6 to 9 liters used in UK toilets, or the 6 to 26 liters used in US toilets.

[John Bull]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

Nope.

Gray water is waste water from sinks, showers, galleys and laundries.  It is not used in toilets, primarily for just the reason you mention, having to run miles of additional piping.  Sometimes, treated waste water is used for "technical" water (in engine systems) or in the garbage disposal system.  On a ship, the toilet water supply branches right off the cold water supply to the rest of the bathroom, just like it does in your house.

 

Vacuum toilets use only 1 liter of water per flush, compared to the 6 to 9 liters used in UK toilets, or the 6 to 26 liters used in US toilets.

 

 

Thanks for the technical correction.

But you missed off the 😏 in my post.

 

I would respond that  "since toilets actually use the same water as the hand-basin it's fine to drink from the toilet bowl 😏" but I really don't want to be corrected on the health issues of doing so 😀

 

JB 🙂 

[metahead]

I saw somewhere on a youtube, that peoples' legs were swelling from a ship water, which would denote desalination not working well. I use RO at home too, with a remineralizer cartridge, since RO removes all minerals from the water and can have an acid ph.  I'm asking this while I'm looking to add lots of ice to my canned Pepsi(can take the paint of of cars.LOL) on Carnival. LOL Thanks folks.

Edited February 23 by metahead

[leaveitallbehind]

22 minutes ago, metahead said:

I saw somewhere on a youtube, that peoples' legs were swelling from a ship water, which would denote desalination not working well.

I don't know if that is accurate.  And it is more in the ankles, not the legs, which is mainly a result of fluid retention. IMO it is more likely from increased humidity and salt in the sea air combined with on board food which may be higher in sodium. Many cruisers exercise less when on board which may be a contributing factor as well.  The ships' water process systems are very well controlled and managed and IMO I would not suspect that as being the primary cause.  Perhaps @chengkp75 or others could weigh in and correct me if I am wrong and provide accurate insight.

[chengkp75]

19 minutes ago, metahead said:

I saw somewhere on a youtube, that peoples' legs were swelling from a ship water, which would denote desalination not working well. I use RO at home too, with a remineralizer cartridge, since RO removes all minerals from the water and can have an acid ph.  I'm asking this while I'm looking to add lots of ice to my canned Pepsi(can take the paint of of cars.LOL) on Carnival. LOL Thanks folks.

There are lots of stories out there about water retention due to "salty" desalinated water.  They just aren't true, in my professional opinion.  I drank desalinated water on ships for 180+ days a year for 46 years, and never experienced water retention, or swelling.

 

Let me explain how the various methods of creating drinking water on ships happens.  First, there is Reverse Osmosis.  RO does not remove all minerals from the water, only those whose molecules are larger than the RO unit's pore size, and typically, a shipboard RO unit is alarmed when the fresh water reaches 20ppm of salinity, at which point the fresh water is diverted back to the ocean, until the salinity is corrected.  Flash evaporation of sea water boils the seawater, so this does in fact remove all minerals from the water, since minerals don't boil into gas.  The steam from the seawater is then condensed into "distilled water".  A flash evaporator alarms and dumps production at 10ppm, and typically operates at 0-1ppm.

 

Both RO (which is what is known in the maritime world as "desalinated") water and evaporated water do tend to be slightly acidic, to the detriment of the ship's piping system, so all water produced onboard is sent through a "re-mineralizer" (like your home), that adds calcium chloride (the active ingredient in common antacid tablets) to neutralize it.

 

Most water retention is due to salt in the food, which passengers are eating 3 times a day, or lack of other minerals (potassium or magnesium), which are removed by both RO and evaporation.  Also, some ships do not have sufficient time at sea (you cannot produce water from the ocean unless at least 12 miles from shore), or sufficient speed (more engine heat to make more water) to make all the water needed for the cruise, so water is loaded at ports.  Many municipal water supplies, NYC and Miami are a couple that I know of, that have sodium contents higher than the 20ppm that comes from the ship's RO units.

[Hlitner]

Swollen feet, ankles and legs bothers many of us on ships.  I used to work in the medical insurance industry and would often bring up the issue with various physicians that were good friends.  They had various advice, but no real answer.  When I am at home I have very few problems with swelling.  On ships it is a problem.  I live in Puerto Vallarta for 10 weeks a year and also have some swelling issues here.  DW and I talk about the issue and the main common thread, for us, is that on both ships and in PV we do dine out on most days.  Professional chefs/cooks tend to use salt more liberally than DW does when cooking at home.  

