Babies and Toddlers in the Pool

[crusinmama06]

Perfect suggestion... RCCL for parents with small children. Can't imagine bring them on Carnival. Doesn't sound too fun.

 

Nice try...but they don't allow "tea bags" either. :rolleyes: ;)

 

And I KNOW Carnival wants my money. They ask me for it all the time. :p

[surfklutz]

I know they are saltwater, but is there a reason why they cannot put clorine in them?

 

I believe she is wrong - I do believe they actually clorinate the salt water - I know they do that in some cruise line pools.

[halos]

I am going to make an assumption here..and this is NOT backed up by any scientific means...lol....but I have always assumed that they can't put chlorine into it because the pools are dumped every night and refilled. They would be dumped INTO the ocean. And if I recall my days of having goldfish, fish do not survive in clorinated water. ;)

 

So if every cruise ship on the sea dumped their chlorinated water, then THAT would be bad.

 

Like I said. I am noooo biology major. But I bet that's the reason. :)

 

It makes no difference whether it's chlorinated or not. If a child has a bowel movement in a chlorinated pool, it must be emptied and then shocked (with mega doses of chlorine) which would make it unusable for a couple days. Cruise lines should NOT have to deal with that, and that's why they have this 'potty trained only' rule.

[sandy toes]

OR, they could go one ANY other cruiseline and bring an inflatable. ;) We talk about this all the time on the family cruise board.

 

Disney is NOT the only option out there for kids. You CAN bring an inflatable. You see all of that wide open deck space that I showed on the above picture? That is a carnival cruise. ;) :p

The inflatable works really well. We had a 10 month old sailing on Celebrity a few years back, brought a small blow up pool that we used for play on the pool deck and also at night on the shower floor as a "tub". Made for a very happy baby and also no germ mess in the "real" pool. Purchased the little pool at a local Dollar Store. Used it for 9 days and left it on board when we left. The cruise director said it was a "fab idea". Hope you have a great cruise and the baby enjoys the "pool".

[crusinmama06]

I believe she is wrong - I do believe they actually clorinate the salt water - I know they do that in some cruise line pools.

 

You would be the first to say that the pools are chlorinated on the ships. I have seen these types of threads ad nauseum. And all of those in the know say they are not chlorinated.

 

And halos - I totally agree. No swimmie diapered children in the pools. No doubt. But that still doesn't answer the question why no other major cruiseline (except Disney) has a water spray area for infants. A little squirting water...that's all I am asking for. LOL! ;) :D

 

And once again, to reiterate...MY kids ARE potty trained. So this has nothing to do about my family. Just a comment on the cruise industry as a whole.

[TrustNoOneKMC]

I thought the newer Carnival ships - such as the Glory, have a small splash pool in the childrens area for children. Aren't diapered children allowed in these pools?

 

Also, for those of you who brought inflatable pools, how did you fill them?

[caribbean dreams]

I believe she is wrong - I do believe they actually clorinate the salt water - I know they do that in some cruise line pools.

 

Nope, Michelle is right, the cruiselines that have salt water pools do not chlorinate them, the water is just constantly circulated, some cruiselines have freshwater pools and of course, they would be kept chlorinated along with the spas.

[caribbean dreams]

I know they are saltwater, but is there a reason why they cannot put clorine in them?

 

If the saltwater was able to be chlorinated, there would still be no unptty trained kids allowed.

The constantly circulating water is still better than a heavily chlorinated pool.

[Sandi149]

If the saltwater was able to be chlorinated, there would still be no unptty trained kids allowed.

The constantly circulating water is still better than a heavily chlorinated pool.

 

Yes I know they still wouldn't allow non-potty trained kids in the pool. I was just wondering about the chlorine.

[halos]

And halos - I totally agree. No swimmie diapered children in the pools. No doubt. But that still doesn't answer the question why no other major cruiseline (except Disney) has a water spray area for infants. A little squirting water...that's all I am asking for. LOL! ;) :D

 

.

