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Cruise Ship Passanger Saves Drowning Boy Aug 2, 2008


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Please forgive me if this information has already been posted....I remember about a month ago about a small child almost drowning on the Pearl, well I found out some more information that I thought might be of some interest. I personally sailed on the Star this summer with two childern and never felt comfortable letting my kids go to the pool unattended. I am just glad that this story had some sort of happy ending.

 

http://*****************/Jon_Goss.html



Jon Goss

Cruise Ship Passenger Saves Drowning Boy





August 2, 2008

 

In an incident that leaves more questions, than producing answers, Jon Goss, age 16 from Maine, says he rescued a boy while he was a 7-day Alaskan Cruise.

Goss says the boy he saw laying on the bottom of the pool was only 8-years-old and nobody had noticed his body on the bottom of the pool.

Goss was in the shallow end and had waded over to the deep end of a cruise ship pool that had a water slide, when he looked over and saw a child laying face-down on the bottom of the pool.

When the teen saw the child, he looked around and nobody was doing anything. Since Goss had recently received his life guard certification, he did exactly what he was trained to do, dive to the bottom of the pool and pull the child to safety.

But, pulling the boy to safety was not as simple as is sounds. When Goss brought the child to the surface, he was limp and not breathing, his lungs filled with water.

At that point as the story goes, Goss yelled for somebody to help him. A female passenger who was nearby came over to Goss and the boy and asked if he was kidding. That passenger just happened to be a doctor. She assisted Goss in bringing the child to the deck of the ship.

This amazing story does not end here. It seems that the lady doctor, was married to and cruising with her husband who was a cardiovascular surgeon. The couple performed CPR on the boy until the cruise ship emergency team arrived to assist the boy.

Without the lifeguard and two doctors immediately on the scene, this boy would have died. There is no question there. He was extremely lucky.

The boy and his parents were disembarked in Seattle for follow-up care.

The obvious questions here are, why was a boy of only 8 years allowed on a water slide without supervision, why was he allowed in the pool unsupervised, and where was his family when this all took place?

There are really on two answers to these questions. First, we know the that no adult family members was in the deep end of the pool with the boy.

Second, we know that no cruise ship employee was nearby, as the two passengers who were doctors and a passenger lifeguard performed CPR for sometime before the crew were alerted.

There is one very important aspect of this case, I think it is important to convey. This incident happened on the first day of the cruise. The first day of the cruise as well as the last day of the cruise, weather aside, are the two most dangerous days on a voyage.

The reason for this is because the first day people are very excited. They have not gotten into a routine on the ship, have not fully explored the ship and not perhaps thinking clearly due the excitement of settling in. It is very easy on day one, to lose track of a child or other family members.

The last day of the cruise, people are preparing to go home, trying to cram in the last of their fun. Between the distraction of packing things up and squeezing in the last of the good times, people and dangers are over-looked.

These two days, the first and last day of the cruise, are the two days that most people disappear on a cruise. It is a combination of not being aware of dangers and too much fun that been the cause of the majority of these incidents.

This case is just another one of those examples. I have said it many times on this site and will likely say it many more times. Small children MUST be watched every minute of every day, kept within arm's reach every moment of every day, IF you choose to take them on a cruise. This is not a negotiable aspect of parenting and cruise ship travel.

A cruise ship is one of, if not the most dangerous place to take children on a family vacation. They can not be left unattended, nor left in the care of other people who have no emotional connection to the child.

This child was extremely lucky. To have not only a certified lifeguard in the pool with him, also vacationing, but two doctors pool-side on holiday, is a scenario that is one in a million. If not for that rare scenario, this story would be about a death.

Now, the most important thing on my mind at this point, is why is it, a cruise ship can not spend the extra few dollars to have a certified lifeguard pool-side on every ship?

While the industry will point to the fact that land-based properties do not have lifeguards supervising their pools, I will point to the fact that they DO have employees supervising water recreation areas such as the Flow Rider, as seen in this video.

Those employees not only hand out the boogie boards passengers used, but also assist the passengers while they attempt to ride the waves and do provide emergency assistance if passengers crash and burn AND they make sure children do not enter the Flow Rider.

Speeding down a waterslide can be, and IS every bit as dangerous as the Flow Rider. This is why land-based water amusement parks DO have employees supervise not only the top of the waterslide, but are in the water and the foot of the water slide as well.

