Epic Water

[bschmitt]

Has anyone recently taken water on board at embarkation. Previously you could do that, no problem, but I see they now have a water program. I like Dasani and it seems they sell Aquafina. Any update would be appreciated.

[chengkp75]

Has anyone recently taken water on board at embarkation. Previously you could do that, no problem, but I see they now have a water program. I like Dasani and it seems they sell Aquafina. Any update would be appreciated.

 

No water or soft drinks are allowed to be brought on any NCL ship, for about the last year.

[cml4958]

Drinking water is not allowed to be brought onboard.

[Seminole1975]

The water on board tastes fine.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[sanger727]

No, you cannot bring any beverages on and they are serious about enforcing it. Had to toss the soda I was drinking when we went into the embarkation port. In one port I received a free bottle of water and stuck it in my bag. Completely forgot about it but they found it on the scanner when we returned to the ship and had to toss it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[ready2cruzagain]

Has anyone recently taken water on board at embarkation. Previously you could do that, no problem, but I see they now have a water program. I like Dasani and it seems they sell Aquafina. Any update would be appreciated.

OP, you do realize that Dasani is nothing more than purified tap water right? If you didn't know that, here is an article (one of many) for you:

 

https://www.naturalnews.com/038840_dasani_tap_water_purified.html

 

 

The Epic's water to me tastes better than the Dasani bottled water.

[BirdTravels]

OP, you do realize that Dasani is nothing more than purified tap water right? If you didn't know that, here is an article (one of many) for you:

https://www.naturalnews.com/038840_dasani_tap_water_purified.html

The Epic's water to me tastes better than the Dasani bottled water.

Isn’t this true of most bottled water.

 

The “taste” of onboard water will depend on how much of it is bunkered (shore water) and how much is manufactured on board.

[SquishTheWhale]

In one port I received a free bottle of water and stuck it in my bag. Completely forgot about it but they found it on the scanner when we returned to the ship and had to toss it.

 

 

I thought they were going to super strict with this like mentioned above, but at every port we walked back onto the ship with bottles of water and they didn't even blink. We weren't even subtle about it, they were on show in the pockets on the side of a rucksack. We didn't care if we had to empty them as it was just the ship's tap water we'd taken off with us, but we were never asked to. This was last week on the Escape. I'm not saying 'go ashore and buy a crate of water and bring it back on, it'll be fine', just that I was surprised to find this not enforced as I heard they were super strict.

 

Isn’t this true of most bottled water.

 

The “taste” of onboard water will depend on how much of it is bunkered (shore water) and how much is manufactured on board.

 

We went to the Engineering Q&A on the Escape and they said they make all their water and take on none. I imagine it might not be the same on all ships though with some having older technology. I can't remember the quantity of water they can produce every hour, but it was huge!

[chengkp75]

We went to the Engineering Q&A on the Escape and they said they make all their water and take on none. I imagine it might not be the same on all ships though with some having older technology. I can't remember the quantity of water they can produce every hour, but it was huge!

 

It has nothing to do with technology, it has to do with the ratio of port time to sea time that determines whether or not a ship bunkers water from shore, as well as how fast the ship sails between ports. The Sky, for instance, has the capacity to produce 1600mt/day of water, and only uses about 700-800mt/day, so that appears to be a capacity of twice consumption, but given the nature of her itinerary, with only short distances to cover to the Bahamas, and not much sea time, she does not make any water, and bunkers it all. Even a newer ship, if the itinerary calls for slow speeds between ports will have trouble keeping up with water demand. Ships cannot make water in port, nor within 12 miles of shore. RO units are expensive to run and maintain, and would need to be huge to have the capacity to make all the water needed onboard every day. Most of the water is made using triple stage flash evaporators, and these rely on the heat from the engines (think of the evaporator being the radiator in your car, taking the heat from the cooling water), so if the ship is steaming slowly, there is less heat (less diesels running), so less energy to make water.

 

Escape probably consumes about 1400-1600mt/day, and has the capacity to make 2000-2400mt/day.

[ready2cruzagain]

Isn’t this true of most bottled water.

 

The “taste” of onboard water will depend on how much of it is bunkered (shore water) and how much is manufactured on board.

Yes, it is. I never knew this until one day (a long time ago) I bought bottled water and happened to read the label. It said that it was the City of Buffalo, NY Tap Water :eek:

 

I was like, how stupid have I been. Could have turned on the sink and gotten water instead of paying $5 for a case for bottled water that I thought was "better" than my sink water.

 

 

Never again did I buy bottled water!

[chengkp75]

Yes, it is. I never knew this until one day (a long time ago) I bought bottled water and happened to read the label. It said that it was the City of Buffalo, NY Tap Water :eek:

 

I was like, how stupid have I been. Could have turned on the sink and gotten water instead of paying $5 for a case for bottled water that I thought was "better" than my sink water.

 

 

Never again did I buy bottled water!

 

And, Desani adds back 3 ingredients to the water, "for taste": magnesium sulfate (epsom salts, a drying agent and laxative), potassium chloride (fertilizer, and also ingredient in lethal injections), and salt.

[dutchessmoan]

I was even stopped when I brought a bottle of vanilla back on the ship I had bought in Mexico.

[Seminole1975]

No you cannot bring water on board. I have been following the great debate: "Bottled Water vs. Ship Water" for over a year now as I prepared for our cruise last month on the Getaway. (Some of those threads have been popcorn worthy) I made the VERY informed decision to buy metal water bottles to use on excursions rather than to purchase bottled water on the ship.

 

I was fortunate enough to stay in the Haven so I had the butler leave us a pitcher of ice water every day (ship water) and also fill up the ice bucket. I used this water to fill up our water bottles. The water was clear and clean, it had no after taste, actually it was quite refreshing ! I had no side effects, I did not swell up, get sick or die. ( I have high blood pressure, so swelling is a concern, but it did not happen)

 

The only time I actually thought about this issue was when we went to the buffet. I was somewhat surprised to see one whole crew member monitoring the soft drink dispenser. (This is also where you would get water to fill up your own bottles.) There were a stack of clean glasses by the dispenser as well as a sign with instructions on how to fill up your water bottle (in English) to minimize any infection control issues.

 

I do not know if a drink/water dispenser crew member is there all the time as we only went one time late at night for some ice cream. I do remember thinking how interesting this was and if NCL read the numerous water threads and concerns on CC!

 

Also re security: we packed the bottles in our suitcases when traveling, but never had an issue with ship security. We just tried to remember to empty them before we got back on the ship. Just thought I would share my experience. Have a great Friday!

Edited October 27, 2017 by Seminole1975

[cb at sea]

Whoever decided to sell water in bottles was a GENIUS! Got almost the entire population thinking it's somehow healthier and better than your own tap water! Lol!

Unless you are in Flint Michigan or have an "iffy" well, water is water...H2O....that's all!

[chengkp75]

You realize that Evian is Naive spelled backwards right?

 

 

Wait until someone comes out with bagged air!

 

Already happened, it's a packing material.

[ready2cruzagain]

Already happened, it's a packing material.

Oh my! You are right, I didn't think about those balloon packers! Geez, wonder why my brain doesn't work in those genius ways LOL.

[Two Wheels Only]

Wait until someone comes out with bagged air!

They sold canned exhaust fumes from Schumacher's F1 car.

People bought them.

[fshagan]

Whoever decided to sell water in bottles was a GENIUS! Got almost the entire population thinking it's somehow healthier and better than your own tap water! Lol!

Unless you are in Flint Michigan or have an "iffy" well, water is water...H2O....that's all!

 

Most people drink bottled water because of the taste, just like most people drink Coors beer because it tastes the best. Beer is beer! People paying more for specialty beer are just naive! ;)

 

My municipal water is very high in sodium to begin with, and very hard (22 grains), so we have a water softener that adds additional sodium. In addition has these carcinogens in it:

 

Bromodichloromethane: 3.30 ppb

Bromoform: 1.73 ppb

Chloroform: 2.35 ppb

Chromium: .135 ppb

Dibromochloromethane: 6.75 ppb *

Dichloroacetic acid: 1.25 ppb

Radium-226, Radium-228 & Uranium (detected, levels not stated)

Trihalomethanes: 22.1 ppb

 

* This is the only level that exceeds safety guidelines set by the state; the safe level of this carcinogen is set at .7 ppb.

