Cleaning of Pools

[lynn2002]

How often are the pools drained and cleaned? Is this done every day?

[SilvertoGold]

Certainly not drained every day, but the crew go through the procedure for cleaning and they check the water chemicals every day.

[chengkp75]

How often are the pools drained and cleaned? Is this done every day?

 

Generally once a week.

[serendipity1499]

How often are the pools drained and cleaned? Is this done every day?

 

We do not normally use ship pools but have observed the following:

 

Drained Daily:NO Cleaned Daily:YES

 

I've never seen ships pools being drained & re-filled every day..

 

But they are cleaned & chemicals also checked at least once or twice a day.. If there is a code red or code orange the pools will be closed...

 

They probably are only drained on a weekly basis, or if there is a problem with the chemicals, or if a parent doesn't follow the rules & has been observed letting his/her child in diapers use the pool.. Have also seen ships pools either partially drained or covered when the seas are high & the sailing was rough....

 

Once in a great while I might go into the Adult only pool on board just to cool off, but that too is unusual for me.. When we had our house & pool I only used the pool in the evening or when the Grandchildren visited..

 

Oops..Cheng confirmed the pool is drained 3 weekly, but he did not mention cleaning which I believe was on a daily basis..

Edited May 18, 2016 by serendipity1499

[rebeccalouiseagain]

The aft pool on Maasdam last year was murky. I got in (against my better judgement because I was so hot). My robe was stained yellow after that! Gross. So I have no desire to swim in those pools ever again.

[alwaysfrantic]

The Zuiderdam pool was funky when I was on it. Cloudy, oily, filmy....

[chengkp75]

We do not normally use ship pools but have observed the following:

 

 

But they are cleaned & chemicals also checked at least once or twice a day.. If there is a code red or code orange the pools will be closed...

 

Oops..Cheng confirmed the pool is drained 3 weekly, but he did not mention cleaning which I believe was on a daily basis..

 

Actually, USPH requires that chlorine and Ph levels be manually checked every 4 hours, and there must also be a continuous monitor of chlorine and Ph, which is also recorded on a 24 hour chart. Yes, they fish the trash out of the pool and gutters daily, and try to scrub the sunscreen oil off the waterline area.

[OCruisers]

My DH is "nutty" about keeping our pool absolutely clean. He was impressed with how often and correctly HAL tested the water. :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Many years ago we used to use the pools on various cruise lines -- just to cool off.

No way would we use any ship pool and more. Too often the water looks oily and cloudy.

[Cruiser Bruiser]

The aft pool on Maasdam last year was murky. I got in (against my better judgement because I was so hot). My robe was stained yellow after that! Gross. So I have no desire to swim in those pools ever again.

 

Yes, disgusting. But be assured that the murk and the yellow stain was almost certainly a result of sun block. That is typically the cause of foam in hot tubs, too.

[chefestelle]

That's right. I have a pool and had a hot tub. Sun block is often the culprit where oil, scum or foam appear. Every time I had a big crew of people over I would have to rebalance the chemicals. Especially in the hot tub. I'm fairly certain kids weren't peeing in the pool because there was a steady parade to the loo.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[lynn2002]

Thank you all for the replies which have convinced me to continue to not use them! I don't understand why they are not drained on a more regular basis. They can put as much chlorine as they want but the thought of going into a pool that is heavily used and whose water has not been changed for a week is rather off-putting.

[chengkp75]

Thank you all for the replies which have convinced me to continue to not use them! I don't understand why they are not drained on a more regular basis. They can put as much chlorine as they want but the thought of going into a pool that is heavily used and whose water has not been changed for a week is rather off-putting.

 

I don't know what the requirements in the UK are for public pools, but most shore side public pools in the US are only drained when they need to paint the pool. USPH inspectors have told me that ship's pools are so much easier than shore pools to maintain properly since they do drain and refill regularly.

 

One reason the pools are drained on ships is the "oily" appearance mentioned above. This is caused by sunscreen, and it has a detrimental effect on the chlorine to properly sanitize the water.

 

Oops, just saw Bruce and Estelle's responses about sunscreen. That is one reason the USPH requires showers at ship's pools, and the signage about pool usage used to say shower before and after using pool.

Edited May 19, 2016 by chengkp75

[pmcubed]

 

The filmy, oily look is from the humans NOT following the rule to SHOWER first before getting in the pool.

