Recycle Vero Water System

[cruiseluv]

3 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

 

I think the carbon footprint of a cruise ship is much bigger than the use of plastic bottles by passengers for excursions, especially if they're being reused by refilling them ourselves in our cabin, and are recycled at the end of the cruise, which I hope the ship does.

 

Oh yes, you're so right! I find it amusing, all these environmental "concerns" while sailing away on a cruise ship. I submit, if they stayed home and did nothing, they could use plastic straws, plastic bottles, bags, and whatever else, and still the environment would come ahead. 

[Floridiana]

10 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

plastic bottles by passengers for excursions, especially if they're being reused by refilling them ourselves in our cabin, and are recycled at the end of the cruise, which I hope the ship does.

 

The question was asked on a luxury ship that travels around the world. The answer was that the ship gives recyclables to local companies and hopes they will recycle as they promise to do. 

[golfer21]

Anyone have a picture of the Vero water bottles? Going to be on Explorer in Nov. I like bubbly water cold but husband likes still cold. Hope fridge has room enough for water, ice bucket and beer.

[JMARINER]

4 hours ago, golfer21 said:

Anyone have a picture of the Vero water bottles?............

 

J

[golfer21]

1 hour ago, JMARINER said:

 

J

Thanks, they look like they will fit on door of fridge.

 

Pat

[kjbacon]

So I finally sat down and read through this thread. Hmmm, not sure how to sort all this out. The water was fresh and delicious. Our butler brought us as many bottles as we wanted and was sure that we always had enough (we drink lots of water).

 

If you are concerned about sanitation, realize that the bottles are but one of many, many things on the ship such as forks, spoons, coffee cups, wine glasses, breakfast plates, salad plates, ice cream bowls, serving spoons, serving bowls, waiter’s trays, waiter’s hands, chefs, cooks, chef knives, cutting boards, sauté pans, beds, sofas, sheets, towels, pillows, tablecloths, toilets, carpets, walls, the jigsaw puzzle, and the more likely unsanitary sources such as door knobs, salt shakers, elevator buttons, the refrigerator handle, and railings throughout.

 

It is hard for me to understand how anyone can still be in a mindset that doesn’t care about taking steps to help our environment.

 

 

[RJ2002]

17 hours ago, golfer21 said:

Thanks, they look like they will fit on door of fridge.

 

Pat

 

We are currently onboard Navigator. The bottle is too wide to fit in the refrigerator door shelf, but it would fit in the main section if you were to remove the shelf. 

[golfer21]

I see what you mean RJ2002, hoping the fridges on Explorer will be more accommodating guess I will have to wait and see. Thanks for the picture.

 

Pat

[machotspur]

This thread is near identical to one that has been running on the Seabourn board last month.

 

What follows will no doubt be disregarded or dismissed by some – it is after all a little lengthy, for which I make no apologies.

 

I find the thread to be truly depressing in parts. The statement that most closely reflects how I am feeling at the moment was made by kjbacon in post #56.

 

>>It is hard for me to understand how anyone can still be in a mindset that doesn’t care about taking steps to help our environment.<<

 

I respectfully post some random comments that those naysayers on here may wish to consider.

 

1.       This issue of disposable water bottles isn’t just about carbon footprint, as some posters appear to suggest. Single use plastic is a scourge on our (natural) world.

 

2.       Some may have heard about a UK broadcasting legend named Sir David Attenborough. Last year he featured in the latest of his many TV documentaries – Blue Planet II. The programme shows, in graphic detail, the devastating impact that single use plastic is having on ocean life – even when you think you've done the right thing by dropping it in a recycling bin !

Perhaps watch this series on PBS or whatever and then decide how precious your 500ml single use plastic bottle of water, or plastic straw is !

 

3.       In many parts of the developed world the impact of consumer behaviour can be directly linked to the decisions of the company. To take two of Regent’s recent decisions – this initial move to plastic free water bottles, and the significant increase in the Vegan/Vegetarian food offering on their ships. Mostly they haven’t done this for PR or political reasons. They are not fools. Their research must surely be telling them that this is what their current – and future – customers want, and if they don’t act they will be out of line with their customers needs. They will ultimately save money, and many of their customers will be happy - Win/Win.

