Cruise ship hot tubs - safe or not?

[resetjet]

12 minutes ago, JeffT237 said:

 

I don't think anyone thinks your "nutty", you had a horrible experience which shapes your future behavior.  That's perfectly reasonable.  You also have experience in the industry. But you also seem to convey that cruise hot tubs are unsafe and should not be used, at least indirectly you're saying that.  

 

I can Google or YouTube lot's of things about cruise safety and health, I could link to them and go on and on page after page to make my point.  Lookup cruise ship illnesses from the buffet, assaults on ships, Noro, excursion accidents, theft on ships etc.  Go to the "cruise lawyer's" website and see how unsafe cruising is according to him....not just hot tub use. I sympathize with you for your experience, that must have been tough. But many feel differently and use the hot tubs regularly without incident. They will have a "Happy soaking!!!!"  Just watch human behavior on a cruise ship and you'll see many unsanitary practices by passengers.  Travel related illness and accidents happen regularly, but common sense tells me that millions cruise every year without incident.  Doesn't mean something bad can't happen.  The major travel industries aren't in the business of wanting to see its customers get sick and face lawsuits. Again sorry for your past experience.  

 

I'm presuming you're going to test them yourself, and if like you say they fail the test you bring on board what will your next action be? Alert all of the passengers? The staff? 

I understand completely what you are saying.  I have also had many cruise ship illnesses as well.  But this topic is about the hot tubs.  
 

what should be done to make them safer…..well its all technology.  Maybe the newer ships have or will have it.   Maybe restrict to 6 people at a time would help

too.

 

since i have training and expertise in this area i am sharing what i know with those who do not.  Its my opinion and i do not know it all.  
 

i will test for my own opinion and to post the results here good or bad.  I will get cups of water indiscriminately from the tubs and do the testing in my room.  
 

trust me,  the crew already knows exactly what they are experiencing.  I dont need to tell them anything.  
 

[resetjet]

The funny thing is,  most people would never consider bathing in a bath tub that just one individual had already used,  maybe even if its your spouse or

family.  But they will readily jump into a hot tub,  drink in hand,  smiling while they say hello to the eight other questionable people that have been in there for hours.  

[S.A.M.J.R.]

26 minutes ago, resetjet said:

The funny thing is,  most people would never consider bathing in a bath tub that just one individual had already used,  maybe even if its your spouse or

family.  But they will readily jump into a hot tub,  drink in hand,  smiling while they say hello to the eight other questionable people that have been in there for hours.  

How many people have even had the opportunity to bath in a bath tub after a non-family member?  So why would anyone even consider it?  That seems a strange comparison to me. 

[fred30]

Probably the worse thing for you in the ships hot tubs is the very high level of Chlorine and Chloramines. 

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, resetjet said:

So hot tubs on ships are safe but not on land,  that are not open 16 hours a day?

Did I say that?  What I said was that the USPH/CDC regulations are stricter than virtually any local/state health regulation in the US.  This has been confirmed by the USPH inspectors themselves, most of whom were formerly state/local health inspectors prior to joining USPH.

[crewsweeper]

Regardless of regs, after seeing the number, size and condition of many using the hot tubs on oard ships, I'll pass.  Same with thermal spas inside a spa.

[mandyleighflies]

Human soup. 
 

“Thats all I’ve got to say about that”

 

[ReneeFLL]

On 3/29/2023 at 3:18 PM, Tapi said:

On MSC, you may be pleasantly surprised. They have a category of entry level suites that have their own whirlpool tubs. 
 

Between MSC’s loyalty match program (where they match your loyalty status on a any other cruise line for an additional discount), and other promotions they offer like “kids sail free”, having your own whirlpool tub may be more affordable than you think. 
 

To give you an idea, here’s some sample pricing straight from their website for a cruise we have booked on the MSC Seashore (one of their newest ships) for June 2024:

This must be a short cruise.

[Tapi]

Just now, ReneeFLL said:

This must be a short cruise.

