Potential dangerous area for children on Magic

[cruisenewbie2004]

I want to bring to your attention a potentially very dangerous area on the Magic that we discovered on our trip last week. In fact, it is so dangerous I am surprised that we stumbled literally right upon it.


My family and our two small children were walking on deck 4, towards the front of the boat. As you approach this area, it becomes a covered corridoor as it turns again to go around the front. This area contains the ship's anchor as well as large anchor chains, other equipment etc. There are also two large open portholes in this area, large enough for a toddler to completely slip through. It looked as though Disney put some iron rope pullies in these openings to shrink their size, but a small child could fall through. Plus there are large openings where the anchor chains exit through the floor. To make matters worse, the area is not completely fenced off. It simply has a chain to cordon it off. Had my son run towards this area, he could have easily run straight to the two large window openings (which are at floor level) and simply fallen off the boat. This area MUST be completely gated, not with a chain but with a complete fence and proper gate. It is an interesting area to look at, and I am not suggesting that you should not see it, but it should not allow a toddler to simply run under a chain and into harms way. I have photos of this area and I will post them soon.

 

[KaitlinsMom]

I know the area, but not sure of the exact point that you are talking about - Pictures would be great -

Just wanted to point out that you should probably let DCL know of your concern - I am sure that they would take care of it -

 

[Skywalker]

Yikes! That sounds scary. Thank you for the warning.

 

[lbgraves]

I have not seen this area myself but believe that your post explains one of the pictures I came across while touching up our digital pictures last night. I thought that they had lucked out with a door being open when it shouldn't have like DS & I watched CMs clean the inside of a lifeboat last cruise. I did notice two security cameras so feel that if someone entered the area that shouldn't, security would know about it. The open portholes are definantly a safety issue.

 

[Rob1559]

If there was a problem I am sure that DCL would have preventative measures. On every cruise I run every morning through this area every morning I doubt that anyone could simply run through the area and fall off the ship. It is a very congested area with equipment everywhere.

 

[gallaj0]

I believe that those areas must remain "accessable" at all times since they are part of the life and safety equipment for the ship. It's been a while since I sailed as a crew member (Merchant Marine Officer), but I believe that it is against interantional marine law to restrict access to such equipment, or to put anything in place to restrict the use of the equipment.

 

[rae519]

One answer is that they could make the area off limits, but that would take away the walkers/joggers exercise trail.

Rae

 

[Debbie H]

Perhaps holding on to your toddler and controling the movements of your young son would be the most appropriate course of action. Is it entirely possible that this is a parenting problem as opposed to Disney's problem? The Magic is one of the only cruise ships that affords it's passengers with the opportunity to walk around the entire ship at a mid ship level. I personally would not let my children walk around without holding on to them in an area I was unfamiliar with.

Furthermore, Disney's solution to your problem would be to completely close off that end of the ship ruining it for the joggers and the walkers who get their daily excercise.

 

[mmouse37]

Are these the portholes you mention??

http://community.webshots.com/photo/92712226/93392431SiaRjK

Here are some other pics we took of the equipment area onboard when you walk around Deck 4....there are times at night when these sections are roped off completely...so you cannot walk around Deck 4 completely, all the time.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/92712226/93392490ZvZgmI

http://community.webshots.com/photo/92712226/93391901SoZaaf

http://community.webshots.com/photo/92712226/93391881sodLNw

MJ

 

[pediatric-rnp]

Perhaps holding on to your toddler and controling the movements of your young son would be the most appropriate course of action. Is it entirely possible that this is a parenting problem as opposed to Disney's problem? The Magic is one of the only cruise ships that affords it's passengers with the opportunity to walk around the entire ship at a mid ship level. I personally would not let my children walk around without holding on to them in an area I was unfamiliar with.

Furthermore, Disney's solution to your problem would be to completely close off that end of the ship ruining it for the joggers and the walkers who get their daily excercise.

I don't think it is fair to label this as a "parenting problem". While I definately do agree there are kids who are not well monitored by their parents, there are also situations when kids are just "quicker than the eye", and can get into trouble in a flash. I'm not familiar with this area of the ship, however if this is an area you come onto suddenly and you are not familiar with the layout and potential hazards, you may not have a firm grip on your child's hand.

I think the OP was just trying to alert future cruisers, especially first time cruisers who not familiar with the ship, to a potential danger. Knowledge helps to keep us all safe.

 

[Doctor P]

This is an area of the ship you would have to make some effort to get to. I'm sorry, but I agree with the sentiment that one who would worry about this in this area of the ship probably has some other issues. There is no way in the world that a risk manager or insurance company has not been through the ship with a fine tooth comb. It's also not like the ship is new or that this is a newly open area.

 

[MarkRG]

I'm onboard right now.

After reading your post, I had to go walk down there to refresh my memory.

First I'll give a better description of this area.

The only access to this area is from the deck 4 promenade/walking/jogging path. There is no access to it from inside the ship. The particular area in question is at least 50 or more feet of path from a public area, I am referring to the two access points from the deck 4 promenade, which is outside at the forward elevator point, where there are doors(big, heavy doors) to the outside deck. There is simply no motivation first of all for a child to be down there unless a parent brings them.

