Mineral water= regular bottled water?

Hi everyone! I just booked my first European cruise on the Meraviglia for March 2019. I am beyond excited and nervous at the same time. I am traveling with my husband and my 12 year old and 14 year old. This is out 15th cruise in the past 8 years but MSC and Europe are both completely new to us.

I booked directly with MSC but the customer service rep didn't seem super knowledgeable so I have been using the search button in this forum A LOT the past 28 hours.:D :D

One major concern I have is the "water issue". We are huge water drinkers and I have read the 50+ threads on water being available on MSC but my question is... My package says mineral water and coffee included for free in dining rooms...does that mean bottled water also? I looked through all the add on beverage options and it only mentions mineral water. I am hoping regular bottled water is also an option because there is no way I can get my kids to drink mineral water all week.

Thanks for your help!

Why bother with the bottle? Just drink the tap water in your cabin or elsewhere..

You Can choose between still and not still water in bottles

Mineral in Europe just means bottled water still or sparkling.

But you can drink water from the taps and there is filter water in the buffet. So you could use empty bottles and re-use them.

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Thanks! We will definitely fill up tap water when available but I was just worried about the Dining Room. [emoji846]

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What do your kids not like about mineral water? It's just a term for regular bottled water.

Mineral water is WATER !!!! its just water in bottles , what water do you get in bottles where you come from ?????

Mineral water is WATER !!!! its just water in bottles , what water do you get in bottles where you come from ?????

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S:)orry, double post

In some places "mineral water" is synonymous with "sparkling water" or "club soda" (think unflavored Perrier or Pelligrino)

 

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Thanks so much, J13C85, that is exactly what I meant. :)I couldn't understand why a couple people were getting angry at my question and yelling at me in caps and using exclamation points so I started to research it online. According to Wiki...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration classifies mineral water as water containing at least 250 parts per million total dissolved solids (TDS), originating from a geologically and physically protected underground water source. No minerals may be added to this water.[3] In many places, however, the term "mineral water" is colloquially used to mean any bottled carbonated water or soda water, as opposed to tap water.

In the European Union, bottled water may be called mineral water when it is bottled at the source and has undergone no or minimal treatment.[4] Permitted is the removal of iron, manganese, sulfur and arsenic through decantation, filtration or treatment with ozone-enriched air, in so far as this treatment does not alter the composition of the water as regards the essential constituents which give it its properties. No additions are permitted except for carbon dioxide, which may be added, removed or re-introduced by exclusively physical methods. No disinfection treatment is permitted, nor is the addition of any bacteriostatic agents.['[;

As I mentioned in my first post, I am from the United States and this is my family's first trip to Europe. Thanks so much for the helpful answers :)

Flamommy75

Do you know what package you have that includes the water and coffee?

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Flamommy75

Do you know what package you have that includes the water and coffee?

 

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Hi Nautica34!

Attached is a screen shot of the package on my invoice

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Thank you so much for the screen shot! I've been trying to find similar verbiage on my booking and never found it. Been concerned about getting water in the mdr.

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Flamommy75, I searched my contract and definitely can't find clause. Glad you have it

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FlaMommy, be careful with any of the "mineral" waters you may be offered. Some of them are unexpectedly high in sodium and could cause problems with water retention or other health issues.

FlaMommy, be careful with any of the "mineral" waters you may be offered. Some of them are unexpectedly high in sodium and could cause problems with water retention or other health issues.

Mineral water in Europe is low in sodium and has health benefits when consumed in moderation (like everything else)... On our Western Med cruise on Seaview we had “Lurisia” mineral water. Sparkling water = Frizzante , Still Water = Naturale. Both types are called Mineral Water in Europe.

Just off of the MSC Divina in the MED and we were served our choice of water - still or sparkling - in the dining room.

Our young kids prefer the still and others in our party chose sparkling.

We had a fantastic waiter who got to know our preferences quickly over our week-long cruise and made sure we were not wanting for anything drink-wise.

Just off of the MSC Divina in the MED and we were served our choice of water - still or sparkling - in the dining room.

Our young kids prefer the still and others in our party chose sparkling.

