Think Twice Before Making This Assumption About Your Cruise Ship Vacation

When you think of cruising the open ocean, one of the first things that comes to mind is the fantastic water views. A natural assumption when it comes to a vacation surrounded by water would be that you'd end up doing a fair share of swimming, or, at the very least, taking refreshing dips to cool off from the hot sun. What you may not realize is that booking a cruise is far from your best option if swimming is important to you.

Here's the hard truth: Once you board the ship, you probably won't be doing very much swimming. The size of the pools on board will often be small and shallow (typically no deeper than 5 or 6 feet), making it impossible to do any kind of jumping or diving, and unless your cruise ship has a dedicated lap pool, don't count on there being enough space for any real exercise. The pool decks will be crowded with your fellow cruisers, and lounge chairs are often available on a first come, first served basis only, making it difficult to secure any long-term relaxation. These can also be dangerous areas, given that people are often unfamiliar with the potentially cramped layout, as well as the unique movement of the ship. Combined with a wet and slippery surface, the likelihood of falls, especially for children or the elderly, increases quite a bit.

So why is the size of cruise ship pools disproportionate to the thousands of people who will be on board? While there are more than a few disturbing cruise ship design secrets, one of the very biggest may be the reason why cruise ship pools are so small. It's not as though cruising companies are unaware of the fact that their pools are one of the main ship attractions, so you're probably thinking, "Why not just make them larger to accommodate the crowds?" Turns out it isn't that simple. Water is heavy, and when you put it on a ship that's out cruising the open ocean, that weight can have a profound impact on the stability of the ship.

The term for this issue is the "free surface effect." When the ship tips to one side, all of the water in the pool will shift to that side as well, causing the ship to tip even further. Unfortunately, this effect is intensified as you go higher on the ship's decks. As nice as it would be to have an Olympic-sized pool on the top deck, such a large pool could add approximately 2,500 tons of weight and would significantly compromise the stability of any water vessel. And while placing the pool lower in the belly of a ship would alleviate some issues, it would present other problems. Interior space is valuable, and air quality inside is more difficult to control. Besides, who wants to swim indoors, in the bottom of a cruise ship? The obvious compromise to this dilemma is what you'll find on most major cruise lines: smaller, shallow pools located on the upper decks where guests can get their daily dose of vitamin D from the shining sun.

There are strategies for making the most of your next cruise, and finding a way to enjoy the limited pool space is an important one. Keeping your expectations in check will help you to avoid disappointment, so when it comes to exercise, it's going to be a better idea to take advantage of the equipment in the gym. Recreational cruise ship pools are often too small and too shallow for laps and are more designed for taking a dip to cool off. That said, many cruise ships do offer fitness classes in designated pools, such as water aerobics, which would be a great option for exercising and keeping cool at the same time.

Something else to keep in mind is your timing. The various pool decks will have times when they tend to be less busy, such as in the morning. If taking a dip away from the crowds is important to you, you may want to consider being an early bird to avoid some of the chaos of the afternoon or evening, when things on board tend to really get into swing. Another time that may be less crowded is when the ship is docked at port. Most passengers will disembark, so if that's not on your to-do list, port days are a perfect time to relax by the cruise ship pool. With these points in mind, there's no reason you can't enjoy the pools on your cruise, but if swimming in a less crowded, less chaotic setting sounds like your ideal vacation, maybe consider that cruising might not be the best option for you.