Viking Ocean newbie drink/drink program questions.

Yes I wouldl ike to hear about the safety of the water made onboard. Taste may not be to everyone's liking but I do not think safety is a factor. Cruise ships undergo health inspections regularly and I would think drinking water quality would be HIGH on the list!

As a physician, desalinated water is just like distilled water. Totally healthy. May be a little bland to some because it lacks some of the minerals of local water.

Fairbourne, where did the information you posted about the ships water originate please? I cannot imagine it to be accurate. Not pointing fingers at you, just looking for data source. Not only about the water but the crew not being allowed to drink it.

Cocktails are around $7-8 US (wine likely in that range), fancy ones may be a bit more - so by East Coast standards very reasonable. So doing the math will tell you whether package which you both must purchase (not just one) is worth it. Also at meal's end, you can always get you glass refilled and take it with you wherever - we saw it done and staff are very customer centered. Of course, Viking style is you can bring whatever bottles or cans you want onboard in all ports. So many choices.

Fairbourne, where did the information you posted about the ships water originate please? I cannot imagine it to be accurate. Not pointing fingers at you, just looking for data source. Not only about the water but the crew not being allowed to drink it.

From one poster saying the crew is limited in drinking the ship water to another who speculates that it is because the water is unsafe to drink... that is how gossip starts on CC and spins out of control.

Folks, the water on cruise ships is safe to drink. Had carafes in stateroom filled twice eachd day.

BTW, I love San Pelligrno water. I also liked the sparking water served in carafes on the VO. I always requested it for dinner.

As a physician, desalinated water is just like distilled water. Totally healthy. May be a little bland to some because it lacks some of the minerals of local water.

10% of San Diego's drinking water is desalinated, 50 million gallons daily.

https://www.carlsbaddesal.com/

It's possible the crew believes an old wive's tale about distilled water leaching minerals from you body. There is no scientific proof of this but the internet is full of this incorrect information.

I am quite surprised at this information. Can we hear more from some of you who know about this. This is the first time I have heard about drinking water being unsafe onboard. What are the safety issues?

I did NOT say the ship's water was unsafe to drink.

I did NOT say they were not allowed to drink it - we were told they were not allowed to drink it for any length of time (months on end). They are given bottled water.

We were told this by someone onboard.

Other than this I have no data or point of reference.

I did NOT say the ship's water was unsafe to drink.

 

I did NOT say they were not allowed to drink it - we were told they were not allowed to drink it for any length of time (months on end). They are given bottled water.

 

We were told this by someone onboard.

 

Other than this I have no data or point of reference.

OK, so then we can safely ignore this..."but the ship's water they freely pour...and not good for you at all."

And we can go with this, WAVTAM "As a physician, desalinated water is just like distilled water. Totally healthy. May be a little bland to some because it lacks some of the minerals of local water."

:rolleyes:

OK, so then we can safely ignore this..."but the ship's water they freely pour...and not good for you at all."

 

And we can go with this, WAVTAM "As a physician, desalinated water is just like distilled water. Totally healthy. May be a little bland to some because it lacks some of the minerals of local water."

Well stated...and my assumption to begin with.

Interestingly, we have had the same experience on ncl. Several staff members (including maintenance man, bar tenders and cruise director staff) that they should not drink the ship water for an extended length of time and they do not recommend passengers drink it, of course when we question guest relations we get the opposite response. No idea where the truth lies.

Separately I really hope they have San Pellegrino on our first Viking cruise (the star)

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As a former ship captain I agree with the Doctor. Ship's desalinization plants use sea water and produce some of the purest water you can find. Now if the ship takes on water in some foreign port and stores it in tanks, well that's another story but desalinated water is great. As far as leaching out minerals from your body, drinking large amounts of any water can do that. We live in AZ and try to drink at least a gallon of h2o each per day. We also take mineral and vitamin supplements as recommended by our Doctors. Nothing like a big glass of water on a hot day. Nothing like a martini at the one deck bar on Viking....;p:cool:

as a former ship Captain I have a different spin

ship water is probably the purest water you'll ever drink unless there is a plumbing problem contaminating it.

ship water is generally produced by heat distillation or reverse osmosis .... btw the latter is how most 'bottled water' is purified, not to be confused with 'spring water'

I'll jump ahead a bit

When I got to be Captain of a ship I decided a plant or two would be fine ... a palm tree on the bridge wing sounded particularly good. So I bought one and potted it. Funny ... after a month or so the plant was failing. It was watered with ship water ... distilled water .... no nutrients ....

Over the long term a cruise ship crew member misses a bunch of trace chemicals and FLORIDE

Doctors even tell parents that using distilled water in baby formula mix is not the best idea .....

as a former ship Captain I have a different spin

 

ship water is probably the purest water you'll ever drink unless there is a plumbing problem contaminating it.

 

ship water is generally produced by heat distillation or reverse osmosis .... btw the latter is how most 'bottled water' is purified, not to be confused with 'spring water'

 

I'll jump ahead a bit

 

When I got to be Captain of a ship I decided a plant or two would be fine ... a palm tree on the bridge wing sounded particularly good. So I bought one and potted it. Funny ... after a month or so the plant was failing. It was watered with ship water ... distilled water .... no nutrients ....

