Door handles and locks on cabins - keeping kids in

[seacrcsvz]

I know this is a strange question, but I am wondering about the door handles and locks on the cabin doors. We are considering getting two connected cabins for our family of five, but I am worried one of the children might open the door and wander off on their own. Are there locks on the cabin doors similar to hotels which would be too high for the kids to reach? Is there any way to permanently lock off a door so the kids would have to go through our cabin to leave?

We have a 3, 5, and 7 year old and the middle one is a wanderer. He keeps us constantly worried and on our toes (we lost him at the Panama Canal despite very careful eyes because he is so independent - had to go the bathroom, so off he went- horrifying experience). The last thing I want is to have to worry about him once we retire for the night. Also, the youngest is only just three so could open the door just out of interest, in play, or when he wakes in the morning and is looking for mom and dad.

[SuperCoolOne]

If the doors are metal, perhaps you want to consider buying a magnetic hotel door alarm. That way if the kids do mess with the door, you would know.

[cyntil8ing]

This was a concern of mine too. The handle and lock were low enough that my five year old could certainly reach it. However, the door itself was so heavy that there was no way in the world my kids could have opened that door.

 

Unfortunately, the balcony door was not as heavy and my daughter could open that one, but she listened when we told her not to ever touch it without permission.

[gerif]

Most hardware stores carry a very inexpensive plastic burglar alarm type thing that can be stuck to the door. It will let out a shrill sound if the door is opened. We used them when the grandchildren were small to keep them out of rooms we didn't want them in (after the time they got into my walk-in closet and pulled all the clothes down so they could "camp" under them - grrrrrr). You can switch them on and off.

[cb at sea]

Have your kids ever wandered out of your house? The balcony door won't be a problem, there are "child-locks" that even I have trouble with! It's the door to the hallway that might be accessible to them, but they are pretty heavy, as well.

I wouldn't worry too much about it...keep the connecting doorway open during the night, and you'll hear them.

[Keith1010]

As others have said it is possible that one or more of them could open the door. As suggested try putting something on the handle that would make a noise if it is opened.

 

Keith

[patseacruiser]

Buy a door alarm. I bought one on Ebay for about $12. Makes a 110 decibel shrill alarm if the door is opened.

[sas80]

I know this is a strange question, but I am wondering about the door handles and locks on the cabin doors. We are considering getting two connected cabins for our family of five, but I am worried one of the children might open the door and wander off on their own. Are there locks on the cabin doors similar to hotels which would be too high for the kids to reach? Is there any way to permanently lock off a door so the kids would have to go through our cabin to leave?

We have a 3, 5, and 7 year old and the middle one is a wanderer. He keeps us constantly worried and on our toes (we lost him at the Panama Canal despite very careful eyes because he is so independent - had to go the bathroom, so off he went- horrifying experience). The last thing I want is to have to worry about him once we retire for the night. Also, the youngest is only just three so could open the door just out of interest, in play, or when he wakes in the morning and is looking for mom and dad.

 

Which ship are you going on? What category of cabin are your children going to be sleeping inside/are you worried about them opening the door?

 

These questions will allow someone with experience with that ship and category to answer you specifically.

[ata1976]

We sailed the Inspiration last October and the balcony door was too heavy and the lock too hard for my 2 yr old to unlock.

 

But the hall door was another story. The handle is the lever type door handle and you can lock the deadbolt, but when you pull down on the handle to open the door it automatically unlocks the door. :( DS could pull down the handle and run out the door quick.

[newbiecruiser09]

If you can't get a door alarm, you could also put something large & heavy in front of the door so they could not open it even if they got to the handle. I would also start talking with him before you go about the "cruise rules" and what behavior you expect from him. At 5, and getting ready for school and needing to obey rules and stay where he is supposed to etc, he should be able to understand what is ok and what is not. Be prepared with some consequences to talk with him about if he breaks the rules. I would start this at home before you go so by the time you get on the ship-if he goes outside w/o asking or w/o someone, then he gets a consequence, etc. Good Luck.

[seacrcsvz]

Thanks everyone for your answers. We will be cruising on the Carnival Liberty, but we are also in the process of booking a European Cruise - probably NCL on the Jade for next year. It isn't my eldest that I worry about, but my 2 year old (will be 2 this cruise, and 3 next cruise). I can tell him a thousand times not to do something, but in the middle of the night if he wakes up, I can't guarantee that that message will stick with him. I am thinking I will simply stack all our suitcases in front of the door in their cabin, and then leave the connecting door open. Hopefully that will be fine with the room steward too - they can just use the one door to access our "suite". They are really good kids, and the older two certainly understand the dangers of leaving our room on their own, but with middle of the night confusion and not knowing where they are I will worry. I also thought I would bring along a night lite so that they aren't as confused if and when they wake in the night.

Really, I can't understand why cruise ships don't have those high up locks like hotel rooms have, and why they don't have more ammenities for children within the rooms - lets face it, many of these cruise lines say they cater to families, but try and find a space that will sleep five without paying triple what everyone else on the ship pays!

[PeggyMc]

If this becomes a problem you could always have one adult in each bedroom. That way you are more likely to hear the door opening.

[luvmyboyz]

I found this thread by seaching for info on the locks on the main doors and balcony doors. My husband and I were really hoping to be able to get a balcony this year, but we are seriously afraid that our escape artist 2-year-old will somehow manage to throw himself over it in the middle of the night. (This is a child we have lost in Kohl's, in a children's museum, and most recently, who walked right out the locked front door while I was in the bathroom and, thank God, was noticed by a neighbor 7 houses away and no harm came to him. I know this sounds horrible, but I swear we are extremely vigilant parents - I mean, this kid is Houdini reincarnated or something.)

