Do you drink the water from your cabin tap?

[erin_cruisers]

I've taken the "Behind the scenes" tour as well, and found it very informative.

What I heard on tour echoes what I've read here by poster 'chengkp75'.

 

Yes, we drink the water on board, never had a problem with it. Or on any ship.

I don't have an aversion to bottled water, just don't see the point of it. I know good water and have excellent well water where I live. (Nestle's draws upwards of a million litres of water per day just a few miles from my home. The water is that good).

 

To the poster that reported the brown water out of their taps - I would take a sample down to the front desk or ask someone to come up and see it. It sounds like an anomaly.

 

Have a great day. :)

Edited March 8, 2015 by erin_cruisers

[Randyk47]

I just remembered our Q&A from our Baltic Cruise in Aug 2014 on the Eurodam. The Captain De Vries I believe- I can look it up if it is important -mentioned that they take on water in some ports because it is cheaper than making their own.

He stipulated that they test the water first before loading it and that there are ports- he did not name names that he would not accept water and would make it aboard the ship rather than accept it even though the cost would be higher.

 

I do remember on past cruises we have taken water aboard in Oslo and St.Thomas.

 

So I guess you never know where the water you are drinking comes from?

It all seems to taste the same to me.

 

The first time we actually noticed was some 10 plus years when we docked in Limon and they actually had a line of 5,000 gallon trucks on the dock that were clearly marked as potable water. We wondered at the time if something was broken so we asked one of the ship's engineers about it. His answer was about the same, it's cheaper and faster. I can't say I've gone out of my way to check in each and every port but my impression is that taking water on at a port is actually pretty common. Seen it all over the Caribbean and more recently in the Mediterranean though Limon was the only place we've seen trucks rather than a dockside connection.

[chengkp75]

The first time we actually noticed was some 10 plus years when we docked in Limon and they actually had a line of 5,000 gallon trucks on the dock that were clearly marked as potable water. We wondered at the time if something was broken so we asked one of the ship's engineers about it. His answer was about the same, it's cheaper and faster. I can't say I've gone out of my way to check in each and every port but my impression is that taking water on at a port is actually pretty common. Seen it all over the Caribbean and more recently in the Mediterranean though Limon was the only place we've seen trucks rather than a dockside connection.

 

The "waste heat" evaporators that use the cooling water from the engines is almost energy free. If the heat was not used to boil water, it would be just be used to "heat" the ocean. The reverse osmosis units do require significant amounts of electricity to drive the high pressure pump. It depends on where the water is purchased as to whether it is cheaper or not. In Hawaii, we were only at sea for 60 hours of the 168 hours per week, so there was no way we could make enough water to meet consumption, and took water in nearly every port.

[sail7seas]

I agree the water is safe to drink and is at or better then US municipal water standards. However I disagree with the "It is more pure and better tasting than most of the bottles so many people buy". There is a myth on many of the cruise ships that all of the water onboard is desalinated sea water. Yes water is made onboard, but it is mixed with municipal water when the ship is in port. It may or may not taste good depending on the ship and your taste buds.

 

I just remembered our Q&A from our Baltic Cruise in Aug 2014 on the Eurodam. The Captain De Vries I believe- I can look it up if it is important -mentioned that they take on water in some ports because it is cheaper than making their own.

He stipulated that they test the water first before loading it and that there are ports- he did not name names that he would not accept water and would make it aboard the ship rather than accept it even though the cost would be higher.

 

I do remember on past cruises we have taken water aboard in Oslo and St.Thomas.

 

So I guess you never know where the water you are drinking comes from?

It all seems to taste the same to me.

 

 

 

Yes, water is sometimes bunkered from port.... price if often one of the determining factors..

 

[sail7seas]

The "waste heat" evaporators that use the cooling water from the engines is almost energy free. If the heat was not used to boil water, it would be just be used to "heat" the ocean. The reverse osmosis units do require significant amounts of electricity to drive the high pressure pump. It depends on where the water is purchased as to whether it is cheaper or not. In Hawaii, we were only at sea for 60 hours of the 168 hours per week, so there was no way we could make enough water to meet consumption, and took water in nearly every port.

 

Once again, my many thanks for the time and energy you spend passing along such wonderful information. I never pass by one of your posts lest I miss something contained in it I'd be sorry not to learn.

