Salt or Fresh Water Pools

[Charger2008]

I have seen this mentioned several times on many threads so I thought "why not go to the source and ask what they used on their ships?" The following is my question to RCCL and their answer :)

 

 

Issue: This may sound like a silly question; however, I have seen several discussions about this so I thought I would go straight to the source. Are the pools on Royal Caribbean ships filled with filtered ocean water or are they freshwater? Just curious :)

ANSWER:

Many of our ships do indeed use ocean water (cleaned and filtered, of course), while many of our ships use fresh water. We are happy to advise that the Independence of the Seas uses only fresh water for its pools.

:D

[ciera123]

Anyone know about Freedom of the Seas???

[Susie51]

Anyone know about Navigator?

[Charger2008]

I believe the only reason they singled out the Independence is because you fill out a form on their website when you submit a question and it asks for current booked cruise information and that is the one we will be on next month :)

 

Maybe if enough people ask about different ships they would put that information on their website with the other information about the various ships :D

[jndsilver31]

The Freedom of the Seas uses fresh water. The pools on the Allure are salt water

[loubetti]

Fresh water is nice, if you like chlorine and muriatic acid in it. Otherwise I would take salt. In fact, I'm considering adding a salt filtration system to my home pool to be done with the chemicals. God only knows what they do with fresh water pools on the ships. Ya' gotta check the PH, and add chlorine / acid accordingly.

[Sat1]

Anyone know about Navigator?

 

My first cruise on the Contessa, the crew placed a canvas bag in the forward hold, secured it to all sides, and pumped the Caribbean salt water into it. :-)

[cb at sea]

Freedom class and above have chlorinated water pools....Voyager class and lower have salt water pools. On Oasis/Allure, some are salt, some are chlorinated..

 

Hot tubs on ALL the ships are chlorinated water.

Edited February 2, 2015 by cb at sea

[Pellaz]

I was startled to find that the Solarium pool on Liberty was a chlorinated pool ("freshwater"? Not really....) when I was expecting saltwater. I can't speak as to the regular pools as they were closed, drained and decked over for the pool-deck stage erected for the charter (it was a music cruise).

 

I'd prefer saltwater, too, since it's a little less damaging to bathing suits.

(In a perfect world I'd prefer fresh mountain water, but that ain't happenin'! :) )

[BillB48]

Even the saltwater pools will be chlorinated when the ship is in port or close to land and checked at regular intervals.

Edited February 2, 2015 by BillB48

[LetsGetWet!]

Fresh water is nice, if you like chlorine and muriatic acid in it. Otherwise I would take salt. In fact, I'm considering adding a salt filtration system to my home pool to be done with the chemicals. God only knows what they do with fresh water pools on the ships. Ya' gotta check the PH, and add chlorine / acid accordingly.

I've had a salt system in a home pool. Its not a replacement for chlorine, but in fact is an alternative way of providing the chlorine. Its not "salt filtration" but a system that uses an electrical grid in the water to break salt (NaCl) into sodium and chlorine. The sodium bubbles away off the grid while the chlorine absorbs into the water. The desired chlorine levels are very similar to any other pool, but many prefer the salt & grid systems because instead of having stocks of toxic chlorine tablets/powder, you instead have bags of plain old salt which are added to the pool on a regular basis.

[counsdr]

Quantum has fresh water!

[Candycane_76053]

Navigator of the Seas has salt water

[iheartbda]

This is an honest question and not trying to be snarky. Why does it matter which it is?:o

[chengkp75]

Okay, again, let me explain pool chemistry as far as USPH regulations are required.

 

Fresh water pools use recirculation, and are chlorinated.

 

Salt water pools can be either recirculation or flow through. Flow through pools take in sea water, fill the pool, and continually pump sea water into the pool with the overflow draining directly back to the sea. These pools are not required to be chlorinated.

 

However, once a ship gets within 20 miles of shore, flow through pools must be either drained, or switched to recirculation mode. Then, the salt water in the pool will be recirculated, and is required to be chlorinated. Most ships will not use the electro-chemical process of creating chlorine from sea water as one poster mentioned is used in home pools. USPH requires continual monitoring and dosing of chlorine, with a recording graph in real time. The electro-chemical method is not sufficiently precise (especially as the amount of chlorine in sea water is finite, and the chlorine level in a pool will deplete naturally, as well as depending on body load), so chemical chlorine is more commonly used.

 

Many people don't like salt water pools (eye irritant, need to shower, etc.), but some are under the mistaken belief that salt water pools are not chlorinated. Ships' pools are chlorinated to higher levels than home pools, and many people react to these higher chlorine levels.