 

Anyway, I had never heard of the stick-on alarms mentioned by previous posters in this thread - what a great idea! We're planning to go to Home Depot tonight to see if the have them, and if so, we can get a balcony. Hooray!

 

I just wanted to bump up this thread in case any other parents are looking for a similar solution for their crazy escape artists.

[boulders]

The balcony doors are very heavy and have a high lock. However, with your little escape artist, you may wish to have an oceanview. If a child is intent on getting onto the balcony and climbing over the railing, they can. :eek: I'd get the door alarm for the door to the hallway though. Those are very easy to open for a 2 year old. No locks either.

[ldfox77]

Another family here--

 

We have 3 kids and will be sailing NCL Star in September '10. We have 2 inside cabins, no connecting door. Can we put the kids in 1 cabin (ages 7, 9, and 17 months) with the parents in the next? I plan to take a baby monitor so I can hear everything. I trust the 9 year old to stay in the cabin and the 17 month old will be in a crib (should I buy a mini crib or just take her pack-n-play--which she has slept in every night since birth, so she is accustomed to it and we are driving to port, so no airline baggage worries). The child I worry about is the 7 year old autistic kid. He's an escape artist. I see the idea of putting an alarm on the door--which we do at home--so the kids aren't wandering about at 3 am. Or should we go with the original plan of 1 parent in each cabin or see how it goes?

[Kerry's Girls]

Another family here--

 

We have 3 kids and will be sailing NCL Star in September '10. We have 2 inside cabins, no connecting door. Can we put the kids in 1 cabin (ages 7, 9, and 17 months) with the parents in the next? I plan to take a baby monitor so I can hear everything. I trust the 9 year old to stay in the cabin and the 17 month old will be in a crib (should I buy a mini crib or just take her pack-n-play--which she has slept in every night since birth, so she is accustomed to it and we are driving to port, so no airline baggage worries). The child I worry about is the 7 year old autistic kid. He's an escape artist. I see the idea of putting an alarm on the door--which we do at home--so the kids aren't wandering about at 3 am. Or should we go with the original plan of 1 parent in each cabin or see how it goes?

 

If you put an alarm on the door, it will go off every time you enter as well, which wouldn't make you popular with your neighbors. In this situation, I see no way you can get around having an adult in each cabin. There are just too many variables with kids being able to get out and strangers able to get in (if the kids security lock the door so strangers can't get in, then you can't either).

 

Best,

Mia

[Marie51]

Another family here--

 

We have 3 kids and will be sailing NCL Star in September '10. We have 2 inside cabins, no connecting door. Can we put the kids in 1 cabin (ages 7, 9, and 17 months) with the parents in the next? I plan to take a baby monitor so I can hear everything. I trust the 9 year old to stay in the cabin and the 17 month old will be in a crib (should I buy a mini crib or just take her pack-n-play--which she has slept in every night since birth, so she is accustomed to it and we are driving to port, so no airline baggage worries). The child I worry about is the 7 year old autistic kid. He's an escape artist. I see the idea of putting an alarm on the door--which we do at home--so the kids aren't wandering about at 3 am. Or should we go with the original plan of 1 parent in each cabin or see how it goes?

 

In my opinion if you put a 7 yr old, 9 yr old, and 17 month old in a cabin alone, you are nuts.

[ldfox77]

In my opinion if you put a 7 yr old, 9 yr old, and 17 month old in a cabin alone, you are nuts.

lol, yeah. We can get adult time, though, when the two older are in the kids' program and the baby is napping, since she'll be in her crib.

[Rapunsel]

We are a family of 5. When we get hotels and stuff. We just do girls in 1 room boys in the other... Or when the boy is the only one.. We make a "Privacy" area for him. Clothes pins and sheets work wonders...

[notentirelynormal]

Buy a door alarm. I bought one on Ebay for about $12. Makes a 110 decibel shrill alarm if the door is opened.

 

Well, that would certainly alert the parents and all the people around them too. Not sure its fair to everyone else that they get bothered every time someone opens the door. I've had my kids when they were younger be in their own cabins that others on this board might not think is only enough - but NOT at 3 years old. This is way too young. My kids were around 12 and 8 when they first started getting their own cabin.

 

A couple of cruises ago we had a young couple with a 3 and 5 YO at the next table. Great little kids and the parents were very attentive. One day walking down the hall we find the 3 YO standing in the hall all alone. He looks scared. I get the room steward to check the room for the parents - not there. Our initial thought was the parents were in the cabin and the kid wondered out. We start looking around. A few minutes later we see the parents coming back from the laundry. I know they thought we were thinking they were horrible parents because we were worried about this kid being scared to death. In reality, these parents hadn't been gone more then a few minutes. Its just that when they left the cabin the kid woke up and went looking for them. He was left in the hallway scared and they had no clue. The doors are heavy but this kid managed to get out anyway. My point is, kids this young are just too young because you just don't know what they are capable of.

[RoadTripFanatic]

If you have a child who is an escape artist then that child needs to sleep in your room with you. As a person who loves my sleep I would honestly be livid if an alarm went off in the middle of the night and woke me up. Let me rephrase that I would be annoyed the first night, mad the second and the 3rd I would be livid and calling security. I understand about children and safety but you have to remember if that alarm is loud enough to wake you up in another room it might wake up your neighbors. I know we want to keep our kids safe but you also have to remember that other people are on this ship too. If it is a quiet door bell sound that can only be heard in your room than great go for it. If not I'd have the child sleep in the bunk bed above you. Trust me you are going to hear them get down from up there. He won't escape.