Girl overboard on Magica

[nure05]

hi ian,sean and eoin here from Dublin,all 16

lynsey o'brien wos one of our best friends and everyone is in bits wit her tragic death.

we know for a fact lynz wud never hav commited suicide cos she wos one of d nicest girls u cud ever meet and wos a really happy girl,who loved life etc..

we dont know wot to belive at the moment,stories r being told in so many different ways of how she went missing...

 

1.At first we thought she slipped over d railings off d first deck after havin an argument wit a friend also aged 16,and wos then left wit her younger sister aged 11 who witnessed lynz fall..

 

2.then we heard she wos getting sick standing on a chair leanin into the sea which d wind blew from under her causin her to lose grip and fall into d ocean

 

3.today we heard off one of her other close friends that she fell and hit her head off a life boat and was dead before hitting d water

 

4.no matter how many times we've heard she commited suicide or 'was eaten by sharks' it cause's all of us to simply outrage as none of this is true and lynz wud never think of commiting suicide..

 

we visit her house gates every day where a shrine made by us lays,but today we have been told not to as apparently her family is back

please write back wit more info as we're very concerned as to how this happened

thanks very much,all our support

ian,sean and eoin;)

[larkwind]

The Jewel of the Seas skipped Cozumel and sailed a sea day last Fri because of expected high seas and winds in Coz on Fri--tendering could have been a problem. I wonder if this incident made any difference in whether we went to Coz or not. Were the tenders working on Friday in Coz? Was it windy and rainy or overcast?

 

It was a shock to hear about the young girl--can't even imagine the loss.

[trammyt]

We were on this cruise, and there are an unbelievable number of rumours flying around regarding this tragic event. We were very saddened about the loss of the girl, and our hearts and prayers go out to her family. That being said, there were several drunken teens present the night of the tragedy, although the "real" story of what happened may not ever be known, as there was much confusion. Alcohol was involved in her death, and she did fall from her 7th floor balcony. Her sister supposedly did see her fall, and was so hysterical that it took several minutes for Costa crew members to inform the bridge. We were personally appalled at the number of young teenagers that were getting alcohol from somewhere? (we heard a Costa crew member was fired for serving minors??) and seemed to be totally unsupervised for much of the cruise. We never went into the disco because it was filled with young teens (some as young as 11, 12, 13...) until 12, 1, 2 am... We also saw some 14 and 16 -year olds returning from Cozumel on the tenders barely able to walk because they were so drunk. We thought after the tragedy had happened, that some parents might have reigned their "wayward teens" in a bit, but it didn't seem to be so. I do believe that ultimately, parents are responsible for their children's behaviour, but I also belive that Costa has a responsibility to enforce their rules regarding serving minors, minors having access to bars and casinos, etc. In no way am I inferring that this family or girl deserved this fate (of course not), but I do wish that some lesson might be learned by someone out there so that such a tragedy doesn't occur again!

As for the young couple getting married... it is a shame that their wedding was spoiled, but someone died, after all. And you can never bank on any cruise ship actually going to any port for certain. At least they have the rest of their lives to enjoy their time together!

[hadleys9538]

Well said, Trammyt. I was horrified when I heard what happened. I will tell you that on our cruise this past Spring break (our son was 17 at the time), most kids had their own cabins. This was on an RCCL ship, and even though the rules clearly stated that someone over 21 had to be in the cabin, that was definitely not the case. Many kids brought their own liquor (as well as pot) on board. My son said that several of the kids spent a huge amount of time in their cabins getting "wasted," which he thought was really stupid. I'm fortunate that he isn't into that. However, he was no angel either. I found out months after our return (when looking at pictures he had taken on the trip), that he and about 20 other kids had gotten off the ship in Puerto Vallarta and gone bar hopping. We had absolutely no idea he had even gotten off the ship. He had come to dinner that evening as always, and then disappeared with his friends. The ship left at 11:30 that night. He said he and his friends got back in plenty of time, with 15 minutes left to spare.:eek: I would have had a coronary had I known. When he came in that night, he was completely sober. I truly had no idea. If it hadn't been for his pictures, I'd still be completely ignorant of his little adventure.

