How clean are the pools on your cruise ship?

How clean are the pools on your cruise ship?

Enjoying a dip in the pool is a great way to spend the time at sea on any cruise, but have you ever stopped to think how clean the pools really are, especially if there are lots of young ones using them?

That was the question raised by cruise director Sally MacMillan in the Sydney Morning Herald, who pointed out that pools on cruise ships are generally quite small (because of the space and weight they take up), and are often very busy.


These two factors can conspire to limit the amount of enjoyment to be had at the pool, with a ten-day family cruise typically being incomplete unless the pools are closed several times for cleaning after a child has had an accident.


This can be incredibly annoying for those wishing to use the pool, especially if you're holidaying without children of your own. But then that's what adult-only cruises are for. And it's better to be inconvenienced for a short while in order to be able to enjoy clean facilities.


That being said, Ms MacMillan takes the opportunity to remind parents of the rules that do exist on most cruise ships, even if they are often ignored.


"Let's be clear here - if your child is not toilet trained, whether or not he or she is wearing 'swim nappies', whether he or she is 10 months or 10 years old, they are not allowed in the pool," she says. "Any pool on the ship."


Indeed, with the recent debate over the safety of pools on cruise ships for young children following the drowning of a six-year-old aboard the Carnival Victory earlier this year, parents would be well advised to consider alternative activities if their children aren't ready for the pool.