 

4.       To those on here from the USA who have been stating how wonderful their water is at home.  I quote a post from the Seabourn thread  (from an apparently intelligent and informed person from Florida, USA)  …. our tap water in the US is awful. It’s a national disgrace. Our FDA has set minimum amounts of lead, arsenic and glyphosate allowed (omg).  But some 3000 municipal water systems can’t even meet those standards. (Yet despite this some people on here appear to be worried about an apparently decent purification system being used on Regent ships).

 

5.       A final thought - on a single 14 day cruise on a typical Regent ship, with each passenger using say 2 single use bottles a day - this equals nearly 25,000 plastic bottles in the trash - on just one cruise ! Yes – it’s us that are discarding these bottles, and it is so unnecessary.  

 

I’m most certainly not an environmental warrior - just a 60 something ordinary guy in the street. I carry an easy to clean reusable water bottle with me wherever I go, refilling it at available sources. I will be bringing it with me to our next Regent cruise in 5 weeks time, and aim to not use their single use bottles. For medical reasons I need to have ‘sippable' water with me at all times, so if I can get by without disposable plastic bottles surely anybody can ?

   

I am confident that the initial actions by Regent being discussed here will ultimately result in the taking of a single use plastic bottle of water becoming as anti social as smoking in a restaurant ! 

For those that believe that they will still be here in 2030 I predict that there will not be single use water bottles on a cruise ship – or many other places for that matter – in 10 years time.

 

Flame away !

[SWFLAOK]

3 hours ago, machotspur said:

This thread is near identical to one that has been running on the Seabourn board last month.

 

What follows will no doubt be disregarded or dismissed by some – it is after all a little lengthy, for which I make no apologies.

 

 

Yes, it will be disregarded and dismissed. I read this board because I've chosen to cruise on Regent. We looked into Seabourn, and didn't find it something we were interested in. We live in Florida, and read the regular reports on our local water, and as someone with a college degree that can interpret the report from both a chemical and microbiological perspective, I'm confident our water is safe. That's one of the reasons I purchased a home in our local Florida water district. That doesn't mean that all water in the US is high quality, but to say that "our tap water in the US is awful" is definitely not a statement made by an intelligent or informed person. There are great differences in water districts, and having your own well makes you responsible for the water quality.

Maybe those who think water on the cruise ships is higher quality than the US should take a closer look at the water being pumped into the freshwater tanks of cruise ships when they dock in other countries, where tap water is totally not safe to drink.

Edited August 19, 2019 by SWFLAOK
typo

[Travelcat2]

26 minutes ago, SWFLAOK said:

Yes, it will be disregarded and dismissed. I read this board because I've chosen to cruise on Regent. We looked into Seabourn, and didn't find it something we were interested in. We live in Florida, and read the regular reports on our local water, and as someone with a college degree that can interpret the report from both a chemical and microbiological perspective, I'm confident our water is safe. That's one of the reasons I purchased a home in our local Florida water district. That doesn't mean that all water in the US is high quality, but to say that "our tap water in the US is awful" is definitely not a statement made by an intelligent or informed person. There are great differences in water districts, and having your own well makes you responsible for the water quality.

Maybe those who think water on the cruise ships is higher quality than the US should take a closer look at the water being pumped into the freshwater tanks of cruise ships when they dock in other countries, where tap water is totally not safe to drink.

 

Could not agree with you more.  IMO, this was an example of gross misinformation.  While I am happy that Regent is doing their part in making the world a better place, this does not mean that others are not.  Yes - plastic in the sea is killing way too much wildlife.  However, this is happening because some people/countries dump their plastics into the sea.  This is not something that is done by cruise ships or by most countries that recycle plastics.

 

Thank you for putting things into perspective!

