Man Overboard, Fear for Children??

[Karried]

Okay, I know this is irrational but after hearing about the man who just went overboard - I;m a little freaked out about my 11 and 6 year old!

 

They cruised two years ago and were fine but I guess I'm a little scared after hearing this story.

 

Yes, they will be supervised and yes I will put the fear of railings and running, climbing etc into them but I'm worried about being anxious the whole time and not enjoying myself.... like I said it is irrational but the thought of that man in the dark ocean for hours and hours just kills me.

 

I'm thinking he was possibly partying a bit much, from the news reports he was last seen at 3:30 am on the deck so unless he was star gazing it appears that he was drinking - which thankfully I don't have to worry about the kids doing that!

 

Is anyone else worried now?? Help me put this into perspective please.:(

[bethm214]

it is irrational to be worried...but saying that will not stop you from worrying. the railings are quite high - me elbows rest on them at about chest level when i am standing on deck and i am 5'4".

You would have to be climbing on them AND stupid or drunk (or both) to fall overboard. Your kids will be fine....don't worry any more than you have to.

[GoinCruisin]

You have to make an "effort" to "fall" off a ship... It's uncommon, but usually involves a tremendous amount of alcohol and stupidity. As long as your kids aren't raging drunks ;) I think they will be okay :D

[Lisalynn]

Are you guys talking about what happened on the Legend yesterday?

[L2J]

Are you guys talking about what happened on the Legend yesterday?

No....but what happend on the Legend yesterday?

[Lisalynn]

we're supposed to be sailing on the Legend today but it was delayed for a medical emergency, so instead of sailing at 4, we're not sailing until after midnight.

[L2J]

I de believe this is the thread in question:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=58329

[GoinCruisin]

I believe the "Man Overboard" happened on the Fascination...

[Karried]

Please tell me someone else didn't fall overboard??

 

Actually that sounds like someone probably had a heart attack or something similar, medical emergency - keep us posted.

 

Karrie

[tef43]

One actually has to *try* to fall overboard, usually with the assistance of one or two or ten too many adult beverages.

 

Another example of Darwin's Theory of Evolutionary Incompetence.

[halos]

One actually has to *try* to fall overboard, usually with the assistance of one or two or ten too many adult beverages.

 

Another example of Darwin's Theory of Evolutionary Incompetence.

 

 

 

I agree with this. You have to physically climb over a rail in order to fall overboard. Unless your kids are total monkeys with no regard for their own safety and no common sense, they'll be fine.

As far as your fears being irrational, I don't think they are. I think they are perfectly natural and I call them anticipation worries. I believe that once you get on the ship, you honestly won't worry as much as you anticipate you will.

Relax and enjoy your cruise. Unless your kids are running rampant, picking up other people's unfinished cocktails and getting blitzed...they'll have enough common sense not to climb on the railings or dangle themselves over the balcony.

[Littlegoo75]

If people are stupid enough to let themselves fall overboard, just leave them behind. If a falling overboard accident happened, it would be reported immediately and something could be done about it right when it happens. Sometimes it makes you wonder when somebody "falls" overboard and it isn't reported until the next morning, makes you wonder how much the spouse's life insurance is worth....... The wife of one of my husband's friends threw him off a cliff, but her plan was foiled because he miraculously survived, thank goodness. She's an ex-wife now.

[hstrybuf]

I wouldn't let it worry you too much. As long as the children are supervised and made aware of the dangers, they should be fine. Kids are pretty smart if they have the facts.

[HeidiHo]

I worried about my then 14 y/o son falling overboard on our cruise. I worried because we had a balcony cabin and he is a sleepwalker. I had this horrible picture in my mind of him getting up in the middle of the night and taking a dive into that "big swimming pool" just outside our cabin. I once found him standing at our patio door with the door wide open when it was only about 15 degrees outside. Thankfully, I am a light sleeper and knew that if he got up at night, I would hear him.

[momofmeg]

heidiho if I had that terrible of a fear I just would not book a balcony. Ofcourse I guess he could still go out of your cabin and jump off elsewhere-do not mean to make light of it-I have a daughter with serious health problems so I always find something to worry about. She is twenty now so basicially a grown woman. That does not stop me from worring though.

