Pool for children

[alb38]

We are cruising on the Splendour in February - my brother is also cruising with his family and they have two small children. I have been reading different information regarding the pools - are the children not allowed in the pools unless they are toilet trained or are they allowed to wear the disposable swimmies?

[cruisinqt]

Okay, be careful and watch out for the flames!:eek: This is a very touchy subject on the boards and some people tend to get quite upset when talking about it. Parents get upset and feel that their kids are being picked on. Other people are worried about the health issues that are raised when an unpottytrained child is in the pool.

 

Many people are appalled at the thought of a child getting into the pool when they are not potty trained, even if they have the swim diapers on. Even tho' the swim diapers are supposed to be water proof, the thought of a child with diarrhea having a leakage problem has been discussed here at some length. :eek: Not only have people been grossed out by that thought, but they've also been concerned about the health issues.

 

One problem with an un-pottytrained child getting into the pool with swim diapers on is that most of the ships pools are filled with sea water that is dumped out daily and they have no chemicals in them to kill germs. There are just a few cruise lines that use fresh water. I know that RCI and Carnival have sea water pools. I think that Princess uses fresh water, but I'm not sure.

 

Anyway, to answer your original question, just about every cruise line insists on a child being potty trained before entering any of the pools because of the health issues that are raised. ;) I hope this helps. Enjoy your cruise!:)

[cali-croozer]

It's good that you're asking this question before you go so you'll know that they won't be allowed in the pools. However, they won't be missing much as the pools are small and usually full of activity anyway.........hard for little ones to enjoy. The water is salt water too so it hurts if they get splashed. If you're brother is planning beach time at the various ports, his family, including the little ones, will have their fill of beach/water play time. Have a fun cruise.

[Kuffam]

I'm glad I learned this now too. We're leaving this week for Hawaii and to learn that my 1.5 yrold Son can't be in the pool is a disppointment. Luckly DD (4) is now potty trained and can swim. I've heard people suggest bringing buckets and spray bottles etc. for them to play with. I think this may work better because most pools are too deep for him to play in and we have to hold him.

[nycny]

Way too deep. The pools were almost over my head and I am 5.5. It was a struggle to stand.

[cruzinrn]

It is really a disappointment when the little ones can't use the pool. They don't understand the reasoning, they just see water and want to get in and play. However, even when my children were potty trained on a cruise it was difficult for them to be in the water without me holding them. If it is a bit rough at sea, the waves in the pool tend to be large and rush over the sides of the pool which makes it difficult for the adults to even stand. But it is true about the swim diapers if a child has diarrhea, it does leak. It happened to me at home in my own pool with my son. We had to close the pool for a least a few days. It is a real health concern. It may seem that a little can't do any harm but it really can especially if people (kids) are ingesting the water by accident. I'm a nurse and I know of a few incidences where this has happened and caused problems. Hopefully you can bring a soft plastic pool with toys and a spray bottle. And I'm sure the kids will have fun at the beaches! I was on the Carnival Glory last January and they closed the kid's pool because one of the children threw up in it. Sometimes those little viruses run rampid among children on cruise ships.

Have fun!!!

[dianelevene]

We were just on Splendour last week. If there are potty trained children, there is a very nice area for them to play in. The larger, outdoor pool has a section that is only knee deep and is divided from the deeper area by a large fence. There were lots of preschool aged children playing very happily in the shallow water. They obviously still did not allow children in swim diapers in the water. There were also two hot tubs next to the outdoor pool that had been taken over by the kids. Adults used the other hot tubs in the Solarium. With the Western Caribbean itinerary that we did, you hardly will miss going to the pool. We only used it twice the entire week. We spend so much time in the water at each port that we did not end up using the pool once we got back to the ship. Alb38- If you will be in Costa Maya my advice to you would be to go the beach in Majuhual. The beach by the port is very rocky but if you take a taxi into the town, the beach there is sandy and beautiful. My two little ones (4 and 5) had a blast playing in the sand, hunting for shells and wading in the water there. It was one of the nicest days on the cruise.

[Girlsnightout]

There isn't a kiddie pool on the Splendour?

[alb38]

Girlsnightout,

I think there is only one pool but I am not correct as this is our first cruise!

ALB38

[kln]

This is alb's sister-in-law ... the one traveling next week on the Splendour with two (unpotty-trained) toddlers. I appreciate those of you who replied regarding the pools. We'll have to check out the beach mentioned in Costa Maya.

 

Here's a separate question for anyone who used a crib. Can you tell me what type of crib they provide ... Pack & Play? ... standard hotel cribs? ... And do I need to provide my own sheets and blankets? Thanks.

[kln]

Here's another follow up question. Since the pools are not an option for our two youngsters, can anyone suggest any other appropriate activities on the ship that they might enjoy? They are both too young to participate in the kids activities program. Thanks, again.

[dianelevene]

girlsnightout,

There is not a completely seperate kids pool but there are two pools on the ship. One pool is in the solarium but it is reserved for adults only. The outdoor pool has a large kids' area that is sectioned off from the deep part of the pool.