How crowded are the pools?

[jamiepierce1]

We have never been on a Disney cruise (let alone a cruise). How early do we need to get to the pool in order to get a few chairs and how crowded are the pools? We would be going during a non-peak time of year at the end of April. Do they let you hold your chairs if you go to breakfast/lunch?

 

[TXDCLfan]

We have never been on a Disney cruise (let alone a cruise). How early do we need to get to the pool in order to get a few chairs and how crowded are the pools? We would be going during a non-peak time of year at the end of April. Do they let you hold your chairs if you go to breakfast/lunch?

The pools are small.....with that said they are more like people soup

 

[Tiffylv]

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[Sunshine2U]

You don't say if you have young children and need to be right by the pool. There are lounge chairs on the deck overlooking the pool that don't fill up so fast. It's a short walk down to take a dip. The pools can be crowded. My kids did swim team for years so actually being in the pool was not a priority. When they did swim, we did not need to be near.

 

[Archergirl11]

The pools get extremly crowded, and when you first get onto the boat untill about 3, chairs are harder to find. But for the rest of the cruise it is eaisier to find chairs. and dont even get me started on the pools. so many kids, so many. the adults have a nice pool. and in vibe (ages 14-17) they have their own pool, even though it is small, it is nice. Pools are overcrowded, i have only ever been in them once and the young kids seem to enjoy the pools. we go the first week of may, its always full.

 

[Pens Fan]

My son loves to swim. On any other vacation, pool time is a priority. However, on three Disney cruises, he has spent a total of around thirty minutes in the pools. Kid soup!! That being said, the tiny pools in no way diminished our fun. There are so many other things to do. I just wouldn't advise anyone going on a Disney cruise to make swimming in the main pools a priority.

There is a small pool in Vibe on the newer ships, but to me it looked too small to actually swim in. My son said that while they hung out there a lot, there wasn't a lot of swimming going on. Now, the adult pools are really nice, and satellite falls on the Fantasy is just wonderful!!

 

[joannjoe]

Don't go looking to swim all day. They are kids soup!!! Why I have no ideal with all the activities going on and the stop at castaway cay should satisfy any swimming that the kids want to do.

 

[tvguy]

One of the advantages of late seating is the pools tend to thin out during early seating dinner. Just an observation. We never found time to use the pools, too many other things to do on the ship. We did swim/snorkel at Castaway Cay though.

 

[My2Qtz0205]

My kids did not like the pools on the Fantasy--too crowded, and my daughter was jumped on once. They learned to swim at night.

 

[melissarose]

How crowded is the adult Quiet Cove pool??

 

[Weedy]

We have never been on a Disney cruise (let alone a cruise). How early do we need to get to the pool in order to get a few chairs and how crowded are the pools? We would be going during a non-peak time of year at the end of April. Do they let you hold your chairs if you go to breakfast/lunch?

If you are sailing the Dream or Fantasy those ships have 4000 people on board (the ships usually sail full). So even if 1/2 of the people on board are at the family pools that's a lot of people. Just imagine 2000 people by the pool at your favorite Disney resort.

 

[KristiMc]

We don't use the pools on the ships - too crowded. We enjoy all the other activities on board and save swimming for the ports.

 

[over50visits]

We have never been on a Disney cruise (let alone a cruise). How early do we need to get to the pool in order to get a few chairs and how crowded are the pools? We would be going during a non-peak time of year at the end of April. Do they let you hold your chairs if you go to breakfast/lunch?

Very crowded (kids, family). Not crowded at all (adult). Take your pick!

Some folks like to think they can have their chairs sit unused while they go to a meal, but most are kinder than that. Interesting thread about this topic going on right now. Of course, no one is defending reserving a chair when you aren't there using it.

 

[MaleficentRN]

How early do we need to get to the pool in order to get a few chairs and how crowded are the pools? We would be going during a non-peak time of year at the end of April. Do they let you hold your chairs if you go to breakfast/lunch?

There are few chairs around the pools. Many near. Depends on how close you want to be. It's touch and go with saving. Some CM will move your stuff, some wont. Going first thing in the morning and during dinner and the shows are good ways to avoid the crowds.

How crowded is the adult Quiet Cove pool??

Same as with the family pools, it depends on time of day. Morning/ early afternoon, plenty of chairs and space. Before dinner on a port day and during sea day, it's basically packed.

 

[lizzyb]

Pools are tiny therefore very crowded... we always found chairs... not necessarily in the best locations but still found them.

 

[phinz]

The pools are small.....with that said they are more like people soup

My wife and I have always called the family pools, "Kid Soup". Yuck.

 

[wehavesix]

The pools are small.....with that said they are more like people soup

That's exactly what we called the pools! Especially on at sea days. People soup!

 

[BradChristian]

Do the pools clear out any while the ships are in port?

 

[kathleendsm]

On our recent (1/10) Fantasy cruise, the pools were fairly crowded on sea days, but we never had trouble getting seats. If they were too far away, one of us would hang out in teh lounger while the other one sat with the kids in the pool (not comfortable leaving them in there alone, although the lifeguards did a great job).

Now, one evening we decided to come up after early dinner while most people were either at the dinner or the show. We had a beautiful few hours riding the AquaDuck and swimming in nearly deserted pools (one other family was there) while enjoying a movie. I can't recommend that strategy highly enough if you or your kids enjoy swimming!

 

[HookedOnDCL1]

It's great to set your expectations in advance! The pools are the size of a postage stamp. Not much "swimming" to be had there. Just a place to dip in and cool off for a few minutes. We saved our swimming for port days (at the beach or a resort).

We have never had trouble finding a couple of chairs somewhere on deck. You're not supposed to "save" chairs while you go eat, etc.

We haven't had opportunity to use the adult pools but they looked really nice and far less crowded.

The pools will be less crowded on port days, except Nassau where a lot of people stay onboard. On port days, the pools will start to fill up in the afternoon as people return from excursions.

There is plenty to do onboard without swimming - you'll have a blast! Enjoy your cruise!