 

Over the long term a cruise ship crew member misses a bunch of trace chemicals and FLORIDE

 

Doctors even tell parents that using distilled water in baby formula mix is not the best idea .....

You experience with a plant is not a scientific experiment. Distilled water is fine. The only way it could possible hurt is long term drinking AND you have a diet lacking in basic minerals, such as calcium. Your plant needed plant food, just like a person needs food. The whole leaching business is nonsense based on junk science and misunderstandings about pH levels and how they affect the stomach, which is highly acidic.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317698.php

not sure

but I think your negative reply actually agrees with me

I would agree that you received a condescending agreement:D

Totally agree on the condensending tone.

I asked for the data source because it sounded like hearsay rather than fact based. I am certainly no expert on this, but I would suggest that there are some very educated responses from very experienced individuals here that I would feel very comfortable believing.

4 months on the SUN ....we did drink ship's water but also bottled on excursions and the only ill effect that we seem to have encountered/developed is the NEED to sail with Viking again and soon.........how about you, Jim?

4 months on the SUN ....we did drink ship's water but also bottled on excursions and the only ill effect that we seem to have encountered/developed is the NEED to sail with Viking again and soon.........how about you, Jim?

Guilty as charged Dee. Booking the August 31 London/LA 127 day. Really miss our staff.:cool:

yes I miss them and our new friends too. I had to cook dinner tonight( which meant shop for food), mix a cocktail, find some wine, make my bed today, do a load of laundry, clean the bathroom, and I did not get 10,000 steps in without thinking and no one challenged me to learn or experience something new!....we leave right after Thanksgiving for 3 weeks....Amazon and the Caribbean ....but I am afraid of the culture shock after the wonderful WC and the over the top service!!! What a wonderful trip we had! AND THE WATER WAS FINE!!!!

With respect to the quality and safety of ship's FW, as a fellow retired Captain I agree with both Jim & Capt_BJ.

At home, while Vancouver has some of the softest and purest water, we still use a reverse osmosis (RO) system, which removes most of the minerals.

Therefore, the water we drink at home is no different from the ship which uses desalinated water or RO water. As already mentioned, it is probably the purest water you will find anywhere. Yes, devoid of minerals, but totally safe to drink.

I worked at sea for over 40 years and have never been told not to drink ship's water long term, which wouldn't matter anyway, as we drink the same water at home.

BTW - I wouldn't believe everything a crew member tells you, as many enjoy spinning tall tales to passengers and yes, when a young cadet, I may have even participated, especially when doing bridge visits.

With respect to the quality and safety of ship's FW, as a fellow retired Captain I agree with both Jim & Capt_BJ.

 

At home, while Vancouver has some of the softest and purest water, we still use a reverse osmosis (RO) system, which removes most of the minerals.

 

Therefore, the water we drink at home is no different from the ship which uses desalinated water or RO water. As already mentioned, it is probably the purest water you will find anywhere. Yes, devoid of minerals, but totally safe to drink.

 

I worked at sea for over 40 years and have never been told not to drink ship's water long term, which wouldn't matter anyway, as we drink the same water at home.

 

BTW - I wouldn't believe everything a crew member tells you, as many enjoy spinning tall tales to passengers and yes, when a young cadet, I may have even participated, especially when doing bridge visits.

Aarrrggh! And alls we drank on board was rum, Matey........;p:cool:

Aarrrggh! And alls we drank on board was rum, Matey........;p:cool:

Ah! my tipple of choice when deep sea was Whisky, with a wee drop of water. Only way to drink water.

hello Jim, deec (Eaches, if you are still out there !) and others who we exchanged messages with whilst you were on your World Cruise.

Helen and I still reflect upon and remember all of your adventures. We would love to share some time with you one day in the future (our VO bookings are NZ - Aust after Christmas 2018, Norway - Iceland in May 2019 and Empires of the Med in June 2019 if you have any spare time and cash ). And Jim ... it's good to know you are signed up for London / LA. Please start a day by day chat for that one as well so we can follow you again. Regards to all CC members. Cheers from 27°28′04″ S, 153°01′41″ E, Frank

Ah! my tipple of choice when deep sea was Whisky, with a wee drop of water. Only way to drink water.

Yes, that certainly tastes better than water purification tablets.......:cool:

hello Jim, deec (Eaches, if you are still out there !) and others who we exchanged messages with whilst you were on your World Cruise.

 

Helen and I still reflect upon and remember all of your adventures. We would love to share some time with you one day in the future (our VO bookings are NZ - Aust after Christmas 2018, Norway - Iceland in May 2019 and Empires of the Med in June 2019 if you have any spare time and cash ). And Jim ... it's good to know you are signed up for London / LA. Please start a day by day chat for that one as well so we can follow you again. Regards to all CC members. Cheers from 27°28′04″ S, 153°01′41″ E, Frank

Hello Frank and Helen. Thanks so much for the kind words. I do plan to have a thread similar to the other WC thread and will miss Eaches and Deec (among others) great photos and insight. We will just have to encourage a new crew of intrepid sailors to post their thoughts and pictures. A pity we are not going near OZ this time but this one "Closes the Loop".:cool: