Do any ships have fresh water pools?

I know this is too late, we already booked, but do all the cruise lines pump ocean water into their pools?? And why do they do this??

Thanks!

The salt water is filtered, and I can't even tell the difference on my skin (I kind of feel sticky after getting out of the ocean.) I would assume they use ocean water, because there is an abundance of it. ;) But I can't say for sure...

I think some (or all, not sure) Princess ships have fresh water pools.

Probably would have made more sense to ask BEFORE we booked. But it certainly will not ruin our vacation. Thanks for the info.

:o

believe that Princess uses clorinated fresh water as do some RC ships but most use filtered salt water...

its cheaper and faster to use sea water. Sea water doesn't have to be chlorinated or made on the ship...

Holland America has fresh water pools

Disney has fresh water pools.

The Freedom class ships (RCI) have gone to freshwater, but all the others are saltwater.

Saltwater costs less--as it's free-and less harsh than chlorine. They change out the water every day.

The Freedom class ships (RCI) have gone to freshwater, but all the others are saltwater.

Saltwater costs less--as it's free-and less harsh than chlorine. They change out the water every day.

yea its quite interesting at night to see the pools drained w giant nets over them.. lol

So glad to hear that some lines have freshwater pools. I don't usually swim on ships because I hate seawater pools! (Don't like ocean swimming either!)

Princess has Fresh Water Pools.

Holland America normally has both -- one fresh and one salt.

Royal Caribbean Freedom Class ships have fresh water pools.

Just so it's clear, no ships have freshwater pools. They all use sea water. Princess, Royal Caribbean, Disney, and whoever else advertises "fresh water," pump the sea water through an intricate filter system to remove most of the salt, making it more "fresh."

Cruise ships can not have standard chlorinated pools because they have to be able to drain the pools for numerous reasons. Most importantly, for safety, is to avoid free-surface effect in rough seas.

Just so it's clear, no ships have freshwater pools. They all use sea water. Princess, Royal Caribbean, Disney, and whoever else advertises "fresh water," pump the sea water through an intricate filter system to remove most of the salt, making it more "fresh."

 

Cruise ships can not have standard chlorinated pools because they have to be able to drain the pools for numerous reasons. Most importantly, for safety, is to avoid free-surface effect in rough seas.

Guess I'm gonna have to disagree to a significant degree, unless you consider distilled sea water not to be fresh. Many ships use this process rather than the filtration process to which you refer. It's about as pure as fresh water can possibly be.

Cruise ships would prefer to have salt water pools because salt water is free.

You should probably feel the same way.

Depending on the ship and the itinerary, fresh water can cost as much as $6 per ton to produce onboard.

With ship swimming pools now holding 100 tons of water or more, it can get very expensive to fill a pool regularly.

Next time you use a ship's pool, have a look at how many pax shower before swimming. This is easy to do, as the number is usually around zero.

All the sweat, lotion, cologne, deodorant, perfume, fecal matter - and many other substances atttached to those un-showered people - go into the pool water. E-coli levels grow very quickly in tropical climates. It takes a great deal of chlorine and bromine to kill this nasty bug.

How many people urinate in a swimming pool while they are swimming?

Acording to the pool water tests we run every few hours, the number is very high.

We add large quantities of chemicals to counteract the uric acid levels from the urine.

You should be aware that urine is sterile and does not pose immediate health risks.

Some people - like me - do object to swimming in it however.

As time goes by, more and more people urinate in the pool, and more fecal matter, suntan lotion, and perfume contaminate the water. We add more and more chemicals to balance the chemistry, kill the e-coli, and keep the water from clouding up.

After several days of this we cannot keep up and must dump the pool water. We reluctantly drain $600 worth of polluted water into the ocean and fill it up with another $600 of fresh water.

A ship with sea water pools rarely needs to treat the pool water. They dump it every night and fill it fresh for the morning.

I vote for the salt water pools.

Thanks Philip more than I wanted to know. You left out the cost of the chlorine...

smeyer,

More than I want to know as well. But I deal with it on a daily basis.

Actually the cost of the chlorine and bromine are quite high.

But even higher is another related cost that many do not consider.

We put so much chemistry into the pools that many bathing suits are ruined.

Every week I have to spend substantial time with cruisers who purchased new suits for their cruise and now demand a refund for the damage.

We pay out quite a bit of money onboard for this issue.

Guess I'm gonna have to disagree to a significant degree, unless you consider distilled sea water not to be fresh. Many ships use this process rather than the filtration process to which you refer. It's about as pure as fresh water can possibly be.

You are correct. Perhaps I didn't explain it right, which would be my bad. The point I was making is that the water still comes from the sea.

I would assume that all the chemicals required for a freshwater pool aren't exactly "reef friendly". :confused:

Some cruise lines and individual ships within the cruise line take much better care of their pools than others according to my DH who is sort of nuts about keeping ours at home absolutely clean without the use of clorine .... :rolleyes:

Princess has Fresh Water Pools.

 

Holland America normally has both -- one fresh and one salt.

That may have been the case at one time, but ALL of the on deck pools on HAL ships are fresh (Desalinated on board) water.

I believe the "Hyrdotherapy" pools heve salt water, but I'm not sure it's simply filtered seawater or if they use some combination of salts and minerals added to desalinated water.

There must be something good about salt water pools. The pool in our subdivision has transitioned over to a salt water pool. Must be cheaper than all the chemicals or something? I've also heard of several friends who have transitioned their pools to salt water - of course they are all big beach people and I just thought it was so they would replicate the beach at home! :D

I like salt water pools. I always feel so much lighter in salt water than in chlorinated water!:)

Salt water makes you very bouyant. It's fun to be in a salt water pool after normally using a fresh water pool and realizing how easy it is to float.

I personally like all pools. Either way I use my goggles because the salt and the chemicals both burn my eyes.

It's all good.

Our pool at home is on a salt system. Much friendlier to your skin than chlorinated water, we never have to try to "balance" the ph, it is always perfectly clear, and the water is softer. Obviously there is a higher concentration of salt in sea water, but the ships treat the water before putting it in the pools to balance that. As long as you don't intend to drink it I don't see the issue.

It's not just the water. Princess has great pools and great pool areas. The pools on Carnival and RCCL were too small and the water too cold. The Princess pools are a big draw for me for that line. :cool:

I read the thread above, and I'm not too sure what the situation is regarding chlorination of the pools . Regardless of the source of the water used (i.e. sea water, desalinated sea water, or other), is chlorine always added? :confused:

I'm not worried about the salt content it's the chlorine content that I'm interested in!

That is, please can you let me known whether the pools on these ships are:

(1) always chlorinated

(2) never chlorinated

(3) it depending on the source of the water used, if so please explain when they are chlorinated.

Thanks!! :)

M