[Marc&Tara]

. This was on an RCCL ship, and even though the rules clearly stated that someone over 21 had to be in the cabin, that was definitely not the case. Many kids brought their own liquor (as well as pot) on board. My son said that several of the kids spent a huge amount of time in their cabins getting "wasted," which he thought was really stupid. I'm fortunate that he isn't into that. However, he was no angel either. I found out months after our return (when looking at pictures he had taken on the trip), that he and about 20 other kids had gotten off the ship in Puerto Vallarta and gone bar hopping. We had absolutely no idea he had even gotten off the ship. He had come to dinner that evening as always, and then disappeared with his friends. The ship left at 11:30 that night. He said he and his friends got back in plenty of time, with 15 minutes left to spare.:eek: I would have had a coronary had I known. When he came in that night, he was completely sober. I truly had no idea. If it hadn't been for his pictures, I'd still be completely ignorant of his little adventure.

 

Again, you so miss the point, the people in charge on Costa were serving the minors. This was no bring your own in and stay in a cabin. We witnessed many kids drinking and smoking in the disco all hours of the night and they were supposed to get kicked out at 1 am. But it never happened. My wife was even asked out by a 12 year old on the cruise and then she said dude get away your like 12... and his parents were right there cheering him on.... yes they were not American......

 

The casino had a ton of kids in it playing slots, drinking, ordering drinks, I never saw anyone asking for ID or anything. And the way Costa sets the room keys - it doesnt even have an age lock on the key like on Carnival. I think that is because in Italy the kids can drink all they want - they serve wine at the fast food restaurants like ketchup packets.... I've been there, and I know.....

 

Anyways, the line does need better control of their staff enforcing rulles, and THE LAW. They kept threatening to bring insecurity on our cruise to get the kids out of the casino and made announcements but they were just threats, no one ever ENFORCED it. I agree with Trammy who was ACTUALLY ON THE FATEFUL CRUISE and she witnessed the people on board serving minors.... then Hadleys who hasnt traveled this ship yet somes on and compares it to a Spring Break party ship------ so the lines bare no liability if they were serving minors --- funny because bars have been closed down here in Florida for serving too much alcohol to people and then they go out and kill themselves or someone else in a Drunk driving accident..... How is this any different?? I am sure surveillance cameras will show if the girl was served alcohol by staff and if / when how often, etc.... as well as onboard tickets / receipts.....

[Marc&Tara]

in the disco...... I have them.... give me a few minutes....smoking and everything and the guy that was supposed to be in charge that you can see my wife trying to explain there are little kids running around drinking and smoking.....

[saltyclaire]

I cannot even begin to imagine the loss. :( :( :(

 

I do have pain in my heart when I imagine her sibling, what must be playing in this poor young girl's mind, the trauma she will be faced with. To the family - I truly and profoundly have empathy for you.

 

I am so sorry.

[Marc&Tara]

Just some disco pics to give you all a feel for the crowd in there at about 2 AM the night before New Years......

[burners]

On costa it is a cashless society so everything gets charged to your room key.If you were 18 or younger your costa key has an asterik on it and it wont let you charge any alcohol on it.I did see a kid try to play blackjack and they asked for his costa card,flipped it over and kicked him out.My friends 12 year old got caught playing slots and was kicked out.Of course Costa cant police everything but the parents are suppose to be responsible also.My 12 year olds favorite part of the trip was dancing in the disco.She had a blast and its something she probably wont experience again until she is much older.

[hadleys9538]

When we went on the Atlantica two years ago, my son and his new friends also tried to play in the casino and were immediately booted. Kids can get alcohol easily on a cruise (especially teenagers). I wondered if they were being served, but found out from my son that the ones who are 18 simply buy it for the ones who are not (at least that is what happened this past Spring break on the Vision). Believe it or not, the previous Spring break, on the Atlantica, which was full of Europeans, there really wasn't the drinking problem with underage kids that there was on the Vision. I think it's all in the luck of the draw -- Who is actually sailing with you. I don't doubt, Marc, that there were out of control kids on your cruise, and it is incredibly annoying when they come in and take over everything, but it does happen on other lines as well. Not just on Costa. Also, my story was for trammyt. Do you really have to hijack every thread on this message board. We've all heard your complaints. You've said you have no plans to cruise again, so why are you on here repeating yourself over and over and over.