 

Maybe in the future on new ships they'll provide this...my opinion on that is that the cruise lines (other than Disney of course) are really not geared toward family vacationing. I think they implemented Camp Carnival and babysitting because more families began cruising together a decade ago, but in all honesty, the cruise ships you see on the seas today (unless it's Disney) aren't really meant for small kids.

Now with more families cruising, they may start to rethink ship features when designing them....IF they really want more of that demographic. If they don't really want the young families on the ships, then they won't. I guess it all depends on what demographic provides them with more income.

[peterv]

It makes no difference whether it's chlorinated or not. If a child has a bowel movement in a chlorinated pool, it must be emptied and then shocked (with mega doses of chlorine) which would make it unusable for a couple days. Cruise lines should NOT have to deal with that, and that's why they have this 'potty trained only' rule.

 

If they emptied the pool, then it would just need to be cleaned, you do not use shock on a fresh pool fill. You would only need to shock existing water, say when opening your pool in the spring after being closed all winter.

 

Besides, they do empty them every night and don't use chlorine, so it would not have to be closed for days, maybe a couple of hours while it was cleaned.

 

Not that I want babies in the pool in any event!

 

Cheers,

Peter

[MrPete]

Having been on the Disney Wonder when a sighting of a Baby Ruth occured, the Mickey pool was closed FOR HOURS.

 

Not fun watching all those have to pay for one parents ignorance.

 

On a sea day, no less.

[halos]

If they emptied the pool, then it would just need to be cleaned, you do not use shock on a fresh pool fill. You would only need to shock existing water, say when opening your pool in the spring after being closed all winter.

 

Peter

 

:) True....What was I thinking???

My kids were competitive swimmers, so I was thinking of what goes on at your basic Y or other swim clubs. Poop in the pool caused total havok with swim season for my kids on many occasions. There, they'd have to empty a good portion of the pool and shock the remaining water.

On a cruise ship they would have to just empty and scrub the pool...and pray that no one was contaminated prior to doing this.

E-coli is extremely dangerous. Cruise ships get enough bad press with Noro. Can you imagine an e-coli episode on a ship??:eek:

[nrdsb4]

You would be the first to say that the pools are chlorinated on the ships. I have seen these types of threads ad nauseum. And all of those in the know say they are not chlorinated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry, this is not true. A while back I e-mailed Royal Caribbean regarding their pools and received this response:

 

Dear _____,

 

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 chlorinationto 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

 

In spite of these measures, however, no children wearing swimmie diapers are allowed in RCI pools.:)

[halos]

Sorry, this is not true. A while back I e-mailed Royal Caribbean regarding their pools and received this response:

 

Dear _____,

 

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 chlorinationto 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

 

In spite of these measures, however, no children wearing swimmie diapers are allowed in RCI pools.:)

 

That doesn't seem environmentally responsible now does it??:confused:

[crusinmama06]

Sorry, this is not true. A while back I e-mailed Royal Caribbean regarding their pools and received this response:

 

Dear _____,

 

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 chlorinationto 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

 

 

In spite of these measures, however, no children wearing swimmie diapers are allowed in RCI pools.:)

 

Very interesting. Thanks for the correction! :)

 

And halos - I think that's REALLY not the case about cruiselines NOT marketing to families. My business is marketing and advertising and I pay attention to who is marketing what to whom. And I can say that the mainstream cruiseline industry like Carnival and RCCL are REALLY going after the family market. Moreso than any other demographic. Just look at ALL of the newest RCCL ships like Freedom/Liberty and Genesis. They have massive kid club areas. And massive water park areas on the ship. They are definatly going after the younger child.

 

Just look at all of the adult only cruise threads and see how many people who are complaining about ships being overrun by children.

 

There aren't ANY Adult Only mainstream cruises...but there are MANY family cruises. ;) :p So who do you think the cruiselines want to appeal to?