 

It's the sunblock and other bodily oils on our bodies - not that the pool is dirty.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Yes, disgusting. But be assured that the murk and the yellow stain was almost certainly a result of sun block. That is typically the cause of foam in hot tubs, too.

 

I agree with you that it was probably sun block but this was on the first day of our Canada/ New England cruise and you could visually see that the pool wasn't clean. Again- my fault for getting in. I just came off the Veendam and there is no aft pool any longer- so was not an issue. I never used the indoor pool- but that was because I was in Canada (again) and it was wasn't too tempting to swim- although it was nice and warm in the solarium. The pool didn't look dirty, but I don't trust any ship pools any more. They talk about norovirus and the two places that probably one could get it are the pool and the buffet.

Edited May 19, 2016 by rebeccalouiseagain

[chengkp75]

Thank you all for the replies which have convinced me to continue to not use them! I don't understand why they are not drained on a more regular basis. They can put as much chlorine as they want but the thought of going into a pool that is heavily used and whose water has not been changed for a week is rather off-putting.

 

Another reason the pools are not drained more frequently, is that unlike ashore where you just open the valve and unlimited water fills the pool, if the ship's pool is fresh water, there is a finite amount that can be made or stored on the ship, and this is used for all purposes; drinking, cooking, cleaning, laundry, pools, toilets, showers.

 

Okay, did a bit of research, and apparently there is no governmental oversight of public pools in the UK, but there is a "Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group" (PWTAG) that has set a "code of practice" which is voluntary in its application. Even in this code of practice, there is no requirement for ever draining the pool.

Edited May 19, 2016 by chengkp75

[Despegue]

With regards to the OP,

 

Some of the most filthy public pools I have ever come across ( and I travel the World) were in the UK I'm afraid so I wouldn't worry too much about ship pool hygiene...

 

By the way,the cleanest pools are in my experience in Iceland and Japan, where everybody has a thorough, completely naked, wash and scrub before being allowed poolside. ( and yes, showers are common)

 

The pruder the society, the dirtier the pools in general.

[Fouremco]

 

The filmy, oily look is from the humans NOT following the rule to SHOWER first before getting in the pool.

 

It's the sunblock and other bodily oils on our bodies - not that the pool is dirty.

Today's better sunscreens are designed to be sweat and water resistant. Consequently, even after a pre-swim shower, there will be sunscreen left on you that will leave oils in the pool.

[alwaysfrantic]

I think Disney drains and refills daily.

Edited May 19, 2016 by alwaysfrantic

[cb at sea]

People put on sunscreen and hop immediately into the pool...happens everywhere! I hate that oily film !

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I wish they would just make them saltwater pools- then they could constantly change the water. Perhaps the salt builds up in the system though or something like that. Not an expert on these things. One way to keep kids out of the adult only pools is to make them saltwater.

[Myrtle Ave. Mayhem]

I sailed aboard Zuiderdam & Crown Princess three weeks apart recently in March/April. Sadly, the Zuiderdam pools often looked dirty after about 2 o'clock each afternoon. The tiles had an ongoing rust deposit problem. Completely different story on the Crown Princess ! What a glorious delight that the pools were crystal clear, sparkling, Finncantieri shipyard fresh every day. I couldn't get enough of those beautiful pools.

[chengkp75]

I wish they would just make them saltwater pools- then they could constantly change the water. Perhaps the salt builds up in the system though or something like that. Not an expert on these things. One way to keep kids out of the adult only pools is to make them saltwater.

 

Salt water pools are only allowed to be in "flow through" mode, where the water is constantly pumped in and the overflow returns to the sea, when the ship is more than 12 miles from shore. When within 12 miles of shore, the salt water pool must be closed and drained, or placed in "recirculation" mode, where the water is pumped around through filters and is chlorinated, just like a fresh water pool. There are many salt water pools on many cruise ships.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I sailed aboard Zuiderdam & Crown Princess three weeks apart recently in March/April. Sadly, the Zuiderdam pools often looked dirty after about 2 o'clock each afternoon. The tiles had an ongoing rust deposit problem. Completely different story on the Crown Princess ! What a glorious delight that the pools were crystal clear, sparkling, Finncantieri shipyard fresh every day. I couldn't get enough of those beautiful pools.

 

I agree- we love the pools on Princess. Lots of them on the older ship especially.

[chefestelle]

I have a salt water pool. Way less maintenance and chemicals. Doesn't keep kids out at all. But then, I like kids. Even other people's kids.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app