Art Deco swimming pool of the SS Normandie

13 Beautiful Ocean Liner Swimming Pools

By The Shipyard

There is something about the swimming pools of ocean liners that sends shivers down my spine. Could it be the insurmountable distance from the water to the edge, designed with the benign goal of preventing sloshing, but still evoking that cavernous, menacing feeling? Or the cold, sepulchral vibe of a mausoleum, like the marble-toothed yawn of a dozing sea monster? Or, in my case perhaps, the thrill of colossal machinery rumbling underneath, like the belly of a whale? Whatever it is, here are thirteen photos of the most extravagant swimming pools at sea.

If you spot a ghost in any of them, make sure to drop me a comment below!

1. RMS Olympic, 1910

First Class swimming pool of RMS Olympic, sister ship of RMS Titanic, 1912. Ocean Liner Swimming Pools
First Class swimming pool of RMS Olympic, sister ship of RMS Titanic, 1912 (Credits: John Bernard Walker)

2. RMS Titanic, 1911

Titanic swimming pool on F Deck 9 April 1912
Titanic’s First Class swimming pool on F Deck, 9 April 1912. (Credits: Francis Browne)

3. SS Imperator, 1912

Colorized photo of the Pompeian baths on board the SS Imperator.
Colorized photo of the Pompeian baths on board the SS Imperator. (Source: The Ultimate Imperator)

4. SS Vaterland, 1913

 Swimming pool of the German ocean liner SS Vaterland.
Swimming pool of the German ocean liner SS Vaterland. (Source: National Museum of the US Navy)

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5. SS Cap Polonio, 1914

Swimming pool of the German ocean liner SS Cap Polonio.
Swimming pool of the German ocean liner SS Cap Polonio. (Credits: G. Koppmann & Co. ullstein bild Dtl.)

6. MV Saturnia, 1925

MV Saturnia's Pompeian swimming pool.
MV Saturnia’s Pompeian swimming pool. (Source: Grandi Transatlantici Italiani)

7. SS Conte Grande, 1927

Swimming pool of the Italian ocean liner SS Conte Grande.
Swimming pool of the Italian ocean liner SS Conte Grande. (Source: Lloyd Sabaudo)

8. RMS Empress of Britain, 1930

The Olympian Swimming Pool on board the Empress of the Britain.
Source: Look and Learn
The Olympian Swimming Pool on board the Empress of the Britain.
Source: Chris Crofts Collection GG Archives

The Olympian swimming pool on board the Empress of Britain.

9. MS Georges Philippar, 1930

Swimming Pool of the MS Georges Philippar 
Swimming Pool of the MS Georges Philippar (Source: Archives Municipales de Saint-Nazaire)

10. SS Manhattan, 1931

Swimming pool of the SS Manhattan.
Swimming pool of the SS Manhattan. (GG Archives)

11. SS Normandie, 1932

SS Normandie art deco swimming pool
The Art Deco swimming pool of the SS Normandie. (Credits: Hamon)

12. RMS Queen Mary, 1934

Colorized photo of Swimming pool of the RMS Queen Mary
Swimming pool of the RMS Queen Mary, colorized by Michael Davisson. (Source: The John Barrett Collection / Mary Evans Picture Library)

13. SS United States, 1951

Photo from a 1950s SS United States brochure showing the indoor swimming pool
Photo from a 1950s SS United States brochure. (Source: Marine Cafe)

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