Does the Solarium always have that smell?

[CruisinShips]

Silly question, I know, but the first time we ventured into the Solarium on the Eclipse, which I know so many people love (and we have enjoyed them on other ships), we encountered a very strong chlorine smell in the air.  So much so that we didn't stick around.  I'm pretty sure the pools are salt water, so I guess it must have to do with some periodic cleaning process?

 

Has anyone else experienced this?  And no, I am not one who is overly sensitive to smells.

Edited November 20, 2023 by CruisinShips

[zitsky]

Chlorine is a good thing isn't it?  I would guess you don't smell it at the main pool because it's not covered.  

[helen haywood]

No, I can’t say I’ve noticed this in general in the Solarium on Celebrity.  However, back when I used to get in hot tubs…I noticed afterwards that I absolutely reeked of chlorine.  I’d wash my hands over and over and couldn’t get the smell out!!  So perhaps that’s what you smelled…

[mom says]

S class pools and hot tubs are all fresh water,but I've never noticed a heavy chlorine smell in the Solarium. 

[1Virgo]

a very strong chlorine smell is a chemical reaction result of chlorine, sweat and ureic acid (pee).   

 

[JDPCruisers]

We have not experienced this on our previous cruises. 

[CruisinShips]

5 minutes ago, 1Vigo said:

a very strong chlorine smell is a chemical reaction result of chlorine, sweat and ureic acid (pee).   

 

Ummm...sign me up for a dive into that! 😉

[Spudd]

We were on Eclipse at the beginning of this month and noticed the same thing.

[CruisinShips]

2 minutes ago, Spudd said:

We were on Eclipse at the beginning of this month and noticed the same thing.

Thanks!  I was wondering if it was just us.  

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, CruisinShips said:

Thanks!  I was wondering if it was just us.  

Oh no!  I’m on the Eclipse in a few weeks.  Guess where I was planning to go?  And upgrading to the Retreat doesn’t help as there is no Sundeck?

 

Does anyone know?  Is the main pool on Eclipse really annoying with really loud music 24/7?

Edited November 20, 2023 by zitsky

[CruisinShips]

4 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Oh no!  I’m on the Eclipse in a few weeks.  Guess where I was planning to go?  And upgrading to the Retreat doesn’t help as there is no Sundeck?

 

Does anyone know?  Is the main pool on Eclipse really annoying with really loud music 24/7?

We were on the first week of October...the pool music wasn't particularly loud.  No Retreat sundeck is a negative for sure, but as I said in another thread this morning, we didn't have much problem finding chairs by the pool.  

[jppmp]

1 hour ago, 1Vigo said:

a very strong chlorine smell is a chemical reaction result of chlorine, sweat and ureic acid (pee).   

 

This is exactly correct.  If a pool is giving off a strong chlorine smell it doesn't indicate that the pool is over-chlorinated, it usually means the chlorine is having a chemical reaction to the ureic acid in the pool.  If it were me, I would steer clear of a pool giving off that smell.

[gold1953]

2 hours ago, mom says said:

S class pools and hot tubs are all fresh water,but I've never noticed a heavy chlorine smell in the Solarium. 

loaded with chlorine . That is why it rots my cruise only swimwear

[NASCAR Bubba]

New urine alarms are being installed on next scheduled dry docks. This should help out , Royal is seeing  good results on there new installs. Quite embarrassing when only two people in hot tub.

[FlutePrayer]

3 hours ago, CruisinShips said:

Silly question, I know, but the first time we ventured into the Solarium on the Eclipse, which I know so many people love (and we have enjoyed them on other ships), we encountered a very strong chlorine smell in the air.  So much so that we didn't stick around.  I'm pretty sure the pools are salt water, so I guess it must have to do with some periodic cleaning process?

 

Has anyone else experienced this?  And no, I am not one who is overly sensitive to smells.

I did notice this on our October 8 cruise and avoided the area because of it. We're on again in less than 2 weeks. Here's hoping it has been sorted out.

