I had the typical GenX childhood with public water fountains and the trusty garden hose in the neighborhood as my source of water when I was thirsty. In grade school, we had scheduled breaks to line up at the water fountain but otherwise I don’t remember being thirsty. We rarely drank water growing up as a beverage, our family was a Kool Aid family with Tang if there was a coupon. We didn’t drink soda much at that time either, if we did it was a local soda, Frank’s Cola or Root Beer. Coca Cola was a special occasion beverage. Pepsi was my addiction once I started working in restaurants.
I lived life without being tied to a water bottle for nearly three decades. Now I can’t leave the house without a bottle of water (or refillable bottle) in my purse, car and gym bag. It’s the same when I travel. I long gave up my Pepsi addiction and now primarily drink water all day. I’ve learned how to ask for local tap water in a few languages to avoid the tourist trap expensive bottle of water default restaurants have. I know its cheaper to walk to the back of the shop or market to find the bottled water for much less than the chilled bottles at the front of the store. But if a cruise vacation is on your agenda, things can get tricky and expensive quickly so you need to plan accordingly.
As a traveler, I’ve found Facebook groups can be good sources of information but also a crazy judgmental space. For the love of Christmas please google your query first lest the keyboard warriors scare you off. Bottled water is the one question that will trigger the group like no other I’ve seen (bring your own snacks is a close second). I’d love to say – I think drinking coffee is dumb – why is there a Starbucks onboard when there’s free coffee available?
Even when I do bring my own bottle with me, I will buy a water package to have available in my cabin and on tours. If this sounds silly to you, please understand that the questions are often from folks with preferences, traveling with a sober partner or have medical conditions (e.g. gastro, autoimmune, etc.) so don’t judge people for choosing to buy/drink bottled water, preferring room temp water, or asking what the water brand is on the cruise ship.
If you are like me and trying to make up for decades of not drinking water and likely being dehydrated for the better part of your childhood and early adulthood, you can bring your own water on board some cruise ships and buy it on others. This does continue to change with each cruise line so check in advance of your sailing to make the proper arrangements.
Free Water on Cruise Ships
The mobs will not reply with the simple answer you seek but with opinions of how dumb you must be not to drink the very good (debatable) free water on the ship. There are days I want to explain logistics to these folks but choose to scroll by instead. The reality is that the “free water on a cruise ship” is usually in the buffet which is often on deck 14 (or higher) aft (back of the ship) so even if you bring a refillable water bottle with you, chances are by the time you walk back to your cabin the bottle will be empty. It’s not feasible to walk back and forth every time you want water. Also the water station does not allow you to fill bottles so you have to fill small glasses to pour into your bottle so it’s not as easy as the bottle station fountains at the gym or in the airport. They make you as uncomfortable as possible to fill your bottle.
Water is freely available in the main dining rooms and specialty restaurants. Can you survive on the “free water option”? Absolutely. All is good unless you want bottled water in your cabin and don’t want to drink from the bathroom sink.
Cruise Ship Beverage Packages
Cruise lines make money on those drinks’ packages, pricing of which varies but can often add $500-1,200+ to the cruise price depending on the length of the cruise and if you stay at the basic beverage package or upgrade to premium. If you prefer a certain brand of liquor knowing if that’s in the basic or premium package matters. Which is why folks want to know which brand of water is served on a cruise ship. Bottled water generally runs $3-$6 a bottle and surprisingly is included in the “premium” higher priced beverage package. This might not be a big deal to most folks but if you don’t drink enough alcohol and specialty drinks to justify a drinks package or maybe you just don’t drink for a variety of reasons asking about the bottled water package is a fair question. Here’s a fun flowchart to know if the cruise ship beverage package is worth buying?
Bring Your Own Water on a Cruise
Some cruise lines will let you bring your own water or soda on board at embarkation only. You are limited by cabin, not person, and quantities will vary. In the past you could tag a case or two of water (or soda) as checked luggage that would be delivered to your room but that has gone away and you must now carry on your water/soda which is an inconvenience (which is probably the point) to be honest, especially if your cabin isn’t ready when you board.
I have carried water onboard on both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise lines along with my water bottle and will also buy a water package from the cruise line. I don’t drink coffee, tea or soda. I will treat myself to fresh squeezed orange juice ($5-$6 plus tip) and the occasional glass of wine ($13) at dinner. The rest of the time I drink bottled water and will often pour electrolytes or crystal light packages into the bottle for a variety of flavor.
