Is there a way to avoid hot deck surfaces?

This got me thinking after somebody mentioned a lawsuit against Celebrity (and it turns out, there are/were several against other cruise lines, including CCL, as well) where a passenger burned the skin off his feet just by walking a few feet barefoot across a hot deck surface to the pool.

The few times I've had to walk from the pool to our lounger barefoot (because I forgot to park my flip flops next to the pool), I've been surprised at how hot the deck surface is. And I see kids running across the deck barefoot ALL THE TIME.

I mean..I'm not an architect or an engineer or a materials specialist, but I'm curious. Is there any material they could use instead that doesn't get so flippin' hot?

I think that's something a lot of us have done. I'm not sure what is the best surface but you also have to think about slipping. Some surfaces will be less hot but you will slip all over the place. I think that would cause more harm to people.

I found water shoes that are like socks but have a thin sole on them that might work. The are on amazon in a ton of colors and designs. They are very lightweight too.

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I found water shoes that are like socks but have a thin sole on them that might work. The are on amazon in a ton of colors and designs. They are very lightweight too.

I saw those on Amazon. Have you worn them yet? If so, do you like them?

This got me thinking after somebody mentioned a lawsuit against Celebrity (and it turns out, there are/were several against other cruise lines, including CCL, as well) where a passenger burned the skin off his feet just by walking a few feet barefoot across a hot deck surface to the pool.

 

The few times I've had to walk from the pool to our lounger barefoot (because I forgot to park my flip flops next to the pool), I've been surprised at how hot the deck surface is. And I see kids running across the deck barefoot ALL THE TIME.

 

I mean..I'm not an architect or an engineer or a materials specialist, but I'm curious. Is there any material they could use instead that doesn't get so flippin' hot?

Wear flip flops, sneakers, slippers, or go to the ship's store and buy new flip flops if you forgot yours.

My DH did this in Barcelona. He forgot his flip flops and went to the pool barefoot. I told him to wear the slippers that were provided in the room. He didn't do that either. He came upstairs a few hours later ... the WHOLE bottom of his foot was 1 big blister. This was the beginning of a 2 week Med cruise. Great way to start a vaca.

My daughter and I had a problem with walking across the super hot deck last week . We had to run back to our chair to put on shoes. My left foot still feels tender in some spots because of it.

This got me thinking after somebody mentioned a lawsuit against Celebrity (and it turns out, there are/were several against other cruise lines, including CCL, as well) where a passenger burned the skin off his feet just by walking a few feet barefoot across a hot deck surface to the pool.

 

The few times I've had to walk from the pool to our lounger barefoot (because I forgot to park my flip flops next to the pool), I've been surprised at how hot the deck surface is. And I see kids running across the deck barefoot ALL THE TIME.

 

I mean..I'm not an architect or an engineer or a materials specialist, but I'm curious. Is there any material they could use instead that doesn't get so flippin' hot?

Many years ago when we put in a pool in Arizona, the contractor used something he called KooCoat on the pool decks. It kept them from getting really hot. Seemed to solve the hot deck/hot concrete problem.

Unfortunately, any surface subject to direct sunlight will get into the 120+ F range rather quickly, which over time can cause burns. The hotter the surface, the quicker the burn. Counter-intuitively, a plain metal (steel) deck will be cooler than one covered with something like teak or Bolidt rubber decking. This is because the steel will transmit the heat away from the surface faster than the other materials, which tend to hold heat due to their poor thermal transmission values. While the steel deck may remain in the 120-130*F range, the other products can get to 140-150*F which can cause the worst burns. The problem, of course, with a steel deck is as noted earlier, slipperiness. If you add "non-slip" paint to the deck, in sufficient roughness to prevent slips on a frequently wet surface (deck around a pool), you would cause abrasion wounds if walked on barefoot.

Simply providing shade can drop a deck temperature from 120 to the 80 degree range, but then there would be the complaints about no sunlight. Basically a lose/lose situation.

With reference to the suing bit. Do people really sue for their own stupidity? Don;t answer, its rhetorical!

