Disney Dream has switched to pump bottles for H2O pruducts

[MrsMas]

I am so glad I saw this post. I noticed more hotels using the refillable containers with body wash. I hate body wash so have added bar soap to my packing list.

 

[smmco]

How is it not sanitary? It’s soap.

People touch the bottles and the dispensers. If they’re not attached the can do anything with them put anything in them. What I’ve seen at the resorts they are locked down. This doesn’t seem much different then if they passed the the little tubes on from passenger to passenger. I don’t normally use bottles of lotion toothpaste soap etc from strangers.

 

[LSkyWalker]

Just disembarked from the Disney Dream (3/1) and they had not yet implemented the refillable dispensers for product. I understand people's focus on the negative aspects of single use packaging, but I share the majority view (largely unspoken) that the dispensers are unsanitary. It also can't be underestimated how much money this will save DCL/WDC across the enterprise, while providing the added benefit of allowing the company to package itself as environmentally conscious.

 

[Atilley]

My two cents on the gross factor: Hospitals do not refill soap dispensers because it has been found that when refilling the dispensers you can unintentionally contaminate the soap. They use refill cartridges so the old soap is thrown away. Even antibacterial soap can only withstand so much before it becomes contaminated. Once it is in the soap it has to be tossed in the garbage. I do not understand Disney making the change to refillable bottles in this manner. If they replace the bottles after every cruise then great if not then gross and I won’t be using them.

The resort ones should probably be swabbed in the inside of the bottles to see if they grow anything also

 

[Starwind]

People touch the bottles and the dispensers. If they’re not attached the can do anything with them put anything in them. What I’ve seen at the resorts they are locked down. This doesn’t seem much different then if they passed the the little tubes on from passenger to passenger. I don’t normally use bottles of lotion toothpaste soap etc from strangers.

It has been reported in another threat that the "locks" in the dispensers at the resorts are apparently very easy to defeat, no special tools required.

SW

 

[smmco]

It has been reported in another threat that the "locks" in the dispensers at the resorts are apparently very easy to defeat, no special tools required.

SW

I've never stayed in a hotel where shampoo bottles were passed on from one guest to the other. I would assume it's more of a money saving change then anything to do with the environment. It's interesting people spend thousands of dollars on a Disney vacation, but can't afford shampoo.? They have to take it out of dispensers. The H2O products are nice, but seriously that's a little extreme.

 

[dcassetta]

So all the DCL shampoo, body wash, etc that I have accumulated over the years are collector items now?

Yes, and you could even try and sell the partially used ones!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/8-Disney-C...157322?hash=item3400966b8a:g:PsMAAOSwgyZcTlkJ

 

[Minnie368]

I think it’s really gross if those bottles stay from one guest to the next and they’re just topping them off. I know the ships seem really clean but I would question how much bacteria those bottles are harboring.

 

[emilymad]

I feel like the cruise ships should be held to higher standard of cleanliness considering the risk of spreading illness. Why make you clean your hands before entering the restaurants if then you have to touch the same soap pump as a previous guest? That doesn't seem to help stop the spread of Noro.

 

[Dug720]

I feel like the cruise ships should be held to higher standard of cleanliness considering the risk of spreading illness. Why make you clean your hands before entering the restaurants if then you have to touch the same soap pump as a previous guest? That doesn't seem to help stop the spread of Noro.

I do not get that circular argument - I have never understood it. You are using the soap you get out of there to WASH! Who is touching the soap dispenser AFTER you've washed??

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Great move to reduce single use plastic waste!

I have exactly zero concerns about using a soap dispenser that another person has previously used, and I can be a pretty big germaphobe at times.

 

[emilymad]

I do not get that circular argument - I have never understood it. You are using the soap you get out of there to WASH! Who is touching the soap dispenser AFTER you've washed??

Is Noro killed by body wash? As someone who has gotten Noro from a DCL cruise ship taking chances is not worth it. The bottles could be contaminated by previous guests and not cleaned properly.

 

[Dug720]

Is Noro killed by body wash? As someone who has gotten Noro from a DCL cruise ship taking chances is not worth it. The bottles could be contaminated by previous guests and not cleaned properly.

If Noro is on the soap pump in your cabin, it will be on other surfaces too.

Plus, unless you are pumping the soap and then sticking your fingers right into your mouth rather than lathering them, nothing is going to help you.

 

[littledebbie335]

I feel like the cruise ships should be held to higher standard of cleanliness considering the risk of spreading illness.

They are. The Centers for Disease Control actually has an entire program (called the VSP or Vessel Sanitation Program) dedicated to reducing illness on cruise ships because it is so easy for a major outbreak to occur in such tight quarters. If you're curious, I highly recommend you check out their website; it's very interesting. They have an operations manual for cruise ships that is close to 300 pages long, and out of curiosity, I looked to see if they say anything about soap. I found out that the paper towels at the bathroom doors are a requirement (who knew?!) but there are no requirements on soap formulations or dispensers, aside from the hand antiseptic used by food service workers. To be honest, antibacterial soap is not a great product. Bacteria can quickly become resistant to the antibiotics that are used, and then your soap is no longer antibacterial. It is much more important (and effective!) to mechanically remove bacteria from your hands by thoroughly scrubbing them, paying close attention to nooks and crannies like the areas around your fingernails. Most people do not spend nearly enough time washing their hands!

Alcohol based hand sanitizers do not cause resistant bacteria in the way that antibacterial soaps do, but they also don't remove and rinse away dirt and bacteria like actual hand-washing does.

