Ways to secure door so toddler can't leave room....

[Esilef]

The walkabout travel lock was a brilliant on our cruise but the door opened inwards. This lock is different to some if the others. One point to note is that the doors are thicker on a cruise ship

 

Our son could not get out with this on the door.

 

The balcony door was very heavy.

 

 

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[alj1208]

What about bringing some string... maybe wrap it around the door nob/lever, and tie it to something heavy in the room. Maybe just enough to prevent night time escape attempts?

[Bonvoyagemom]

If you have a Harbor Freight near you, they sell these sticky door alarms that work by magnetization. I have included the link below-

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/door-window-entry-alarm-94983.html

 

We use them at home, even now that my boys are 7 and 5. We will be bringing them with us on our cruise in August as well. They easily stick and come off. You can choose between an alarm sound, and a dinging bell sound. I would recommend the dinging bell sound, I bet your "neighbors" might not appreciate the alarm sound!

[travelhound]

alj1208,

From now on a bungee cord or two is being packed in all of my luggage. I've been on the next two ships we've booked on and those door open in, but just in case...

 

Bonvoyagemom,

I thought about one of those and almost bought it. That would just tells us she opened the door, but not stop her. I would be good if we were sleeping though.

 

I was just so amazed how easy it was for her to open the door on the Breakaway. Balcony door, no - because it had the extra lock that was high up. Although the Breakaway was the easiest balcony door to open once unlocked. Maybe because it's fairly new it still slides smoothly. Still, I wasn't worried about the balcony at all.

[angelndscz]

alj1208,

From now on a bungee cord or two is being packed in all of my luggage. I've been on the next two ships we've booked on and those door open in, but just in case...

 

Bonvoyagemom,

I thought about one of those and almost bought it. That would just tells us she opened the door, but not stop her. I would be good if we were sleeping though.

 

I was just so amazed how easy it was for her to open the door on the Breakaway. Balcony door, no - because it had the extra lock that was high up. Although the Breakaway was the easiest balcony door to open once unlocked. Maybe because it's fairly new it still slides smoothly. Still, I wasn't worried about the balcony at all.

 

Please do not use a bungee cord. Try using a rope, plastic wrap, or anything else. I can only imagine a child trying to remove a bungee cord and it snap and the metal end hit them in the eye, break a tooth, etc.

[travelhound]

Very good point. I hadn't thought of that. I will think of something "kid proof" - as if there is any such thing.

[Bonvoyagemom]

My boys were always scared by the noise, they shut the door right away! I guess we were lucky it didn't take manual trapping to keep them in.

 

I have to agree on the bungee cord-my youngest son was injured on something like a bungee. It was actually after our last cruise, my in-laws decided to attach the kids cruise cards to springy lanyards (you know the multi-colored ones they give you at the casino to make sure you don't leave your card in the machine-one of those). Well, when we got home my oldest stretched it across the room and weighted the card end down on our counter with a book. My youngest was curious as to what was under the book, and picked it up, spring releasing the card. It slashed his eye, slicing the white of his eyeball right open! Talk about freaking out, I didn't know an eye could bleed that much! Thankfully, it was not on the cornea, or it would have required surgery. Meds, eye patch and residual damage later, I caution EVERYONE against bungees and springy lanyards. His eye is permanently damaged, although no affect on his vision.

 

I would look into duct/masking tape of some kind, much safer. It also can be dual purpose if you need to hold/fix something!

 

Good luck and happy cruising!

[travelhound]

How horrible! I would have been freaked out too. It seems that if anything can be made hazardous, kids will find a way. I'm glad that the next two ships we're booked on are ships we've been on previously and I know the door open in. I'm hoping I can use the add-a-lock. And those doors are harder to open.

[No Nap Nattie]

My almost 2 year old is very inventive. We never had a problem on any cruises with my older girls when they were very small, but I do have concerns with him. He loves to climb and FLIP switches (he even locked me out of the house once, "flip"). We use packing tape on many things in the house as his little fingers can't pry it up yet. Thanks to this post I will be packing the packing tape.

 

Has anyone used the addalock on a cruise? We have adjoining cabins for our next cruise and I'm now imagining the worst.

[travelhound]

No Nap Nattie,

 

If you read my post from June 12th you'll see that I bought an add-a-lock specifically for this cruise, but since the door opened out instead of in, it didn't work. On doors between cabins I would think you could use it from whatever side opens in. I tried it on our doors at home and it worked fine. When we got to the NY hotel, the shape of the "prongs" on the door were triangular and it didn't fit, so I guess it would depend on the door itself. I'm still bringing it with us when we travel, along with some sort of backup. On our cruise in March we had the problem of our dd going in the bathroom and flipping the lock. So on our June cruise I brought the plastic stoppers that slide onto the edge of the door to avoid finger pinches. It also stops the door from closing all of the way. It worked perfectly. It's hard to stay one step ahead of a crafty, determined kid. :)

[No Nap Nattie]

Hmmm, wow, thank you Travelhound, I completely forgot about the bathroom lock. That is exactly the "game" my DS likes to play. And from what I remember the bathroom locks are relatively low and he could easily lock himself inside. I think I will bring the packing tape, the finger guards for the doors and the addalock ( or something similar). Thanks for the tips!

[travelhound]

You are right. The locks are exactly at their level and really easy to flip. DD thought it was hilarious. I put the finger pinch thing up high when she wasn't looking so she never really figured out why the door wouldn't close all of the way.