Hot tub water cleanliness

If u must I would be one if the first in and first out

... Taken from a simple search .....On top of pathogens that can naturally be found in water, humans also introduce their own share of germs when they slip into a hot tub. "The average bather has about a tenth of a gram of feces in his gluteal fold, which is a nice way of saying butt crack," Gerba says. That means with five people, "you have a tablespoon of poop in the hot tub."

Last year, on our Breeze cruise, we did the Hot Tubs a couple of nights, on Deck 5.

This year on our Breeze cruise, we did the Aft pool for the first time.

We lived to tell about it.:D:D

My issue is not the germs, but those dang pools are always so crowded, there's no room to get in.:mad:

We opted to NOT get off the ship in the DR. Had the pool to ourselves.:D

I have personally seen 10 college aged cruisers that were in the hot tub for several hours, drinking many buckets of beer. Not once did they get up to go to the restroom.

I have seen the same thing.

Actually I have never been in a ship pool.

I was prepared on my first cruise, then I looked and decided no way.

Reminded me of the hippo pool at the zoo.

The water looks okay, but I ain't getting in there!

I have personally seen 10 college aged cruisers that were in the hot tub for several hours, drinking many buckets of beer. Not once did they get up to go to the restroom.

Exactly! That's why I usually don't go in any hot tub but my own.

On Carnival Magic a few weeks ago I happened to notice a young lady testing the chemicals in the Lido aft hot tubs on two mornings. I don't know if they drain/refill them daily. The Leni hot tubs on the port side seemed to be filled and running at all hours - even very late at night and very early in the morning. They generally roped them off in the evening, but they were running every time I looked down from our balcony.

Another germaphobe here and never ever do I get into ship's and hotel's hot tubs or pools. I happen to have a hot tub at my home and I know how much you have to keep up on them.

 

When I am relaxing near a hot tub on a cruise, I'll notice them jam packed with drinking adults that keep getting drinks from the bar waiters, and they don't ever seem to get out to go to the bathroom. That's really gross and my imagination runs wild. I can't fathom even sticking my toe in there. The pools either. Just my opinion.

 

 

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On my first cruise way back I watched a group of adult males drink for hours in the hot tub and not one got out to use bathroom!! That did it for me I couldn't go in. This past jan I cruised the breeze with my son and was the first time we went into the hot tub. he got sick with a sinus thing after that. He could have picked something up anywhere as we traveled stayed in hotels ect. I try not to be too germ-a-phobic but we did shower after using hot tub. I bring Lysol wipes with me and the first thing I do when we get to the cabin is wipe everything down. Door handles,remote,toilet area, bedside tables and lamps, light switches ect. Also if traveling by air be sure to have the air vent blowing directly at you. It pushes germs away and is not recycled air. This past trip in jan was the first trip I didn't pick up a sinus infection of some sort! Back to the hot tubs, I did see them cleaning them however not sure what they used. I would take the advice everyone else and use early am or shower after and don't put head under water(of course). I would give a lot to be in that germ invested hot tube right now however!

as an avid reader of cruise ship sanitation ratings (no I am not weird, I am a bit of a techno-geek) I believe the systems on the ships are among the finest in the world to assure proper sanitation. This is all balanced automatically and much less personal attention than does our home pool.

When we had a hot tub, I kept up with the chemicals daily. This required very little time, but with only DW and I using the thing, it was no big deal to keep it sanitary and healthy.

Our pool gets a major check once a week, with daily checks of chlorine levels and ph. This is all done automatically on all the Carnival ships for both pools and hot tubs. Read the reports, especially the ones where a ship gets gigged for violations and you will get an idea of the efforts at keeping the hot tubs and pools safe for the passengers.

Incidentally, all the pools and hot tubs are drained each evening, sanitized during the night, and refilled in the morning. This is done automatically on all the ships.

Doc

We were told that they are treated/shocked daily but didn't think to ask how often they were drained or what specific chemical they used. My nose told me that they weren't using clorine.

I own and maintain a public pool and know the work that goes into keeping them clean, I don't have a public hot tub since they are so very hard to keep clean and the chemicals in balance. But I want to dispel the myth that you can smell the chlorine and if they are clean. If you are smelling chlorine there is a problem with either too much Free Chlorine or the pool is out of balance. It is normal to have a slight smell in and indoor pool but if you can smell it outdoors that pool is unsafe to be in.

