Scary situation on ryndam today

[OCruisers]

Traveling with my twin 10 yr old sons and elderly parents. Today at maya chan in costa maya I cut my foot badly and was having trouble walking back to the ship. While walking through the shopping area one of my sons wanted to look in a shop and while hobbling after him lost my other son in the crowd. With difficulty walking, I did a few laps around the stores but could not find him. I decided to go to the ship and see if he had checked himself back into the ship thinking we were there. When I entered the gangway, I explained (politely) that I could not find my son and needed them to check if he had checked in and was on board. The gentleman said I should move to the side and he'd check once he had checked in people entering on the gangway. I stepped aside, and after spending 2-3 minutes watching person after person come on and getting more and more frantic with worry, I asked if there was anyone else who could check. He begrudgingly finally sent me over to his "boss" who was checking people out on the other side. When he finally did check, it took maybe 30 seconds to tell me, thank goodness yes my son was on board.

 

I'm sorry, but I really feel that if it only took 30 seconds, the first man should have just said to the oncoming guests, "one moment please." Anyone with children will tell you that not knowing your child's welfare for even a few minutes is excruciating.

 

When I informed the front desk of this delay in assisting me in finding a lost child, the guest relations officer Enrique stated "what is the problem? You were assisted and you found him." I explained to him that when a child is missing, that should be an immediate priority. Not waiting until they check in everyone getting on. In a mall when a child is missing, they shut everything down and lock the doors. All I wanted was for the man to take 30 seconds and see if he was on board. I wasn't reporting a lost wallet, I was reporting a lost child.

 

You can flame me all you want, but all I'm trying to get at is that perhaps they need to look at their procedures and tweak how they respond to a lost child emergency. Asking people to wait 30 seconds to board would have really helped the situation, especially if heaven forbid he wasn't on board. Imagine what could have happened in the time I was waiting for them to check.

 

:eek: How HORRIBLE for you!

 

Always, a missing child should be the immediate priority!

 

LuLu

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[Seago2]

No flaming from me here either!!

 

But, I am wondering if the Security gentleman did not realize you meant your other son.............

 

Did you have the one son with you who had not left side when you asked for his help??

 

I ask because MAYBE, just Maybe, the Security Officer did not realize that you had 2 sons and one was missing. If he tho9ught you were just telling him that your son was missing and he looked and saw your sone next to you, then...........

 

Hope that makes sense to you. This whole thing just kept going over and over in my head a I was loading dishes into the dishwasher and I was trying to figure out what might have been understood or misunderstood......

 

Joanie

 

True, Joanie! If they're completely identical!

[Vict0riann]

How frightening! At the first mention of a missing child, everything should have come to a screaming halt until he was located!

[mtnmommy]

Complete foul-up on HAL's part. Contact Seattle so they are aware that correct procedure was not followed. We cruise extensively on HAL with our kids. My daughter is of a different race than us, and when we leave or re-board the ship, they always ask her if we are her parents. HAL should not have allowed a 10-year-old boy to board on his own.

 

Also, even well-behaved, intelligent and well-traveled preteen boys can aimlessly wander off during one of their all too frequent periods of brain lapse. (This is what is known as the "There is something wrong with that boy" period of child development. Can't imagine with twins!) In our foreign travel, I would clench my younger daughter's hand tightly in crowds, but I had to keep my eyes trained on The Boy as he seemed totally oblivious at times.

 

OP, so glad this terrifying experience worked out OK. My kid is 13 now--it gets better.

[brazilgirl]

Obviously the guy screwed up and should have immediately stopped checking in other adults to check to see if your child was aboard. People who have subtly not agreed- this is a CHILD, people. He could have fallen in the drink, gotten lost, headed in the other direction- and here's Mom with a cut foot holding on to her other kid. How much time did it take to lift a finger and move it over three inches and click on a keyboard and see if the kid swiped in??? And what should they have done if the child hadn't checked in? Radioed port authority and sounded the proverbial alarm. You can't move too fast with a child.

 

People. Don't even try to highlight any part of her post to show that she is somehow at fault. She's hobbling along, her kid is ten- not three or six- and he's looking at something, and they are generally moving towards the ship, and boom- kid gone. Happens to me every trip but ten seconds later the kid is right next to me again.

 

Thank god your kid is fine and tell him never to do that again. Say a prayer of thanks when you look off the railing tonight! Peace!

 

 

Great post!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[OCruisers]

No HAL pax I've ever met would not have wanted you to go in front of them to check on your missing son ... and have been worried too!

 

No excuse whatsoever for the way you were treated! :mad:

 

LuLu

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[Kathie859]

As a member of the "Holy moly, I lost a kid" club, you'll get no flames from me!

I'm a little surprised that upon hearing that your child wasn't accounted for, the HAL rep didn't make locating him a priority. A little disconcerting.....

 

Glad all is well now.

[sapete]

They messed this one up! It would be interesting to hear Copper 10-8's take on this but issues might prevent him.

[Big Dawg CC]

HAL should not have allowed a 10-year-old boy to board on his own.

 

Agreed. We've been on 13 HAL cruises with our two daughters, starting when they were just 5 and 6. They are now 15 and 14. They have never been permitted to board the ship without one of us being with them.

[sail7seas]

Agreed. We've been on 13 HAL cruises with our two daughters, starting when they were just 5 and 6. They are now 15 and 14. They have never been permitted to board the ship without one of us being with them.

 

 

I'm trying to grasp how it operates boarding the ship for children.

 

So...... if one of the children returned to the ship alone, security would turn them away? Tell them they can't board and then what??? Go roam off somewhere on their own? How dangerous is that?!!

