Balcony railing height and toddlers

[kooledd]

Have booked a mini-suite on Dolphin deck on the Sapphire Princess. There

will be a two yr old child in the cabin who is not hyper but SUPER HYPER.

 

Granted she is not that tall at 2 yo but she loves to climb, jump, run, etc. When I look at pictures posted of the balcony I noticed the railing seems to

be waist high. (am I correct?). I also noticed that the table and some of the

chairs are pushed against the railing. Obviously we will make sure that nothing

that can be climbed on will be even remotely close to the railing.

 

Any advice/suggestions from others in case we can't think of everything. My

nightmare is an accident with a 2 yo overboard.

 

Thanks- Kooledd

[torpeedo]

That would be my nightmare too. She will need to be constantly supervised. There is furniture and she can definitely climb on it and go overboard. But if you are always vigilant, should be OK. I was a very nervous mom when my boys were young and I would have had nervous trip.

[cherylandtk]

The railing is a little higher than waist high, although with the furniture on the balcony, it can be climbed up to, and dangerous with a two year old. The furniture is lightweight enough that she can push it around.

 

I would have your room steward remove as many pieces as you can do without, plan on moving any remaining chairs/table into and out of your sitting area so that nothing is on the balcony except when your body is actually in it. Take a manual lock for the sliding door (the kind that has two metal lips, fits over the rails, and a thumbscrew to tighten down.) Even though the door itself has a lock, this allows you to vent the door open a few inches, and acts as an extra safeguard should your child learn to manipulate the door lock.

[bdjam]

Just a warning – when I was on Island Princess, a toddler two cabins down from me – probably about 2 years old – was able to get himself through the space between the balcony divider and the railing. The mother, who was supposedly watching him, didn’t even realize he was suddenly on my balcony. So child-proofing your balcony might not provide any safety if your child is allowed to wander to another balcony.

[Love Cruis'n]

Our steward turned he balcony furniture on end when it was raining, and back again when it stopped, and with all of their responsibilities, you may not want to “bank” on him remembering your special configuration or instructions. I would have all of the balcony furniture removed – period.

[Dreamer333]

(Never mind) Sorry!

[flipoid]

If I were the one with a very active two-year-old, I would definitely get an oceanview cabin WITHOUT the balcony. I think it would put a huge damper on my vacation constantly worrying about potential accidents on the balcony. I would save the balcony for when she was older. But that is just my opinion--I hope you have a fantastic cruise; I think it will be a great time for you and your family. (-:

[kevinsac]

The balcony will be the greatest danger, since you will be most relaxed there, in the cabin, and probably less observant.

 

Anytime a parent is in public, their awareness is heightened. But you're still gonna have to watch out BIG TIME on board....not only can she get away from you, but she can get aweigh, too.:eek:

 

I'm not a parent....and as cruel as it seems to many Americans....but in my travels thru Europe and Asia....kid on a leash sounds reasonable in your example.

[MaryPoppinz]

She is going to be curious about what's below (and what's everywhere.) Use this as a teaching opportunity. Set some clear boundaries about what she is permitted to do. "We only go outside the room with mom or dad." Etc.

 

I'd suggest removing the balcony furniture.

 

Above all, be vigilant, and be clear about who is minding the baby at any given time.

[Roboat]

IMHO:

An active 2-year-old could indeed climb over the railing, even without any furniture, by using the "corners" of the balcony. Parents have to consider the balcony as they would a swimming pool: adult supervision and presence required, and I don't mean "keeping an eye on them" from inside the cabin.

 

I've seen other parents let their children play on the balcony unattended, as if it were a playpen. That is just absolutely unsafe. All it takes is 5-10 seconds for a tragedy to happen.

 

However they do it, parents must prevent the door from being opened by the child. They must stress to others: Do not leave the door unlocked. Do not allow the child to go out there by herself.

 

And, of course, parents can always tell the child that she is not allowed outside without an adult, but that's on top of making sure she is 100% prevented from accessing the balcony.

 

Just my thoughts.

A Grandparent with a swimming pool

 

Edited: I just saw kevinsac's leash idea. Sounds like an important safeguard to add to the others.

[D4]

I agree with the poster that suggested switching to a regular outside room (no balcony). It seems that's the least stressful solution. Sure you could remove the balcony furniture and that would lower the risk, but the risk is still there. No balcony means no worries of her going overboard while you're in the cabin.

[mpdahmer]

On my last sailing on the Caribbean Princess I saw a mom and child (2 or 3 year old)on thier balcony below us every day. She was very careful and I could see that she never left him alone. One day the mom ran into her cabin to either answer the phone or door and the child had, without a hesitation, pushed the chair to the railing and started to climb up to look over the railing. At that point I started to call to the child hoping the mom would hear. I was looking for a way to climb down in the event the child started leaning oer the railing. Having 4 kids of my own I was very nervous. The mom did come out and the child jumped down upon hearing me call down.