I have a life, but being a geek about how others do things my business requires i did watch them, they do a good job of draining and cleaning, they cycle though the hot tubs but it seemed to be about every other day they were drained and scrubbed.

Based on what i watched them do, I would use the hot tub on a ship, while you would never find me in one at a hotel were they are accidents waiting to happen in most hotels.

I’ve also seen people sitting in hot tubs drinking for hours at a time and no bathroom breaks. Anyone remember the swim up bar on the Destiny years ago. Same people would sit there all day.:eek:

When our kids were younger, we truly enjoyed the onboard swimming pools & hot tubs with them.

But now that they've grown & we don't get in as much lately.

Also, based on an incident we've observed on another land-based AI hotel hot tub, we've haven't been back into the hot in awhile.

 

Does anyone knows about Carnival's hot tub hygiene policy?

ie: how often do they totally drain & refill with new water?

how often the clean/shock/treat the water?

do they use clorine, bromine, ultraviolet or other disinfectant?

 

We love all the new hot tubs designs avail in the newer ships lately, on both Carnival & RCCL, but still hesitant about getting in from the (unreasonable?) thoughts in the back of our minds about what might be floating in the water...

 

Thanks,

I think they shock the death out of them and they drain/disinfect them after closing every night. During the day I don't know how often they are treated or if they are treated. I would think the water is somehow cleaned as it is recirculated throughout the system and comes back out thru the jets on the side. I could be wrong there though. I know if an incident is spotted they often close the tub until it can be treated and thoroughly cleaned. I'm sure people have "accidents" from time to time there and in the regular pools as well. I am usually reluctant to put my head underwater in either the pools on the ship or at home and I surely NEVER go totally under in any hot tub. In addition to gems its very unsafe. Anyway, I have never gotten sick from a cruise ship hot tub and I have never not gone in one at least once on a cruise so I wouldn't worry all that much. Better chance of getting sick at buffet with all the germs floating around there.

as an avid reader of cruise ship sanitation ratings (no I am not weird, I am a bit of a techno-geek) I believe the systems on the ships are among the finest in the world to assure proper sanitation. This is all balanced automatically and much less personal attention than does our home pool.

 

When we had a hot tub, I kept up with the chemicals daily. This required very little time, but with only DW and I using the thing, it was no big deal to keep it sanitary and healthy.

 

Our pool gets a major check once a week, with daily checks of chlorine levels and ph. This is all done automatically on all the Carnival ships for both pools and hot tubs. Read the reports, especially the ones where a ship gets gigged for violations and you will get an idea of the efforts at keeping the hot tubs and pools safe for the passengers.

 

Incidentally, all the pools and hot tubs are drained each evening, sanitized during the night, and refilled in the morning. This is done automatically on all the ships.

 

Doc

Great info.

Good to know...

If u must I would be one if the first in and first out

... Taken from a simple search .....On top of pathogens that can naturally be found in water, humans also introduce their own share of germs when they slip into a hot tub. "The average bather has about a tenth of a gram of feces in his gluteal fold, which is a nice way of saying butt crack," Gerba says. That means with five people, "you have a tablespoon of poop in the hot tub."

I'm not getting into a pool or hot tub for the simple reason that you don't know how clean anyone else is that has been in before you. That's just my opinion and everyone else is entitled to their own. Unfortunately, the math on this is wrong though. .5 grams is equivalent to about 0.03 tablespoons... although any amount of someone else's poop is too much in my book... :D

A while ago while working in the recreation department at a large resort I had to take training to be state certified for pool operation. I never forgot what the trainer said about hot tubs and the difficulty in keeping them sanitary. He absolutely refused to get into any hot tub as he said you couldn't treat them enough to keep them up to par if they were being used at all. I've never been in one since.

His words, "90% of the people in the hot tub pee involuntarily, the other 10% do it on purpose." :eek::p

Maybe they need one of those signs, "I won't swim in your toilet if you don't pee in my pool." :D

Just sayin'

I have also seen the hottubs drained, scrubbed and re-filled on every CCL ship I have been on. That said, I have never been in a hottub. Something about cooking myself in other people's epithelial cells...:p:D However, the rest of my family love the hottubs! To each their own. I don't go in the ship pools too often, either. I usually just cool off with the pool shower.

A while ago while working in the recreation department at a large resort I had to take training to be state certified for pool operation. I never forgot what the trainer said about hot tubs and the difficulty in keeping them sanitary. He absolutely refused to get into any hot tub as he said you couldn't treat them enough to keep them up to par if they were being used at all. I've never been in one since.