With reference to the suing bit. Do people really sue for their own stupidity? Don;t answer, its rhetorical!

Yes, apparently he had a nerve condition that meant he couldn't feel pain in his feet. He knew this, he knew the deck would be hot, but chose not to wear anything on his feet. A lot like the "contents may be hot" warning.

Shoes....that is why they make them.

Replace deck with tiles from the heat shield of the space shuttle [emoji16]

I wear my flip flops from the chair to the pool & just set them next to the bench. It's always strange to me that my feet are sensitive to the hot deck when I used to go barefoot all the time as a kid with no problem. In fact, my friends & I used to pop the tar bubbles that came up on the street in the 100 degree weather.

Wear flip flops, sneakers, slippers, or go to the ship's store and buy new flip flops if you forgot yours.

 

 

 

My DH did this in Barcelona. He forgot his flip flops and went to the pool barefoot. I told him to wear the slippers that were provided in the room. He didn't do that either. He came upstairs a few hours later ... the WHOLE bottom of his foot was 1 big blister. This was the beginning of a 2 week Med cruise. Great way to start a vaca.

Sometimes on a wet deck, you can slip easily in flip flops. I try to wear my sandals that I bought from Lands End (but similar can be bought elsewhere), that have a better grip against wet decks. Having already had bilateral TKRs, I certainly don’t want to risk a fall.

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I usually wear rubber soled flip flops from a chair to the pool, but we were doing the slide and we didn’t know what to do with them. We left them at the bottom of the stairs. I didn’t really think about the deck being hot, nor did I realize how far we would have to walk to get back to our shoes.

We were hopping all the way back and I put my feet in the water ASAP! Luckily we didn’t suffer any harm. It might help if they put signs up. New cruisers might not realize it.

I will say that the black sand beaches of Guadeloupe were worse because the sand sticks to your feet! [emoji33]

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With reference to the suing bit. Do people really sue for their own stupidity? Don;t answer, its rhetorical!

Rhetorical perhaps, but also incisive. ;)

Talk about stupid but on a beach in France way back. The beach was about 100 metres wide. I threw my clothes off with no shoes ran towards the water,after 50 m realised that my feet were burning, turn round or keep going for the water? Slight digression but I think appropriate to the thread.

Many years ago when we put in a pool in Arizona, the contractor used something he called KooCoat on the pool decks. It kept them from getting really hot. Seemed to solve the hot deck/hot concrete problem.

I wonder if that's what they've used on the concrete deck surrounding the pool in our HOA because the concrete never seems to get that hot, despite it being Texas and we're about 2 inches away from the sun all summer long. :D

On our first cruise my mom and I went to the slide without shoes it was crazy how hot and how much our feet hurt! After that we learned to wear our flip flops up to the slide and just hold them on the way down. We have never been questioned by the staff.

More recently 2 years ago on our cruise I was walking down the hot tub steps and slipped (the other 1/2 of my drink went everywhere— I was not drunk it was literally my one and only drink of the entire cruise)! But it was so scary that I could have hit my head, etc. They def need to put down some none slip strips on the stairs, etc.

Crocs makes some wonderful sandals and flip flops that are comfortable and slip resistant. I have an annual pass to an amusement park and water park. I wear mine all over the place and have never had a problem with slipping on wet surfaces. Plus they give more support than traditional flip flops.

Keep your shoes close by...any material they would put on the pool deck to keep it from getting hot, would also get pretty filthy, pretty fast. Just KNOW that the deck will burn you, and keep your shoes close to you!

Regular, cheap "flip flops" get slippery inside when your feet are wet...not to mention smooth soles will slide on the deck when wet, too...There are brands (yeah, they cost more) that have slip resistant soles and some traction in the inner sole, so you aren't slipping and sliding around.

....and don't run with pencils!

Just get a pair of water shoes. You can wear them going down the slide so you don’t have to worry about walking back to your shoes. My kids complain about wearing them, but I tell them no water shoes, no swimming/sliding.

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Umm, Am I the only one that wears socks and sneakers to the pool? lol

I wear shower flip-flops, not just for heat, but hygeine too.