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Have this fear of kids falling overboard...


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We are sailing on the Mariner of the Seas on 4th of July, balcony room...first cruise for us with kids...I have this recurring thought of my youngest son (5 yrs old) climbing up on a rail and falling overboard..particularly from our room when mom and dad might still be asleep...

 

Am I being totally irrational and unrealistic? My youngest surprises me sometimes with his antics...I would think he would listen and understand the dangers...anyone else with young children have these fears? How do you experienced cruisers handle kids of this age (especially boys)?

 

Due to sail on Mariner of the Seas 7/4/04

La Palma - sometime in Spring 1993

MS Romanza - 8/8/87-8/16/87

 

[This message was edited by rthiebes on 04-14-04 at 06:55 PM.]

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I have these same worries. I would love a balcony, but I keep coming back to the thought, what if my kids started rough housing in the room and started fighting with each other and one of them fell overboard. I book inside cabins.

 

I also don't let my kids go outside at night on the public decks. Just in case.

 

Mariner of the Seas 02/08/04

Navigator of the Seas 01-2003

 

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Small heads won't fit through any of the railings that I have seen, but the climbing could be a problem.

 

Have a great and safe cruise.

 

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The sliding door locks are very high for a reason, just like you find high door knobs in many pediatrician's exam rooms just so the kids can't reach. To boot, they are so darn hard to maneuver into the unlock position, it would take some strenght that little ones don't easily have. My guess is he'd have to stand on a chair in your cabin for leverage at a minimum to open the door to get out on the balcony.

 

You are not irrational, you are clearly thinking about obvious potential events that can occur without the careful and concerned eye of a parent. icon_wink.gif

 

Keep the door locked and only allow them to go on the balcony only when you are there. The balcony has at least two chairs and a table and climbing up on the chairs and the hanging over the balcony thing is not what you want.

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Having four of our own (all grown now), I totally understand your concerns. One thing you might do is bring the chairs and little table inside when you are sleeping. Climbing up and over might be too dificult for a five year old without something to stand on unless he is very tall for his age.

 

Chuck & Phyllis

 

 

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We have taken our extremely active now 7 year old son on 3 cruises - one with a balcony. I was quite worried about the balcony. As it turned out, he was so bushed from daytime and evening activities that he fell sound asleep at 10:15 each night and didn't budge until we woke him up in the morning. We enjoyed the balcony because that is where we stayed after he went to sleep. He could not open the door on his own because it was indeed very hard to do. He was never allowed on the balcony alone. He, however, is an only child.

Who knows what it would have been like with siblings. He was fine on the Promenade Deck and other public railings. I do think that you are right to be cautious. You might want to consider connecting inside cabins.

 

Barbara

4 RCI cruises down

3 20O4 RCI cruises booked

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Had the same worries so I always book inside when with the kids that way I enjoy my cruise but.. last cruise we were upgraded to an awesome aft balcony but I was very worried.. even though I had a hard time opening the door and made sure I had stateroom attendent LOCK them at turndown (I still moved the table and chair that was in the room over infront of teh door just to block it and give us time to wake up just in case. But having said that my 4 year old is pretty smart.. very active but smart and he understood that he could not climb as if he fell thatwas it... shark time for him.... so he stayed pretty far from teh balcony anyway.

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We went on our first cruise in Feb with our 3 teenagers. One day while sitting at Dizzy's lounge, sipping a martini, I mentioned to Ganni the Turkish bartender that I would be a nervous wreck bringing younger children on a cruise ship for fear they would fall overboard. His reply was "No worries, it would only take the ship one hour to turn around and pick them right up".

 

Cheers!

 

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LOL! I thought that I was the only one that feared this! We were thinking about an Easter 05 cruise for the family, then I had a dream that my 8 yr.old son fell overboard on our balcony while goofing around! Can't get that dream out of my head!!! Guess we will just leave the kids at Grandma's again...at least until they are teens!

 

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Those balcony doors are so heavy. I had a hard time unlocking ours, so I don't think a 5 year old could do it. Enjoy your balcony and no worries... :-)

 

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Wow...I see that people are on both sides of the fence with this (and some don't even deal with it by leaving the kids at home..not an option for us because this is a "welcome home" cruise for dad who is serving in Iraq right now).

 

Since the cruise is pretty well booked...and MIL insisted on getting us into one of the nicer suites w/balcony (and had a hell of a time getting the room)...I'm going to take the advise here and try to relax about it...I like the story about the sharks, will keep the door locked with the balcony furniture in front (good idea) and no kids on the balcony without mom or dad (or grandma).

 

Along those same lines, when the kids are participating in these on board activities..do they go near railings, how closely are they supervised, etc??..just wondering...just trying to be proactive...who knows, my younger son may just be an angel and none of this may even be an issue!

 

thanks again,

Raquel

 

Due to sail on Mariner of the Seas 7/4/04

La Palma - sometime in Spring 1993

MS Romanza - 8/8/87-8/16/87

 

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Based upon my experience with small children, if they are big enough to climb up and over the rail, then they should be able to understand the possible consequences of doing so! I would scare them to death by explaining what would happen if they were to fall over (sharks icon_eek.gif, drowning, cold water, big waves, etc., you get my drift). We were in a condo on the beach with a balcony on the 10th floor, and were also nervous about the children climbing over and falling off. After graphically explaining what would happen to their bodies and skulls icon_eek.gif if they fell that far, they wouldn't even go near the railing!!!! But, of course, you also need to supervise them!!

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In answer to your question about children's activities and where they take place....no Adventure Ocean activities take place near railings or even outside for that matter. The little ones especially are inside AO and are well protected. I'd worry more about drunk teenagers than the little guys.

 

I have two boys (now 13 and 10) and it was never an issue with them. The ship is so imposing that I think they naturally know that if they fall it WILL hurt! LOL!

 

Just make sure they aren't alone on the balcony and when inside the room lock the door. Enjoy!

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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by lindalu62:

I would scare them to death by explaining what would happen if they were to fall over (sharks icon_eek.gif, drowning, cold water, big waves, etc., you get my drift).<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

LOL, That won't only keep him off the balcony, but he'll be crying the entire cruise to get off the ship.

 

Chuck & Phyllis

 

 

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If you are considering a balcony, you could always pick up one of those child safety locks (the thumb kind) for under two bucks at a hardware store. And while it seems people fall overboard all the time, I've never heard of a child falling overboard. It always seems to be a drunk young adult doing something stupid.

 

Be cautious, but don't be overly concerned.

 

KLC

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Don't worry about it! I would go with most everyone else and have to guess that the child will be so exhausted they won't be able to move! I'll see you on the ship! icon_cool.gif

 

Chris

 

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