Pools on carnival ships

[CallDOC]

First, I have to admit I am a "FAN" of Carnival Cruises... so understand I am NOT bashing CCL... I just never read any posts about this. Am I the only one?

BUT, I wonder why Carnival pools are;

1- so small

* so many folks take advantage of the pools and yet they are all so small. I am certain that they could make them larger. Now, they are used for basically wading rather than swimming.

2- set up with stadium seating?

* of course there are 'chair hogs' on all ships but wonder why they set up the area with the levels rather than a larger single level?

3- and the Jacuzzi's?

* most have luke warm water, and no one seems to care about children in them? I am not just talking about the kids peeing in them! ROFL!

OK... bash me if you want, but I am just asking if anyone knows why?

Thanks for your responses..

DOC :cool:

[elaineb]

Love Carnival, but that's my biggest complaint. Maybe it's because the slides take up so much area that the pools can't be bigger. I do love the slides. The pool areas in general are not very inviting looking. Carnival needs to step this up.

[smeck]

First, I have to admit I am a "FAN" of Carnival Cruises... so understand I am NOT bashing CCL... I just never read any posts about this. Am I the only one?

 

BUT, I wonder why Carnival pools are;

 

1- so small

* so many folks take advantage of the pools and yet they are all so small. I am certain that they could make them larger. Now, they are used for basically wading rather than swimming.

 

2- set up with stadium seating?

* of course there are 'chair hogs' on all ships but wonder why they set up the area with the levels rather than a larger single level?

 

3- and the Jacuzzi's?

* most have luke warm water, and no one seems to care about children in them? I am not just talking about the kids peeing in them! ROFL!

 

OK... bash me if you want, but I am just asking if anyone knows why?

 

Thanks for your responses..

 

DOC :cool:

When designing a ship the most difficult engineering aspect is the size and locations of pools. It's very difficult to engineer a pool on a boat, the smaller it is the easier to engineer. I've been on many different ships on different lines and all pools at sea are on the small side.

[Essiesmom]

I look at other ships, and wonder why they can have more pools than Carnival (and less obstructed theaters...). Just off diamond Princess, and I think their solution is less space for the Lido buffet. They have a regular outsoor pool, regular indoor pool, indoor lap pool in spa area, and two smaller pools in the stern. Plus all of the whirlpools. But I also think Carnival passengers do not regard the ship as their destination, rahter the ports, and off to the beach. Not a lot of sea days. Princess does more varied itineraries with more sea days...EM

[family cruisers]

I will not bash but agree with you. Pools are way too small. We had bigger on NCL and my favorite is on Princess.

I'm not a fan of stadium seating at all. Too many places on this ship to sit , relax and enjoy.

 

Good post.

[poobears]

I agree with them being too small and the area is just not inviting. Maybe it's because I've only been on older ships but I have yet to see a pool or hot tub that I would step foot in. They just look kind of nasty and not kept up like you see at on land resorts, hotels etc. I grew up swimming in the creeks and lakes so I don't think my standards are that high :p

[misguidedangel]

Hey doc, won't catch me bashing you at all!!!!

 

Pools-yup, a bit small and shallow, but considering the space they have it is limited.

 

Jacuzzi--warm, not hot.....hate that......

 

Stepped deck going from Lido to Panorama--You need to get on a airplane and fly to Los Angeles and take the Splendor. The Splendor has a extra large lido area with a full coverage magrodome. The Lido on the Splendor is larger because the "stadium style seating" is all at Lido deck level and the seaside theater is lower down than on other ships. When walking out to the Lido area you go around the band stage and under the Seaside theater. Deck parties on the Splendor are choreographed and the dancers from the main lounge do a little 50's-60's thing and then everyone joins in for fun.....amazing amount of deck space for the party on that ship......

 

Doc--we might have to mix it up a bit and change the plans for the Crazy Cruisers reunion to sail to Mexico instead of the Caribbean....that way you would know how the rest of us feel about travelling to port......How's the weather in Miami?

[dan40]

I agree with them being too small and the area is just not inviting. Maybe it's because I've only been on older ships but I have yet to see a pool or hot tub that I would step foot in. They just look kind of nasty and not kept up like you see at on land resorts, hotels etc. I grew up swimming in the creeks and lakes so I don't think my standards are that high :p

 

 

Hard to understand your POV. The pools in hotels and land resorts may have the same water all season. Ships pools are drained and refilled with fresh filtered seawater daily! Some ships may have pools larger than Carnival's but no ship ever has had a LARGE pool. The larger the pool, the further down from the top they use aluminum to build the ship. Because they MUST keep that weight in control when its so far above the ships center of gravity.

Each cubic foot [1ftX1ftX1ft] is 64 pounds of weight. So a pool only 15 X20 X 5 feet deep weights nearly 100,000 EXTRA pounds, 14 stories above sea level. Can you say POSEIDON?:eek:

[paper1122]

Last cruise I was on I didn't use either the pools or the whirlpools I only used the slides (Inspiration). It is possible that I didn't use the pools because they were too crowded though.

[ms simba]

I too was disappointed when I learned that Carnival had only one pool and that it was cut in half by the "sitting?" barrier in the middle. I love to swim and was really looking forward to a pool. Not to do laps but at least get a couple of strokes in. So I didn't even bring my suit. I am considering a RCL cruise as their pools are bigger.

 

When I go onboard I asked a teenager what he thought of the pool. He replied, "Really cold and salty!" Then I felt better about not bringing a suit.