We had a fantastic waiter who got to know our preferences quickly over our week-long cruise and made sure we were not wanting for anything drink-wise.

Thanks so much, Maverick, that is good to know! Is it just one bottle during dinner or will they bring you another if you finish it? We tend to drink a lot of water with our meals.

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I appreciate the clarification on what "mineral water" means to MSC. I have asked many water questions my self and actually went to CVS (Popular USA drugstore) to buy a bottle of still mineral water so I knew what I was getting into. I'm a Dasani drinker and could pass a blind taste test between purified/distilled bottled water (delicious) and spring water (gross). The mineral water, at least the brand CVS had wasn't as tasty to me as Dasani but I'm glad to know I wont only have sparking water and spring water all week on the ship (and off as I understand we can carry bottles off with us on excursions).

The term "Mineral Water" is not unique to MSC but common all over Europe. The "Mineral" in Mineral Water comes from the minerals of the spring where the water is from. In other words Mineral Water is water from a natural well. Mineral Water is available in two versions: Sparkling or Still.

Dasani Water is purified and bottled from municipal water systems, only a few plants obtain water from protected ground water sources (as per Dasani water quality report 2018).

The Italian Sparkling Water from ALDI (German supermarket chain in the US) is similar in taste to Mineral Water in Europe but it has unfortunately too much sodium. Must be a thing they did for the American market... ?!?

The Mineral Water (sparkling or still) in Europe is really tasty & refreshing and has not much sodium.

The Italian Sparkling Water from ALDI (German supermarket chain in the US) is similar in taste to Mineral Water in Europe but it has unfortunately too much sodium. Must be a thing they did for the American market... ?!?

The Mineral Water (sparkling or still) in Europe is really tasty & refreshing and has not much sodium.

And here you are making this statement when you corrected me when I warned the OP to be aware of the sodium content (and I was basing my statesmen on the mineral water I drank in Europe).

OP, make sure you find the sodium counts for the various popular European mineral waters. They are higher than the what you will ever find in most tap water in the USA.

Is purified water not readably available in Europe? I understand what you’re saying about spring and mineral water but the use of protected ground sources is wasted on me because I prefer the taste of purified so much more. At least in comparison to the earthy flavored spring waters commonly available in the midwestern US such as Deer Park and Poland Springs.

As for sodium content, none of the popular brands of sparkling water (water carbonated with CO2, not sparking mineral water) in the US contain sodium but my mom won’t drink them because she remembers when all sparkling water was mineral water (or tonic water or something) and she doesn’t believe the labels on the new brands. *♀️. Much like still water, I prefer the flavor of distilled water and CO2 like LaCroix to San Pelligrino which I believe is a mineral water. Regardless, as long as I have unlimited access to some type of water conveniently packaged in a bottle with my drink plan I won’t let the taste affect my trip.

And here you are making this statement when you corrected me when I warned the OP to be aware of the sodium content (and I was basing my statesmen on the mineral water I drank in Europe).

 

OP, make sure you find the sodium counts for the various popular European mineral waters. They are higher than the what you will ever find in most tap water in the USA.

I noticed the high sodium only in Italian Mineral Water sold by ALDI in the US. Even Mineral Water sold by ALDI in Germany has lower sodium. Here is the link to information of Lurisia water on Seaview cruising Western Med earlier this month: https://lurisia.it/bolle-and-stille-alu/

Unless you are on a low-sodium diet the Mineral Water in Europe is fine for your body.

On 9/23/2018 at 8:59 AM, FlaMommy75 said:

 

Thanks so much, Maverick, that is good to know! Is it just one bottle during dinner or will they bring you another if you finish it? We tend to drink a lot of water with our meals.

 

 

 

 

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I believe our Fantastic experience included unlimited water at dinner so it was replenished as needed.   I cant recall having to order another bottle and being refused. But it may be the promotion associated with our booking - not sure.

We just got off the SeaView a few days ago.  They bring you bottled water as soon as you finish it, we did not even ask to ask, they just brought it.  In the bars and dining room it was Nestle bottled water either still or sparkling.  In the Yacht Club it was bottled Mineral water Still or Sparkling from Italy but was not Nestle.