Potable water?

[alfaeric]

5 hours ago, Habs_CatD said:

Is potable water readily available onboard Oasis OTS? If so, where is the best location to fill refillable water bottles?

There are quite a few places where you can get water.  Pretty much all of them will tell you to not refill your bottle- so be nice and fill a glass of water to fill your bottle.

 

For sure, on the Promenade at the cafe and Sorrento's, you'll see water in the WJ, and you can get a glass at any bar.   There are a handful of fountains, but mostly on the upper deck and the running promenade.  Oh, and the gym, too.

 

I know a lot of people dismiss the request to not refill your bottle directly- but it's so very easy to use a glass in-between....

[rockmom]

1 hour ago, seaworthy1 said:

I understand you carry a six pack of beer and/or two bottles of wine on board at each port.  How about bottled water?  I am a retread newbie, first time on RCL since 2006.

No beer.  You can bring on 2 bottles of wine total per stateroom, not per person.  And only on embarkation day, not from each port.  You can also bring up to 12 bottles/cans of water or soda per stateroom not per person, not to exceed 17 oz each.  All of these must be carried on, not put in checked bags

[suzyluvs2cruise]

9 hours ago, island lady said:

I fill a paper cup with water from the WJ beverage station (which has a secondary filter system on it) and then into my bottle. 

 

Water from the tap....um no.  Used to do that until I realized how heavily chlorinated that is and the sink does not have a secondary filter on it.  Last week on Jewel, I turned on the tap in the cabin bathroom which gurgled, spat and produced a stinky brown colored water into the sink. 

 

Fill the sink with water sometime...check the color and the smell.   Uggh....no thanks.  

Cuious about a secondary filter system. Is this something you've been told or see? 

[SeattleAl]

I brought a Brita on my last cruise. The water from it did taste better.

[chengkp75]

5 hours ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

Cuious about a secondary filter system. Is this something you've been told or see? 

All of the water dispensers, drinking fountains, soda dispensers, bar guns, and ice machines have a carbon filter on them to remove the chlorine.  It is not for taste, but to prevent chlorine scale from damaging the machinery.

[BND]

I'm just confused why someone would think the water provided onboard isn't potable.

 

 

[island lady]

13 hours ago, Ret MP said:

I don't have a problem with the ships water.  But, I usually let it run for several minutes before drinking it or putting it in something for consumption elsewhere.  Having said that, I really prefer sparkling water or bottled water.  YMMV

 

Me too.  🙂 

[Habs_CatD]

1 hour ago, BND said:

I'm just confused why someone would think the water provided onboard isn't potable.

 

 

New-ish cruiser here. I remember some taps on a previous cruise labelled “not potable”. I couldn’t remember if we were able to refill water bottles or had to rely on actual bottled water in our cabin and on excursions.

[island lady]

13 hours ago, Ret MP said:

Potable water?

 

Yep, there's water in my pot!  I flush it regularly.  

 

LOL...you crack me up with your ever changing Avatar pictures.  😄   And yes, please refrain from the "pot water".   😛

 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2023 by island lady

[island lady]

8 hours ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

Cuious about a secondary filter system. Is this something you've been told or see? 

 

Both.   I was able to chat with crew member changing out the machine one day.  

[island lady]

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

All of the water dispensers, drinking fountains, soda dispensers, bar guns, and ice machines have a carbon filter on them to remove the chlorine.  It is not for taste, but to prevent chlorine scale from damaging the machinery.

 

And verified by one who knows....thanks.  😉 

[chengkp75]

45 minutes ago, Habs_CatD said:

I remember some taps on a previous cruise labelled “not potable”.

What ship and when?

[island lady]

4 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

What ship and when?

 

I saw on the dock when they were having the sewer pumped out.  😄 

[cruisegirl1]

2 hours ago, Habs_CatD said:

New-ish cruiser here. I remember some taps on a previous cruise labelled “not potable”. I couldn’t remember if we were able to refill water bottles or had to rely on actual bottled water in our cabin and on excursions.

I've seen that on small boats - but never on a cruise ship.  That would be dangerous as I bet many don't understand what "Not Potable" means.

M

[smokeybandit]

5 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

All of the water dispensers, drinking fountains, soda dispensers, bar guns, and ice machines have a carbon filter on them to remove the chlorine.  It is not for taste, but to prevent chlorine scale from damaging the machinery.

But is that specific to a cruise ship, or standard equipment for those types of devices?

[chengkp75]

4 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

But is that specific to a cruise ship, or standard equipment for those types of devices?

