Confessions of a Princess water convert.

[coiran]

Desalination means removing the salt from the saltwater!!!

 

Ron

[NthernLgts]

Hi Folks,

 

Question for you all,

 

Why do some folk drink the ships water but will not take the ships ice.

 

?

 

yours Shogun

 

Dont know for sure, but some studies have shown that since the ice makers are cleaned less they tend to carry more bacteria. One enterprising young college gal in my area showed ice makers at fast food restaurants to contain more bacteria than water from the average toilet bowl.:eek:

[Casshew]

Desalination means removing the salt from the saltwater!!!

 

Ron

 

Of course, everyone knows that, duh! :rolleyes: but in the process of turning saltwater into freshwater for drinking, I would like to know what - if any, sodium remains?

 

There is sodium in spring water, so there is probably some in desalinized salt water too.

[MichCook]

The swelling some passengers find can be caused by either flying or the high content of the salt in the sauces and foods onboard, or a combination of both. It has nothing at all to do with the water.

 

Toto,

I have to agree with you. The swelling is not from the water on board. I usually have problems with my feet swelling on a cruise - finally took a "land vacation" last month and had the same problem with my feet.

My cure is to lay off the booze and go heavy on the unsweetened tea, either iced or hot. Not going to blame the water on board any more!

 

Had the same problem...both feet were really swollen...I thought it was the water. Uh-oh...no sauces, gravies, creams on food and no booze!???? :eek: NOT! I'll just make sure I walk more, use the hot tub and swim more laps to alleviate the swelling. :D

[Casshew]

Uh-oh...no sauces, gravies, creams on food and no booze!???? :eek: NOT!

 

 

LOL! :D

 

I'm not eating that way because of my feet :)

[dforeigner]

Of course, everyone knows that, duh! :rolleyes: but in the process of turning saltwater into freshwater for drinking, I would like to know what - if any, sodium remains?

 

There is sodium in spring water, so there is probably some in desalinized salt water too.

 

 

From what I understand, if it is distilled (proper method), this removes all impurities, minerals and electrolytes. Therefore, there should be no sodium left in the water. Again, I am not a chemist so the final decision should be yours.

[NorcalGuy]

This is my routine:

I don't even like packing the empty water bottles so we each buy an individual sized bottled water on the ship at the first port. It's impossible to miss that opportunity as they are waving them at you as you leave approach the gangplank! Then save the bottle and refill with ships water, which I happen to like.

[Times Prince]

. One enterprising young college gal in my area showed ice makers at fast food restaurants to contain more bacteria than water from the average toilet bowl.:eek:

We'll make sure not to cruise in Minnesota then. Thanks for the tip.

 

Question for you all,

Why do some folk drink the ships water but will not take the ships ice?

Some folks are from countries where ice in drinks is not the norm, and Coke is served room temperature.

 

Actually, I am glad Princess now uses new plastic bags for the ice buckets, as I have witnessed the other use for those ice buckets in my Cruise from HAL (100 mph winds). The little plastic bags are much more sanitary.

[BruceMuzz]

Most Princess Ships use a distilling plant to remove salt from sea water. THey pump clean sea water into a vacuum tank, where it can be boiled at a relatively low temperature. Waste heat from engines, boilers, and the exhaust pipes is recycled to heat the sea water to boiling. Depending on many conditions, the ship's fresh water can occasionally have a slightly higher salt content than drinking water at home. But the difference is so small as to be insignificant in most cases. San Pellegrino and Perrier have far higher natural salt content than any ship's water.

 

It is however, naturally very soft water. Distilling removes nearly all mineral content from the water. When extremely soft water is pumped through metal pipes, it leeches the metal ions from the pipes, causing them to "rot" and fail in a relatively short time. That's why you occasionally see a large ship bunkering water in port. They don't necessarily need the fresh water, but they do need the natural mineral ions in the shore water to balance the chemistry of the ship-produced water, extending the life of the ship's plumbing and reducing the number of onboard leaks and floods.

[NthernLgts]

We'll make sure not to cruise in Minnesota then. Thanks for the tip.

 

Some folks are from countries where ice in drinks is not the norm, and Coke is served room temperature.

 

Actually, I am glad Princess now uses new plastic bags for the ice buckets, as I have witnessed the other use for those ice buckets in my Cruise from HAL (100 mph winds). The little plastic bags are much more sanitary.

 

Actually, the girl was from this area. She did her study in Texas ;). Besides, there are no cruises in Minnesota :rolleyes:. Also, unfortunately plastic bag usage is not fleetwide. Was on the CB 2 weeks ago and they werent being used then.

[Toto2Kansas]

Actually, I am glad Princess now uses new plastic bags for the ice buckets, as I have witnessed the other use for those ice buckets in my Cruise from HAL (100 mph winds). The little plastic bags are much more sanitary.

 

Plastic bags for the ice buckets? Now, this is something I have never seen used on a Princess ship. What ship did you see them useing plastic bags on may I ask?

[NthernLgts]

We sure didnt see it Toto. Sounds like you didnt either. Not a bad idea though.

[Buddy604]

I'm heading out on the Island Princess in a week and I think I'll take along a TDS Meter. It measures the total dissolved solids in the water and can be a good indicator on who pure the water actually is. Woo-Hoo, Jr. Scientist Time!

[Buddy604]

Desalination means removing the salt from the saltwater!!!

 

Ron

Unfortunately, standard desalination doesn't remove ALL the salt. It leaves the water still a bit minerally sometimes. Depends on the setup. That's why I was concerned about the sodium.

[terrierjohn]

Desalinized is not the same as distilled, I'd like to know if there is salt in the desalinized water - because I can't have salt. I was planning on picking up a case of bottled water on the way to port, I drink 8 a day. I don't drink alcohol, soda, tea or coffee anymore...(yeah I'm a real fun person!) well I might try a cappucinio onboard for a treat.

Assuming sodium is your problem then I would advise that you read the bottled water label carefully. Virtually all bottled water will have some "salts" content, in fact with top end brands the mineral content, which is nearly all in a salt form, is their main selling point. I doubt that ships water, which is purified using a reverse osmosis process, has more salt content than the average bottled variety but you could try checking this with customer service.