Why cruise ship pools are cold
Dipping your toe into a cruise ship pool and finding it ice cold is a common experience that stops many passengers from swimming for the entire cruise, but there's a specific reason cruise ship pools feel so cold, and it has nothing to do with the ship not heating the water properly. Understanding why the temperature fluctuates and what to do about it can transform your pool experience.
TravelHost's Come Cruise With Me Editor in Chief Daniel Kline and his travel agent partner, Postcard Travel Planning's Dennis Post, recently got into a freezing pool on Carnival Celebration and explain why sticking it out was absolutely worth it in the video below.
A full transcript follows below.
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Learn why pools feel chilly at first and why you should get in anyway.
Transcript:
Dan Kline: Hey there cruisers! I am Dan Kline, editor-in-chief of Travel Host. Next to me is Dennis Post, our travel agent partner for PostCard Travel Planning. We are on the 17th deck of Carnival Celebration. It's the princess ship behind us. We are leaving Aruba. We are right outside Guy Fieri's burgers. There is a lot to see here, but we were in Aruba today.
We had a little work to do, so we didn't get off the ship. But we got to do something that, I think people make this mistake a lot. So Dennis, we got into the pool and what was your first reaction?
Dennis Post: Cold. Yeah.
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Kline: Very cold. I think a lot of people put their toe in the pool on a cruise ship and go, oh my God, this is cold.
And then they don't want to get in again. The reality is they change the water in the pools most nights, maybe more than once a night. Or once a day, if it's a family pool or if it's a pool for all ages, for obvious reasons. But this is one of those things where people are going to tell you what's good for you.
Nobody ever wants to believe that. But get in. Get in quickly if you can. It will warm up. It will be lovely. We spent probably 45 minutes at the pool. And it sounds silly, but so many people don't use the pools because they have that experience. Dennis, anything to add?
Post: Yeah, we are in Aruba today. That's Aruba right there.
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And most people got off the ship and they should get off the ship. It's true. We've just been here several times. Today, the pool deck, empty. Plenty of room, lots of fun. We enjoyed ourselves.
Kline: Yeah. It's one of those pieces of advice people don't give you. If you're in a port you've been to- Maybe you came to Aruba with your family.
You've been here for a week before. Stay in the ship. Not everything will be open, but a lot of things were open and everything was empty.
I am Dan Kline. He is Dennis Post. Come cruise with us soon.
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Make a free appointment with Come Cruise With Me's Travel Agent Partner, Postcard Travel, or email Amy Post at amypost@postcardtravelplanning.com or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
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This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 4:26 AM.