On a cruise, there’s nothing more luxurious than having your own private hot tub. While there are whirlpools sprinkled all around the pool decks on the ship, they are typically full of other passengers, leaving you sharing an intimate space with strangers.
However, some of the highest-end cabins on the ship have balconies that include a hot tub. Passengers staying in these rooms can soak and take in the view anytime they want, without having to worry about people they don’t know getting in.
But it now appears that a number of cruise passengers fortunate enough to have a cabin with a private hot tub were also sickened by them. This comes from a recent analysis by the CDC.
12 Cases of Legionnaires Disease Across Two Cruise Ships
According to the CDC, from November 2022 through June 2004, they were notified of 12 cases of Legionnaires disease from travelers on two unnamed cruise ships.
Legionnaires disease is a severe form of pneumonia. Symptoms can include headache, muscle aches, and fever of up to 104 degrees at first, before moving onto cough, nausea, and chest pain.
The first ship (dubbed Cruise Ship A by the CDC) saw five cases in November 2022 and then additional cases in summer 2023 and spring 2024. Of the eight total cases, six people were hospitalized.
In response to the cases, the CDC reviewed hundreds of water samples tested for the bacteria that causes Legionnaires disease. They found only a single instance that was then addressed. But when cases popped up again, this time among passengers with a private hot tub balcony, the CDC asked that all 10 private hot tubs on the ship be closed and sampled. These hot tubs had not been previously checked.
Of those 10 samples, the Legionella bacteria was detected in six.
The second ship (Cruise Ship B) saw an outbreak earlier this year. In this case, four passengers were exposed and all four were hospitalized. Samples of all eight of the private hot tubs on the ship were found to test positive for Legionella. One other location in the ship’s water system also tested positive.
In response to the outbreaks, the cruise lines took steps to maintain the tubs differently as they were found to be conducive to growth of the bacteria causing Legionnaires disease.
According to the health agency, “private hot tubs are not required to have automated continuous disinfectant dosing and monitoring or pH monitoring, as is standard for public hot tubs. To meet CDC requirements, private hot tubs must only be shock-chlorinated, drained, and refilled weekly or between occupancies, whichever is sooner.”
The CDC also acknowledged that the cruise lines met health requirements for the private hot tubs, but that “these measures were insufficient to prevent Legionella growth.”
Are Private Hot Tubs Safe?
So if you’re sailing on an upcoming cruise, what actions should you take?
First, note that these cases are thought to be linked to private hot tubs. Public whirlpools like those found around pool decks on the ship weren’t affected. According to the CDC, the private hot tubs are “subject to less stringent operating requirements” than public ones. So if you like to soak in the public tubs, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about from this report.
As well, given this report and the outbreaks of cases, you should expect that cruise lines will be more diligent in testing and adjusting the protocol to keep these tubs clean. With the two ships in question both made changes where “heating elements were removed; tubs were only filled upon guest request, drained between uses, and cleaned and disinfected more frequently.”
In other words, definitely be aware, but we’d suggest against being wary.