 

His words, "90% of the people in the hot tub pee involuntarily, the other 10% do it on purpose." :eek::p

 

Maybe they need one of those signs, "I won't swim in your toilet if you don't pee in my pool." :D

 

Just sayin'

It sound to be as if the trainer was experssing his personal bias rather than fact.

Doc

On the Freedom, DB and I would always go down to the Lido deck for coffee real early in the mornings. Every day there was an officer, that came out with a little kit and checked the hot tubs. (I'm guessing he was an officer, he had a white uniform on.) He would always rope it off before checking it to make sure nobody got in it while he was doing his check.

It sound to be as if the trainer was experssing his personal bias rather than fact.

Could be, but he was a licensed and certified by the state of FL as an instructer, don't know if you are. I'll take his word for it.

I too have seen the tubs drained, and scrubbed clean- then refilled. I've also watched them test the water. As far as cleaning a hot tub, you can't do much better than their system of constant drain, clean, refill and add chemicals.

On the other hand, no matter how well they clean a hot tub, after the first couple of users, all bets are off as to what is in the water. There are clearly a lot of folks that don't care since the hot tubs are always full on every cruise I've taken. :D

I do like hot tubs and am not a germaphobe. I certainly will venture into a public hot tub now and again. Yeah yeah, I know what could be in the water. But life is full of risks! lol.

I have avoided cruise ship hot tubs since early on, when I saw a mother in a hot tub on the Liberty or Victory (can't remember which) with a baby in a diaper. She was lifting the kid in and out of the water with a big old soggy diaper on. The little one was probably about a year old and baby and mom were having a great time. The diaper looked like a big old tea bag... and sure enough- at one point, mom got out and changed the diaper on the deck in front of me and it was not just urine steeping in the diaper.

Never, ever, ever do we use the hot tubs or the pool on a cruise ship. I choose not to plunge into other's waste.

If I was a germ-aphobe, and I am not, I would rather get in the hot tub than touch the slot machine buttons in the casino.

Exactly! I consider myself to be a germaphobe and I find nothing wrong with swimming in pools/hot tubs...the water is treated and cleaned by a filter system. Like you said...it's the button in the casino, elevators, hand rails, door knobs, etc that I worry about! Ekk!

I really enjoyed swimming on our first ship, Explorer of the Seas but I have been unable to swim due to overcrowding conditions on any of our other cruises. I will say this though, the last ship we sailed on was The Fascination and there were kids dipping cups in the pool and pouring the water in the hot tub. Watching this made me gag and the parents watched them do it.

Exactly! I consider myself to be a germaphobe and I find nothing wrong with swimming in pools/hot tubs...the water is treated and cleaned by a filter system. Like you said...it's the button in the casino, elevators, hand rails, door knobs, etc that I worry about! Ekk!

So true. that is why we don't play slots, touch the elevator buttons with knuckles, never use the handrail, and only touch public door knobs with tissue in hand....

I would say that the tubs along with the pools are a little better than a Petrie dish in a bio hazard lab

Having my own pool and understanding pool chemistry well I just done participate

When I get hot I rinse off in the shower

It's not just carnival. Google pools in Vegas you will be shocked

Also stay really far from costa maya pool

I have been on a number of cruises, but I have never heard the following sentence spoken by someone in a hot tub or pool who was ten or under: "I will be right back, I have to use the bathroom."

So true. that is why we don't play slots, touch the elevator buttons with knuckles, never use the handrail, and only touch public door knobs with tissue in hand....

Haha...me too! Oh and we flush public toilets with our feet. I love the air dryers in public bathrooms, however, makes it harder to open the bathroom door without paper towels. I use my shirt if needed. ;)

I will admit that I am a germaphobe and am totally grossed out by hot tubs. I was wondering if Carnival treats the Thalassotherapy pool? I was considering getting a spa pass for my upcoming cruise.

I have been on a number of cruises, but I have never heard the following sentence spoken by someone in a hot tub or pool who was ten or under: "I will be right back, I have to use the bathroom."

That's just gross! I don't even want to believe that all kids 10 and under pee in a pool/hot tub. I have a 10 and 7 year old and NEVER would they do this. Not ALL kids are disrespectful. Back in May we went to disney world and my kids occasionally did run to the bathroom while enjoying the pool and hot tub at our resort. Peeing in a pool isn't even an option....blaaah!