Other kids with diapers in the pool, what to do?

[lisa928]

My DH and twin year old girls will be going on the NCL Jewel cruise in October. This will be the 5th for DH (all NCL) and the 2nd for our girls. The last time they were 1.5 years old and still in swim diapers. I completely obeyed the rules and never had them in the pools on the ship. This time they will be almost three and potty trained for over 10 months. While excited that this year that they can go in the pool I know that there will be parents who do not obey the rule. I have a confrontational personality were I would actually tell a parent that diapers are not permitted, but at the same time DH is just the opposite. What is right thing to do, find a worker and ask them to speak to the parents? I would be okay with that but do the workers care that they would help?

[#1TravelMom]

Say something to someone - trust me. We missed out for an entire sea day - pool had to be drained due to an "accident".

[Wayfairers]

We always grab a worker and tell them and if nothing is done in the next few minutes we tell another worker and keep doing it until someone removes the child. That is just gross!!

[crusinmama06]

I have never actually said anything to anyone about the diapers. I wait around to see how long deck patrol/crew members take to react to the situation. And most times they take care of it themselves.

 

I have been know to tell parents about their kids in the adult only solariums (on RCI) because that actually annoys me just as much. ;) When I make a point to keep MY KIDS out of an adult only area to have someone else have their kids jumping on in. Then I say something. :D

 

You sort of have to be careful about telling people about the diapers because MANY times the people just don't know. They assume it's like it is on land. Babies wear swim diapers. And when the deck patrol/crew members come over to remove the babies/parents - the parents are almost always NOT HAPPY. So its not a fight I want to get into on my vacation ;)

[AgVball]

I vote for telling a crew member and let them handle it. There's no telling how the interaction might go between you and the other parent if you did it yourself...and why have a bad situation on your vacation.

 

And to CM's point, not everyone is on these boards and gung-ho to figure out the rules....so maybe they didn't know. But, game on after they've been informed ;)

 

Have fun! Its so much nicer once they are potty trained!

[khm1]

When DD was one, we went on a 9 day cruise on RCL (Grandeur). There were 4 sea days. I knew what the rules about babies in diapers not going in the pools, so I came prepared. I brought a small blow-up pool and filled it with a bucket and water from the shower on the pool deck. I got a lot of comments about what a good idea this was and DD was happy.

 

One day, while DD splashed in her own "private" pool, I noticed a Mom with a little boy about 18 months old. He had on his swim trunks with a regular (not swim-type) diaper underneath. I watched her as she removed the diaper then put him in the pool. I was annoyed that I was following the rules and she was not. I watched for a while to see if the pool staff or another passenger would say something to her. No one did. She got plenty of dirty looks but she was oblivious.

 

After about 15 minutes of watching, I had enough. I found the pool attendant at the Solarium pool and told him about the baby in the pool. He came over and talked to the Mom. I was glad that I did not approach her myself because she got MAD! The attendant calmly pointed out the sign with the pool rules and asked her to remove the child. After yelling and screaming at him for a couple of minutes, she did.

 

Go with PP suggestions and tell the pool attendant. It is not worth trying to deal with the situation yourself. You don't know how the offender will react.

[Woodmnky]

When DD was one, we went on a 9 day cruise on RCL (Grandeur). There were 4 sea days. I knew what the rules about babies in diapers not going in the pools, so I came prepared. I brought a small blow-up pool and filled it with a bucket and water from the shower on the pool deck. I got a lot of comments about what a good idea this was and DD was happy.

 

One day, while DD splashed in her own "private" pool, I noticed a Mom with a little boy about 18 months old. He had on his swim trunks with a regular (not swim-type) diaper underneath. I watched her as she removed the diaper then put him in the pool. I was annoyed that I was following the rules and she was not. I watched for a while to see if the pool staff or another passenger would say something to her. No one did. She got plenty of dirty looks but she was oblivious.