 

I had also looked into the shore excursions but they didn't appeal to me. I am not one to lay for hours in the sun. Just like to get a little swimming in. So a shore excursion to a beach would leave me with too much time after my swim. As I said, I don't care for laying down on a beach chair. I also thought of renting a car and going to the far side of the island. But after seeing a video of what the roads were like (narrow), I decided that was out also.

 

As it turned out in the Grand Caymans the seas were too rough for our shore excursions that I did book and they were canceled and too rough for me to go on the tender boat. In Cozumel, I wasn't able to go anywhere in my handicapped scooter because of the high curbs so I was relegated to the little Puerta Maya area. Next time I will plan differently.

[H82seaUgo]

I cruised for years without putting a toe in the water. I guess always having one at home made it not important to me.

 

But after seeing one so small on Carival, and then seeing one so BIG on NCL, made me wonder why.

 

Starting sailing with a child finally put me in those footbaths.

 

But it wasn't till seeing the "huge" ones they have on the RCCL, 2 in fact side by side, make me wonder why they continue to do this.

 

[LemurCat]

A great time to use the pool is when everyone else is off the ship.

 

But yes, they are small, generally. I don't know what I'd trade on that deck to have a larger pool though. I can't imagine losing space from the buffet without having major seating issues at rush times.

[ms simba]

Great picture! Which RCL ship is this?

[spencercoop]

Great picture! Which RCL ship is this?

 

Explorer of the Seas

[mapsmith]

Sitting here wondering whether the small size of the pools may somehow be engineered with "risk managment" in effect. Since on many of the cruises that I have been on have had the water in the pools slosh a bit in time with wave action and up and down motion of the ship, maybe if the pools were larger, the wave action in the pools would be large enough to cause injury if you were slammed against the side of the pool by said waves in the pool?

 

Any Cruise ship pool engineers or risk managers want to contribute to the discussion?

[dreamlooker]

I look at other ships, and wonder why they can have more pools than Carnival (and less obstructed theaters...). Just off diamond Princess, and I think their solution is less space for the Lido buffet. They have a regular outsoor pool, regular indoor pool, indoor lap pool in spa area, and two smaller pools in the stern. Plus all of the whirlpools. But I also think Carnival passengers do not regard the ship as their destination, rahter the ports, and off to the beach. Not a lot of sea days. Princess does more varied itineraries with more sea days...EM

have u ever been on the ruby princesees i really have my heart set on the dream but still open to other ideas

[CallDOC]

"Doc--we might have to mix it up a bit and change the plans for the Crazy Cruisers reunion to sail to Mexico instead of the Caribbean....that way you would know how the rest of us feel about travelling to port......How's the weather in Miami?"

 

Well, I may pass then as I DON'T fly. Unless I decide to drive to Cali. But that adds another week to my vacation.... HMMMMM?

Temperature here went from 75 degrees in April to 95+ a few weeks later. It's HOTTTTT!

DOC :cool:

PS.... please don't destroy the Liberty on your cruise, (dancing on the tables and drinking all the booze onboard), I expect the ship to be in PERFECT condition when you all get off of it.

[Santaa]

[nbsjcruiser]

I wont bash you, I'll agree with your points in fact. The one thing Io like about RCI ships is the size of the pools and the layout, i.e. no stadium seating. Makes for a nicer looking deck area and easier to navigate. As far as the hot tubs go, I don't use them. They're bacteria traps. The water cannot be hot enough to keep bacteria down because us humans wouldn't be able to get in the water and therefore it is at the perfect temperature for breeding organisms.

[A&Jfamily]

I agree that I would love to have a larger pool...but, I get the physics.

 

You talk about the stadium style - but that is primarily on the Conquest Class. It is not my thing either - which is one of the reasons I like the Spirit and Fantasy class better. With the spirit class, you have 2 pools in the main Lido area, and it feels much more intimate. And now with the Fantasy class getting the Evolutions of Fun upgrades, I think that you will find that a lot of kid traffic will be diverted up to that area. I am looking forward to trying it out in December with my boys!

[jamers22]

I agree, the pools are really small and crowded.

I've never been in the hot tubs, there always full.

 

Santaa - I love the pictures of Inspiration's pools. We'll be on the Inspiration this coming Monday and I'm so excited. The pool area looks really nice.:)

[TheTravelista]

I never understood why the pools were so small. It makes no sense, really. I love lounging on the Lido on a sea day because it is very interesting just how crowded that tiny pool really gets.

 

And I also never understood why they closed them. That would be my biggest issue. The RCI pools and hot tubs are 24 hours. Is it because they have to be cleaned? I would assume RCI cleans their pools and hot tubs but they still manage to have them open 24 hours. Carnival are you listening?

 

I think I'm alone on this one but I like the stadium style seating. I think its aesthetically pleasing and that way you can always see whats going on down by the pool area :)

[2206]

Are the pools on the older ships larger than those on the new ships?

[H82seaUgo]

Are the pools on the older ships larger than those on the new ships?

 

although narrow, the fantasy class appeared the largest to me, until they put that divider in to keep the rogue waves in check.

[Earthworm Jim]

Each cubic foot [1ftX1ftX1ft] is 64 pounds of weight. So a pool only 15 X20 X 5 feet deep weights nearly 100,000 EXTRA pounds, 14 stories above sea level. Can you say POSEIDON?:eek:

 

100,000 pounds may sound like a lot, but remember that's only 50 tons and the ship may be 100,000 tons.

 

(O.K., that 100,000 ton figure is gross tonnage, which is really a measure of volume not weight. But still the displacement is probably something like 50,000 tons. So the pool weight is only 1%. Not insignificant, but that alone won't make a ship top heavy.)