 

We are so lucky to have you in our community. :)

 

[cruz chic]

Once again, my many thanks for the time and energy you spend passing along such wonderful information. I never pass by one of your posts lest I miss something contained in it I'd be sorry not to learn.

 

We are so lucky to have you in our community. :)

 

 

Agree 100%.

[PathfinderEss]

I don't like the taste of the tap water on board, so I drink bottle water.

[Randyk47]

The "waste heat" evaporators that use the cooling water from the engines is almost energy free. If the heat was not used to boil water, it would be just be used to "heat" the ocean. The reverse osmosis units do require significant amounts of electricity to drive the high pressure pump. It depends on where the water is purchased as to whether it is cheaper or not. In Hawaii, we were only at sea for 60 hours of the 168 hours per week, so there was no way we could make enough water to meet consumption, and took water in nearly every port.

 

Thanks though I wasn't the one who mentioned "waste heat" evaporators but it's good information. That said I did forget to say that the engineer we talked to did mention that there wasn't enough running time from port to port in the Caribbean to generate sufficient water to keep up with demand. Our recent cruises in the Med were even shorter distances and cruising times so no wonder they "filled up" whenever they could. In 50 cruise days in the Med we've had only three sea days. :)

[OCruisers]

For the past 53 years I've been drinking tap water from lots of ships (including HAL ships) and have never had a problem! :)

The water from the tap tends to be a bit warm but taste fine over ice. ;)

LuLu

[SteveH2508]

The melt water from your ice bucket is always nice - the chlorination dissipates while the ice is melting. We also fill a couple of water bottles from the tap and put them in the cooler overnight (if we can find room amongst the beer! - or I just drink a couple of bottles;))) - absolutely fine.

[serendipity1499]

We always drink the ships water... I drink a lot of water & take a small bottle in an insulated pack for our days in port.. I fill my bottle from the tap & put it in the ice bucket at night..

 

Ships water is actually better tasting than our tap water at home.. At home we drink the water & make coffee/tea with water which is filtered through our refrigerator..

Edited March 8, 2015 by serendipity1499

[lazey1]

We always drink the tap water aboard ship. At home our tap water taste terrible so we have reverse osmosis. We can't tell the difference between the ship's tap water and our reverse osmosis water at home.

[RuthC]

I'm fortunate to have excellent tap water at home, and find the HAL ship water to be fine for drinking. It was only once, for a couple of days, out of over 600 days on HAL, that the water was distasteful. The officer at our table that night blamed it on the chemicals used to treat the water that was on-loaded that day.

 

I have no qualms about drinking the water from the tap, with ice made from that same water.

[dsrdsrdsr]

Thanks chengkp75. I always appreciate your detailed information.

 

For my eye and smell test- not scientific at all lol. I assumed that all water unless otherwise indicated from taps was potable.

 

I assumed that the water from my cabin tap would be from the same source as the dining room water they pour at the table from a generic pitcher.

 

I drink it and have not had a problem- not that others couldn't. I just haven't and it tastes good to me.

 

The water's from the same source, but it hasn't flowed through the same pipes. So you could have a problem with one and not the other.

[Hlitner]

We have literally spent years on cruises (as passengers) and always drink tap water without any hesitation. Unlike bottled water, the ship's water is tested multiple times per day. Ships get their potable/drinking water from two sources depending on the ship and circumstances. In some ports they will purchase shore water which is carefully tested (once aboard) and treated if necessary. They also make their own water from sea water via reverse osmosis or flash evaporation techniques. If they make their own water (which does use a lot of power) it is often so pure that they must add-back some minerals to give the water flavor (as opposed to drinking tasteless distilled water). There have been some reports that ship's water might have a higher sodium content then shore water...and of this we have no clue.

 

Hank

[chengkp75]

The water's from the same source, but it hasn't flowed through the same pipes. So you could have a problem with one and not the other.

 

Not sure how you mean. Ship's piping is either copper or plastic, and every deck branches off a "main" that runs up from the engine room.

[Globaliser]

However, the ship cannot make water from sea water when within 12 miles of shore or in port, so depending on the ship's itinerary, they will sometimes take on water from ports.

Why is this? Is it a MARPOL thing? What's the rationale?