[kjbacon]

13 hours ago, machotspur said:

I’m most certainly not an environmental warrior - just a 60 something ordinary guy in the street. I carry an easy to clean reusable water bottle with me wherever I go, refilling it at available sources. I will be bringing it with me to our next Regent cruise in 5 weeks time, and aim to not use their single use bottles. For medical reasons I need to have ‘sippable' water with me at all times, so if I can get by without disposable plastic bottles surely anybody can ?

   

I am confident that the initial actions by Regent being discussed here will ultimately result in the taking of a single use plastic bottle of water becoming as anti social as smoking in a restaurant ! 

For those that believe that they will still be here in 2030 I predict that there will not be single use water bottles on a cruise ship – or many other places for that matter – in 10 years time.

 

Flame away !

There’s nothing to flame here or to find problems with and it is a great summation of the root of the problem. Carrying a reusable bottle, which we have done for years, could not be easier and could not have a bigger pay off. Simple. In fact, it’s so simple that it’s a real head shaker. Can you only imagine the difference it would make if everyone did the small deed of swapping a reusable bottle for plastic reusable bottles? I guess we need to keep in mind that some people still smoke or don’t use seat belts or appreciate big game trophy hunting.

 

Like you, I am pleased that Regent is taking steps to address current times. They do seem to understand that the somewhat younger demographic needs to be considered. 

 

While the unfortunate truth is that you are right ... there are those who will disregard this problem for now and continue to pretend that it isn’t the problem that it is ... but you are also right about the big picture ... using a disposable, plastic will soon be a thing of the past and in the interim it will be a social stigma.

[JMARINER]

19 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

..................

Maybe those who think water on the cruise ships is higher quality than the US should take a closer look at the water being pumped into the freshwater tanks of cruise ships when they dock in other countries, where tap water is totally not safe to drink.

Not to worry.  All pumped in shore side water is retreated by the ship before being used for consumption. The ship is very factitious about constantly testing the water quality. (It would be a huge disaster other wise if people started coming down with water borne diseases from the ship.) 

 

J

[Mahogany]

When I read about posters suggesting collapsible water bottles, I looked online, and frankly, the silicone ones seemed "slimy" feeling. Is there a suggestion that doesn't change the water taste - or can I do my part by just refilling the plastic bottles given out before expeditions?

[Travelcat2]

For now, if all passengers return their plastic bottles to the ship for recycling, it will help.  Leaving them in the trash while on an excursion, depending upon the country, it could end up in the sea.  

[SWFLAOK]

1 hour ago, Mahogany said:

When I read about posters suggesting collapsible water bottles, I looked online, and frankly, the silicone ones seemed "slimy" feeling. Is there a suggestion that doesn't change the water taste - or can I do my part by just refilling the plastic bottles given out before expeditions?

Someone had posted a few months back about Vapur water bottles. They seemed like a good product, are BPS free, and definitely not silicone, so I bought a few before our July Med cruise and brought them with us. But I wasn't able to figure out how to keep them cold, and the temps were in the mid 90's the first week, and around upper 80's the second week, so cold water on our excursions was something we wanted. We were able to keep our small refilled plastic bottles cold. I need to work on what to use to insulate the Vapurs when they're full so they stay cold on excursions.

[SWFLAOK]

2 hours ago, JMARINER said:

Not to worry.  All pumped in shore side water is retreated by the ship before being used for consumption. The ship is very factitious about constantly testing the water quality. (It would be a huge disaster other wise if people started coming down with water borne diseases from the ship.) 

 

J

That's what I hoped was the case, but when it was mentioned that RO might not be used, it made me worried. Steam distilling doesn't seem practical for all of the ship's water. RO used on fresh water is pretty fast and takes most pathogens out of the local water. Unlike hotels in the DR or Mexico, I trust the cruise lines that we travel on to treat the water enough to brush my teeth and rinse my mouth from the tap. But we tried a HAL cruise last winter where I didn't feel comfortable about the water, and didn't enjoy much of anything about the cruise to consider HAL again. The Neptune Suite was pretty nice for the price, but not worth it when compared to a smaller cabin on Regent.