 

Surely they would keep the child in their care until parents/guardians came looking for them? I can't imagine they would permit the child to leave the gangway. No?

[Boytjie]

True, Joanie! If they're completely identical!

 

That would only relevant after the security officer checked the picture; Joanie is describing a very possible misunderstanding BEFORE the system was checked to see if the son boarded.

 

What puzzles me a bit is that the OP had an injured foot but the son wanted to go shopping. I think that is a time where the parent should say "no, I need to take care of my injury and we are boarding the ship now".

 

I am glad that your foot is not too serious and that your son was found - and yes, HAL needs to review its procedures.

[Fla Mike]

How frightening! At the first mention of a missing child, everything should have come to a screaming halt until he was located!

 

I agree, there is nothing worse for a parent than a child missing.

 

Our 6 year old daughter went missing in a department store , and that feeling of panic and helplessness cannot be described.

 

Luckily, all turned out well as she was found in the toy department, although security and us looked there many times.

 

Glad for the happy ending.

[1of4]

And I certainly hope that should there not have been a long line, a ten year old child trying to board or exit the ship on his own would be told to wait there for his parents!

 

I would have thought that was normal procedure. Knowing it is not is truly frightening!!!! A chair at security would suffice and the child told to sit and wait for a parent.

 

This is the type of situation that gives us parents nightmares. I agree with everyone else who said HAL should have haulted everything to ensure your son was found. I can't imagine how you held it together as I would have been in a blind panic.

 

I now will add another item to our security talk!

[DFD1]

HAL handled this poorly.

 

We had an unsatisfactory experience with Enrique, on the front desk, during our Ryndam cruise. He does not seem to show much empathy. Perhaps he has become a bit "jaded".

 

IMO

[sammygoose]

I'm glad that your son was found ok and your foot wasn't too serious. I can sympathize with the difficult and stressful situation your were put in. No flames here. I know that as a fellow passenger I'd have absolutely no problem waiting for a crew member to assist you, in fact if he wasn't found I'd gladly help you find him. I'm sure most would say that- there you are frantic and bleeding. Where else do we need to be?

I think HAL failed you from a compassion standpoint for not making the attempt to even portray that they cared about you or your child's welfare. There should have been an all stop when you sounded the alarm and if that child was not on board then there was no reason not to commandeer a couple of crew members to accompany you on a search. Security is just that to make people feel secure. You were not secure. They had a real chance to shine here and dropped the ball big time.

[Two@Sea]

Wait thirty seconds to check if a lost child had boarded the ship? OP, most of us would have waited three hours if necessary! (Personally, I would have stopped the line of returning passengers myself...probably rather loudly).

 

Glad all turned out well, and sincerely hope the wandering twin has learned a valuable lesson.

[sppunk]

That is terrifying, glad he was safe and I hope your foot heals quickly!

 

I wonder if this in part could be a language/even culture barrier problem? That is NO! excuse, but could see where and how a non-English speaker might have trouble interpreting a panicked mother. Scary stuff.

[sail7seas]

That is terrifying, glad he was safe and I hope your foot heals quickly!

 

I wonder if this in part could be a language/even culture barrier problem? That is NO! excuse, but could see where and how a non-English speaker might have trouble interpreting a panicked mother. Scary stuff.

 

 

Not saying it is right or even that it happened but do you suppose that security person knew the boy was safely aboard as he had scanned him on? Or remember seeing him? Possible he knew there was no emergency though he should not have put parent though that anguish....

 

IF, IF that is the case.

 

[CruisingSwedes]

What a scary story and sorry you had to go through that.

 

I think you should find out who the employee was that let him on board without a parent. That person needs to know that kids are not allowed on or off without a parent before he lets some child off next time!

 

And of course the employee that made you wait!!! My heart would have been pounding through my chest!

 

I've never cruised with HAL but am glad to read here that they have the same requirements as the lines I've been on - even though they weren't followed in your case. We've always been checked when leaving and boarding with our children.

 

Glad things ended well for you and hope the employees are identified and trained so it doesn't happen to anyone else!

[legalslave]

I completely know the fear and panic you were feeling when you could not find your son. No, it is not HAL's respnsibility but I feel they should do all they can to assist in locating a missing child. Not only would I have let them delay me to check and see if your son boarded, I would have helped you look for him if he hadn't! I am a former 911 communications operator, a mother and a grandmother. Looking for a missing child should not be delayed even 1 second! I am so relieved to know this had a happy ending. Hope your foot is on the mend!

 

Diane

[catl331]

had the same problem at Disney once. We were way out into the park and my 5 yr old wandered away. They told me I had to go to the front gate of Magic Kingdom and make a report. Found her by myself. She was standing angrily at the teacups wondering why it took us so long to get there.

[stlouistravelers]

I sure hope HAL is reading this and addressing this lack of protocol/understanding with all employees. Losing a child is a sick and scary feeling.

[Wakepatrol]

They messed this one up! It would be interesting to hear Copper 10-8's take on this but issues might prevent him.

 

 

Then why ask?:rolleyes:

[candbgirl]

It amazes me the number of people that are putting the onus on the mom in this situation either covertly or overtly. Obviously you have never been in the situation of misplacing a child. And the "good" idea expressed by someone that just maybe the guy didn't know she had 2 sons is just stupid. If that was the case, why in the heck would she be standing off to the side waiting for help. She would have gone on up to her cabin. It is fine to be cheerleaders for HAL but have some compassion for a mom in a horrible situation.

[fredflint]

to be honest I find it odd they let a 10 yr old back on the ship alone, unless they thought he was with another adult group, usually 10 yr olds can't leave alone so why should they be able to come back?