Yes. It’s a Sunday-Thursday cruise from Port Canaveral. 

[jean87510]

I was interested in reading about hottubs on the cruise ships and how they are maintained.  Here is an interesting article.  Now I'm not saying this person knows everything about hottub maintenance on a cruise ship but it is a good read and I agree with some of their points.  https://www.thestreet.com/travel/forget-covid-cruise-line-passengers-should-be-worried-about-this

[barbeyg]

Thanks for all the laughs on this thread. 😂

And for all the info about hot tubs. I don’t enjoy hot tubs, never have. Give me a massage, that what I prefer to relax.

 

We were on our first (Carnival) cruise, and were sitting close to a hot tub having a drink.  There was a 7-8 year old boy snorkeling in this full hot tub as everyone in there ignored him. I was laughing as I watched him snorkel while his inebriated mom pretended not to see what he was doing.  He saw me laughing so decided to get even more attention and disappeared for a moment.  When he stood up in the hot tub facing me, he was wearing a “bubble” beard he had made, by pulling together all the bubbly scum on top of the water and patting it on his face. 😳🫣😂

 

His mom freaked out and grabbed him from the tub.  Apparently snorkeling was fine, but hot tub scum, not so much. 

Edited April 1, 2023 by barbeyg

[The Fun Researcher]

Never had a problem.

[lenquixote66]

On 3/29/2023 at 9:34 AM, njsmom said:

I'm kind of freaking myself out. Okay, no "kind of" about it. We're cruising on Harmony of the Seas in three days and I never thought about how the hot tubs on cruise ships (or hotels for that matter) were bacteria-filled pits of Primordial soup until reading another post on CC. Now? Well, now my eyes are opened. And I'm utterly disgusted. The feces, the urine, the hot, steamy potential for bacteria growth and everything else up to Legionnaire's disease. 

Here's one article I found that points out "Hot tubs are frequent transfer stations for bacteria, including one type of infection known as "hot tub rash": https://www.vice.com/en/article/4354ed/how-gross-is-the-hot-tub-in-my-hotel-or-spa and if you google the topic there are legions (pun intended) of others. 

 

How did I live for five decades without knowing this? 

 

 

 

 

We have been cruising since 1973 and never were in hot tubs or pools.

[resetjet]

22 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Did I say that?  What I said was that the USPH/CDC regulations are stricter than virtually any local/state health regulation in the US.  This has been confirmed by the USPH inspectors themselves, most of whom were formerly state/local health inspectors prior to joining USPH.

I researched the cdc vessel plan and the usph requirements and they are the same as local.

Anyway that is all out the window as every pool and spa has a designed bathing load.  In fact the frequency of water changes is calculated by the number of USERS.  On a ship this is insane.  Nowhere does the number of users approach that of on a ship.  
in addition the design bathing load is not enforced.  Therefore everything else is out the window.

 

Once i started researching this topic,  in addition to my personal illness from a ships hot tub,  i was unaware of the number of Illnesses that can be and are contracted in any public hot tub anywhere.  

Finally,  i am aware thatpeople get sick everywhere from a variery of avoidable behaviors,  My experienced has ruined my love for hot tubs.  I could not even sit in there without being grossed out.  So to each their own.  The odds are low,  but they are there.  Everyone individually  needs to figure out if its worth it to them.  
 

Anyway thanks for your input, I dont mean to be adversarial,  I just have a strong opinion and training and experience in this area.  I am very thankful we have such a knowledgeable individual here on ships.  

Edited April 1, 2023 by resetjet

[Sacruiser62]

I am probably wrong person to respond.  I refuse hand sanitizer and always prefer washing hands.  I avoid antibiotics and believe our bodies learn to fight what they are exposed to.  So with that, I don't just jump in a hot tub if it doesnt look or smell clean or temp high enough.  I don't take baths because I don't understand how you can be clean after you sit in dirt you just washed off.  I swim in lakes and oceans and decide to live life with as few phobias as possible. If I'm tired and hot tub us really hot, I get in, of not a hot shower it is.