 

After about 15 minutes of watching, I had enough. I found the pool attendant at the Solarium pool and told him about the baby in the pool. He came over and talked to the Mom. I was glad that I did not approach her myself because she got MAD! The attendant calmly pointed out the sign with the pool rules and asked her to remove the child. After yelling and screaming at him for a couple of minutes, she did.

 

Go with PP suggestions and tell the pool attendant. It is not worth trying to deal with the situation yourself. You don't know how the offender will react.

I guess some people assume that the sign saying "No person in diapers allowed in the pools" means remove the diaper first. I agree. Yuck. It is one thing if it is your own pool, but I don't want to be the parent responsible for closing a pool for a day.

 

For the OP - I would just tell a staff person as I don't want to spoil my day by having someone who doesn't choose to follow rules decide that it is my fault the rules exist in the first place.

[lisa928]

Thanks. Yes thinking about it with a calm head now everyone is right in the fact you do not know how they will react. I think I am as excited as my girls will be about them in the pool this cruise.

[crusinmama06]

I was glad that I did not approach her myself because she got MAD!

 

I saw the SAME thing on both Grandeur and Enchantment. On the Grandeur, I have pictures of the guy getting mad. :p They put the baby in a pool floaty - the deck patrol came over and told him - the family surrounded the deck partol and started YELLING. :eek:

 

Yeah I was glad I had nothing to do with that one. ;) I didn't see them at the pool for the rest of the cruise.

[QTMichele]

I'd love to know how many parents just don't realize this is a rule versus how many just don't care and do it anyway. (seriously, how many people actually read the pool rules?)

 

I wouldn't say anything confrontational, but I may say something like, "Just giving you a heads up - the deck patrol have been asking patents to remove their diapered kids from the pool."

 

On our Freedom cruise, the deck patrol did an excellent job keeping the kids out. In fact, I was holding my son while walking on a deck platform by the H2O Zone when we were asked to leave that area (we were not in the water, buy my son was reaching for the spray). definitely ambitious! ;)

[6rugrats]

Staff should deal with this. I would just ask the staff to speak with the parents; don't confront the parent directly.

[AgVball]

On our Freedom cruise, the deck patrol did an excellent job keeping the kids out. In fact, I was holding my son while walking on a deck platform by the H2O Zone when we were asked to leave that area (we were not in the water, buy my son was reaching for the spray). definitely ambitious! ;)

 

Yeah, we were on Voyager, and my husband had one of the girls either at the edge of the hot tub (to show her the bubbles) or at the edge of the pool (just to get the feet wet)....and an attendant came over to warn us (which we knew the rule, hence why we were not in it).

 

I think people just assume you do what you would do at your local pool - wear swim diapers, or, some people don't put anything on them at all.

[milton333]

I don't mean to be confrontational, but how do you know someone else's child isn't potty trained? I mean, some kids take to it sooner, some parents/cultures are more aggressive about it (I was trained pre- 18 months), and some kids are small for their ages. Also, the issue is fecal matter, not urine, and some kids are #2 trained long before they're #1 trained.

 

I don't know, a 6 month baby is one thing, but there's certainly a range of ages when a child could be potty trained, and I'm just wondering how you know or decide who you're going to confront. :confused:

[AgVball]

...

I don't know, a 6 month baby is one thing, but there's certainly a range of ages when a child could be potty trained, and I'm just wondering how you know or decide who you're going to confront. :confused:

 

I think for the most part, people are referencing the obvious...the kid with a diaper (regular or swim) on. The big fluffy bottoms. Sure, the one's w/o diapers...may very well be trained...and may not be (trying to hide the fact, or don't want to invest in swim diapers/bottoms). But, there a lot of parents who put diapers on their kids and get in the (non-baby) pools with their kids on cruise ships. Sounds like there are some who are brave enough to sit there and take their diapers off right there on the deck. If you need a diaper during the day, you probably don't need to be in the non-baby pool.

[LisaT91403]

We cruised Oasis in June, and took my 3 year old (potty trained) son to the H20 zone in the morning. I noticed at least 2 children wearing swim diapers in this area, despite the fact that the baby splash zone was right there for their use. I commented to my mom, and said that it really bothered me because I didn't want the pool to get closed down. She "poo-pooed" me (no pun intended). Deck patrol did nothing, even though the whole thing was very obvious.