 

As to some kind of relief, the most interesting suggestion I have heard came from a surgeon we met on a cruise (who also had swollen ankles) who suggested just standing in the pool for a few hours a day!  He thought that the increased pressure from the pool water would help force fluids out of the external tissue and reduce swelling.  Not sure if that is effective but it does make some sense.

 

Hank

[cruisemom42]

I think the water CAN be an issue if you have a tendency to swelling in the ankles/feet. Not everyone does. I didn't experience it when younger, but around age 50 I started to notice it.

 

All I can say is that I tried various things but once I heard the advice to avoid drinking a lot of the ship's water, the swelling has almost completely been eliminated. I didn't change anything else in terms of diet or activities, so..... draw your own conclusions.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 23 by cruisemom42

[CruiserBruce]

3 hours ago, metahead said:

I saw somewhere on a youtube, that peoples' legs were swelling from a ship water, which would denote desalination not working well. I use RO at home too, with a remineralizer cartridge, since RO removes all minerals from the water and can have an acid ph.  I'm asking this while I'm looking to add lots of ice to my canned Pepsi(can take the paint of of cars.LOL) on Carnival. LOL Thanks folks.

More likely the cause of water retention is salt in food, not salt in the water. Plus higher carb intake also causes water retention. 

 

Tap water is SLIGHTLY acidic...that is normal, and due to water treatment. Having taught hazardous materials chemistry for a couple decades, the students tested ph in a number of common items, including tap water. Tap water usually runs 6 to 6.5. Neutral is 7. Yes, soft drinks are usually highly acidic,  with phs under 2. The cause there is typically citric acid, but also phosphoric acid.

[Hlitner]

7 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

I think the water CAN be an issue if you have a tendency to swelling in the ankles/feet. Not every does. I didn't experience it when younger, but around age 50 I started to notice it.

 

All I can say is that I tried various things but once I heard the advice to avoid drinking a lot of the ship's water, the swelling has almost completely been eliminated. I didn't change anything else in terms of diet or activities, so..... draw your own conclusions.

 

 

I guess gin and/vodka might be the ideal substitute.  😋

 

[leaveitallbehind]

10 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

I think the water CAN be an issue if you have a tendency to swelling in the ankles/feet. Not everyone does. I didn't experience it when younger, but around age 50 I started to notice it.

 

All I can say is that I tried various things but once I heard the advice to avoid drinking a lot of the ship's water, the swelling has almost completely been eliminated. I didn't change anything else in terms of diet or activities, so..... draw your own conclusions.

 

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

There are lots of stories out there about water retention due to "salty" desalinated water.  They just aren't true, in my professional opinion.  I drank desalinated water on ships for 180+ days a year for 46 years, and never experienced water retention, or swelling.

 

Most water retention is due to salt in the food, which passengers are eating 3 times a day, or lack of other minerals (potassium or magnesium), which are removed by both RO and evaporation.

Not challenging you, but did you read #15 - chengkp75' s response? (Abbreviated version included above).  I think his expert explanation addresses this issue quite well. I guess as you suggest, anything CAN happen, but in this case IMO based on his response, the water is not likely the cause.

[cruisemom42]

Just now, leaveitallbehind said:

 

Not challenging you, but did you read #15 - chengkp75' s response? (Abbreviated version included above).  I think his expert explanation addresses this issue quite well. I guess as you suggest, anything CAN happen, but in this case IMO based on his response, the water is not likely the cause.

 

I'll be honest. I pooh-poohed the folks who said this for years also. But then I stopped drinking ship's water and my ankles stopped swelling. I didn't change the type or amount of food I was eating, alcohol consumption, physical activity onboard or anything else. 🤷‍♀️

 

 

[chengkp75]

42 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I'll be honest. I pooh-poohed the folks who said this for years also. But then I stopped drinking ship's water and my ankles stopped swelling. I didn't change the type or amount of food I was eating, alcohol consumption, physical activity onboard or anything else. 🤷‍♀️

 

 

As I said, ship's water can cause water retention, due to lack of magnesium or potassium (which you could get from bottled water or canned drinks), but not because of "desalination gone wrong" as the OP mentioned.  If you had changed your eating habits to get more magnesium (salmon, almonds, spinach) or potassium (banana, avocado, spinach, carrots, cod), you might have found that continuing to drink ship's water would not result in swelling.