Hidden pools and hot tubs on cruise ships
While hundreds of passengers fight for space around the main pool, there are often quieter pools and hot tubs tucked away in locations most cruisers never discover. These hidden swimming areas can be found on various cruise lines, but you won't stumble upon them by accident. You need to do your homework before sailing and know exactly where to look.
TravelHost's Come Cruise With Me Editor in Chief Daniel Kline and his travel agent partner, Postcard Travel Planning's Dennis Post, recently spent their day at a hidden pool on Carnival Celebration that most passengers didn't even know existed and share how to find similar spots on other ships in the video below.
A full transcript follows below.
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Some hidden pools are booked out before the cruise even sails.
Transcript:
Dan Kline: Hey there cruisers. I am Dan Kline. He is Dennis Post. We are joining you from the deck of the Carnival Celebration. It is very windy. It is very sunny. Well, we want to talk about something most people don't know.
Dennis, we were in a pool today on the back of deck eight, sort of behind Guy Fieri's barbecue restaurant. You wouldn't know that pool was there if you didn't do your homework. Is this pretty typical on cruise lines?
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Dennis Post: It is. Especially finding the adult pools. Adult only like the pool deck in the back. Everybody ends up at- gravitates to the main pool, but there's a lot of other options.
Kline: It really depends on the ship you're on. So MSC Seaside and Seashore, sister ships, have hidden hot tubs and pools all over the place. Some of the Celebrity ships have hot tubs that you could see and getting to them was a challenge. But a lot of ships have like a random pool that you wouldn't know where it was.
So one of the things I recommend you do before you go on a cruise is check out the map, check out the pool deck and sort of check out everything and sort of go "Wait, there's a pool there. Oh no, that's just for people who are in this club," or whatever it might be.
You might find something like the Vibe Beach Club on Norwegian, which is an extra fee, but on the ones where it has a pool, it might be worth the extra fee. Except, Dennis, you can book those. How quickly do those sell out?
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Post: They sell out on Norwegian cruises. The Vibe Beach club is gone before the cruise even sails. Yeah, you got to do it early.
Kline: This cruise you could pay extra for a habana cabana. Havana cabana. That is hard to say, but that was thousands of dollars. That gives you access to the cabana area, which is a suite area, but without having to get the suite. So it still might be a value.
So you want to look at all the places on the ship and know: I can go there. I can't go there. I could buy access to there. Because there might be a hidden gem like the pool we spent our day in, or at least part of our day in today.
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 29, 2026 at 9:42 AM.