 

We left for lunch, and ran into some of the members of the group we were traveling with. They said that they had just gone down to the pool, but the whole H20 zone was shut down because a child had an accident in it.

 

I regret not saying anything to a staff member. Next time, I will speak up.

[GDR1109]

Hi all -

Just found this thread.

 

Hoping you can provide me with your expertise. I have taken many a cruise before, but now I am mama! I will have my (then) 14-month-old son with me. Obviously, he will not be potty trained. I assumed (it sounds like incorrectly) that the rules on ships were the same as at my community pool where he takes his swim lesson - that he is allowed in the pool so long as he is wearing a swim diaper.

 

We are sailing on the Crown Princess in November. So far I haven't been able to find anything on the Princess website. Does anyone know the rules on this particular cruise line/ship? Is he not allowed in any pools at all? Or is he only allowed in the kiddie area/splash pool?

 

If he is allowed in the kiddie area/splash pool, will both my husband and I be allowed to accompany him? (I've seen references on other threads about only one parent being able to go inside.)

 

Any insight anyone can provide on this subject -- and any other advice you feel like sharing about cruising with a toddler (ports - tours or go our own? should I bring a portable high chair/booster seat, or is it relatively easy to find a high chair on a ship?) would be VERY much appreciated.

 

It's all new to me! Thanks in advance!

:D

 

Ginger

[milton333]

Hi all -

Just found this thread.

 

Hoping you can provide me with your expertise. I have taken many a cruise before, but now I am mama! I will have my (then) 14-month-old son with me. Obviously, he will not be potty trained. I assumed (it sounds like incorrectly) that the rules on ships were the same as at my community pool where he takes his swim lesson - that he is allowed in the pool so long as he is wearing a swim diaper.

 

We are sailing on the Crown Princess in November. So far I haven't been able to find anything on the Princess website. Does anyone know the rules on this particular cruise line/ship? Is he not allowed in any pools at all? Or is he only allowed in the kiddie area/splash pool?

 

If he is allowed in the kiddie area/splash pool, will both my husband and I be allowed to accompany him? (I've seen references on other threads about only one parent being able to go inside.)

 

The cruise lines do a TERRIBLE job about communicating this information to you at the time of purchase. Many people only learn this on board the ship, at which point they are justifiably upset at being unable to take toddlers into the pool.

 

There are CDC regulations that prohibit anyone who is fecally incontinent (child or adult) from being in a cruise ship pool unless it has a special filtration system. This is because these pools don't use all the chemicals that are used in your community pool, because we don't want those chemicals sloshing overboard (or being drained) into the ocean, where they would be harmful.

 

The only cruise ships that have special filtration for the fecally incontinent toddlers are all Disney ships and RCCL ships Allure, Oasis, Freedom, Liberty (and Independence? not positive).

 

That's it. And on the RCCL ships, the designated area is just a couple of inches in a tiny pool adjacent to the colorful splash zone. The splash zone, though, is off limits. So the baby pool is really only useful for true babies - a toddler is going to really want to play in the splash zone.

 

So, that's the situation. Now, many people have anecdotal reports of being allowed in the splash zones and of using low-profile swim diapers under swim suits.

 

The main issue with feces in the pool is e. coli contamination. There are actually lots of strains of e. coli and most are completely harmless. It's one strain that gets the attention for causing serious illnesses. The bad e. coli is not always present in feces, but it's obviously not possible to know what is "bad poop" and what is "harmless poop." Thus, the CDC regs.

 

People, especially childless people, freak out about swim-diapered kids being this disgusting morass of contamination. In reality, most poop does not have harmful e. coli. Beyond early infancy, most kids don't spontaneously poop without "warning." Also, some degree of fecal contamination in pool water is always an issue. Many adults and potty-trained kids don't wipe thoroughly. Your anus is not hermetically sealed. Moreover, as discussed below, there's diarrhea - even the potty-trained, even adults, can have an "accident." In fact, one reason that docs recommend that a constipated kid splash around in a warm bath is that some amount of water tends to enter the rectum when you're submerged in the water, which can prompt evacuation in the same way as an enema.

