Drink the Tap Water?

[FLchick3]

Hi,

 

The MSC Divina looks beautiful.

 

When I cruise I bring an empty gallon size jug and fill it with water (from the tap) and Crystal Light.

 

I drink a lot of these Crystal Light jugs.

 

I just wanted to confirm I’d be ok doing that on the MSC Divina. I’ve seen a few threads about water.

 

Thank you in advance!

[Skipper Tim]

I have been to a couple of technical talks aboard cruise ships, one Royal Caribbean and the other on MSC but the details on water were the same.

 

Tap water and even shower water are potable and to a very high standard. There are two types of systems usually found on every cruise ship and they both produce pure distilled water - i.e. H2O and nothing else. To this is added minerals in a precise isotonic concentration and a weak concentration of chlorine to keep it sterile while it travels down the pipes to the taps.

 

If the chlorine bothers you, it will typically leave an open-topped vessel, e.g. a glass or jug, as gas within minutes. There is no safer water!

 

The stuff sold as 'mineral water' can contain practically anything, including radioactive elements, and toxins from plastic bottles do leach in. There are few controls on mineral water compared to tap water. I would always drink tap water aboard a cruise ship or ashore out of choice.

 

P.S. Filling a jug with crystal light sounded immensely poetic until I looked it up. 'Crystal Light' is not something we have in the UK.

Edited December 27, 2012 by Skipper Tim

[Norwegian Cruiser 73]

First of all, MSC Divina IS a wonderful ship and you can look forward to your cruise.

 

And yes, it's safe to drink the tap water onboard and as Skipper Tim said, the water is of very high standard.

[FLchick3]

Thank you both for your replies.

 

 

 

The water process is the same as the one I heard at a talk on Norwegian.

Too funny about the Crystal Light. Nothing poetic, just something I drink a ton of!

Skipper John – I saw your webpage, so…..as a single woman I do have to ask…..why are you still single? :)

Again, thank you both for your replies.

[Skier52]

I have been to a couple of technical talks aboard cruise ships, one Royal Caribbean and the other on MSC but the details on water were the same.

 

Tap water and even shower water are potable and to a very high standard. There are two types of systems usually found on every cruise ship and they both produce pure distilled water - i.e. H2O and nothing else. To this is added minerals in a precise isotonic concentration and a weak concentration of chlorine to keep it sterile while it travels down the pipes to the taps.

 

If the chlorine bothers you, it will typically leave an open-topped vessel, e.g. a glass or jug, as gas within minutes. There is no safer water!

 

The stuff sold as 'mineral water' can contain practically anything, including radioactive elements, and toxins from plastic bottles do leach in. There are few controls on mineral water compared to tap water. I would always drink tap water aboard a cruise ship or ashore out of choice.

 

P.S. Filling a jug with crystal light sounded immensely poetic until I looked it up. 'Crystal Light' is not something we have in the UK.

All water contains naturally occuring "radioactivity", the main radioactive isotopes being

 

1) Tritium (an isotope of hydrogen with the atomic mass of 3) as T2O, a form of heavy water, which cannot be separated by reverse osmosis or ion exchange (the two main methods of making potable water from sea water), and is naturally occuring, made by the reaction of cosmic rays (the neutrons contained in cosmic radiation) with the nitrogen (78 %) of the atmosphere.

 

2) Carbon-14 in the form of carbonic acid made from the carbon dioxide in the air dissolvimg in water. Everybody has Carbon-14 as part of their make up and it is this fact which alllows the technique of carbon dating

 

3) Potassium-40, as salts such as chorides and carbonates, which is in a lot of foods as well; particularly brazil nuts and bananas.

 

 

So the use of the emotive word "radioactive" with regard to water is ill founded in this instance.

I would be far more concerned about the plasticisers, usually phthalates, from the plastic bottles than the naturaly occuring radioactivity.

 

Water on ships is usaully made by reverse osmosis and will be of the best quality of potable water around and as such poses no health hazard provided the precautions against bactirial contamination of the pipes and equiment is adhered to.

 

 

In the EU at least there are a massive amount of controls on any product labelled "Mineral water" but virtually none on "Spring Water" which is where a lot of the confusion arises.

 

 

Pete

(35 years as a professional radiochemist speciallising in the custom preparation of organic compounds using both Tritium and Carbon-14).

Edited December 30, 2012 by Skier52

[Skipper Tim]

All water contains naturally occuring "radioactivity", the main radioactive isotopes being

 

1) Tritium (an isotope of hydrogen with the atomic mass of 3) as T2O, a form of heavy water, which cannot be separated by reverse osmosis or ion exchange (the two main methods of making potable water from sea water), and is naturally occuring, made by the reaction of cosmic rays (the neutrons contained in cosmic radiation) with the nitrogen (78 %) of the atmosphere.

 

2) Carbon-14 in the form of carbonic acid made from the carbon dioxide in the air dissolvimg in water. Everybody has Carbon-14 as part of their make up and it is this fact which alllows the technique of carbon dating

 

3) Potassium-40, as salts such as chorides and carbonates, which is in a lot of foods as well; particularly brazil nuts and bananas.

 

 

So the use of the emotive word "radioactive" with regard to water is ill founded in this instance.

I would be far more concerned about the plasticisers, usually phthalates, from the plastic bottles than the naturaly occuring radioactivity.

 

Water on ships is usaully made by reverse osmosis and will be of the best quality of potable water around and as such poses no health hazard provided the precautions against bactirial contamination of the pipes and equiment is adhered to.

 

 

In the EU at least there are a massive amount of controls on any product labelled "Mineral water" but virtually none on "Spring Water" which is where a lot of the confusion arises.

 

 

Pete

(35 years as a professional radiochemist speciallising in the custom preparation of organic compounds using both Tritium and Carbon-14).

 

What a marvellous contribution! Replies like that show the real worth of online forums such as these. I am very happily corrected and informed - thank you.

 

I am a computer scientist but sadly no-one ever seems to want to know about things like that!

 

With regards 'radioactivity', I was particularly thinking of the spring water of Pamukale in Turkey. We were routinely told by our tour guide how good it was for us and that it cured all known diseases and that we could buy it in plastic bottles. We were taken to one of the sources where there was a sign listing the mineral content which did include some radioactive elements that I recognised from my O-level chemistry, so a little better known that the ones you mention, but I can't remember which. I declined the offer of a free glass!

[MudbugsTherapist]

I'm pretty sure "Skipper John" is still single because of women who keep calling him "Skipper John" when his name is TIM.

[FLchick3]

LOL! Very possible! :)

[Skipper Tim]

I'm pretty sure "Skipper John" is still single because of women who keep calling him "Skipper John" when his name is TIM.

 

LOL! Very possible! :)

 

Behave!

 

Rest assured that if I were a catch, I would have been caught by now!

 

This is meant to be a discussion about tap water!

 

Tim (not John).

[AmoMondo]

Behave!

 

Rest assured that if I were a catch, I would have been caught by now!

 

This is meant to be a discussion about tap water!

 

Tim (not John).

 

Lol!

[csisinfo]

I am wondering if we can bring in our own water into the main dinning room on MSC ship:rolleyes: