No free water???!!!

[unrealHeather]

If you gave a beverage package, you can always ask for bottled water at the bar and take back to your room.  That's how we handled it.  

[neutrino78x]

Sheesh I would think a cruise ship would try to have an abundance of potable water. On submarines, we used the heat from the nuclear reactor to produce 5000 gallons (18,927 L) of potable water every day. 120 people (about 100 enlisted, about 20 officers) in our 560 foot (170 m) long boat have to share it, so that's 42 gallons (158 L) of water per person per day. Which isn't much (that's ALL your potable water...for doing dishes, cleaning, soda, coffee, drinking water, "bug juice" (crystal light), etc.). It means that your showers consist of, turn on the water for 2 seconds, turn it off, put soap on, turn the water back on for two seconds, turn it off, shower is over. You get two of those every 18 hours. If we start to use too much potable water, the Captain just orders the showers secured (valves turned off so no one can take a shower) until people get the water use down again.

But we never secured the water fountains for drinking.

But it's just the size of the potable water tanks. The reactor could happily produce a lot more potable water than that if we had bigger tanks to hold it. I would think a huge cruise ship would have a potable water tank 10x the size if not more. If there's enough water that they're not making you take submarine/Navy showers, I'm surprised there is not free potable water.

Are most cruise lines like that? I am intimately familiar with it being a limited resource, but like I said, if you're not being made to take submarine showers, there should be plenty of potable water.

[InVelvetSlumber]

5 hours ago, neutrino78x said:

I'm surprised there is not free potable water.

 

There is free drinkable water - in the buffet and from the tap in your cabin 🙂

[ighten]

It's an Italian cruise line aimed at Italians and Mediterranean/European customer none of which would blink an eye when they go for a meal and order bottled water.... It's the norm.... 

 

As a UK CPL tbf on both cruises we have sailed with Costa we had free iced water  offered at every meal and guess what, it tasted no different to iced water on NCL or Celebrity. Though tbf why would you be on Costa without a drinks PKG, sparkling and still mineral water is free and put on the table every meal 

[unrealHeather]

As others have said there is free drinking water at the buffet.  You can fill cups and transfer to your water bottle that way.  I don't know about drinking tap water from the room, as it isn't safe on all ships to drink from the tap.  

[neutrino78x]

10 minutes ago, unrealHeather said:

  I don't know about drinking tap water from the room, as it isn't safe on all ships to drink from the tap.  

Really? It should come from the evaporator just like on a Navy ship right? If the ship flag is Italy, surely the Italian equivalent of the Puddle Pirates, I mean, the US Coast Guard (in the Navy we make fun of the Coast Guard by calling them Puddle Pirates...they call us Squids), requires the drinking water to be safe? 😮

 

Where's that Merchant Marine Engineering Officer who commented earlier?

Edited January 13, 2020 by neutrino78x

[unrealHeather]

1 hour ago, neutrino78x said:

Really? It should come from the evaporator just like on a Navy ship right? If the ship flag is Italy, surely the Italian equivalent of the Puddle Pirates, I mean, the US Coast Guard (in the Navy we make fun of the Coast Guard by calling them Puddle Pirates...they call us Squids), requires the drinking water to be safe? 😮

 

Where's that Merchant Marine Engineering Officer who commented earlier?

It should be safe to drink, that being said, it might not be something you want to drink.  https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=4278

[blueplatinum]

I am cruising on Costa Fortuna in September and I am a bit concerned about this.

I have done four previous Costa cruises (various ships, the last in 2019) and there was always water available from fountains on deck and/or in the buffet.

 

Can anyone who has sailed in 2022 or 2023 confirm if this is still the case please? I am not bothered about water in the restaurant but I do want to be able to fill my water bottle.

 

Thank you.

[BVILady]

2 hours ago, blueplatinum said:

I am cruising on Costa Fortuna in September and I am a bit concerned about this.

I have done four previous Costa cruises (various ships, the last in 2019) and there was always water available from fountains on deck and/or in the buffet.

 

Can anyone who has sailed in 2022 or 2023 confirm if this is still the case please? I am not bothered about water in the restaurant but I do want to be able to fill my water bottle.

 

Thank you.

There still is. When they ask people not to fill bottles off the dispenser it is to not contaminate the faucet. You can fill cups and then transfer to your bottle. I don't understand all these comments about water bottles to be bought, I have been on HAL, Princess, P&O and several smaller lines without having a drink-package and had to buy the bottled water when I went on excursions. I am not sure about MSC, because we did have a drink-package on MSC.

[Dancer Bob]

On Diadema, water during meals on the buffet and if I recall correctly, 24 hrs at the dispenser beside the hamburger place.

I believe Fortuna had a refit and has recently returned to service, so I don't know what water dispensers there are now.

And of course, 24 hrs in your cabin.

Edited August 15, 2023 by Dancer Bob

[At7Seas]

This entire discussion is weird! I don‘t drink tap water at home, why should I do when I am on a cruise? What do you think I would do with a waiter bringing me tap water for dinner? Hope for him he could run faster than me!

[Oggiabordo]

I try to avoid drinking the tap water on any ship, any cruise line. At home I use a simple water filter jug and keep it in the fridge. 
 

I can understand why it is a controversial subject though. As regards Costa , they are generally much cheaper for bottled water onboard than many other lines, generally offering water packages too. A small amount of money very well spent in my opinion. Would be good to see some more environmentally friendly solutions onboard though, for those who do not wish to drink tap / jug water on the ships.