 

The flip side, though, is that if e. coli is present, it can be very harmful to young kids and the immuno-compromised. On a cruise ship, with a different diet, diarrhea may be a problem, so the usual rules about when your kid poops and how he/she signals that poop is imminent may not apply. If poop becomes visible, the pool needs to be closed and drained, and it upsets other cruisers. While it's apparent that some degree of fecal contamination is always present in any pool, toddlers are a "flash point" for controversy and some cruisers will be "vigilantes" who accost you if they suspect your child isn't potty-trained.

 

What you do with the information is up to you. Other parents with non-potty trained kids have opted to take an inflatable pool or bath tub. You can fill that pool with buckets of water from the pool or showers, and can dump out that pool into shower drains (not back into the main pool). If you have a balcony, that's a great place, but you can also put your inflatable pool alongside your deck chair on the pool deck. If there is a forbidden splash zone, you may wish to avoid the area to avoid tantrums.

[jac1976]

Hi all -

Just found this thread.

 

Hoping you can provide me with your expertise. I have taken many a cruise before, but now I am mama! I will have my (then) 14-month-old son with me. Obviously, he will not be potty trained. I assumed (it sounds like incorrectly) that the rules on ships were the same as at my community pool where he takes his swim lesson - that he is allowed in the pool so long as he is wearing a swim diaper.

 

We are sailing on the Crown Princess in November. So far I haven't been able to find anything on the Princess website. Does anyone know the rules on this particular cruise line/ship? Is he not allowed in any pools at all? Or is he only allowed in the kiddie area/splash pool?

 

If he is allowed in the kiddie area/splash pool, will both my husband and I be allowed to accompany him? (I've seen references on other threads about only one parent being able to go inside.)

 

Any insight anyone can provide on this subject -- and any other advice you feel like sharing about cruising with a toddler (ports - tours or go our own? should I bring a portable high chair/booster seat, or is it relatively easy to find a high chair on a ship?) would be VERY much appreciated.

 

It's all new to me! Thanks in advance!

:D

 

Ginger

 

Unfortunately, he is not allowed in any of the pools on Princess. From their website, (under FAQs: Before you go - traveling with children):

 

Infants/Young Children and Swimming Pools

 

Parents/guardians are reminded to bring their children dressed in appropriate attire with towel and sunscreen. Youth staff will not conduct children's activities in the adult or splash pools. Parents must supervise their children at all times when using the pools. Infants and young children in diapers and/or swim diapers, and children who are not toilet trained are NOT permitted in any of the pools or spas due to public health concerns.

 

Our policy is strictly observed onboard and is intended for the public health safety of all passengers.

[mikesteg]

There are CDC regulations that prohibit anyone who is fecally incontinent (child or adult) from being in a cruise ship pool unless it has a special filtration system. This is because these pools don't use all the chemicals that are used in your community pool, because we don't want those chemicals sloshing overboard (or being drained) into the ocean, where they would be harmful.

 

This is an abridged quote from the 7/12 blog:

 

Vanetta W asked:

There was a post today on Cruise Critic that about toddlers not being allowed in the pools and I was horrified to read that that the pools on the Carnival ships are not chlorinated.

 

John says:

 

Hello Vanetta W,

We do indeed chlorinate our pools at the levels determined by United States Public Health and these levels are strictly monitored on board, so the reports you have read are incorrect. As for babies in the pool, we do have a rule that states that children must be potty trained before they are allowed there.

Best wishes.

John

 

So what does this mean? It seems like the CDC is a sub-organization of the USPH, so are these regulations the same as land-based pools or are these special (weaker) guidelines for ships' pools?

 

Not saying you're wrong, but I doubt John is 100% wrong either.