[NutsAboutGolf]

 From @chengkp75: 

 

 

"

Sorry to disabuse folks, but all pools on cruise ships use chlorine (or bromine) to sanitize the water.

 

Salt water pools:  The chlorine generating systems for land salt water pools are not accepted as being precise enough for use on cruise ships.  If a ship with salt water pools is going to be at sea for more than a couple of days, they will simply pump filtered sea water into the pool continuously, and the overflow flows back to sea.  The problem is that when the ship is within 12 miles of shore, it must switch to "recirculation", which stops taking in sea water, and merely recirculates the pool water, just like a land pool.  In this mode, the pool must maintain a residual chlorine content, and this is done during the recirculation by real time chlorine meters, and metering pumps that add chlorine and acid as required, based on the bather load.  When switching from "flow through" to "recirculation", the pool must be shut down until the residual chlorine level is reached, which is why the ships don't do it unless they have a couple of days of operation in flow through, as the passengers complain when the pool is shut down, and it also uses a lot of chlorine to re-establish the required level.

 

Fresh water pools:  These are operated in "recirculation" mode, just as the salt water pools are, when the ship is within 12 miles of shore.

 

Many sea water pools still exist, and even newer ships use them, as it saves energy from making tons of fresh water that needs to be dumped weekly.

 

Further, it is not the salt that you smell in sea water, it is dimethyl sulphide produced by bacteria as they digest dead phytoplankton.  The chlorine kills the bacteria, but the dimethyl sulphide remains

"

[mom says]

Hmm. It looks like CC member ipeeinthepool has been sailing Celebrity recently.

[RedIguana]

2 hours ago, jppmp said:

This is exactly correct.  If a pool is giving off a strong chlorine smell it doesn't indicate that the pool is over-chlorinated, it usually means the chlorine is having a chemical reaction to the ureic acid in the pool.  If it were me, I would steer clear of a pool giving off that smell.

It means the pool is overchlorinated. The smell is di and tri chloramines. They do not form until the chlorine to ammonia ratio is over 5:1. Once you hit the 5:1 ratio, any chlorine added reduces monochloramines to dichloramines, and adding more chlorine after that forms trichloramines.

[PTC DAWG]

4 hours ago, 1Vigo said:

a very strong chlorine smell is a chemical reaction result of chlorine, sweat and ureic acid (pee).   

 

Exactly, sweat is the main culprit…it also denotes a low chlorine level..you are actually smelling chloramine. 

[PTC DAWG]

3 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

It means the pool is overchlorinated. The smell is di and tri chloramines. They do not form until the chlorine to ammonia ratio is over 5:1. Once you hit the 5:1 ratio, any chlorine added reduces monochloramines to dichloramines, and adding more chlorine after that forms trichloramines.

I’m not sure I agree with this take. 
 

https://www.chemicalsafetyfacts.org/health-and-safety/chloramines-understanding-pool-smell/

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, NASCAR Bubba said:

New urine alarms are being installed on next scheduled dry docks. This should help out , Royal is seeing  good results on there new installs. Quite embarrassing when only two people in hot tub.

LOL

[RedIguana]

2 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Exactly, sweat is the main culprit…it also denotes a low chlorine level..you are actually smelling chloramine.

You do not smell chloramine. It is di and tri chloramines.

[RedIguana]

10 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I’m not sure I agree with this take. 

google chorine ammonia breakpoints. We deal with it in the water industry because we use chloramines as a disinfection vs free chlorine. It is the extra chlorine that forms the di and tri chloramines.

[Ipeeinthepools]

1 hour ago, mom says said:

Hmm. It looks like CC member ipeeinthepool has been sailing Celebrity recently.

I’ve been on the Edge for the last few weeks and there’s no problem here. 

[Ipeeinthepools]

1 hour ago, PTC DAWG said:

Exactly, sweat is the main culprit…it also denotes a low chlorine level..you are actually smelling chloramine. 

You’re 100% correct.  I wish more people would follow my example and shower before getting into the pools or hot tubs.  This would make the pools much more enjoyable.