A pool with a water slide is a kid magnet, a disaster just waiting to happen. It needs supervision. When a boy age 16 is left to do what more than one adult should have done, something is definately broke and needs to be fixed.

This boy is a hero, and I don't want to take away from that fact. But, when a 16-year-old boy becomes the hero of an 8-year old boy, while they are surrounded by thousands of adults, more than one thing has gone wrong. The next child will not be as lucky as this one was.

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All of the certified lifeguards at the waterparks in Phoenix seem to be in their teens or early 20s.

 

Also, just like most pools, NCL posts that there are no lifeguards on duty, so, once again, we need to ask...where is the parental supervision...

 

The author mentions RCCL's Flowrider...I'd think their "lifeguard" is more of a crowd control measure, not unlike the rock climbing wall experts on the Pearl and Gem, who guides users on the attraction being used by 1-4 people, rather than watching an entire pool of 10-50 people.

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Just because we are on "vacation" as a family does not mean that we should expect others to take care of our kids. When we were on the Star either my dh ,parents or myself took turns in watching the kids at the pool when they were not at kids club. The boy was very lucky!

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I really do not understand some parents. We have a pool in our backyard and have in our last two houses. My dd is 10 yo and a very strong swimmer. She swims almost daily. That being said we NEVER allow her to swim without one of us or an adult that we know can also swim well. If we are having a party then we station parents around the pool. If we are drinking, the rule is after one drink you get out or you put a life vest on. Don't get me wrong we don't get falling down drunk or even drunk however we know alcohol slows our reflexes.

 

Second I can not imagine allowing my child to go any where on a ship by herself. Turn your TV to those real life crime shows for a few hours and watch what has happened to some children and you won't either. I would not even consider allowing her to check herself out of the kids club.

 

Why bother having children if you are not going to take care of them?

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The teenager did, indeed, save this young boys life. He is, no doubt, a hero.

 

However, it wasn't the crew on the ship that almost killed him......it was the young childs parents who did that.

 

Most resort, many beaches, lakes and recreational areas don't have lifeguards. Neither do cruiseships; a fact which is clearly posted all over the pool area and in the daily newsletter. It's the parents who should watch their own kids.....not expect others to do it.

 

It wasn't the ship's personnel's fault. It was the ignorant fools who are the "parents" who, like many other fools, board a ship, turn their kids loose and forget them. The people "around the pool" aren't at fault.....they aren't required to "babysit" every kid on the ship. It's not up to the cruise company to be a babysitter for children either. Blame for this incident is squarely at the parents' feet.

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Please forgive me if this information has already been posted....I remember about a month ago about a small child almost drowning on the Pearl, well I found out some more information that I thought might be of some interest. I personally sailed on the Star this summer with two childern and never felt comfortable letting my kids go to the pool unattended. I am just glad that this story had some sort of happy ending.

 

http://*****************/Jon_Goss.html



Jon Goss

 

 

 

Cruise Ship Passenger Saves Drowning Boy



 

 



 

In an incident that leaves more questions, than producing answers, Jon Goss, age 16 from Maine, says he rescued a boy while he was a 7-day Alaskan Cruise.

 

 

 

Goss says the boy he saw laying on the bottom of the pool was only 8-years-old and nobody had noticed his body on the bottom of the pool.

 

 

 

Goss was in the shallow end and had waded over to the deep end of a cruise ship pool that had a water slide, when he looked over and saw a child laying face-down on the bottom of the pool.

 

 

 

When the teen saw the child, he looked around and nobody was doing anything. Since Goss had recently received his life guard certification, he did exactly what he was trained to do, dive to the bottom of the pool and pull the child to safety.

 

 

 

But, pulling the boy to safety was not as simple as is sounds. When Goss brought the child to the surface, he was limp and not breathing, his lungs filled with water.

 

 

 

At that point as the story goes, Goss yelled for somebody to help him. A female passenger who was nearby came over to Goss and the boy and asked if he was kidding. That passenger just happened to be a doctor. She assisted Goss in bringing the child to the deck of the ship.

 

 

 

This amazing story does not end here. It seems that the lady doctor, was married to and cruising with her husband who was a cardiovascular surgeon. The couple performed CPR on the boy until the cruise ship emergency team arrived to assist the boy.