[hadleys9538]

When we went on the Atlantica two years ago, my son and his new friends also tried to play in the casino and were immediately booted. Kids can get alcohol easily on a cruise (especially teenagers). I wondered if they were being served, but found out from my son that the ones who are 18 simply buy it for the ones who are not (at least that is what happened this past Spring break on the Vision). Believe it or not, the previous Spring break, on the Atlantica, which was full of Europeans, there really wasn't the drinking problem with underage kids that there was on the Vision. I think it's all in the luck of the draw -- Who is actually sailing with you. I don't doubt, Marc, that there were out of control kids on your cruise, and it is incredibly annoying when they come in and take over everything, but it does happen on other lines as well. Not just on Costa. Also, my story was for trammyt. Do you really have to hijack every thread on this message board. We've all heard your complaints. You've said you have no plans to cruise again, so why are you on here repeating yourself over and over and over.

[rocktheboat]

It's time you got over yourself mark. Do you talk because you like to hear yourself.

 

I grew up in Italy and go back home at least 3 times a year. They do not serve underage kids wine in resturants, again mark YOU MISS THE POINT.

[Marc&Tara]

It's time you got over yourself mark. Do you talk because you like to hear yourself.

 

I grew up in Italy and go back home at least 3 times a year. They do not serve underage kids wine in resturants, again mark YOU MISS THE POINT.

 

WOW SOMEONE IS SURE BITTER....

 

Drinking age in Italy is at least 5 years younger in Italy- get a clue.

[italy 16 No minimum purchasing age

[rocktheboat]

Bitter, yes you are.

 

You might think you no everything but you no nothing.

[sandrab]

hi ian,sean and eoin here from Dublin,all 16

lynsey o'brien wos one of our best friends and everyone is in bits wit her tragic death.

we know for a fact lynz wud never hav commited suicide cos she wos one of d nicest girls u cud ever meet and wos a really happy girl,who loved life etc..

we dont know wot to belive at the moment,stories r being told in so many different ways of how she went missing...

 

1.At first we thought she slipped over d railings off d first deck after havin an argument wit a friend also aged 16,and wos then left wit her younger sister aged 11 who witnessed lynz fall..

 

2.then we heard she wos getting sick standing on a chair leanin into the sea which d wind blew from under her causin her to lose grip and fall into d ocean

 

3.today we heard off one of her other close friends that she fell and hit her head off a life boat and was dead before hitting d water

 

4.no matter how many times we've heard she commited suicide or 'was eaten by sharks' it cause's all of us to simply outrage as none of this is true and lynz wud never think of commiting suicide..

 

we visit her house gates every day where a shrine made by us lays,but today we have been told not to as apparently her family is back

please write back wit more info as we're very concerned as to how this happened

thanks very much,all our support

ian,sean and eoin;)

To Ian, Sean and Eoin-

 

Can I please offer my heartfelt condolences to you and all your friends - you must all be heartbroken.

 

There is obviously nothing I can say to ease the pain of Lynsey's death - and it will definitely make all the Mums and Dads hug their kids more tightly - I have taken my 4 children cruising twice (my eldest is also in transition year) and we're going again next Halloween, and while we were watching Lynsey's tragic story on the News, I swore I would never again let them out of my sight on board. But of course I know this isn't practical - and no matter how careful anyone is, accidents do happen.

 

Try not to dwell on the speculation about her death - I don't know if you will find your answers here on Cruise Critic, but hopefully in time, Lynsey's family will be able to talk to you about it, and you will be able to get some closure.

 

You and your friends are in our thoughts and prayers

 

Sandra

[thecruisers723]

There is too much left to chance by letting teenagers and even young kids who can check themselves out of the kids programs on the ships since they have very little, if any, security on board. They aren't mature enough to handle the freedom they are given.

 

First let me say that my husband and I love cruising and will cruise over and over again for many years to come. But when it comes to cruising with our kids, we've concluded that it's not a relaxing vacation if you have to worry about the safety of your kids and the potential for underaged drinking that leads to poor judgement the entire week. Because of this, we just cancelled a cruise we had booked for the six of us, my husband and I along with our 17 year old twin daughters, our 11 year old son and 9 year old daughter over spring break in March. And this particular case started the discussion. We're going to the Florida Keys and Disney World instead. It's just more of a fun vacation not having to worry about those things. It's sad too though. Because we took our kids on a cruise 3-1/2 years ago and they loved it and want to go back. But they just may love the freedom too much and it's not worth the worry.

