If you’ve ever looked into the history of the famous ocean liner the Titanic you may be wondering if the ship had a swimming pool. Modern cruise ships usually have multiple.
At the time of Titanic’s launch, she was the largest passenger ship ever built and incredibly modern by ship standards. She had many amenities onboard that are 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 portion of the day where men were able to 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 very much a novel idea but enjoyed by many. It was a symbol of the luxury that could be found onboard the ship.
Below is an artist’s rendition of the swimming pool shared by White Star Line prior to 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 it was 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.
Fun fact: Titanic’s swimming pool is behind one of the watertight bulkheads on the ship, so while explorers currently cannot access it, they theorize 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. Many areas were for first-class guests only.
Did Titanic’s Swimming Pool Cost Anything to Use?
To swim in the pool on the Titanic would cost around $0.25 per person, 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 as these guests weren’t paying so wouldn’t get the bathing suit! Hopefully, they had their own, I guess we will never know.
No mixed-gender swimming allowed.
Fun Fact: 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 was enjoyable for all ages, and indeed some of our earliest films depict children at the shore playing in ways almost exactly like today, 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:
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 were 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. Olympic was built along side the Titanic but was actually slightly older.
Below is a photo of her swimming pool where you can better see the changing rooms on the side. The only noticeable difference between the swimming pool of the Titanic and the Olympic is the positioning of the clock.
The following video shows a rendering of what the Titanic’s swimming pool would have looked like:
In addition to having a swimming pool onboard, the Titanic also had electricity throughout the ship, which was incredible for the time.
To Conclude:
The Titanic did have a swimming pool. At the time the swimming pool was a novelty and symbolized the Titanic’s luxurious nature.
The swimming pool was only available to first-class guests, men and women were not able to swim at the same time and there was usually a charge to use the pool.
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