The CDC has an entire page dedicated to cruise ship travelers: https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/public/public.htm (I hope that sharing this link is allowed, but if not, mods, please feel free to remove the link). It includes hand washing info and tips for staying healthy while cruising.

Is Noro killed by body wash? As someone who has gotten Noro from a DCL cruise ship taking chances is not worth it. The bottles could be contaminated by previous guests and not cleaned properly.

No, it is not. Noro is actually quite hard to kill (hence all the precautions on a cruise ship), and since it's a virus, antibacterial products (and even hand sanitizer!) are not effective. The CDC advises bleach for cleaning up norovirus, but there are other commercially available disinfectants that can do the job; just be sure that the label says right on it that it kills norovirus. This is NOT the time to bust out the ol' essential oils and hope for the best

 

[TestingH2O]

They are. The Centers for Disease Control actually has an entire program (called the VSP or Vessel Sanitation Program) dedicated to reducing illness on cruise ships because it is so easy for a major outbreak to occur in such tight quarters. If you're curious, I highly recommend you check out their website; it's very interesting. They have an operations manual for cruise ships that is close to 300 pages long, and out of curiosity, I looked to see if they say anything about soap. I found out that the paper towels at the bathroom doors are a requirement (who knew?!) but there are no requirements on soap formulations or dispensers, aside from the hand antiseptic used by food service workers. To be honest, antibacterial soap is not a great product. Bacteria can quickly become resistant to the antibiotics that are used, and then your soap is no longer antibacterial. It is much more important (and effective!) to mechanically remove bacteria from your hands by thoroughly scrubbing them, paying close attention to nooks and crannies like the areas around your fingernails. Most people do not spend nearly enough time washing their hands!

Alcohol based hand sanitizers do not cause resistant bacteria in the way that antibacterial soaps do, but they also don't remove and rinse away dirt and bacteria like actual hand-washing does.

The CDC has an entire page dedicated to cruise ship travelers: https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/public/public.htm (I hope that sharing this link is allowed, but if not, mods, please feel free to remove the link). It includes hand washing info and tips for staying healthy while cruising.



No, it is not. Noro is actually quite hard to kill (hence all the precautions on a cruise ship), and since it's a virus, antibacterial products (and even hand sanitizer!) are not effective. The CDC advises bleach for cleaning up norovirus, but there are other commercially available disinfectants that can do the job; just be sure that the label says right on it that it kills norovirus. This is NOT the time to bust out the ol' essential oils and hope for the best

Excellent post and information. Common sense and a little humor make the world a better place.

 

[Atilley]

They are. The Centers for Disease Control actually has an entire program (called the VSP or Vessel Sanitation Program) dedicated to reducing illness on cruise ships because it is so easy for a major outbreak to occur in such tight quarters. If you're curious, I highly recommend you check out their website; it's very interesting. They have an operations manual for cruise ships that is close to 300 pages long, and out of curiosity, I looked to see if they say anything about soap. I found out that the paper towels at the bathroom doors are a requirement (who knew?!) but there are no requirements on soap formulations or dispensers, aside from the hand antiseptic used by food service workers. To be honest, antibacterial soap is not a great product. Bacteria can quickly become resistant to the antibiotics that are used, and then your soap is no longer antibacterial. It is much more important (and effective!) to mechanically remove bacteria from your hands by thoroughly scrubbing them, paying close attention to nooks and crannies like the areas around your fingernails. Most people do not spend nearly enough time washing their hands!

Alcohol based hand sanitizers do not cause resistant bacteria in the way that antibacterial soaps do, but they also don't remove and rinse away dirt and bacteria like actual hand-washing does.

The CDC has an entire page dedicated to cruise ship travelers: https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/public/public.htm (I hope that sharing this link is allowed, but if not, mods, please feel free to remove the link).

The cdc recommendation for not topping off soap actually comes from the recommendations for health care. It specifically says topping off soap leads to contamination. I find it interesting it is not also listed as a recommendation on cruise ships when topping off soap would be the same issue every where.

 

[littledebbie335]

The cdc recommendation for not topping off soap actually comes from the recommendations for health care. It specifically says topping off soap leads to contamination. I find it interesting it is not also listed as a recommendation on cruise ships when topping off soap would be the same issue every where.

I agree! I also didn’t read all 300 pages of that document, so it’s possible that I missed something. I looked up the healthcare recommendations and thought it was interesting that containers can be refilled if they’re cleaned and dried between use. I don’t think that would be practical for a cruise ship, but who knows, maybe the plan on having two sets and switching them out? Seems like it would still save $$ and plastic if they’re dumping the leftovers and refilling from a bulk container.

I also wonder if the recommendations are different because the products in your stateroom are not exclusively for hand washing, and that there are (hopefully!) fewer sick people on the Dream than at a healthcare facility.

Sorry guys, I science in real life and get way too invested in things like this

 

[Atilley]

Sorry guys, I science in real life and get way too invested in things like this

I get that. I am a nurse with a background in research. Lol I try not to be a germaphobe but refilling bottles makes me cringe.

 

[lucyddr]

I really think this is a swing and a miss for Disney. The bottles are just asking for issues...from cleaning, refilling, theft, etc. IF they wanted to truly reduce waste, they should have gone with smooth hand-pump based dispensers with replaceable bags/cartridges as used by medical offices. Once the bag is out, you replace it (which includes the no-touch dispensary for the soap).

We are used to hand pumps on Carnival and their refills, but honestly expected better on Disney. Oh well....time will tell as to how this goes!

Something like these with a cute Disney shape/design would have been far safer in every aspect!

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

It's all fun and games until someone replaces the conditioner with Nair when they leave