Emerald? Lotus Spa pool covered? Swim against the current?

[Appygirl]

Possibly going on the Emerald this November. The only Princess cruise I've taken was on the Island and I really enjoyed the Lotus pool because its covered, sort of air conditioned in there, and has the swim against the current. I can't tell from the Princess website if the Emerald is covered because they don't show a photo of it! On the deck plans it looks like its smack in the middle of the spa but I'm hoping its still available to all passengers whether or not they use the other spa services. And its swim against the current? Thanks!

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

pool has no roof but is very sheltered as it is sunk down,

 

has a wave machine,

 

open to all spa is around the sides of it

 

yours Shogun

[JustinPlusLauren]

During parts of the day, it will be shady around this pool, though it is not covered. We enjoyed this pool on board the Crown and the Caribbean Princess, it was one of our favorite places on the ship :)

[Appygirl]

Thanks. I'm a shade person so that's good to know.

[shertwo]

Thanks. I'm a shade person so that's good to know.

Am on the TA April 26th and I was just going to start asking the same question, good timing. I also could not tell if one of the pools was covered. Did a TA last May on Celebrity and the covered pool was wonderful after a long touring day in a City in Europe!

Think I did read though that one of the Emerald's pools is heated so that will help.

[Tweedy]

Possibly going on the Emerald this November. The only Princess cruise I've taken was on the Island and I really enjoyed the Lotus pool because its covered, sort of air conditioned in there, and has the swim against the current. I can't tell from the Princess website if the Emerald is covered because they don't show a photo of it! On the deck plans it looks like its smack in the middle of the spa but I'm hoping its still available to all passengers whether or not they use the other spa services. And its swim against the current? Thanks!

 

As others have mentioned, the Lotus pool is not covered but it is also not windy. Depending on where the sun is it may not receive sunlight. However, in the below pic that I took in April 2011, you can see it is in full sun. It's not a large pool and the chairs that are surrounding it are really nice but people stake these out really early.

 

 

Yes, this pool is available to all passengers whether or not they use the spa services. Yes, there is a swim-against-the-current machine on this pool but it's definitely not a quiet machine.

[Times Prince]

Possibly going on the Emerald this November. The only Princess cruise I've taken was on the Island and I really enjoyed the Lotus pool because its covered, sort of air conditioned in there, and has the swim against the current. I can't tell from the Princess website if the Emerald is covered because they don't show a photo of it! On the deck plans it looks like its smack in the middle of the spa but I'm hoping its still available to all passengers whether or not they use the other spa services. And its swim against the current? Thanks!

Just got off Emerald Princess this weekend. Pool is not covered (we got rained on one day), but there is a significant amount of shade from the awning toward the bow on the pay as you go lounging area on the deck above.

 

It does have a swim against the current feature. Also the showers for the pool are better equipped than our stateroom's shower.

 

The quickest access is through the spa on Deck 16. We did not pay to use the pool and were not challenged by spa staff.

[Appygirl]

Tweedy, thank you for posting the picture! Windy doesn't bother me. I don't like to sit in the sun so as long as I can get a lounge in the shade I'll be OK. I'm more the type of person who brings a book and spends a couple of hours at the pool alternating reading with a quick dip. I swim at lot in the evenings when I'm on a cruise. No sun and less people, especially after 11pm! That might be my plan here too.

[From the 949]

Was on the Emerald in February. The pool does have a swim against the current feature; however, if you are a strong swimmer or regularly swim laps, it's not strong enough. I swim laps and tried it out and kept swimming into the machine. After a few minutes I gave up on swimming against the current.

[Appygirl]

From the 949 - it sounds just like the swim against the current pool on the Island then. I could reach the wall with little effort and then push off and be almost all the way across the pool - whee!!! You're right. To swim against the current and stay in one spot I have to swim rather slowly.