[halos]

Very interesting. Thanks for the correction! :)

 

And halos - I think that's REALLY not the case about cruiselines NOT marketing to families. My business is marketing and advertising and I pay attention to who is marketing what to whom. And I can say that the mainstream cruiseline industry like Carnival and RCCL are REALLY going after the family market. Moreso than any other demographic. Just look at ALL of the newest RCCL ships like Freedom/Liberty and Genesis. They have massive kid club areas. And massive water park areas on the ship. They are definatly going after the younger child.

 

Just look at all of the adult only cruise threads and see how many people who are complaining about ships being overrun by children.

 

There aren't ANY Adult Only mainstream cruises...but there are MANY family cruises. ;) :p So who do you think the cruiselines want to appeal to?

 

NOW they are marketing to families...what I said was when these older ship were built they WEREN'T. I'm assuming that if they want to appeal to families all future ships will have even more amenities for children.

The bottom line is that Disney is obviously MOSTLY geared for families while the other lines have some amenities for kids, it certainly can't compare to Disney. I think this is because the other cruise lines don't want to become 'Disney Ships'. They want singles/older people and yes, spring breakers ;) on their ships as well.

I do understand that Disney is way more expensive that most other lines, but I don't believe that Carnival or RCI will EVER have their ships geared as much toward kids as Disney.

I have also noticed that Carnival commercials are now showing senior citizens on board their funships as opposed to the marketing over the holidays where they were pushing families.

[crusinmama06]

NOW they are marketing to families...what I said was when these older ship were built they WEREN'T. I'm assuming that if they want to appeal to families all future ships will have more amenities for children.

 

Ohhhh I gotcha. Sorry for the misunderstanding. :o :)

[michaelaz]

I wouldnt have any problem asking a parent to remove their kid and his/her teabag from the pool, if they didnt comply I would ask for a officer.

[MrPete]

On my last Carnival cruise I did exactly that. The "security employee" responds "Well, she's wearing a diaper". :rolleyes:

[crusinmama06]

On my last Carnival cruise I did exactly that. The "security employee" responds "Well, she's wearing a diaper". :rolleyes:

 

No way!!!! :eek:

 

I would have died. What did you say????

[big_duck]

No way!!!! :eek:

 

I would have died. What did you say????

 

I'm sure it was something snarky. :D

[MrPete]

I'm sure it was something snarky. :D

 

Well, she pointed out it was me wearing the diaper. :eek:

 

Same cruise, embarkation day, right as muster starts, there's this kid that obviously crammed his food down too much, or too fast.

 

Next thing, he's throwing up in the adult pool (which obviously he shouldn't have been near, anyway).

 

I go up and tell the "guy in white" that's standing by the bar.

 

His answer? "Did you see how much he threw up?"

 

Another Darwin award candidate.

 

And both times, I just rolled my eyes, cause I knew I was going no where fast.

 

And yes, after muster, the pool was still open.

 

Needless to say, I never went in the pools, but clearly wrote my concerns on my comment card.

 

Then I switched lines.

[nrdsb4]

That doesn't seem environmentally responsible now does it??:confused:

 

Well, I don't know, but the cruise industry as a whole, despite their claims to the contrary, is not the most "environmentally responsible" industry.

 

I read a book once called Cruise Ship Blues: The Underside of the Cruise Ship Industry and it did not paint a pretty picture of how the cruise industry treats the environment. Of course, it's possible that the book shouldn't be taken as Gospel, but if even some of the stuff I read is true, it's fairly depressing.

 

If you'd also like to be depressed, here is a snippet of what the book addresses:

 

http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:MSsB0PcPb6wJ:www.grist.org/advice/books/2003/06/12/you/+cruise+ship+blues&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us&ie=UTF-8

[mrdood]

I'm sure it was something snarky. :D

 

Abso-freaking-lutely... Pete, what was the response, I could use a good laugh?