 

My heart goes out to the family of this young girl. Their whole lives have now changed and will never be the same again. If alcohol was involved, I hope it's a wake up call for the cruise lines to try to put some structure in place to keep kids out of drinking establishments on the ship. They usually have disco's on most ships for the teenagers that don't serve alchohol. That's really where the minors belong.

[Packedready]

I think all the cruise lines have the same problems with teens onboard. We were on the NCL Star at Christmas and could not believe how unsupervised many of the teens's were. At 2:00 am there were about 30 of them out walking the outside decks, smoking and drinking. I was concerned that something like this would happen to one of them. It is also the cruise companies responsiblity to patrol and return these underaged cruiser's to their cabins and contact their parents. That didn't happen. Teenn's can be very difficult and the parents get separate rooms for them, but many are totally out of control. The ocean is non-forgiving.

 

This needs to be a wakeup call for all parents bringing minor children on ships.

[hadleys9538]

Unfortunately, accidents can happen anywhere, on any type of vacation. There is no way to protect teens/children all of the time. As much as I'd love to put our 17-year-old son in a box and keep him safe all of the time, I obviously can't do that. I worry every time he's away from home, whether he's driving or out with his friends. Tragedy can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. A person tries to instill in their children some good sense and values, and you just hope they make good decisions. I agree with thecruisers723 that it isn't relaxing at all on a ship when you have a teenager on board. (After both of the last two cruises, my husband and I said we wouldn't take DS again. -- Then we forget how bad it was.) Our daughter (age 9) still likes to hang with me, but our son is off and running as soon as he hits the deck. We make him check in with us frequently and require him to do shore excursions and dinner with us, but still anytime we couldn't find him, I was sure he was overboard. Lots of kids do drink. We saw a lot of it on this last cruise -- But kids drink at parties when they're home too, and then they'll attempt to get behind the wheel of a car. DS dealt with that on New Year's Eve, when he had to drive multiple kids home because they were so inebriated. He said that many of them were planning to drive home in that condition.:eek:

[thecruisers723]

I agree with you that it's a constant source for worry when you have teens whether on vacation or not. My two 17 year olds are driving home right now and I'm patiently waiting for them to get here so I can go to bed and get some sleep. And tragedy does occur in every city everyday and you can't put your kids in cages to keep them from the potential. But I can make sure that when we're on vacation over spring break, they're with me and the rest of the family and that there is no drinking, being molested or worries about them going overboard during that trip. Since we don't get to take very many family vacations (expensive with 4 kids), I'd rather stick closer together anyway than having them head off on their own to "explore" the ship and all the "things" it has to offer.

 

Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love cruising. I just don't want to do it with my kids again at this point until security issues are addressed and the safety of these kids becomes a priority on the ship.

[rocktheboat]

[quote=

 

Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love cruising. I just don't want to do it with my kids again at this point until security issues are addressed and the safety of these kids becomes a priority on the ship.

 

 

The safety of your kids should be your top priority not the ships.

There is no reason why these teens need to be roaming the ship all hours of the night. You are on a family vacation, make it a family vacation. Too many parents book 2 cabins, put their teens in one and they in the other. They have no clue what their teens are up to, then blame the cruise line.

 

When you get to Disney are you going to leave your kids at the gate and tell them meet me back here in 5 hours or are you going to do the family thing together. Why is a vacation on a cruise ship different.

 

The only poor judgement here is on the part of the parent who allows their teen to do as he/she wants.

When moms away they play, we all know that so why not make a family vacation a family vacation.

 

Do you really think these parents don t no their teens were drinking. They just choose to look the other way.

 

 

it's not a relaxing vacation for me either, but we all have seen the parent who boards the ship and than doesn t look for their teens till its time to get off.

I am sorry but these are my thoughts.