 

My strong recommendation would be to get the oceanview cabin not the balcony.

 

Happy sailing,

 

Mark D.

[MaryPoppinz]

A Grandparent with a swimming pool.

 

My parents have one, too, and my son was shocked when he discovered it when he was about four. :) He simply did not know the pool existed and did not have any way to access it until we were ready to teach him to use it safely.

 

I would choose a balcony cabin with a child -- but, I would want him to be developmentally ready to take and follow instruction; I would have to be willing to have the kind of trip where I was required to be a patient teacher and a vigilant parent; and where everyone along for the ride would be willing to respect my level of vigilance.

 

Safety First makes some portable alarms that can be used both on the cabin slider and the entry door, so that if someone's level of vigilance dropped for a moment and the baby snuck out, the alarm would sound.

[Druke I]

Given that you say the toddler is Super Hyper - no way would I travel in a balcony cabin, even if the child did wear a "leash".

 

A good oceanview would, in my opinion, be much safer, and give much more peace of mind.

[Pam in CA]

I agree with the others and book an Oceanview cabin. If you have to remove everything from the balcony and constantly worry, then you don't have a "vacation" or get what you're paying for. Go for the Oceanview and figure out a way to make the door lock so that your toddler can't wander out in the middle of the night. That would be enough stress for me.

 

The only other suggestion I would have if you really, really want the space of the mini-suite is to ask whether Security can lock the door so that no one can get out on the balcony or invest in a sliding door lock yourself. They have one at Brookstone, for instance:

 

http://www.brookstone.com/shop/product.asp?product_code=466037&world_code=5&category_code=97&subcategory_code=9701&search_type=subcategory&cm_ven=Search&cm_cat=Google&cm_pla=Adomator&cm_ite=Datafeed

[kimberlyandkeith]

Aha, I'm not the only paranoid one! I had JUST posted about this!

 

We're NOT getting a balcony. I'm 110% decided on that now!

[AWOL]

Be careful with your child even when you are not on the balcony. We have taken our daughter on several cruises (she is 2 1/2 now) and on the last cruise, the first thing she did on the upper deck is go to the rail and start to climb through. She climbs everything, and is smart enough to pull something over to use as a ladder. We never took her anywhere on the outside decks without a leash that attached to her wrist. A lot of people commented on it, but I would rather be safe. We will be taking her again on a Christmas Cruise aboard the Diamond Princess. She is also very, very active and has to be watched every second. We would never dare get a balcony room

[MaryPoppinz]

We never took her anywhere on the outside decks without a leash that attached to her wrist. A lot of people commented on it

 

I would hope that you mean people made positive comments about your efforts to keep your child safely with you in a crowded and stimulating environment. :)

[seabass23]

We too have a VERY hyper just turned 2 year old girl that’s going on the Sapphire. Last September was our last balcony cabin for a while. Since then all our cruises are ocean view and we feel way less stress!

 

Our cruise on the Sapphire is on December 3rd and we booked the largest non-obstructed ocean view available (Plaza Deck). I think this is a good choice because there's a lot of "room to roam" right outside our cabin in the Plaza Lobby area.

[wilsonmurphy]

These are all great suggestions and obviously it will be your decision as to whether or not to keep a balcony cabin or switch to an oceanview. If you are determined to have a balcony, one suggestion comes to mind that I have not seen here yet...

 

This may sound heartless at first but if you really must have a balcony, have you considered a balcony on the Carib or Baha decks? (here comes the heartless part) Heaven forbid something should happen, but if it did, you're looking at a one-story fall onto a balcony below as opposed to an eight-story fall into the ocean.

 

Personally, I'd have to agree with everyone else and say I'd probably go with the oceanview cabin.

[dosi]

I travel with my five year old, but would not even consider getting a balcony cabin until this year....it is just too stressful. If you do go with a balcony I would recommend you go to the nearest swimming pool supply store and get a door alarm. It goes off when the door is moved....like a burglar alarm. That way, if the inquisitive little missy decides to do some nocturnal exploring you will know right away!!!

 

If it were me, I would get a standard ocean view cabin and treat myself and DH to a fancy dinner one of the sea nights!!! ;)

[Bizzie07]

My daughter was 3 when we first started cruising with her and we would not have considered a balcony. She is a restless sleeper and inclined to awaken during the night to come throught to us. The first night on the cruise I woke up when I heard her get out of bed and go to the cabin door to get out (she obviously thought she was at home and leaving her room). After that I put a chair in front of the door every night just in case. Better safe than sorry.