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Cruise Ship Swimming Pools

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Swimming Pools on Cruise Ships

People have been enjoying the 'ammenity' of cruise ship swimming pools for over a century. The main swimming pool is traditionally located on an open-air upper deck called the LIDO deck. But, depending on the ship you choose, odds are, swimming and sunbathing aren't the only activities you'll find on the lido, and the main pool isn't even THE pool, but just one of the pools on your cruise ship.

Come along with me and find out all about getting into the swim of things at sea. Find out about the water in the pools, what happens when the ship starts pitching and rolling in high seas, what some of the cruise ship ship pool rules are, and more.

Photo: (my own) One of the Pools
on Freedom of the Seas
page created 01/15/2011
last updated 05/26/2012

Contents at a Glance

The FIRST Swimming Pool at Sea
It's Probably Sea Water
Swimming Goggles and Sunscreen
Rules are Rules
Some Cool Stuff
Pitching and Rolling means CLOSED POOLS.
ROLLing on the Waves
A Fevered PITCH
Big Waves on the Sun Princess Cruise Sho...

The FIRST Swimming Pool at Sea

The earliest passenger ship to have a swimming pool installed

SHIP: The RMS Adriatic
LINE: the famous White Star Line
YEAR: 1907

It's Probably Sea Water

The water in the pools on your ship is probably SEA WATER, rather than chlorinated tap water, like you'll find in a hotel, neighborhood, or YMCA pool.

Before you react with a resounding "Ewwww," consider this:

Typical public pools rely on heavy doses of chemicals - principally chlorine - for sanitation. More often that not, when a public pool is cited for a violaation, it is for a chlorine level that is too low, NOT because the water hasn't been changed out recently. That doesn't seem to be a consideration. So, how healthy is Chlorine? Prolonged exposure might pose a health risk. Competition swimmers have a high incidence of asthma, and some have suggested a link to chlorine exposure.

Walk around a cruise ship late in the evening, and it's a pretty safe bet you'll find an empty pool. They are refilled with fresh sea water often... on some ships, daily. The sea water goes through a very advanced filtration and treatment system before going into the pool, and in the end, it's clean, healthy salt water.

Think about it! Salt water has long been lauded for its healthy properties. And chlorine? Not so much. Fresh, filtrated sea water every day, or the same re-chlorinated water week after week...

I can tell you that my skin feels softer and smoother after I've spent some time in salt water!

Swimming Goggles and Sunscreen

may come in handy!

If you plan to spend time in the pool or at the beach, and are concerned that the salt water will bother your eyes, you might consider bringing along a pair of swimming goggles. (The swim goggles shown here come in a number of color choices.)
On the pool deck, you'll get plenty of sun, even if there is a cloud cover. Sunscreen is a must!

Rules are Rules

Even on that Carefree Cruise

While you probably won't find lifeguards for at a pool on a cruise ship, there WILL be rules. sometimes, they'll be posted in the pool area. Other times, you'll find them in your 'daily.' A daily is a little printed bulletin that (among othr things) outlines the next day's activities and is delivered to your statroom on a daily basis. You may also find port summaries, expected dinner dress, and hours of operation for shops, pools, hot tubs, and other ship facilities.

Regardless of where you find them, you ARE expected to do the other passengers and the ship's staff the courtesy of abiding by the pool rules when you swim. Here is an example of one cruise ship's pool rules.

Pool Rules Mousepad

POOL RULES
No Lifeguard on Duty - Swim at your own risk.
NO DIVING

Max. Depth 5 ft. - 7 in.

Children must be supervised by an adult at all times.
No running or horseplay.
Use handrails and stairways to enter and exit pool.
Health rules prohibit use of pools by children in diapers or who are not toilet trained.* SEE NOTE
No glassware or food allowed in pool area.
Please refrain from walking on wood decking, which can be slippery when wet.

* NOTE -This is an IMPORTANT rule, and it applies to everyone and every child! Once, I watched as a parent rushed out of the pool, baby in hand, dribbling soggy plops of poo as he went. That pool was immediately colsed!

Some Cool Stuff

You can buy these cool pool related products just by clicking on their photos!

Pool Rules Bag - and - Cruise Ship Pool Mousepad

Pitching and Rolling means CLOSED POOLS.

Pitching and rolling. Rolling and pitching. The motion of the ocean. The nature of sea travel.

ROLLING is when the ship encounters large waves in such a manner that she rocks from side to side.

PITCHING is when the ship encounters large waves in such a manner that she rocks lengthways, or front to back.

Ship stabilizers can help to moderate rolling, but not pitching.

Speaking of Pitching and Rolling . . . If it affects you, one of the best remedies is BONINE.

ROLLing on the Waves

In this picture, you can see how the water in the pool is being affected by the rolling of the ship. This was from some fairly gentle rolling... but it was enough to create some waves in the pool. I didn't get to swim this particular afternoon. Not long after I took this photo, the rolling became more pronounced, the pool was officially closed, and the net was thrown over it.

While it may look like it might be fun to be in that pool, bobbing up and down and back and forth on those waves, remember that those concrete sides are HARD, and having your head slapped into one of them might prove uncomfortable at the very least. The roll could increase at any second, and with no warning whatsoever.

A Fevered PITCH

Now, take a look at the more violent effect some decent pitching had on the water in the pool of a ship we were on about six months ago. Not safe for swimming, but great fun to watch!

This pool had already been closed in anticipation of rough seas, and the net spread across it.

Big Waves on the Sun Princess Cruise Shop

... In the Pool

A friend took this amazing video a few years ago as the Sun Priincess was going through some fairly rough seas. Can you even imagine standing on the pool deck to record this wave action in the pool?

For Motion Sickness

from Amazon

The "Main" Pool

Some (not all) main pools have huge slides that twist and turn on their way to the water. Have a look at the picture to the right. See the slide to the left of the Carnival Imagination's funnel? Now that's a SLIDE! The red spiral part is the stairs, and the yellow and blue part is the slide.

A few years ago, my little granddaugter and I did a 'just us girls' cruise on the Carnival Fantasy. Oh, did she fall in love with that slide! Up and down, up and down! Now these slides are pretty special. So special, in fact, you'll even see adults making the long climb to the top, and the quick, slippery trip down, ending with a splash in the pool. I even did it once myself, much to my littlle companion's delight. Just ONCE. I think I did it just to show her that Nana COULD.

Not every main pool has a slide, but most every pool has something special, be it a statue, special artwork on the bottom of the pool, fountains, you name it.

Find the Main pool - at least one of them - on the Lido deck. LIDO is the Italian word for "beach" and earliest lido decks strived for a beach atmosphere to such a point that one of them even put beach sand in their pool! On today' lido decks, you'll find not only the main pool, but also bars, snack bars, and the entrance to the buffet.. On many ships, you'll find a whole lot more there... but more on that later.

Can You Swim?

How well?

animal-olympics-swimming
by cutepinkgirl

Can you swim? Really well, or just well enough to get by? Or have you yet to learn how?
THANK YOU for voting!

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Cruise Tip: Pack an EXTRA Swim Suit

If, like me, you are a water lover, my advice is to pack an extra swim suit. Things tend to dry slowly hanging in your cabin bath. I can hang a suit there before dinner, and it may still be damp the next morning when I want to take a dip. So, take one more than you think you'll need. I usually take four on a seven night cruise, but I swim a lot.

Swimsuits for All has an amazing variety of nice suits for a good range of body types, and at affordable prices. Here's a link to their site:

Adult Pools and Children's Pools

Ships built within the last decade or so tend to have multiple pools per ship. And on these newer ships you'll find a number of different kinds of pools. Wile most ships are more family-friendly than ever, they haven't forgotten that not everyone is sailing with children ... or even wants to.

Some ships have special shallow "splash" pools just for smaller children. These can be in a special children's area.

More and more ships have special adult only pool areas. On the Crown Princess, the staff was VERY good about making sure the serenity of their adults only Terrace Pool, located on the aft just outside the Caribe Cafe, was not shattered by invading teens and pre-teens.

On the Radiance class ships in the Royal Caribbbean fleet, you'll find the adult pool area in a particularly beautiful area called The Solarium.

A view of the Solarium on the Radiance of the Seas.
Just click on the picture if you cant to buy this postcard.

The solarium area shown above has a retractible roof that can be closed in inclement weather. There's also a hot tub, and a snack bar in the area. And, best of all, there are swim jets in the pool!

More Pools

. . . and pool-like stuff

Right: A view of the H2O Zone splash park for kids on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas.

Other types of pools and pool-like stuff you'll find on cruise ships include:

- Spas and Hot tubs (most all ships have these)
- Adult only retreats with pools and /or spas, and special ammenities
- Splash and Spray parks
- FlowRider surfing simulators on Royal Caribbean's larger ships

- Specialy designated Baby Splash Zones for toddlers
- On some smaller luxury shops, there is a "marine deck" which lets you go right into the sea from the back of the ship, and complimentary equipment of various types is provided. (Kayaks, zodiacs, snorkeling, etc.) This turns quiet cove into a temporary pool!

Click to buy

I've probably forgotten something, but you get the idea . . . there's a lot more to today's cruise ship swimming pool than a retangular shaped water container.

Did you find this information helpful?

Cruise Ship Swimming Pools

Swimming Pools on Cruise Ships

Contents at a Glance

Contents at a Glance

The FIRST Swimming Pool at Sea

It's Probably Sea Water

Swimming Goggles and Sunscreen

may come in handy!

Rules are Rules

Even on that Carefree Cruise

Some Cool Stuff

Pitching and Rolling means CLOSED POOLS.

ROLLing on the Waves

A Fevered PITCH

Big Waves on the Sun Princess Cruise Shop

... In the Pool

For Motion Sickness

from Amazon

The "Main" Pool

Can You Swim?

How well?

Thanks for voting! Now invite your friends to vote.

Cruise Tip: Pack an EXTRA Swim Suit

Adult Pools and Children's Pools

More Pools

. . . and pool-like stuff

Did you find this information helpful?

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