[GDR1109]

Unfortunately, he is not allowed in any of the pools on Princess. From their website, (under FAQs: Before you go - traveling with children):

 

 

Thanks for providing this link and for the responses to my query.

 

I had actually found it after my post, while digging around on the Princess site. I am pretty disappointed - I sort of expected my munchkin not to be allowed in the big pools (and I wouldn't be a fan of him swimming there for safety reasons anyway, because I imagine there will be bigger kids splashing or what not.)

 

But I had hoped we might be able to hang out there, and give him the opportunity to splash his feet in the water.

 

At a minimum, I would have thought he'd be fine in the specially designated kiddie/splash pool -- but it sounds like that is a kiddie pool for those who are potty trained, which is probably what I find most frustrating.

 

Princess didn't tell us this when we booked...and I suppose its our fault for not asking these questions on the front end. But we've paid now, and are going, so we'll have to make the best of it, even if that means bringing our own inflatable tub and just keeping it on the cabin balcony.

[Kerry's Girls]

 

At a minimum, I would have thought he'd be fine in the specially designated kiddie/splash pool -- but it sounds like that is a kiddie pool for those who are potty trained, which is probably what I find most frustrating.

 

Princess didn't tell us this when we booked...and I suppose its our fault for not asking these questions on the front end. But we've paid now, and are going, so we'll have to make the best of it, even if that means bringing our own inflatable tub and just keeping it on the cabin balcony.

 

Hi -

 

I can imagine it's frustrating, but just wanted to let you know that I sailed on Princess a number of times before my twins were potty trained and we really never missed the pool. One of the benefits of Princess is that you can take your toddler to the kids club any time it's open to enjoy the toys, movies, other kids, etc as long as another parent is there. I brought an inflatable tub that I thought we'd use as a splash pool, but we only ended up using it as a bathtub because we kept busy with other activities and enjoyed the beach/pools in port.

 

All the best,

Mia

[milton333]

This is an abridged quote from the 7/12 blog:

 

 

So what does this mean? It seems like the CDC is a sub-organization of the USPH, so are these regulations the same as land-based pools or are these special (weaker) guidelines for ships' pools?

 

Not saying you're wrong, but I doubt John is 100% wrong either.

 

Since I have a toddler, I investigated the pool issue pretty thoroughly. Other than Disney, none of the lines is at all transparent or forthcoming about what is being done to the pools. Not on their websites, and I contacted customer service for several and could not get a straight or consistent answer.

 

Because my question is, if the pool is chlorinated like my community pool, then what's the problem with having swim diapers in the cruise line pool, right? Because it's not prohibited at any public pool I've ever been to.

 

So, here are the answers I've been given by cust service or other cruisers:

 

1) Cruise line pools are saltwater pools and not chemically treated.

 

2) Cruise line pools are treated, but not with all the same chemicals as your community pool. "Chlorine" is a generic term for chemical treatment of pools. The cruise lines may use some of the chemicals (possibly including chlorine, possibly not), but not all of them, so it's not a full-spectrum treatment.

 

3) Cruise line pools are treated, but not to the same degree as your community pool. They have lower concentrations of chemicals per volume.

 

4) Cruise line pools have a lower overall water volume than your community pool, so contaminates are less diluted. This doesn't really make sense - if they are chemically treated, they're treated based on volume. Also, the baby pool at home is 1 foot deep, very low water volume. This must really be a statement re: #3 - not treated to the same concentrations as community pools.

 

5) "The CDC says so." This is true. But if the pools are chemically treated just like the pools at home, then why? Probably because cruise ships are conspicuous for rapidly-spreading illness from contagions like Noro virus. Cruise lines have different regs for no specific good reason other than that they are more closely scrutinized in general by CDC.

 

6) "Security theater." This is the same argument with respect to the TSA - there are elaborate, strict rules that are designed to make you feel safer without actually making you safer. Seeing no kids in swim diapers makes you think there's no risk of fecal contamination in the pool. For the reasons described in my prior post, that's just not true, there is always a risk of fecal contamination from older children and adults, and I would not even go so far as to say that this is a lower risk of contamination - there are far more people in the adult pools than in the kid pools, so exponentially greater opportunities for contamination to happen.