[hadleys9538]

You're so right, Rocktheboat. On this past cruise, literally every other teen my son hung with had their own cabin. Of course, he was griping and moaning about not having one as well.:rolleyes: We would give him a curfew, and if he wasn't back, we were out looking for our little lothario, then the next night, he would get to spend even more time with us.:D We knew another family on this cruise, and they had gotten their son his own cabin. His mom gave him a curfew, and I know he would be there when she checked, but then he would just go right back out again. (DS filled me in on this.) My son hung with a huge pack of teens on this cruise, and met some great kids that he is still in touch with. The great part about the cruise was he spent breakfast and dinner with us and spent all of the shore time with us (excursions, etc.); however, he was also able to have some freedom to be with kids his own age too. He is 17 years old, and he has to be able to have some freedom, and we have to be able to trust his judgment. After all, he is almost an adult. I don't think forcing your kids to be with you every minute solves anything. I think the great thing about a cruise is that it balances their need to be with kids their own age, as well as spend family time with you. When they go off to college next year, you won't be able to police their every step. Also, Cruisers723 -- You said you were waiting for your kids last night, so you obviously do give them some freedom. They could be getting into trouble while their out at home just as easily (probably moreso) than when you're on vacation. I do understand what you're saying, however. Both of the last two cruises, we swore we wouldn't take DS with us again. He never really did anything all that terrible (In fact, people kept us apprised during the day, and said his group of friends was well-behaved.) However, he liked to push the envelope about coming in on time, and it drove us crazy (ruined our sleep) and made the vacation anything but relaxing for us. We took the kids to Europe a little over a year ago for a land vacation, and I have to say that it was more relaxing because he was with us the whole time. When asked about all of our vacations, however, he definitely likes the cruises the best. This will likely be his last Spring break with us:(, and I was pleasantly surprised that he even wanted to spend it with us and didn't ask to go with his school friends down to Panama Beach or something. Just my two cents . . .

[thecruisers723]

Everyone is definitely entitled to their own feelings and opinions. I wouldn't have any worries during the day or during reasonable evening hours about my teenagers being on the ship. It's the challenges that come with the late hours that are the problem. Since there are so many other teenagers being allowed to roam free, naturally, the teenagers whose parents would prefer they didn't late at night become the enemy and you begin to bang heads with your kids on vacation. And trust me, that's exactly what I'd go through with my girls. They're twins and they would team up against me. I go through this all the time at home. My teenage girls are basically gone somewhere every night and I have to wait up for them and worry about them daily. My preference is not to worry about that on a vacation. It's not about caging them up. It's about having a relaxing and enjoyable vacation for all. I'm sure they'll go their way at Disney at times and we'll go ours. But I won't worry about what time they come to bed at night, whether they have found a way to consume some alchohol and impare their judgement which will lead to decisions that may be the wrong ones. Yes, they can do it at home too. And yes, I worry about it at home too. That's the issue though. I'm not at home. I'm on vacation and want a break from the worries and stress that are a part of our every day at home. It's just a personal choice this year. And I honestly have no regrets.

[hadleys9538]

thecruisers723 - I definitely understand where you're coming from. So many parents let their kids have no curfew and don't even see their kids basically that entire week. I have to say I don't call that a family vacation. And you're right -- It gets old being one of the only "bad" parents on the ship that actually requires their child to come in at a somewhat decent hour. Then there's the worrying and "butting heads" as you say when they don't. Like I said, we swore at the end of both of the last two cruises that we wouldn't take him again. Time has made us forget just how bad it was last time (and how tired we were at the end of the week). What's funny is, our son swears it is by far the best vacation he's ever had.:rolleyes:

[thecruisers723]

You know, I remember being a teenager too. And I know I would have had more fun hanging out with other teenagers than I would have with my parents when I was 17. As a matter of fact, I went to Disney with my Mom, Aunt and Cousin's when I was 17. And I remember feeling like I was way too cool for hanging out with my Mom that week and missed my friends back home. But you know what, my beloved mother passed away just over two weeks ago at 59 years old (she had me when she was very young) and I'm so glad that I had that vacation with my Mother and appreciate the financial sacrifice she made at the time to be able to take me considering she was a single parent. I realized this when I became an adult many years ago. Not just when I lost her. I know that my kids would prefer a cruise. But I also know that when they're adults and they look back at the why we went where we're going this year instead of a cruise, they'll understand it and will just appreciate the fact that they were taken on a really nice vacation. And that it takes a lot of financial sacrifice on the part of the parents to be able to do this for their kids. They'll get to cruise again someday. Hopefully they won't get married for a very long time. But maybe a cruise for their honeymoon will be just the right gift. And maybe the reason I'm holding them so close to the vest right now is because I just lost my Mother and just want to be as close to my daughters as I can right now. Who knows.

[rocktheboat]

I'm glad I was the bad parent who was always on top of them on a cruise ship., better they cry than me.