A popular attraction of many cruise ships is the pool. Many cruise ships have at least one pool onboard, but many newer cruise ships have more than one pool. When many cruise ships are going to be cruising through warm temperatures and nice weather the pool is used often compared to cruise ships that travel through cold temperatures, like Alaska.  
        There are some tips to remember if you, your family, and/or friends are going to be using a cruise ship pool. Make sure you always use common sense when you or your loved ones are in or around a pool on a cruise ship. 




Cruise Ship Pools Are Usually Use At Your Own Risk -  Be Careful and Parents Need To Watch Their Children 
         This is one of the most important tips, in my opinion.  Cruise ship pools do not usually have a lifeguard or a cruise member watching the pools. "Use At Your Own Risk" means exactly what it says - if you use this pool and assume all risk and not the cruise line.  If you are cruising with children make sure you keep an eye on them at all times when they are around the pools.  If you are not in the pool with your children you should be close to the pool to watch them. 

In Good Weather and Tropical Destinations The Pools Will Often Be Crowded
         On many Caribbean cruises with good weather, I have noticed the pool areas are always busy.  There are many cruisers that want to swim or stand in the pool.  There are also people that try to get a lounge chair by the pool.  Pool space and lounge chairs can fill up quickly.  If you are wanting to get a lounge chair, by the pool, you will need to probably get to the area in the early to mid morning.  Most cruise lines have policies against chair saving, but the specifics of these policies will vary by cruise line.

Pay Attention To Pool Depth
           Before getting into a pool or hot tub you need to know what the water depth is.  This should be posted somewhere near the pool.  You should also pay attention to this information if you are going to let your children get into the pool too.  Never dive or jump into a pool as most cruise ship pools are not deep enough or large enough for you to do this.  You could severely hurt yourself or someone else while doing this.

What happens if someone has a bodily function accident in the pool?
             The answer to this question varies, depending on the location the ship is.  If a ship is at sea, most likely the crew members will clean the solid human waste (if this was the case) and drain the pool.  The pool would be closed during this process and not get reopened until new water has been pumped into the pool. 
               In most ports of call and homeports cruise ships would clean the waste and drain the pool, but there are many places that have restrictions on cruise ships filling their pools.  Most likely the pool would remain closed for the rest of the day or until the cruise ship is back at sea.  When I was on the Carnival Elation once, the pool got closed in a port of call because a child pooped in the pool.  The pool was closed around 1:00PM and did not open on the same day.  


Report Hurt Passengers and Dangerous Behavior 
                If you see a passenger get hurt in or by the pool you should get them help or help them (if you know what you are doing).  If you see dangerous behavior that could put a person or other people at risk you should report this to a crew member.

        A cruise vacation is what you make of it.  You have the power to make a cruise good one or a bad one, even if the circumstances you are in are tough. If you choose to relax the entire cruise by the pool that is your choice.  If you eat a lot or participate in games and activities that is also your choice.  There are some things that you should consider doing every time you cruise.  You never know what you may learn, discover, or experience, on a cruise and each cruise brings new experiences and opportunities.



1.  Introduce Yourself To Your Stateroom Steward
      Your stateroom stewards will have a lot of people to attend to each cruise and every few days they will meet new people, but introducing and meeting your stateroom will go a long way.  If your stateroom steward knows who you are they may be more inclined to give you better service.  Also if you need something during your cruise you may have to ask your stateroom steward.  If they know who you are they will probably be happier to help you!

2.   Try Something New
       You will have lots of opportunities to try something new on your cruise.  Whether it be an activity or food you should consider trying at least one new thing onboard.  I don't mean something illegal or lacking common sense. Try something that is not going to get you in trouble with the ship or authorities.

3.   Tip The Crew For Their Service
       Some cruise lines set tip guidelines, while others leave tipping at the discretion of the passengers.  Many crew members rely on tips to make their living and appreciate a reward for good service.  If you receive average service you should still consider giving a tip, but maybe not as much as if service were good. If you receive bad service you should use taking away a tip as a last resort. 

4.    Look Outside At Least Once
         There are some people who go on a cruise and stay in their stateroom all day long and watch TV.  Take some time to go outside on deck and look outside at the water.  You may only have one chance to see all of this, so make the best of it!