[Haber]

Many people don't like salt water pools (eye irritant, need to shower, etc.), but some are under the mistaken belief that salt water pools are not chlorinated. Ships' pools are chlorinated to higher levels than home pools, and many people react to these higher chlorine levels.

 

I find less eye irritation from a salt water pool, and although you end up with a salty residue on you, I still prefer that to the smell of chlorine in my hair that lingers, even after a freshwater shower.

 

Which Oasis pools are salt water and which are chlorinated?

[ciera123]

The Freedom of the Seas uses fresh water. The pools on the Allure are salt water

 

Wonderful, thanks!!!

[OSUZorba]

I find less eye irritation from a salt water pool, and although you end up with a salty residue on you, I still prefer that to the smell of chlorine in my hair that lingers, even after a freshwater shower.

 

Which Oasis pools are salt water and which are chlorinated?

 

The "Ocean Pool" on Oasis (and I assume Allure) is saltwater, all others are fresh water.

 

The only issue I have with the freshwater pools on Oasis, is the last time I was on her, they got a nasty sunscreen film on them. Never noticed that in the salt water pools.

 

Any one know about the Radiance Class? I assume salt water, but since they came between Voyager and Freedom classes, I never knew for sure.

[counsdr]

As far as I remember, both Serenade and Jewel were salt water pools. I prefer salt water.

[chengkp75]

I find less eye irritation from a salt water pool, and although you end up with a salty residue on you, I still prefer that to the smell of chlorine in my hair that lingers, even after a freshwater shower.

 

Which Oasis pools are salt water and which are chlorinated?

 

Again, if you are swimming in a salt water pool when the ship is in port or near land, it is chlorinated.

[chengkp75]

The "Ocean Pool" on Oasis (and I assume Allure) is saltwater, all others are fresh water.

 

The only issue I have with the freshwater pools on Oasis, is the last time I was on her, they got a nasty sunscreen film on them. Never noticed that in the salt water pools.

 

Any one know about the Radiance Class? I assume salt water, but since they came between Voyager and Freedom classes, I never knew for sure.

 

Funny you should mention the sunscreen film, though this will be present in salt water pools as well. I know I will get flamed for this statement, but it is the requirement of the USPH, not my personal belief. Somewhere around the pool, USPH mandates showers be installed, and there should be a sign somewhere that instructs bathers to shower before entering the pool. This is to remove the oily sunscreen. Sunscreen and other oils prevent the chlorine in a pool from doing its job as a sanitizing agent. So, yes, you are expected to get into the pool without sunscreen protection, and if that is a concern for someone, then they should consider spending less time in the pool.

[chengkp75]

Fresh water is nice, if you like chlorine and muriatic acid in it. Otherwise I would take salt. In fact, I'm considering adding a salt filtration system to my home pool to be done with the chemicals. God only knows what they do with fresh water pools on the ships. Ya' gotta check the PH, and add chlorine / acid accordingly.

 

Again, no real difference between salt water pool and fresh water pool onboard unless you are at sea for the day. Even a salt generator installed in a pool will require acid treatment to keep the pool Ph at the proper level to keep the chlorine effective. USPH inspectors are generally former health inspectors, many from NYC. They say that the pools onboard ships are far cleaner than those ashore because the pools are generally drained once a week, while shore side pools are sometimes not drained or renewed for years, as long as the chemistry is okay. NYC generally only drains a public pool when painting is required. Home pools are generally kept at 0.5-1.5ppm chlorine, while ship's pools must be in the 2-4ppm range. Hot tubs are kept at the 8-10ppm range. These are continuously monitored by measuring the recirculation flow, and dosed automatically. The Ph and chlorine levels are recorded continuously and the charts must be kept for 12 months for review by USPH inspectors.

[LuCruise]

The Freedom of the Seas uses fresh water. The pools on the Allure are salt water

 

I had read that on the Allure, the beach pool is the only salt water pool.

 

I'm not even sure of the difference...is salt water pool better? Does it mean less chemicals?

(Sorry, reading back on the posts so there are some explanations)

Edited February 3, 2015 by LuCruise

[Haber]

Again, if you are swimming in a salt water pool when the ship is in port or near land, it is chlorinated.

 

Ah, but if it's a shore day I'll be off ship swimming in the ocean. :cool:

[chengkp75]

Ah, but if it's a shore day I'll be off ship swimming in the ocean. :cool:

 

And some ships won't switch over to flow through on their salt water pools unless there is more than one day at sea, since it takes a while to get the chlorination right every time you switch.