What this means is that I will buy in advance a case or two of bottled water depending on the type and length of cruise. For a port heavy cruise in Europe, I will buy more water in port for less at the supermarket and bring back on board with me. For a transatlantic or transpacific cruise, I will stock the cabin with bottle water. If there are leftover bottles, I will give it away.
What is the bottled water (or bring your own soda) policy? It depends. Given the ever-changing rules, its best to double check the cruise FAQ, your cruise contract terms & conditions (T&Cs) and ask your travel agent, if applicable before buying and carrying with you. You can search the Facebook or Cruise Critic groups but ask a question at your own peril if you haven’t searched first.
Royal Caribbean Water Package
For my sailing with Royal Caribbean from Hawaii to Vancouver, I was allowed to bring my own water (the soda policy is 12 – 12 oz cans so I expect same with water) with me but it was expensive in Honolulu so the added inconvenience wasn’t worth the small savings. I opted to buy water in advance when it was on sale in the Royal Caribbean app (Royal has many sales on beverage packages before sailing) to be delivered to my cabin. Royal Caribbean doesn’t guarantee if the water is distilled or spring water. A no brand name case of water was made up of 24 bottles of 16-ounce water. I bought the water during a sale for $24.95 case. Don’t overthink it, I know a case at home costs $7 but think in cruise terms of $3 a bottle which would cost $72 so the $24.95 is a deal. If I wanted premium water like Evian that was available at the bar for $6 plus tax and tip.
Celebrity Cruise Water Package
Celebrity and Royal Caribbean are owned by the same corporation so Celebrity’s water carry on policy is similar to Royal – you need to carry it on by yourself with limits by cabin. As I was sailing solo from Barcelona to Rome (summer 2023) on a port intensive itinerary, I opted to carry on two three-gallon jugs of water which I bought from the supermarket for less than two euros. I also brought my refillable water bottle along with an empty Panna water bottle. I would pour the water from the large jug into the smaller bottles. I also bought water in port by finding supermarkets selling water for thirty to fifty cents.
Celebrity at the time I sailed did not offer a water package as they were doing “all inclusive” pricing or “cruise only” fare. When I sailed Celebrity Edge on an “all-inclusive package” in 2021, I had unlimited Celebrity water in aluminum cans (environmentally friendly) but I understand they have since added “a bottled water package” which appears to be premium water by Italian brand Panna. With Panna water cases running over $30 at home (in Europe a bottle is under a euro), I expect the pricing is quite higher on the cruise ship. It also appears that the policy of carrying on water has changed as I couldn’t find it online anymore.
NCL Water Package
Norwegian (NCL) does not allow you to bring on non-alcoholic beverages like water and/or soda. You will need to buy from NCL either ala carte beverage package or as part of your “Free at Sea” choice with the cruise fare. You can buy in the app, online and on board at the bars when boarding. NCL is currently partnering with FLOW Water as their water package brand. The pricing for my EPIC transatlantic cruise from Orlando to Rome included choices of a 6 pack of 1-liter boxes for $23.94, 12 bottles for $41.94 and 24 bottles for $59.94. There is a savings over the bar pricing and saving for a larger order. You also have the option to schedule when the water should be delivered to your cabin. I suggest embarkation day so you have water available in the cabin without having to hike to the buffet. NCL does allow folks to bring on sealed distilled water for medical reasons. Look at their policy to confirm what is and isn’t allowed. https://www.ncl.com/nz/en/cruise-faq/alcohol-consumption
Unique to NCL is their “Free at Sea” pricing that will allow you to choose the basic beverage package which doesn’t includes bottled water so you would need to upgrade to the premium package. The “free at sea beverage package” will charge for gratuities. On my sailing, it would have been an extra $200. If only drinking water, you can uncheck the Free at Sea beverage package to lower your cruise pricing – you’ll need to tell your travel agent the same as I’ve seen pricing inclusive of the beverage package.
Drinking Water on your Next Cruise
It might seem like a silly question when you read it – can I bring bottled water on a cruise ship? or what brands of bottled water are offered in x, y or z package. People have preferences for everything from named brands to generics and water is no different so the cruise lines offer different ways to quench your thirst whether free in the dining rooms, part of your purchased beverage package or water package or something you carry onboard (for now). I’ve learned how to navigate cruise vacations and my bottled water needs for less. For those concerned with the environmental effects of bottled, corrugated paper boxes or aluminum canned water, the ship has a recycling plant on board to address. We’ll take that tour in a future post.