On our cruise, the kiddie pool was also closed for cleaning - thank goodness
DCL takes such precautions when accidents do occur. When we lived in Atlanta back in 1998 there was a huge E.Coli outbreak as a result of children swallowing water from a contaminated pool. Multiple children became ill and had to be hospitalized and unfortunately resulted in the death of a 2 year old - per "Splash in Safety at Water Parks" article
by Cheryl Sloan Wray:
The E. Coli Danger
The fear of E. coli outbreaks at water parks hit an all-time level in 1998, after the death of a two-year child in Atlanta. That child contracted E. coli after drinking contaminated water from a kiddie pool at White Water Park; the water had been contaminated when another child in diapers had defecated in the pool.
Soon, parents everywhere were scared of taking their children to water parks. Is there a real danger, however, of getting E. coli in such an environment?
Tom Frame, general manager at Battle Creek, Georgia's Full Blast Water Park, says that such instances are very, very rare. "Workers at our park constantly monitor the quality and chlorine in their water by testing several times a day," Frame says. Deedie Dowdle, spokeswoman for White Water park, agrees: "In the 8 to 10 million visitors we've had in the 15 seasons we've been open, we've never had an E. coli contact before."
Because the E. coli virus is rendered inactive and killed by adequate levels of chlorine in pools, your child should be safe in well-regulated pools and water parks.
To ensure your child's safety from E. coli at water parks, there are still some safety precautions you can take:
Learn about the park's safety records. When in doubt, ask! If you have questions or doubts about your local water park's safety records and water-cleaning systems, ask officials about it. If the park is adequately cleaning the pools with the right amount of chlorine, your child should be safe.
If you have a young child, think twice about the visit. Children under three may have problems playing in water areas without having an "accident." Therefore, if your child is not potty-trained, you may want to think twice about letting him or her play in the area. Older children should not have such a problem.
If your child defecates in the water, let an official know. Even though the water should be safe even if a child has an accident in it, you can never be 100% sure. Tell a park official about your child's accident, then let him or her decide if other precautions need to be taken.
Water parks can be a lot of fun for the whole family, but you want to remember that safety and precaution should always come first!
Life is completely unfair at times and a child to pass so young is something I will never understand. Also why kids have to live through so much while others don't is still something I wrestle with. No child should have to suffer like this. This is why this thread touched a nerve. 