5.    Take Pictures
         You could bring your own camera and take pictures yourself or have your cruise ship photographers take a professional photo of you that you purchase from the photo gallery.  Pictures are great for cruise memories!

6.     Exercise At Least A Little Each Day
        I hate the word exercise, but you should try to do a little of it each day of the cruise.  This could include using a treadmill, jogging track, or just walking around.  Some people that exercise often may also want to use weight and other gym equipment.  Don't hurt yourself while exercising or make yourself sick, but just do enough that you are comfortable with.

7.     Wash Your Hands Before You Eat
        Cruise ships are not a safe haven from germs.  Germs from land can come aboard with passengers and can be spread at any time.  Before you eat wash your hands with soap and warm water. 

8.     Read Your Ship's Daily Activity Newsletter
         If you want to keep up with the current events on your cruise you should read your ship's daily activity newsletter.  Newsletters like this typically publish all of the times, gathering spots, and activities for the day.  If you want to stay informed this is for you!

9.    Unpack Your Belongings From Your Suitcase
         Living out of a suitcase can be hard, so I recommend taking our your clothes and placing them into drawers and hanging shirts up on clothes hangers.  This will help you throughout the cruise.

10.    Tour Your Cruise Ship
         You have a limited amount of time onboard your cruise ship and if you are adventurous you should consider walking around your cruise ship and learn the layout. 

       If you are getting ready to pick your stateroom, do you know what room you want to pick?  If you pick wrong you could end up with noise coming into room until the early hours of the morning causing you to have trouble falling asleep. This blog post will give some general tips about areas you should avoid when you are given the choice to book a stateroom in a particular area.  If you are getting assigned a stateroom, you have little control over where your room is, but if you get to choose your stateroom it is your responsibility to do some investigating before booking a stateroom.




Don't Choose A Room By, Above, or Below The Galley 
      The galley is the ship's kitchen where meals are prepared for the passengers and crew onboard.  In the early hours of the evening the galley will be a lively place because dinner will be served.  After dinner the galley will become less busy, but there may be noise because of cleaning and preparation for any late night meals. You may hear pots and pans clattering and the crew cleaning the ship.  Noise may not always come from the galley, but there is always a large chance that you will get some noise from the galley.  
        Most likely there will not be any rooms directly beside the galley, but if there are you will probably want to avoid these rooms.  You should look at the decks above and below the galley area and also avoid these staterooms, especially the cabins below the galley as you may get the noise from the floor.  If you have to choose a room from any of these three your best bet would taking a room above the galley.  The best case scenario would be getting a stateroom not around the galley at all.

Don't Choose A Room Around The Main Show Lounge, Nightclubs, Discos, Casino and Popular Bars
         All of the places above are commonly used on major cruise ships at night and noise will most likely be produced from those places until the early morning hours. The Main Show Lounge is usually where production shows (these produce a lot of noise) occur.  Nightclubs, discos, bars, and the casino are usually more popular at night and can produce noise from music or the passengers. 
          Look above and below on the deck plans to see if a potential room could get noise from these.  Hopefully your cruise ship has some soundproofing insulation to try to block noise from these types of places, but you probably will not know until you are onboard.  If you are someone who will be out late into the early hours of the morning, a cabin in this particular area may be great for you because you won't have to worry as much about noise.  However, if you are a light sleeper or go to bed early you will probably want to also avoid these areas.

Around the Atrium of A Ship
           Some cruise ship atriums are quiet places, but there are some cruise ship atriums that can be loud at night too.  Don't book a stateroom that is right by the ship's atrium either because noise can travel.   I personally learned not to book a cabin near the atrium.  Noise from the atrium, if there is any, will most likely last most of the night.  

Stairwell/Elevator Areas on Major Decks:
            The elevator noise will probably not be too much of a problem, but the people that use the stairwells and elevators may be a problem.  This is an area that is less likely to cause noise, but can get noisy at times when people are returning back to their cabins late at night. 

The cabin you choose is up to you and noise situations may be different on every cruise ship.  Choose your cruise ship stateroom with care and after doing research.

This article has been shared by our sister site Daily Cruise Tips (www.dailycruisetips.com).

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