Well, that gets into municipal water supply.  Municipal supplies chlorinate at the pumping station, to reach the required chlorine content.  The water then sits in lines until a valve is opened to allow water to flow.  While sitting in the pipes, the chlorine dissipates, so that at the end user (home or business), there will likely be no residual chlorine.  So, there is little need for a filter to remove chlorine, but municipal supplies most often have higher mineral contents than ship water, so they frequently use carbon filters on water dispensing machinery on land to remove the minerals, and improve the taste, and this also helps prevent scale buildup over the years.  So, just like a refrigerator water supply in your kitchen, it probably has a filter.

 

Ship's water supply is constantly circulating, from the tanks to the pumps, to the "ring main" on each deck (main water lines running in passageway ceilings that make a complete ring around the deck), and back to the tank.  The water must have a residual chlorine content of 0.5ppm at the furthest point from the pumps (typically the meter is in the bridge bathroom), so the chlorine content is kept higher than land water supplies.

[gerif]

4 hours ago, BND said:

I'm just confused why someone would think the water provided onboard isn't potable.

 

 

Exactly. What do they think the coffee is made from and soups and other food items. Trust me, it’s not bottled water. 

[time4u2go]

24 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

I've seen that on small boats - but never on a cruise ship.  That would be dangerous as I bet many don't understand what "Not Potable" means.

M

Being such an important word, "potable" should be replaced by another word, perhaps "drinkable" or "consumable"?  Kind of like "flammable" and "inflammable". 😁

[smokeybandit]

43 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

Being such an important word, "potable" should be replaced by another word, perhaps "drinkable" or "consumable"?  Kind of like "flammable" and "inflammable". 😁

"Norovirus-free"

[Ret MP]

8 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

"Norovirus-free"

lol - That would be a good replacement word for it.  

 

 

For general consumption (yes, pun intended):

There are many "potable" liquids.  Many of which I will never drink, have no desire to drink, and so on.  While a ship's water may be very potable, I don't desire to drink it.  But, technically, there is nothing wrong with it.  This is my desires and opinion!  It doesn't have to be anybody else's.  

 

And yes, I do drink the coffee, the OJ, and most other drinks that require adding water.  My only problem with the ship's water, the unflavored water, the water directly out of the plumbing is the taste.  The flavored water is just that, flavored and masks the taste of the water, for the most part.  I bet my favorite beer doesn't have ship's water in it. LOL  

 

I'd never survive on the International Space Station.  Imagine that!  For the critics, yes I know about the filtrations system it goes through before being "potable".  

[chengkp75]

4 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

I'd never survive on the International Space Station.  Imagine that!  For the critics, yes I know about the filtrations system it goes through before being "potable".  

Most cruise ships have AWWTP (advanced waste water treatment plants), that take all the waste water produced on the ship, and treat it to potable standards before discharging it to sea.  These system's effluent is tested monthly by third party labs.

[Ret MP]

12 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Most cruise ships have AWWTP (advanced waste water treatment plants), that take all the waste water produced on the ship, and treat it to potable standards before discharging it to sea.  These system's effluent is tested monthly by third party labs.

I love the names of systems.  This is not intended to take away from your post/knowledge or anything else.  But, I love it when they say "advanced".  That is such a temporary description. Advanced today, ancient tomorrow.  LOL, I love it.

[chengkp75]

7 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

I love the names of systems.  This is not intended to take away from your post/knowledge or anything else.  But, I love it when they say "advanced".  That is such a temporary description. Advanced today, ancient tomorrow.  LOL, I love it.

Quite right.  But, compared to the basic "septic tank" that most ships have, it is quite advanced.  Better than even most municipal waste treatment systems.

 

Would I drink the water from the AWWTP?  Not if I was aware that it was.  Have I drawn a glass from the sample *****?  Many times.  It is crystal clear, but does have a slight sulfur smell.  This is because the last step in the treatment process is a UV sterilizer, that kills off any residual bacteria from the treatment process, and the last dying gasp of these bacteria is to release sulfur dioxide.  Letting the vintage "breathe" for a while takes away the unpleasant aroma.

Edited January 24, 2023 by chengkp75

[Habs_CatD]

2 hours ago, cruisegirl1 said:

I've seen that on small boats - but never on a cruise ship.  That would be dangerous as I bet many don't understand what "Not Potable" means.

M

Yes, thinking more about this, it probably was on a ferry. Or maybe just in my imagination? Lol

 

Anyway, just wanted to know if we would be able to fill our own water bottles. In the past (2 cruises) we bought cases of bottled water to have in the room, and I don’t remember why.

[Engineroom Snipe]

23 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Thanks and makes sense.....but I will still stick to the secondary filtered water at the machine after getting too grossed out...too many times.  😛

 

DH will fill from water from the sink sometime, then has it sit out on the counter all the time.   I picked up his water bottle by mistake last week one night...phew.   Could still smell the chlorine in it.  Happy I did not check the color.  😉 

 

Well, I think you should take back your statement, "He is high maintenance." His personal water filtration system is first-rate requiring no pre-filters." 😁