[peanutprincess1977]

I was just going to reiterate what everyone has said. I was worried my first cruise, but as soon as I got on the Paradise, I saw it would be near impossible to "fall off" accidentally. Even if the ship pitched or something there would be no way. The railings are high all the way around and the space between poles is small. One would really have to climb up the railings or jump through a window thing on the Lido deck in order to "fall overboard". I don't think that this man "accidentally" fell. But I do feel very sorry for his family and the person cruising with him.

[Littlegoo75]

I'm not trying to make a joke out of it, but could you put bells on his feet to hear when he sleepwalks?

[yarlenna]

If you are afraid that your kids would climb or otherwise try to overcome the safety barriers, then perhaps they need to stay home. Yes, being a parent is an exhausting thing. When my kids were young, my DH and I had 2 kinds of cruises :

1. Just the two of us for relaxation and romance

2. With the kids for their recreation

Now that they are older, we are back to only type one cruises again. Sigh. I am waiting for those grandchildren so we can do type two again.

[HeidiHo]

There were always obstacles in the path to the door that would have made noise if he tried to move them. His sleepwalking is the main reason that we didn't get our teens a separate cabin. I wouldn't even want him in a cabin w/o a balcony in case he went for a late night stroll. Thank goodness he has outgrown the sleepwalking for the most part.

[Littlegoo75]

That's scary. For my first year of college, I had a roomate that sleepwalked. She did some scary things in the middle of the night, I thought she was going to strangle me one night because she was hovering over me while I was sleeping.

[Triguy]

You don't Fall overboard you jump overboard. It takes planning.

[VentureMan_2000]

Why someone would want to bring young children (or any age under 21 for that matter) on a cruise I don't understand. I know my whole life revolves around my children... they get everything they need well before we begin to think about our needs.

 

The fact is, if you bring children on a trip with you, the trip is about the children. You better be ready to parent (supervise) them the whole trip. If you bring the children and think the trip is about yourselves, you will be miserable.

 

If you go on the trip without the children, then the trip is about you.

 

If you bring the children because you want the trip to be about you, but you can't find a babysitter, then you are being just plain selfish (trying to have your cake and eat it too). The children of this scenerio are the unsupervised ones riding up & down in the elevators, pressing all the buttons, or being pests in some other way.

 

The supervised childen are usually very pleasant to be around and manage to have the time of their life without being pests.

 

In short, if you don't want to spend your vacation watching (supervising) your children so they don't fall off the ship, or get into or cause trouble, then you shouldn't bring them.

[Kittymama]

As many people have said, it takes a real effort to fall off a ship. If you're on the Lido deck in the back, even if you somehow manage to go thru the railings, you land on the deck below. If you're on that deck, there is lots of netting to keep people from climbing thru the railings. On the sides of the ship, the railing is solid metal up to at least your chest. All of the railings, side & back, are very high (at between wais & chest for adults), so you would actually have to be climbing up the railing to fall over. On one cruise several years ago, the person had pulled a table over to the railing & was dancing on it (drunk) when he pitched over. But unless your kids are completely unsupervised, & not too bright, they won't fall over. There's never been any record of any child going overboard that I've heard of--always just adults being foolish (usually drunk, once trying to commit suicide).

[DeckCadet]

Don't worry, unless they are very badly behaved.....dont' want the camp carnival counselors to lift them up onto the rails do we ;)

KIDDING KIDDING KIDDING!

[Littlegoo75]

Ventureman 2000,

I agree with you to a certain extent. I don't see why people bring babies on cruises, but I can see taking ones old enough to get something out of it. My parents took my sister and I when we were 7 and 11 during Easter Break. It was great, and we were well behaved kids, and my parents intended on it being a family vacation which it was. I do not agree with people who yank their kids out of school for a week to cruise, that is irresponsible in my opinion to miss out on school to go on a vacation.

 

It is sad that these days some people do not take parenting as seriously as they should, and they do not discipline their kids. Kids seem to have carte blanche to do whatever they want, and it doesn't matter who they annnoy or inconvenience. I don't mind being around well mannered kids who were taught well, but it only takes a few of the ones without any limits to ruin it for everyone else.

I would much rather cruise without children around, but that's impossible these days, I just wish that parents wouldn't forget that they are parents when they are cruising.