Salt water in the pools?

[emd1]

Is it true that there is salt water in the pools on RCI ships? I am new to cruising and seriously considering a Voyager of the Seas 7 day cruise at the end of March, and I read this somewhere in the many reviews I have read the last few days online. If so, is this true of lots of other cruise ships also? It seems strange to swim in a salt water pool, esp. to my teen daughter who is a competitive swimmer.

 

Thanks in advance.

[wrp96]

Yes, the Voyager has salt water pools. I think Freedom might have fresh water pools, but all the other pools in the RCCL fleet are salt water. I believe Disney and Princess are the only cruiseline's that use fresh water in their pools.

 

They use salt water because they can pipe it directly from the ocean without having to run it through the plant.

[ColeandAbby]

Last time I was on a ship, there was salt water in the pool. My understanding is that it's dumped nightly? Not 100% sure.

[Sheffie]

Yes, almost all of the RCI ships have saltwater pools. I believe that Freedom does not.

 

After my first shock of finding out that the pools were filled with saltwater, I found that I really like it! You don't have that chlorine smell, nor do you have the chlorine fading of the swimsuit. There are showers close to the pool, so you can wash the saltwater off when you get off. Another thing that is good about them is that they are emptied every night, and then they are filled with freshly filtered seawater.

 

I believe that Princess has freshwater pools on their ships.

[jmcross]

Are the saltwater pools heated? If not, does anyone find them to be too cold?

[cb at sea]

If the weather is warm, the water heats up pretty quickly--the pools aren't deep (3-5 ft) so it doesn't take long for the temp to get up there! On our so. caribbean cruise, it got uncomfortably warm--not as refreshing as I would have liked.

[negc]

Yes, with the apparent exception of the Freedom pools, the pools on RCI ships are filled with the very same salt water that you will be swimming in when you get off the ship and go to the beach during your cruise. I like the added buoyancy that the salt water provides, the lack of strong chlorine smell that I hate with many land-based hotel and resort pools, and were I to object to the salt that might be left on my swimsuit or body, the presence of fresh water showers in the immediate vicinity of the pools should handle that problem more than adequately.

[Kruzeagain]

Pool temps on our Dec 06 RCI cruise were consistently above 82 degrees. The "adult" pool forward in the solarium area seemed a touch cooler...but that might have been because I tended to hunker down in those glorious hot tubs beforehand.

Happy Cruising,

Alan

 

Explorer Dec'06 West Carib.

[aqhacruiser]

Yes, they are all saltwater with the exception of the freedom, The pools are not heated on voyager class and yes, they can be cold as the water is dumped each night and refilled. It just depends how hot the weather and sun are as to how warm the pool will be. This is common of most cruiselines. The pools are really not that big to be used for competitive swimming for example. They are mostly used to cool off and for games. :)

[vacation bound]

They are mostly used to cool off and for games. :)

My 12 yr old son is interested in what "games" you may be referring to. Thanks for any feedback.:cool:

[TEXASMUNK]

None are large enough for a competitive swimmer to get up much speed.

Pools are not very large....imagine a large pool at sea in rough waters. the waves generated would quickly LEAVE the pool.

[Priusprof]

Is it true that there is salt water in the pools on RCI ships? I am new to cruising and seriously considering a Voyager of the Seas 7 day cruise at the end of March, and I read this somewhere in the many reviews I have read the last few days online. If so, is this true of lots of other cruise ships also? It seems strange to swim in a salt water pool, esp. to my teen daughter who is a competitive swimmer.

 

Thanks in advance.

We have been on Voyager twice and all the pools are salt water. The only ship that I have been on where I assume the pools were heated was Brilliance. The water temp in the Med. in June was much colder than the pool temps(mid 80's) onboard. I have been on Voyager and Mariner in the winter and the Caribbean water temps on both east and west itineraries was very comfortable. The ships that do cold weather cruises almost certainly can heat the pools. Look at the ships that do Alaska and North Europe. Voyager sails out of Barcelona so it probably can heat the pool water.

[FitzLA]

Don't be afraid of salt water pools. As a real estate agent in Los Angeles, I can tell you that a salt water pool is a selling point. I prefer them.

[zqvol]

Almost ALL cruise lines fill their pools with filtered ocean water. It is refreshed on a regular basis. The salt content acts as a disinfectant, not as good as chlorine, but if you think about it most things that live in fresh water don't do well in high salt concentrations.

[Sheffie]

My 12 yr old son is interested in what "games" you may be referring to. Thanks for any feedback.:cool:

 

I have seen belly flop contests, knock people off the pole with a pillow contests, and how many pieces of plastic fruit can I stuff in my swimsuit contests. I don't know if there is an age limit for these, but I only remember adults competing.

[BillB48]

Posted by nrdsb4 back in November.....

 

I e-mailed RCI with this question on the Mariner pools and received this response:

 

Dear RCI customer:

 

The ships have a procedure in place to ensure that the swimming pools are drained, cleaned and sanitized.

 

The pool water is drawn from the sea.

While in recirculation mode, the swimming pool water shall be filtered and disinfected by bromination or chlorination to maintain a free halogen residual 1.0-3.00 mg/L (ppm). Halogenation and pH tests shall be carried out every 4 hours.

Enjoy your cruise !!

 

 

Thank you for choosing Royal Caribbean International.

 

Sandra Brent

Customer Service Representative

[SheilaSailAway]

hey there!

i like the salt water, it's nice not to have the strong chemical odor. a friend of mine just got a salt water pool in her back yard...they say it's a nice change.

anywho, happy cruising and swimming!

[Bonnie Voyager]

On our Canadian cruise on Voyager, the pool was heated and very nice. I enjoy the salt water pools. I think it's more refreshing and invigorating than fresh water. Of course, I grew up on the east coast near the ocean, so I've been swimming in salt water all my life.

[<M&M>]

Just a clarification: Some people are comparing these pools to "Salt water" residential swiming pools. The ships pools are filled with filtered sea water, with all the good and bad of a swim at the beach (minus the seaweed). This is not the same as a "salt-water" swimming pool in your backyard, (unless your backyard is the ocean).

 

My parents have a "salt water" pool and it is totally different than the water on ship. The residential salt water pools do not use sea water, it is filled with tap water, but instead of adding chlorine you add salt, (sodium-chloride), the filter system then breaks down the salt into its componunts including Chlorine. It is much more subtle than a chlorinated pool, no smell or fading. And therer is no salt residue left on your skin when you get out, so it is a great system.

 

This is not what they have on the ships, the ships have filtered sea water so you do get that crusty feeling if you dont wash it off. That being said it is no different than the beach so enjoy it.