Cruise ship outrage after parent refuses to abide by controversial pool rule

Guests hoping to spend a day by the pool on board a popular cruise ship had their plans ruined by a "code brown" which forced the facility to be drained and closed off.

An Aussie travel enthusiast onboard the P&O Cruise had planned to spend her day poolside in the sun before she was left bitterly disappointed, along with other passengers.

She said a child had forced the pool's closure after a "code brown" – a term used when faecal matter contaminates a swimming pool.

"The incident happened Saturday night, so [the] pool was drained then closed for all of Sunday as well," the woman told Yahoo News Australia.

The traveller also claimed she "saw lots of kids wearing swim nappies and no one stopped them".

She shared a photo of the closed pool with its netted cover on and a child's swimming nappy resting on a lounger, lamenting the presence of children at the pool who were not "toilet trained".

"And this folks, is why they don't allow kids who aren't toilet trained in the pools. There were so many little kids in there the whole time," she added.

Dirty incident prompts debate

The woman's experience has prompted debate over correct swimming etiquette when it comes to children onboard cruises and in public pools in general.

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A spokeswoman for Carnival Cruises, who own P&O, confirmed to Yahoo News Australia that children who are not toilet trained cannot use pools or spas.

"On P&O Cruises any child using the pools must be supervised by a parent/guardian at all times," she said.

"For public safety reasons, children in nappies (including swim nappies) and children who are not toilet trained are not permitted in the public swimming pools and spas."

Aussies empathise with child's parents

Online, many other cruising enthusiasts shared their frustration after facing similar experiences of their own, though a number of others also showed empathy to the child's parents, citing the fact adults have been known to "pee in the pool too".

"I go on cruises, I sun-bake and swim in the ocean once we get to a beach, I refuse to swim in the pools or sit in the spas on the ship," a woman said. "If it’s not kids crapping in them, it’s drunk adults puking in them."

"I reckon all boats should have a little splash area for non toilet trained kids. Then this would happen less often surely?" said another. "When we cruised the pool was closed twice due to adults vomiting in the pool, so not always kids to be blamed," another said.

"How many wees and poos do you think happen in your public pool and the beach everyday," wrote a fourth.

"Frustrating — I get it, but there are a couple of other pools so just go to another one, or, if it's that much of a problem say something to the parent so you can get your point across, just incase they don't see your post here today."

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