Should Kids Be Allowed in Cruise Hot Tubs? Here’s What Passengers Think

One of the most popular spots on any cruise ship also happens to be one of the most debated – the hot tubs!

They’re the perfect place to unwind and watch the world drift by, but there’s a catch: there are never enough for everyone. While huge ships like Arvia and Iona boast up to 16 hot tubs, many older vessels have just a couple – which makes sharing tricky.

And that’s where the controversy bubbles up. Should kids be allowed in cruise ship hot tubs, or should they be adults-only?

I asked my Facebook community what they think – and the results were surprisingly divided!

It’s a Fairly Strong “Yes, Ban Them”…

There’s a clear majority of cruise guests who feel that kids shouldn’t be allowed to use the hot tubs on cruise ships.

66% of people I asked said that kids should be banned, and they gave lots of reasons to back that up…

1. “It’s Not Safe”

Some people are concerned from a safety perspective, especially with younger children. Some hot tubs may not be safe for younger kids to use. One cruiser argued that “their bodies are not mature enough to regulate heat”.

This will depend on the ship and the hot tub – some might have rules about certain ages being banned already for this reason. However, in my experience, I’ve never known a cruise ship hot tub to be actually ‘hot’. Most are just warm whirlpools.

According to the Institute of Health Visiting, a baby’s bath should be 37°C to 38°C, which is actually a lot warmer than a cruise ship jacuzzi.

When we’ve stayed in holiday cottages that have hot jacuzzis that go as high as 40°C, the kids will sit on the side with their feet in. They just don’t like to go in water that’s too hot for them.

2. “Kids Don’t Know How to Behave”

Behaviour is another biggie. One cruiser said “It’s the behaviour of some kids that is the problem”

Another pointed out that they avoid the main pool deck because there are “way too many kids playing in the hot tubs, jumping and splashing – not what hot tubs are for”.

Of course, nobody should ever be splashing anyone with water without their consent; it’s just rude.

Suggested read: The 8 Most Annoying Cruise Habits (According to Fellow Passengers)

3. “Kids Make Hot Tubs Overcrowded”

And then there’s the issue of overcrowding, with one person saying, “I have been on many cruises in school holidays and can’t get near a hot tub because there are 25 kids in there almost constantly!”

I sympathise with this. I’ve also been on adult-only cruises and not been able to go in the hot tub because it’s constantly full to capacity. So perhaps this isn’t to do with the age of the hot tub users? Just a problem with supply and demand?

4. “Kids Spread Germs”

One person spoke about how kids made the hot tubs unhealthy for other guests, and also put themselves at risk due to the germs from other people, especially as they had seen “lots of kids put their faces underwater” in the hot tubs.

5. “Kids Should Be Supervised”

You should always be careful with kids around the pool area because, while most cruise guests are fine, you can’t trust everyone. As one cruiser pointed out, “There was once a guy caught on a Carnival ship around the pool area with no bathing suit on – just a towel.”

He didn’t get into the hot tub (as the cruiser originally thought), but he was hanging around near the kids. So just make sure you’re always supervising and looking out for creepy folk! You never know when there might be one.

Not Everyone Feels the Same…

There were still plenty of cruisers who felt that kids shouldn’t be automatically banned from hot tubs – while a minority, it wasn’t just a handful of voices.

“Kids are people too and should be able to have fun and be respectful at the same time”, was the response of one cruiser, who felt that banning kids from hot tubs wouldn’t be fair, as long as they were using them appropriately.

Another said, “My daughter is not childish when in public; she behaves and chats with other cruisers, and I don’t believe she should miss out just because of her age”.

Adult supervision was mentioned often – “don’t ban them, but they should have an adult with them” being just one example.

While several cruisers felt kids should be allowed to enjoy the hot tubs, it was unsupervised children that caused the most concern.

There were some unique cases too, such as one person who said, “My daughter has a disability and can’t tolerate the child water in the main pool; she usually uses hydrotherapy pools, so the hot tub is lovely for her.”

Adults-Only Limits Must Be Enforced

It’s clear from the responses that one of the biggest problems with hot tubs is when kids are allowed to use those that are designated for adults only.

Cruise lines set aside some areas of a ship for adults to enjoy away from the kids, and they should be enforcing those rules, but it seems like they aren’t, with entitled parents ignoring any signs or warnings.

One person even said, “It’s why I won’t cruise again. Awful experience – brats all of them. P&O fault for not enforcing the rules.”

The only cruise line I’ve ever seen actually ask kids to leave the hot tubs was Marella Cruises. I’ve seen plenty where, even when there’s signage saying kids aren’t allowed, nobody enforces it.

Best of the Rest of the Comments…

There were several other responses that maybe didn’t directly answer the question, but I didn’t want you to miss out!

Several said that the problem with hot tubs wasn’t anything to do with kids but was instead all about the adults.

Some of the comments were things like “adults, please don’t have sex in the hot tub” or how irritating the “hogs that mark the hot tubs all day” are.

A few people also touched on people who drink in the hot tubs, risking spillages or perhaps even worse, as one person put it, “I watched a guy drink a bucket of beers once and not once did he get out of the tub. Iron bladder or…”

One cruiser commented on watching a woman have an actual bath in a hot tub, full-on washing herself!

And some people said that hot tubs should just be banned outright due to being an absolute germ-fest, with one person describing them as “vile and often like a human soup”. A nice thought to end on!

Here’s What I Think!

My own view (as a ‘cruise mummy’!) is that kids should be allowed in the hot tubs, as long as they’re behaving properly and are supervised by adults. However, there should also be an option for adults to enjoy the hot tubs without kids when they want to.

These could be the hot tubs in the adults-only areas of the ship (which could then be hotter, since there isn’t the concern about the safety of the temperature for kids), or it might just be certain times of the day that hot tubs are reserved for adults, maybe before 9 am and after 7 pm?

Of course, this would rely on cruise lines enforcing it, which they aren’t always the most reliable at. They set the rules, but then will sometimes let things slide to avoid confronting guests if they feel like nobody else is concerned, and it’s not a safety risk.

So, if you see someone breaking the rules and having kids in an adults-only hot tub, don’t be ashamed of having a quiet word with the crew and asking them to resolve it. If you are polite, then they’ll definitely handle it for you.

Related Posts:

• The 12 Best Adult-Only Cruises
• Cruise Kids Club Age Groupings Guide
• These Royal Caribbean Cruise Ships Are The Best For Kids