 

The water on the ships is probably much safer than my city's water. Many of those carcinogens are a result of organic matter being oxidized by the sanitizing chemicals, a problem the ship probably doesn't have with a closed loop, relatively small system that isn't buried in the ground.

 

We drink bottled water because we like the taste. If we liked the taste of our residential water we would filter it and drink it but there's only so much you can do with residential water filters. On the ship, bottled water (or filtered water from the buffet, bar or restaurant) is convenient for the 16 ounces I drink every night.

 

Aquafina, the "common" bottled water that NCL sells, has 0 ppb of all these chemicals. None, zero, zip. The bottled water we drink at home, from Costco, also has none. The ship's water probably has none too, or much lower amounts, due to the system itself. The ship's water does have chlorine in it, so there could be some of those sanitation byproducts.

[fshagan]

Just like Coke and Pepsi, most people cannot tell the difference in any of that under a blind taste test. Even the ones who always reply "I can tell". It's all marketing hype.

 

Do you know the difference between good beer and bad beer?

 

Good beer is cold! :D

 

I like that! I don't drink beer but have friends who are so passionate about their brand you would think they are talking about religion or politics. I can't tell much difference in taste between them, so I tell them they are wasting money, that all beer is the same based on its chemical nature, and that they are foolish and naive. Then I ask them if they prefer Costco or Walmart branded water.

[chengkp75]

I like that! I don't drink beer but have friends who are so passionate about their brand you would think they are talking about religion or politics. I can't tell much difference in taste between them, so I tell them they are wasting money, that all beer is the same based on its chemical nature, and that they are foolish and naive. Then I ask them if they prefer Costco or Walmart branded water.

 

While you are correct that there is little difference in taste for the mass market beers, you obviously have never had a craft beer. While all wines may have the same ingredients, beers can be made with varieties of ingredients, and in varying amounts of each ingredient. I am a true fan of the craft beer trend, and am glad that New England is a major source of some of the best beers out there. I consider all mass market beers to be "lawn mowing beers", as that is the only time I would think of drinking one, merely for the cold.

[fshagan]

While you are correct that there is little difference in taste for the mass market beers, you obviously have never had a craft beer. While all wines may have the same ingredients, beers can be made with varieties of ingredients, and in varying amounts of each ingredient. I am a true fan of the craft beer trend, and am glad that New England is a major source of some of the best beers out there. I consider all mass market beers to be "lawn mowing beers", as that is the only time I would think of drinking one, merely for the cold.

 

Yeah, we have a lot of craft beers here in California. And there is at least as much variety in beer as there is in wines. I actually respect those that have a particular fondness for a specific brew, or a specific wine, or a specific cut of steak, or a specific type of water.

[coffeenmorecoffee]

So just to be clear: if I bring a water bottle (I have a hydroflask that I normally carry on trips) there *will* be places I can regularly refill with no problem? I drink a lot of water, and the last time I cruised was on RC probably 10 years ago and the water was just undrinkable even in the restaurants. I'm hoping for updated technology since then, heh

[Seminole1975]

Yes

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[RobTheGob]

So just to be clear: if I bring a water bottle (I have a hydroflask that I normally carry on trips) there *will* be places I can regularly refill with no problem? I drink a lot of water, and the last time I cruised was on RC probably 10 years ago and the water was just undrinkable even in the restaurants. I'm hoping for updated technology since then, heh

 

We drink a lot of water and we would fill our bottles in the buffet (using a GLASS! They do NOT like you filling your bottle directly) and thought it was just fine. We are always suggesting that they install water bottle fillers (come in, it's 2017!)...

 

Having said that, the water from the tap in the cabin was NOT good...