Shower before getting into pools/hot tub

[Merion_Mom]

13 minutes ago, Colorado Babe said:

I rarely ever go in the pool but if I do, it's in the solarium.  I thought the water in the pools come from the ocean and are filtered.  Now I am really grossed out. 

 

11 minutes ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

 

The water in the pools DOES come from the ocean. Once it's in the pool though, there's no stopping people from doing what they want in the water.

 

Ocean water = the fish poop in it. 

[Colorado Babe]

Just now, Merion_Mom said:

 

 

Ocean water = the fish poop in it. 

It is filtered coming in, right?  I have no issue swimming in the ocean and that isn't filtered but the thought of sitting in a pool that people have pee'd in, is not my cup of >>>>

[Pratique]

4 minutes ago, Colorado Babe said:

It is filtered coming in, right?  I have no issue swimming in the ocean and that isn't filtered but the thought of sitting in a pool that people have pee'd in, is not my cup of >>>>

Ocean, pool, it's all shared bathwater. At least the pool is cleaned, filtered and chlorinated. I actually think it's a good idea to jump in those showers before and after using the pool.

[ULCajunCruiser]

1 hour ago, Colorado Babe said:

I guess my question is, doesn't the water get filtered in and out instantaneously?

Ah, good point.  I hadn't ever considered that.   But I don't think it's constantly "replenished".   I was under the impression that they emptied the pools at night, then refilled them and added whatever chemicals were needed prior to them opening back up in the morning.

 

Anyone know for sure???

[Clarea]

24 minutes ago, ULCajunCruiser said:

Ah, good point.  I hadn't ever considered that.   But I don't think it's constantly "replenished".   I was under the impression that they emptied the pools at night, then refilled them and added whatever chemicals were needed prior to them opening back up in the morning.

 

Anyone know for sure???

 

The Chief will supply the details because as with most things, it's not a simple answer.

 

However, I do remember that if the ship is far enough out to sea, and the pools are salt water, they can choose to do a flow through where the pool water is constantly replenished from the sea.  I think the switch over to flow through is not trival, so they may only do this when they have a couple of sea days in a row.

[HBE4]

2 hours ago, Pratique said:

Ocean, pool, it's all shared bathwater. At least the pool is cleaned, filtered and chlorinated. I actually think it's a good idea to jump in those showers before and after using the pool.

 

Especially shower after getting out of the pool.

[Tree_skier]

Pools and hot tubs are nasty breeding grounds of disease.  I never use them.

[time4u2go]

I'm somewhat surprised by the number of people here indicating that they never get in the pool.  Do you never ever swim, anywhere?  

[tinkr2]

The pools are chock full of chemicals and are filtered continuously. I’m not a pool person but I am not phobic about it either. Hot tubs gross me out bc it feels like I see the same people in all day. And I’m ann80s kid. I know about hot tubs😀

[voyager70]

7 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

I'm somewhat surprised by the number of people here indicating that they never get in the pool.  Do you never ever swim, anywhere?  

 

Not in any public pool, ever.  Call me crazy but I find them discusting.

 

[time4u2go]

5 minutes ago, voyager70 said:

 

Not in any public pool, ever.  Call me crazy but I find them discusting.

 

Interesting. I've swam (swum?) in many public pools, and have never had a problem with it.  I enjoy swimming too much not to!

[voyager70]

3 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

Interesting. I've swam (swum?) in many public pools, and have never had a problem with it.  I enjoy swimming too much not to!

 

Guess I'm a bit of a germophobe   The thought of coming in contact with someone's urine or feces, even in a chlorinated poll, is too much for me.  And I also love swimming 😁

 

 

[time4u2go]

31 minutes ago, voyager70 said:

 

Guess I'm a bit of a germophobe   The thought of coming in contact with someone's urine or feces, even in a chlorinated poll, is too much for me.  And I also love swimming 😁

 

 

So where do you swim, if not in a chlorinated pool?

[zdad59]

If all these people never get in the pool or a hot tub, why are they always full ?

[ONECRUISER]

3 hours ago, Pratique said:

Ocean, pool, it's all shared bathwater. At least the pool is cleaned, filtered and chlorinated. I actually think it's a good idea to jump in those showers before and after using the pool.

TV show that was talking bout earlier said Chlorine has adverse effect on the Urine. That smell is not Chlorine it's Urine. Only way to rid the average 8 Gallons of Wee if drain and start over. Otherwise it accumulates even more daily. That 8 gallons was average size pool, large Commercial pool can have much as 20 gallons

[davekathy]

4 minutes ago, zdad59 said:

If all these people never get in the pool or a hot tub, why are they always full ?

