If you are interested in the history of the most famous Ocean Liner, the Titanic, you may be wondering if the ship had a swimming pool.
Modern cruise ships usually have multiple pools – both inside and outside. Guests of all ages and staying in all cabin types can use the pools.
At the time of Titanic’s launch, she was the largest passenger ship ever built. She was incredibly modern by ship standards of the day.
She had many amenities onboard that were very similar to modern ships.
Did The Titanic Have a Pool?
The Titanic had one swimming pool. It was accessible only to first-class passengers and was located inside the ship on the starboard side of F deck.
There was a charge to use the pool, and women and men were not allowed to bathe at the same time.
There was a time in the day when men could swim for free. Women had no such luxury – and would have to pay whenever they decided to swim!
The Design of Titanic’s Swimming Pool
White Star Line, the builders and owners of Titanic, were the first to put a swimming pool onto a ship. This was on the “Adriatic” launched in 1906.
When Titanic was being designed, it’s no surprise that White Star wanted to improve upon their design. They decided to construct a pool and called it a “swimming bath”.
In 1912 this swimming pool was a novel idea – but was enjoyed by many. It symbolised the luxury that could be found onboard the ship.
Below is an artist’s rendition of the swimming pool shared by White Star Line before the sailing of the Titanic in promotional materials.
How Deep Was The Swimming Pool on The Titanic?
The swimming pool on the Titanic was 6 feet deep. The depth was constant throughout the pool and usually filled up between the 5 and 6 ft mark to allow for some movement.
Titanics Swimming pool was 30ft long, 14ft wide, by modern standards, this was quite a small cruise ship pool. That said, many modern cruise ship pools are quite shallow despite having a larger area.
The bath contained heated seawater. Titanics’ sister ship, the Olympic, had a very similar pool.
Titanic’s swimming pool was behind one of the watertight bulkheads on the ship, so while divers currently cannot access it, they theorise it should still be in pretty good shape!
Who Could Use The Pool on The Titanic?
Only first-class passengers on board the Titanic were permitted to use the swimming pool.
Both men and women were allowed to use the pool, but children were not.
Titanic wasn’t like your modern cruise ship, where passengers in the inside cabins have access to all the same amenities as those with balconies or suites.
Access to areas of the ship was determined entirely by which class you were in. Many areas were for first-class guests only.
Did Titanic’s Swimming Pool Cost Anything to Use?
Swimming in the pool on the Titanic would cost around $0.25 per person, and this price would include a bathing suit.
Adjusted for inflation, this would be around $6. Guests could also use the Turkish baths and swimming pool for a cost of $1 per person, which, adjusted for inflation, is $26.
Guests had to go to the inquiry office on C deck to buy a ticket before being able to go to the swimming pool.
| Genders Allowed to Swim | Cost in 1912 | Cost Adjusted for Inflation | |
| 6am-9am | Men Only | Free | – |
| 10am-1pm | Women Only | $0.25 | $6 |
| 2pm-6pm | Men Only | $0.25 | $6 |
Men could enjoy the swimming pool for free between the hours of 6 am-9 am but would have to pay at any other time.
Women weren’t allowed to swim during this period and would only be able to swim from 10 am-1 pm.
Between the hours of 2 pm and 6 pm men would be allowed to swim again – but would have to pay at this time.
The swimming pool entry fee also came with a free bathing suit. This does raise a few questions for me about what happened during the 6 am-9 am slot. These guests weren’t paying, so they wouldn’t get the bathing suit!
Hopefully, they had their own, I guess we will never know.
No mixed-gender swimming allowed.
Colonel Archibald Gracie, a passenger onboard the Titanic, took a swim almost 24 hours exactly before the ship sank. He reported that the warm salt water was quite invigorating.
He was planning on swimming again the next morning. Luckily, he did survive the sinking of the Titanic by clutching to one of the collapsible lifeboats until he was rescued.
Was Titanic’s Swimming Pool Adult Only?
The Titanic’s pool was always adult-only. Attitudes towards swimming/bathing were quite different in 1912 when the Titanic set sail.
While the beach is enjoyable for all ages – and indeed, some of the earliest films depict children at the shoreline playing – pools or baths were, for a long time, exclusively adult activities.
What Was Titanic’s Swimming Pool Filled With?
The Titanic’s swimming pool was filled with heated saltwater.
Most modern cruise ship swimming pools are also filled with saltwater, but modern swimming pool water on cruise ships also includes chemicals such as chlorine.
To learn more about how the Titanic compared to modern cruise ships, check out this post:
Titanic vs a Modern Cruise Ship Fleet – Comparison with Photos!
The larger newer cruise ships being built at present often include freshwater swimming pools, however, saltwater is still the most common.
It isn’t uncommon to have cruise ships with some pools and freshwater and some saltwater.
To learn more about this, including why freshwater is sometimes preferred, check out this post:
Which Cruise Ship Pools are Saltwater? – Cruise Line Guide
Did Titanic’s Sister Ship, Olympic, Have a Swimming Pool?
The Titanic had a sister ship called the Olympic. The Olympic was built alongside the Titanic but was launched the year before.
Below is a photo of her swimming pool. You can see the changing rooms on the sides.
The only noticeable difference between the swimming pool of the Titanic and the Olympic was the positioning of the clock.
The following video shows a rendering of what the Titanic’s swimming pool would have looked like:
Before You Go
In addition to having a swimming pool onboard, the Titanic also had electricity throughout the ship, which was incredible for the time. Find out more about that here:
The Titanic and Electricity – How Did They Generate it and What Was it For?
Find out the big differences between Ocean Liners and modern-day cruise ships here:
Cruise Ships vs Ocean Liners – Measurable Differences You Need to Know
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