Do cruise ships use salt water for drinking?

Is the Water on Cruise Ships Safe to Drink? All drinking water on a cruise ship has either been distilled from seawater or loaded on board while the ship was still in port. The U.S. Public Health Service has published Vessel Sanitation Program standards that cruise ships are expected to adhere to.



Technically, cruise ships do not "use" salt water for drinking, but they transform sea water into fresh, potable water through highly advanced desalination systems. In 2026, most modern cruise ships generate up to 80% of their fresh water on board using two main processes: Reverse Osmosis (RO) and Multi-Stage Flash Distillation. In RO, sea water is pushed through extremely fine membranes at high pressure to remove salt and impurities. Distillation uses the excess heat from the ship's massive engines to boil the sea water, collecting the steam (which is pure water) and leaving the salt behind. Once desalinated, the water is filtered, mineralized for taste, and treated with chlorine or UV light to ensure it meets the strict "Vessel Sanitation Program" standards of the CDC and WHO. This water is not only safe but often exceeds the quality of municipal tap water found on land. For the remaining 20% of their needs, ships "bunker" water from local ports, which is also tested and treated on board. This self-sufficiency is vital for the ship's operation, providing thousands of gallons daily for drinking, cooking, laundry, and the ship's famous swimming pools.

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Cruise ship tap water is safe to drink unless you are told otherwise by the ship's authorities. The water throughout the ship has been treated, filtered and frequently tested to meet the standards of the World Health Organization and the U.S. Public Health Service on ships sailing into and out of U.S. ports of call.

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Cruise ships make their own drinking water. It's unsurprising since they're constantly surrounded by sea water – they use either steam evaporation or reverse osmosis processes to desalinate the water before minerals and chlorine are added. It's the same as a home filtration system, only significantly larger.

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Do cruise ships provide distilled water? Yes, many cruise lines will provide a gallon of distilled water in your stateroom provided you notify them in advance that you will be bringing a CPAP. You can do this by going to the cruise line's website and submitting a guest special needs form.

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How do cruise liners get, and keep, fresh water on board – eg for drinking? Cruise ships are of course, surrounded by water, but it needs to be made suitable for use by the passengers, so all ships have desalination systems on-board, which remove salt and impurities and turn it into fresh water.

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Advances in membrane technology have made desalination of seawater and brackish waters an increasingly viable alternative to produce safe drinking-water.

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You can safely drink the water on a cruise ship, including the water from your bathroom tap. The only water you would probably want to avoid is the water from hand washing stations or public bathrooms, and only then because it may be warm and other people may have left bacteria behind.

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Cruise lines drain their swimming pools at night to discourage guests from trying to enter the pool when it is closed. Draining the swimming pools each night also allows the cruise lines to replace the water with clean water and a drained swimming pool is safer if the weather is rough.

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Final word. On most cruises, you're welcome to wander the ship with a drink in your hand, at least in most areas. It's just like one large resort, so grab your favourite tipple and then find your perfect spot to enjoy it. Just make sure you ask for plastic glasses if you want to head over to a pool or hot tub.

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Keep in mind that all drinking water that's available on a cruise ship is required to go through a strict testing system. Even though ocean water is filtered before any passengers drink it, the B12 and D3 vitamins that can naturally be found in ocean water still remain.

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Without question, the Island of Aruba has maintained its reputation for the best quality drinking water in all the Caribbean.

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This MODIS image of blue water in the Caribbean Sea looks blue because the sunlight is scattered by the water molecules. Near the Bahama Islands, the lighter aqua colors are shallow water where the sunlight is reflecting off of the sand and reefs near the surface.

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Yes, cruise ships have brigs, which is the nautical term for a jail on a vessel, including a cruise ship. The term comes from the word brigantine, which is a type of two-masted sailing ship formerly used to house criminals.

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Cruise line companies design ships to have various storage areas for different food items ? fresh vegetables, dairy, different types of meat, canned items and even beverages. Each of these storage areas has different temperature settings linked to the food being kept within.

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Legionella is often present in small quantities in the water cruise lines pick up in port for drinking, use in showers and amenities like whirlpool spas, but not high enough to make people sick, according to Richard Miller, founder and president of Environmental Safety Technologies, Inc. and a Legionella expert.

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