 

 

 

Without the lifeguard and two doctors immediately on the scene, this boy would have died. There is no question there. He was extremely lucky.

 

 

 

The boy and his parents were disembarked in Seattle for follow-up care.

 

 

 

The obvious questions here are, why was a boy of only 8 years allowed on a water slide without supervision, why was he allowed in the pool unsupervised, and where was his family when this all took place?

 

 

 

There are really on two answers to these questions. First, we know the that no adult family members was in the deep end of the pool with the boy.

 

 

 

Second, we know that no cruise ship employee was nearby, as the two passengers who were doctors and a passenger lifeguard performed CPR for sometime before the crew were alerted.

 

 

 

There is one very important aspect of this case, I think it is important to convey. This incident happened on the first day of the cruise. The first day of the cruise as well as the last day of the cruise, weather aside, are the two most dangerous days on a voyage.

 

 

 

The reason for this is because the first day people are very excited. They have not gotten into a routine on the ship, have not fully explored the ship and not perhaps thinking clearly due the excitement of settling in. It is very easy on day one, to lose track of a child or other family members.

 

 

 

The last day of the cruise, people are preparing to go home, trying to cram in the last of their fun. Between the distraction of packing things up and squeezing in the last of the good times, people and dangers are over-looked.

 

 

 

These two days, the first and last day of the cruise, are the two days that most people disappear on a cruise. It is a combination of not being aware of dangers and too much fun that been the cause of the majority of these incidents.

 

 

 

This case is just another one of those examples. I have said it many times on this site and will likely say it many more times. Small children MUST be watched every minute of every day, kept within arm's reach every moment of every day, IF you choose to take them on a cruise. This is not a negotiable aspect of parenting and cruise ship travel.

 

 

 

A cruise ship is one of, if not the most dangerous place to take children on a family vacation. They can not be left unattended, nor left in the care of other people who have no emotional connection to the child.

 

 

 

This child was extremely lucky. To have not only a certified lifeguard in the pool with him, also vacationing, but two doctors pool-side on holiday, is a scenario that is one in a million. If not for that rare scenario, this story would be about a death.

 

 

 

Now, the most important thing on my mind at this point, is why is it, a cruise ship can not spend the extra few dollars to have a certified lifeguard pool-side on every ship?

 

 

 

While the industry will point to the fact that land-based properties do not have lifeguards supervising their pools, I will point to the fact that they DO have employees supervising water recreation areas such as the Flow Rider, as seen in this video.

 

 

 

Those employees not only hand out the boogie boards passengers used, but also assist the passengers while they attempt to ride the waves and do provide emergency assistance if passengers crash and burn AND they make sure children do not enter the Flow Rider.

 

 

 

Speeding down a waterslide can be, and IS every bit as dangerous as the Flow Rider. This is why land-based water amusement parks DO have employees supervise not only the top of the waterslide, but are in the water and the foot of the water slide as well.

 

 

 

A pool with a water slide is a kid magnet, a disaster just waiting to happen. It needs supervision. When a boy age 16 is left to do what more than one adult should have done, something is definately broke and needs to be fixed.

 

 

 

This boy is a hero, and I don't want to take away from that fact. But, when a 16-year-old boy becomes the hero of an 8-year old boy, while they are surrounded by thousands of adults, more than one thing has gone wrong. The next child will not be as lucky as this one was.

 

August 2, 2008




 





 

 

 

Where did you see this article? This incident happened on Sunday, July 20th a few hours after the Pearl left Seattle. Below is the initial article that showed up in the Peninsula News on July 22nd. Hopefully the young boy has made a complete recovery.

PeninsulaNews.jpg.fae78cfb308b0c69be42daa301a6afaf.jpg

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I tried to include the link to this story but it was blanked out, you can find it on cruise bruise (make sure that this is one word) dot com It has some interesting articles. Some are not very reassuring of cruising but I think it is good to know all aspects of what is going on. I like to be informed but an article like this is not going to sway me not to cruise just to be more cautious than I already am :)

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I tried to include the link to this story but it was blanked out, you can find it on cruise bruise (make sure that this is one word) dot com It has some interesting articles. Some are not very reassuring of cruising but I think it is good to know all aspects of what is going on. I like to be informed but an article like this is not going to sway me not to cruise just to be more cautious than I already am :)

 

I was laughing so hard when I found out I was featured on cruise bruise!

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