Carnival Pools/Life Vests

Does anyone know what Carnival's rules on life vests are? We are cruising with 7yo in June. He has had two summers of swim lessons but is not real great yet. He still perfers to have a life vest on unless I am right there by him. Just wondering if Carnival has life vests he can wear or if we can bring our own.

Does anyone know what Carnival's rules on life vests are? We are cruising with 7yo in June. He has had two summers of swim lessons but is not real great yet. He still perfers to have a life vest on unless I am right there by him. Just wondering if Carnival has life vests he can wear or if we can bring our own.

Carnival will provide a child life jacket for use in an emergency. This is a Type I flotation device, which is designed to turn an unconscious person face up. Due to the uncomfortable nature of Type I devices, most recreational life jackets are Type III (less buoyant, and will only keep a person vertical). The jacket from Carnival should not be used in the pool, it is emergency equipment. If your son needs his lifejacket, even for security, you should bring it along, and no one will say anything about it. Be warned that the pools are chlorinated to a much higher concentration than most home or municipal pools, and this causes fading of fabric, and rotting of stitching, if not rinsed after use (this applies to swimwear as well).

Yes...you will need to bring one, if he needs it for recreational use.

I find that the sun is the major culprit for fading, as the inside of my swimsuit never fades like the outside....so I don't believe it's the chlorine....since the inside gets as wet as the outside!!!

Be warned that the pools are chlorinated to a much higher concentration than most home or municipal pools, and this causes fading of fabric, and rotting of stitching, if not rinsed after use (this applies to swimwear as well).

The opposite is true. Pools on board can not be treated with chemicals as much as land-based pools because the water is dumped in the ocean. Maybe it's the salt water?

In any case, you'll want to bring your own life vest since the one on board is for emergencies only. On the plus side, they're light! I brought two along for my girls for many years because I also wanted them wearing them in the tenders and have them for the beach.

All the best,

Mia

Yes...you will need to bring one, if he needs it for recreational use.

 

I find that the sun is the major culprit for fading, as the inside of my swimsuit never fades like the outside....so I don't believe it's the chlorine....since the inside gets as wet as the outside!!!

All I know is that I field about one complaint a day about how the chlorine in the pool "is way too much, much higher than our pool at home, and look how my brand new $300 swimsuit has faded". :rolleyes: I do know that the chlorine has been known to rot the stitching from inexpensive swimwear, sometimes with embarrassing results. :eek:

I believe it is the hot tubs that are chlorinated, not the regular pools, which are sea water and not treated at all. which is why diapers are not allowed...EM

I believe it is the hot tubs that are chlorinated, not the regular pools, which are sea water and not treated at all. which is why diapers are not allowed...EM

The only time sea water pools are not chlorinated is when they are in "flow through" mode where sea water is continually pumped into the pool, and the excess overflows back overboard. Flow through pools must either be drained, or switched to recirculation mode when within 12 miles of land , and all recirculation pools, fresh or salt, must be chlorinated.

The reason that diapers are not allowed is two fold:

One, there is the possibility of a fecal accident, which must result in the pool being closed, drained, and sanitized, regardless of whether fresh or salt, or recirculation or flow through.

Two, pools designated as "infant only" must have an ultraviolet light sterilizer in the water recirculation piping to sterilize any urine in the pool water. And for the required water turn-over rate that ship's pools require, this would be a huge UV sterilizer.

Thanks for the heads up. I just wanted to make sure that Carnival would allow him to wear it if I brought it.

You're smart to bring it. My girls are pretty good swimmers, but I wished we had it on the last cruise because the pools generally don't have shallow ends, and if the ship is moving, the waves in the pool can make it difficult to keep their heads up.

Best,

Mia