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, Sacruiser62 said:

I refuse hand sanitizer and always prefer washing hands.

That would have been interesting in the COVID days.

 

Biker, who needs to resurrect some good ole COVID threads.

[chengkp75]

2 hours ago, Sacruiser62 said:

So with that, I don't just jump in a hot tub if it doesnt look or smell clean or temp high enough.

So, just interested, what is "temp high enough"?  Most hot tubs should be 100-104*F, but legionella can grow in water up to 113*F.

[smokeybandit]

2 hours ago, Biker19 said:

That would have been interesting in the COVID days.

 

Biker, who needs to resurrect some good ole COVID threads.

Some threads just should never be resurrected 

[theotherchad]

On 3/29/2023 at 9:49 AM, Sunshine3601 said:

We used hot tubs for years until my DH had an organ transplant and we met with an Infectious Disease Doctor as part of the transplant team and learned to never use a public hot tub.   

 

I think Royal only empties/cleans the hot tubs between sailings.   

This is incorrect. They are drained every single night, then refilled with hyper-chlorinated water (a level of chlorine not safe for humans to soak in) which runs through the system thoroughly, then drained again and refilled with the standard level of chlorine. 

[theotherchad]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

So, just interested, what is "temp high enough"?  Most hot tubs should be 100-104*F, but legionella can grow in water up to 113*F.

Legionella can't grow in chlorinated water, at least not the relatively high level of chlorination found on cruise ship hot tubs. 

[theotherchad]

On 3/31/2023 at 1:59 PM, jean87510 said:

I was interested in reading about hottubs on the cruise ships and how they are maintained.  Here is an interesting article.  Now I'm not saying this person knows everything about hottub maintenance on a cruise ship but it is a good read and I agree with some of their points.  https://www.thestreet.com/travel/forget-covid-cruise-line-passengers-should-be-worried-about-this

That article contained no facts. One statistic about fecal matter, no info about chlorination or regular maintenance. It was nonsense. 

[chengkp75]

11 minutes ago, theotherchad said:

Legionella can't grow in chlorinated water, at least not the relatively high level of chlorination found on cruise ship hot tubs. 

Actually, it can, and that is the reason that the hot tubs are super-chlorinated daily.  Hot tub piping can develop a bio-film layer, and the legionella bacteria can grow between the bio-film and the piping wall, shielded from the chlorine.  The super-chlorination (100ppm) destroys the bio-film, and subjects the legionella to the chlorine.

[jean87510]

12 minutes ago, theotherchad said:

That article contained no facts. One statistic about fecal matter, no info about chlorination or regular maintenance. It was nonsense. 

You actually answered a post from a year ago?

[cruisinfanatic]

On 3/31/2023 at 8:15 PM, barbeyg said:

Thanks for all the laughs on this thread. 😂

And for all the info about hot tubs. I don’t enjoy hot tubs, never have. Give me a massage, that what I prefer to relax.

 

We were on our first (Carnival) cruise, and were sitting close to a hot tub having a drink.  There was a 7-8 year old boy snorkeling in this full hot tub as everyone in there ignored him. I was laughing as I watched him snorkel while his inebriated mom pretended not to see what he was doing.  He saw me laughing so decided to get even more attention and disappeared for a moment.  When he stood up in the hot tub facing me, he was wearing a “bubble” beard he had made, by pulling together all the bubbly scum on top of the water and patting it on his face. 😳🫣😂

 

His mom freaked out and grabbed him from the tub.  Apparently snorkeling was fine, but hot tub scum, not so much. 

actually lots of hot tubs can have bubbles. Doesn't mean they are dirty

[cruisinfanatic]

1 hour ago, theotherchad said:

This is incorrect. They are drained every single night, then refilled with hyper-chlorinated water (a level of chlorine not safe for humans to soak in) which runs through the system thoroughly, then drained again and refilled with the standard level of chlorine. 

don't know here people get this stuff