No one said the pools and hot tubs aren't being used. This thread is an excellent example why some of us elect not to use them.

[voyager70]

17 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

So where do you swim, if not in a chlorinated pool?

 

Neighbor's pool. At least I know them.

 

[ONECRUISER]

20 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

So where do you swim, if not in a chlorinated pool?

Not 100% sure but isn't a salt water pool a natural cleaner with no Chlorine needed unless it's Commercial pool

[time4u2go]

4 minutes ago, voyager70 said:

 

Neighbor's pool. At least I know them.

 

Lol ok then.

[voyager70]

3 minutes ago, voyager70 said:

 

Neighbor's pool. At least I know them.

 

 

And we're talking New England, 4-5 months tops.

 

[time4u2go]

11 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

TV show that was talking bout earlier said Chlorine has adverse effect on the Urine. That smell is not Chlorine it's Urine. Only way to rid the average 8 Gallons of Wee if drain and start over. Otherwise it accumulates even more daily. That 8 gallons was average size pool, large Commercial pool can have much as 20 gallons

That's odd.  I've been around pools that nobody has swam in for months, and they have "that smell".  I'm pretty sure it's chlorine, as there's not much else it could be, since the pools haven't been used.

[HBE4]

I'm a water bug. I love being in the ocean, pool and hot tub (in that order). On a cruise, I'll probably spend several hours each day in some body of water.   Obvious common sense rules apply, don't  drink the water and wash up afterwards. And don't get in the water if I have open cuts or sores....which should be covered even if I was not going in the water.

 

I probably have a better chance of getting sick using the airplane tray table in front of me on the way to the cruise port.

 

 

[ONECRUISER]

16 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

That's odd.  I've been around pools that nobody has swam in for months, and they have "that smell".  I'm pretty sure it's chlorine, as there's not much else it could be, since the pools haven't been used.

Me too, had a family pool. Guess should have said not Chlorine smell but a Combination of Chlorine/Urine and chemical byproduct it makes. Real interesting should look it up, or maybe the "Chief" will stop by and comment...

[chengkp75]

8 hours ago, DfDinLA said:

The sign about showing and whether there is urine in a pool are separate topics.

 

The sign is a product of corporate bureaucracy and nanny state mentality.  Common sense says if someone shows up at a pool slathered in motor oil, yes, please shower off first.  If you've been bronzing in a lawn chair for 30 minutes and have some human perspiration on you, then just dive in.  That's what I do, that's what the guests to my pool do and it doesn't gross me out.  Perspiration is completely soluble in water and is not harmful.

 

The urine in the pool comes from inside a body and cannot be showered off beforehand.  Separate issue.

Well, if you think that disagreeing with the pre-eminent epidemiologists in the world (the CDC which is the entity that requires these showers, not some corporation), who have determined that showering before entering the pool is a good idea, then by all means don't shower.  A study done by the CDC of land based public pools showed that nearly 80% of them had violations of the CDC's VSP (Vessel Sanitation Program) requirements for pool sanitation, and that a majority of them would have been shut down immediately, had they been subject to CDC requirements that are standard on cruise ships.

 

The showering not only removes sunscreen, which can affect the chlorine's ability to sanitize the water, but also loose skin cells, which increase the "bather load" that the chlorine has to counteract.  

 

Salt water pools, on ships, can only do "flow through" when more than 12 miles from shore, and all pools, whether fresh or salt water, when within 12 miles of shore must be "recirculation" where the water is filtered and chlorinated.

 

The poster who mentioned that chlorine has "an adverse affect on urine" and the smell is "urine" is not quite correct.  When a pool does not have enough chlorine in it, the byproduct of the chlorine and urine is "chloramines" which have an unpleasant smell.  This is common in land pools that are "batch" dosed with chlorine.  Ship's pools continually monitor the chlorine level (as it passes through the pump/filter, it passes a chlorine sensor), which controls the dosing pump of chlorine, and so the level of chlorine in the pool is monitored and corrected in real time, 24/7, and is maintained at a higher level than most land pools are recommended to be at.

 

I don't believe that land pools have a quantity of "urine" in them, but I do believe they contain a large quantity of sanitation byproducts created by the reaction between the chlorine and the urine or the skin cells.  This is why most public land pools use extensive pool chemistry, to try and flocculate out these byproducts into the pool filter, where ship's pools, being drained every week do not accumulate this bio-load, and only require chlorine and acid.

[zdad59]

The Chief is wise.