 

As I noted, cruise lines do not do a good job of conspicuously explaining that non-potty trained kids will not be allowed in the pools. You plug in the ages of cruisers when you book - you could receive a warning, with a kid under 3, that such child will not be allowed in the pools.

 

Moreover, cruise lines do not give clear and consistent answers about what's going on with the pools. Possibly because, if they are chemically treated just like your community pool at home, then more people are likely to disregard the rules re: swim diapered tots.

[Julienatul]

Milton 33 you are right. They clearly do a great job of notifying you the ages allowed for entrance into the children's program. They should do just as good of a job notifying you that non-toilet trained children are not allowed in the pools. It would be even better if they taught staff onboard the regulations. I was on the Inaugural sailing of one of the first ships with the waterworks revisions and was led there by staff with my then 2 year-old and told "this is where the non-potty trained can play". We enjoyed it the entire week without knowing. No signs had been posted yet since it had just opened. My kids are both now potty trained so its not an issue for us but to be misled by staff I can see how many parents would be confused on the matter.

[GDR1109]

As I noted, cruise lines do not do a good job of conspicuously explaining that non-potty trained kids will not be allowed in the pools. You plug in the ages of cruisers when you book - you could receive a warning, with a kid under 3, that such child will not be allowed in the pools.

 

Moreover, cruise lines do not give clear and consistent answers about what's going on with the pools. Possibly because, if they are chemically treated just like your community pool at home, then more people are likely to disregard the rules re: swim diapered tots.

 

Milton - Couldn't agree with you more. When we called Princess, we requested cribs for the rooms, we asked about high chairs in the dining room, we gave them the ages of the kids on our trip (14 months and 22 months) and then specifically asked, "We've never traveled with toddlers before. Is there anything else we should know?" Seems like that would have been the perfect opportunity to mention the pool issue. Again: I respect the need for cleanliness, I can even understand banning kids from the deep/main pools...but the kiddie/splash pool I take issue with -- especially since the line has done such a horrible job communicating their policies. I read a lengthy review of our ship from another poster who sailed with a toddler last year, and she said they told her to go to the kiddie pool, and they spent all their time up in that area with their child. So either the policy has changed or the staff themselves are confused on how its supposed to work.

[AgVball]

Princess didn't tell us this when we booked...and I suppose its our fault for not asking these questions on the front end. But we've paid now, and are going, so we'll have to make the best of it, even if that means bringing our own inflatable tub and just keeping it on the cabin balcony.

 

There's no way for them to warn everyone about the potential limitations, but yes, I can see how it would be frustrating because it won't meet your original expectations. For us, on the two cruises our twin girls couldn't get in (on RCCL), we figured we didn't want them out in the sun a ton anyway, so we kept them busy with lots of other things. We didn't even bother to do the blow-up pool, but it does sound fun if you (parent/g-parent/sitter) want to hang out by the pool in the shade and relax or watch the sexy legs contest, you name it. I don't know if you are going to go to a beach at your ports, but you could also take your blow up pool with you there too. Some little ones are not fond of the sand or the "ocean" either, but they a good time in the blow up pool. Just a thought.

 

I just now saw your most recent post. Yes, that can be very frustrating if they don't have any info, especially if you've been asking. RCCL has it on their site. We scouted out the Adventure Ocean club while we were onboard to see what it is like for future planning and learned that the kid has to separate without crying. I haven't found that on their AO page or their FAQ...although sitting places on land will deal with crying.

 

Oh, and even if they DO have something on their site/FAQ, they can change it after you book, or even the week before you sail, and guess what, you have to go by the new rule. This affected us with in-room babysitting on RCCL. We've just learned to roll with the punches. For us, we go out of one port, so we don't have much choice (changing in 2012!!) But for you who go out of Floriday with more choices, yes that would be irritating because you could have chosen another line that offered the amenties you wanted.

 

I do hope you can still enjoy your trip!