The next point is the area itself has a full metal railing all the way across it barring it from the jogging track, except at one point where there is a gate. This gate was open when I was there with a chain across it, as there are crew in there readjusting our anchor lines and doing maintenance while we are in port.

The specific points in question do have a drop down guard that is only up when they are running anchor lines thru the openings(as we have some now). The metal rollers have always been there as that is what the anchor ropes for docking rub up against.

This is not as huge a safety issue as is being pointed out here. The only unsafe condition is if a child somehow could get all the way down there unsupervised, which I would put in the very unlikely category.

 

[MarkLem]

Thanks for the clarity of your report! As a jogger I would hate for this to be closed off.

 

[alexandrew]

I remember that area on the ship...

It's never a good idea to take your eyes off the little ones

 

[cruisenewbie2004]

I'm sorry. but you are wrong. This is not a parental issue and I don't have "other problems" as someone mentioned. That is an absurd statement.

The area is fenced except for a 4 foot area with nothing but a chain. The gates you describe that cover the area where the ropes go through were in fact NOT all the way down but tied up, and we were at sea at the time. There was a gap approx. 24 inches above the rope pullies and the top of the porthole, which could have been secured if the gates over it had been closed.

This area could be made perfectly safe with a changeout of a rope for a gate similar to the other fence material that is used.

I had never been on a cruise nor had any idea that that area was on the ship until my family walked upon it.

I am all for monitoring your children, but a blatant area of safety ignored called for me to say something. Whether or not you believer it or heed it is your own business.

 

[moocow35]

I sure hope they do not close this area! It is so nice to be able to walk completely around the ship on this deck. Deck 4 is not an area where little ones should be playing anyway, certainly not alone or unmonitored.

 

[Debbie H]

I think we all (adults) who use that area as a walking or jogging area, which is what that area is anyway, would be really upset if it was blocked off. However, if people start complaining about it, Disney's way of dealing with it would be to exclude from the public. It's that simple. A child would have to expend a great deal of effort to get to those holes, including climbing over large objects. If someone feels it is that big of a risk to their children, then don't take them on deck 4. Disney is not stupid, and as a previous poster sated, their risk managers and insurance companies have been all over that ship. I think a greater problem would be to have a child climb on a chair on a veranda, or pull a deck chair over to the side to climb up to get a better view of the water. Again, a parental issue.

 

[WRH3MD]

Before this gets too out of hand, I will tell you I have been through this area at the bow of the ship a thousand times (in 14 cruises on the Magic and Wonder) and a child would have to be very determined and virtually unsupervised to get to anyplace in that work area that could result in his disappearence or injury. Leave it be...

Secondly, to all you pediatric nurses out there, if your child can get out of your control for even a split second you weren't paying situational attention and let him or her get into a spot you could not get them out of. Anybody who lets their child get into a situation that the parent would instantaneously find irretrievable then you have failed your child. Note: this does not apply to teenagers.

The reasons these tragedies happen is because parents are not perfect...none of them.

 

[S. C.]

I have read here to where kids have slipped out of the kids clubs without the staff knowing about it (not often but it happens). One mother was shocked when her 5 year old showed up by herself at their cabin.

On our last cruise we had very high winds. One night my DH & myself walked up by the basketball court, it was very windy & no one else was up there, coming back down the stairs we noticed an area that concerned us. At the bottom of the stairs is an area that does not have fiber glass over it, and is railings kind of spiraling up (if that makes sense) I told DH i could just imagine 10,11,12yr olds even teens thinking it was cool to try to climb up it.

 

[pediatric-rnp]

Before this gets too out of hand, I will tell you I have been through this area at the bow of the ship a thousand times (in 14 cruises on the Magic and Wonder) and a child would have to be very determined and virtually unsupervised to get to anyplace in that work area that could result in his disappearence or injury. Leave it be...

Secondly, to all you pediatric nurses out there, if your child can get out of your control for even a split second you weren't paying situational attention and let him or her get into a spot you could not get them out of. Anybody who lets their child get into a situation that the parent would instantaneously find irretrievable then you have failed your child. Note: this does not apply to teenagers.

The reasons these tragedies happen is because parents are not perfect...none of them.

I am assuming your comment about "all of you pediatric nurses" was directed at my post, as I think I am the only pediatric NP who responded to this thread. I agree with you wholeheartedly - we parents are not perfect - no human being is. Even more reason to be aware of potential dangers, which I believe is the main reason the original poster started this thread - to make people aware of something he/she viewed as being an unsafe situation. (Maybe it is a perfectly safe area - I haven't seen it so I can't offer an opinion - but we each have our own ideas regarding what is safe and what is not.) I don't think there is a parent alive who has not experienced that sudden, gut-wrenching feeling you get when your attention to your child has not been 110% ,as it should have been. If you have not ever experienced it, then God bless you - you may be that one perfect parent. And you are absolutely correct - when this moment of inattention occurs, you have failed your child.