 

I wouldn't immediately have thought that distilling water was a polluting activity (given that the ship's engines are being used anyway), but obviously I'm missing something here.

[chengkp75]

We have literally spent years on cruises (as passengers) and always drink tap water without any hesitation. Unlike bottled water, the ship's water is tested multiple times per day. Ships get their potable/drinking water from two sources depending on the ship and circumstances. In some ports they will purchase shore water which is carefully tested (once aboard) and treated if necessary. They also make their own water from sea water via reverse osmosis or flash evaporation techniques. If they make their own water (which does use a lot of power) it is often so pure that they must add-back some minerals to give the water flavor (as opposed to drinking tasteless distilled water). There have been some reports that ship's water might have a higher sodium content then shore water...and of this we have no clue.

 

Hank

 

I hate to pick on you Hank, I respect your experience, but I want to dispel another urban legend about ships. As I stated in a previous post here, the only thing added to the water (other than the chlorine) is calcium carbonate, which is done to neutralize the water, not for any taste benefit.

 

Reverse osmosis watermakers, if not up to full performance, can result in some sodium ions passing through the membrane, but the sodium level is constantly monitored and the water produced is recirculated for further treatment if it gets too high. The mixture of shore water and RO water is what gives the ship's water taste (as well as the chlorine).

[Lizzie68]

We always drink the ships water... I drink a lot of water & take a small bottle in an insulated pack for our days in port.. I fill my bottle from the tap & put it in the ice bucket at night..

 

Ships water is actually better tasting than our tap water at home.. At home we drink the water & make coffee/tea with water which is filtered through our refrigerator..

 

LOL - we are fortunate where we live in having excellent water. In fact. Nestle uses our natural spring waters for free and makes billions selling it in bottles.... but that is a topic for another day.:D

[serendipity1499]

LOL - we are fortunate where we live in having excellent water. In fact. Nestle uses our natural spring waters for free and makes billions selling it in bottles.... but that is a topic for another day.:D

 

We've been down here in Fla for more than 20 years & I have never been able to drink the water here, but I'll drink the ships water.. However, DH has no problem drinking our tap water..:p:eek:

 

We came from Long Island & had wonderful water.. The water from up North, New snow in our backyard at Christmas & being able to go into Manhattan at Christmas time is the only thing I miss!!

[Dancer Bob]

Try searching "Toronto Star" and "Blue Glass Water". And this was in Canada.

As far as someone who uses "pure" and "tastes good" in the same sentence- what gives water its taste? Another topic to research is the Broad Street pump and the person who used the water because it tasted good.

Hlitner and chengkp75 seem to have between them pretty much summed it up.

Edited March 9, 2015 by Dancer Bob

[donaldsc]

Why wouldn't you. Unless you live in a place that has especially good water such as NYC, it is probably better than the water you get at home.

 

DON

[threeedogmedia]

Chengkp75, You seem to have knowledge of this type of system ( or systems in general) so I have no problems with the information you provided. I'll drink the water in the stateroom like I've always done on Oceania and Regent. If my taste buds don't like it, I can always buy bottled water but with the amount of water I drink, I would be spending a fortune. Thanks for the detailed information.

Karen

[threeedogmedia]

"However, the ship cannot make water from sea water when within 12 miles of shore or in port, so depending on the ship's itinerary, they will sometimes take on water from ports".

 

This is quite true and for one particular area, I am very glad that they have this policy.

 

This article will make you skin crawl. We've known about this for many years but our neighbor Canada still has areas that have no treatment plants at all and dump a considerable about of raw waste into the sea. When we go traveling through the Gulf Islands off Vancouver and Victoria, we never eat the seafood we could harvest. There are usually signs that say there is a "red tide" in the area but we all know it's sewage. For such a wonderful country as Canada is, Victoria and to some extent Vancouver is a disgrace for not doing a better job of protecting the sea. Here is the link: http://www.bucksuzuki.org/images/uploads/docs/Hidden_Killer.pdf

There are many more articles by various sources but this stuff seems to be kept on the QT. It's a shame.

[cb at sea]

I have never had "brown" water from the tap....so I drink it! If it wasn't clear, I wouldn't drink it!

It's better if you put it on ice, tho...it will never "run cold" from the tap.