[SWFLAOK]

45 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

For now, if all passengers return their plastic bottles to the ship for recycling, it will help.  Leaving them in the trash while on an excursion, depending upon the country, it could end up in the sea.  

We always return them to the ship for recycling. And we reused the excursion plastic bottles to fill from the glass bottles to keep it cold. On our next Regent cruise, we'll ask for more than 2 bottles of Vero water since we normally drink twice that much water per day.

At home, we have some plastic bottles that we refill from our faucet and keep in the fridge to take with us anytime we leave our condo.

Edited August 20, 2019 by SWFLAOK
added last paragraph

[JMARINER]

4 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

......................... Steam distilling doesn't seem practical for all of the ship's water. RO used on fresh water is pretty fast and takes most pathogens out of the local water........................................ I trust the cruise lines that we travel on to treat the water enough to brush my teeth and rinse my mouth from the tap.

 

But we tried a HAL cruise last winter where I didn't feel comfortable......................

The ship's fresh water tank hold enough water for about 3 days. After that the water is from distilled seawater. Yes, the distillers or RO's have enough capacity to supply all the ships needs. The problem is that it is expensive to make fresh water from seawater. But the water quality is very good.

 

All tap waters on the ship are treated, just as you would get at home. So it is  always safe to brush your teeth with.

Holland America Lines. We started with Holland when I was in my very early 40's. Have 45 days sailed with them. On the last HAL trip the DW and I decided that we would never be "old enough" to be HAL fans and then switched to Radisson/Regent. 😁😁

 

J

[SWFLAOK]

18 hours ago, JMARINER said:

The ship's fresh water tank hold enough water for about 3 days. After that the water is from distilled seawater. Yes, the distillers or RO's have enough capacity to supply all the ships needs. The problem is that it is expensive to make fresh water from seawater. But the water quality is very good.

 

All tap waters on the ship are treated, just as you would get at home. So it is  always safe to brush your teeth with.

Holland America Lines. We started with Holland when I was in my very early 40's. Have 45 days sailed with them. On the last HAL trip the DW and I decided that we would never be "old enough" to be HAL fans and then switched to Radisson/Regent. 😁😁

 

J

We were in our mid sixties on our first HAL trip last December, and we were definitely not old enough. We had a fixed dining time with a table for 2 by the window. The table next to us was a table for 4. One couple was our age, and very nice. The other couple assigned to their table was a man in his mid-nineties, and his most recent wife, who was in her mid seventies. She ordered the same thing for her husband every night, and ordered nearly everthing on the menu for herself. They both loved to brag about themselves, and often commented on conversations that the 2 of us were having at our table, making us a table of 6 with a small space in between. I love open seating.

[Mahogany]

On 8/20/2019 at 5:53 PM, SWFLAOK said:

Someone had posted a few months back about Vapur water bottles. They seemed like a good product, are BPS free, and definitely not silicone, so I bought a few before our July Med cruise and brought them with us. But I wasn't able to figure out how to keep them cold, and the temps were in the mid 90's the first week, and around upper 80's the second week, so cold water on our excursions was something we wanted. We were able to keep our small refilled plastic bottles cold. I need to work on what to use to insulate the Vapurs when they're full so they stay cold on excursions.

Just ordered a Vapur. Is the mouth wide enough to add ice? Does the filled bottle fit into the mini-fridge?

[SWFLAOK]

Th

1 hour ago, Mahogany said:

Just ordered a Vapur. Is the mouth wide enough to add ice? Does the filled bottle fit into the mini-fridge?

The opening isn't big enough for ice, but it fits in the mini-fridge. I found that the flat type of can insulator fit very well to keep it cold for a longer time. The round type of can insulator didn't fit well. It might fit it was put on before filling the Vapur, but once the bottle is empty, it would also take up more room. I'll be using the flat type of can insulator with the Vapur on our next cruise. When I bought the Vapur bottles last spring, I didn't find anything online that was made to insulate it.