2 Yr Old Falls from Deck 11 on Royal Caribbean Ship

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I know it's the internet and arguing and judging people with incomplete information is what people do there, but don't argue with ME about it just because I expressed sympathy for this poor family.
Exactly—none of us were there and we don’t know if he was holding the baby inside the window and slipped forward (such that people saw him reaching out to catch the baby and thought he was holding the baby out there). I’ve seen plenty of people holding their kids up high on DCL stateroom balconies or the upper decks to take in the view—all it takes is a stumble to go from securely holding a child to them falling over the edge.

Besides it is all a bit moot to wish ill on this grandfather—I’m sure he is being punished plenty with the guilt and pain he must be feeling. The internet is so full of venom sometimes...
 
Well, my nightmare is more specifically that one of my kids is going to climb up on the rails while I am asleep or in the bathroom and go over, but I have definitely drilled into them that the balcony is off limits without a grown up.

I have yet to be in a balcony room with a balcony door that *I*, a fairly strong adult, can open easily, let alone in a room where a child can open it easily.


They are above the level of the railing and up on the pool deck, below the overhang, and provide necessary ventilation. They are not easy to "accidentally" fall out of. They are essentially vertical and you would have to lift a child up and OUT the window for there to be any danger.

Aw man, those windows? My son and I have always been so scared of those windows.


, I don't really get when parents who accidentally leave their child in a hot car are charged either

The only ones I know of with charges filed were actual negligence or even purposeful murder. Not mistakes.

I get that "multiple" "articles" are saying that the grandpa was dangling the child out of the window, but I'm nevertheless disturbed by how many pitchforks have immediately come out to crucify this man.

Those of us who have been on those ships KNOW that it's pretty much impossible for people to accidentally do anything out of a window or off a balcony.


Exactly—none of us were there and we don’t know if he was holding the baby inside the window and slipped forward (such that people saw him reaching out to catch the baby and thought he was holding the baby out there). I’ve seen plenty of people holding their kids up high on DCL stateroom balconies or the upper decks to take in the view—all it takes is a stumble to go from securely holding a child to them falling over the edge.

If you ever see those windows, you'll understand. They are needed for ventilation, AND they are terrifying just to walk past.
 
A friend of mine witnessed a toddler fall from an airport balcony when his mother lost her grip. The dear child died upon impact. I was not there, but I am haunted by that story. You cannot be too careful when holding children in situations like this. 💔
 
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For those of you who want to see blood and see the man charged and/or put in jail for life or whatever... Will that really help anyone? I think that could make matters worse for this family.

They were on a family vacation, the daughter trusted her father with the life of his granddaughter. Family ties were probably pretty good (until now), otherwise she wouldn't have left the child alone with her father.
If she had any thought her father could be this stupid, she wouldn't have left them.

Imagine what could have happened between the toddler and the grandfather. They are alone and the child tried to see outside, but doesn't have a good view. She sees grandfather has a better view as he is taller and at an open window. She probably says things as "up!", reaching her arms up at him. The grandfather scoops her up, she giggles, they laugh and have fun and he decides to give her an even better view. Spur of the moment decision. And spur of the moment accident.

This family has to live with the tragic loss of their little girl and the knowledge that it happened by the hands of someone they are supposed to love unconditionally. If they also lose a father and a grandfather in this family, it could make matters worse to try to move on from this.

Of course, this doesn't make it alright and the daughter will never look at her father the same way again, but it is only up to her, the father of the child and the police force to decide the next steps.
 


For those saying he needs to be charged with manslaughter, to what end? So he can sit in jail and see the errors of his way? I think the man will be tortured everyday for the rest of his days without a jail cell. I don't see how arresting him, putting him on trial and sending him to jail will help this family.

I am heartbroken for this family. We cruise every couple of years since my youngest was 4 years old. I don't know what I would do if I didn't come back with one of my kids. I also feel bad for all of the other cruisers. How can anyone have a good time on their vacation after a tragedy like this?
 
Just saw the attorney for the family on TV. He said the original police report is incorrect. Riiiight. He also said there is going to be blame - and significant blame - on the cruise line. And he will do everything he can to hold them accountable for what appears to be negligence. Guess he found his payday. Disgusting.

The window was OPEN, not broken. They seem to be at the same height as a balcony railing. So if you lift your kid up on the balcony railing, it's the same thing.

In the end, it doesn't matter. One family will never recover from this.
 
Just saw the attorney for the family on TV. He said the original police report is incorrect. Riiiight. He also said there is going to be blame - and significant blame - on the cruise line. And he will do everything he can to hold them accountable for what appears to be negligence. Guess he found his payday. Disgusting.

The window was OPEN, not broken. They seem to be at the same height as a balcony railing. So if you lift your kid up on the balcony railing, it's the same thing.

In the end, it doesn't matter. One family will never recover from this.

That's the way of this world any more...no one is accountable for their own actions. It's always someone else's fault...
 


A tragedy like this effects the entire family forever.

My grandmother was sick in bed with the flu. 2 of her 7 children also were battling the flu. My grandfather was the only other adult in the house, responsible for the ill and remaining 5 kids. It has been raining for days when finally the sun came out. Grandfather let the 5 siblings play outside while he tried to make lunch and deal with dirty bedding.

The oldest child outside, my aunt, was 9. Unfortunately, my 3 year old uncle Freddie managed to slip away from the others during their playtime. His tiny body was found in the pond.

The guilt, anger and anguish produced by this tragic accident has survived the generations. My father was only 5 and he still feels responsible for his brother’s death. My aunt never got over it and suffered from alcoholism her entire life. My grandparents never spoke of Freddie, the topic was a dark family cloud over the family.

A simple moment of inattention or poor judgement can result in a horrible incident that changes people’s lives forever. I hope this family stays away from social media and finds the strength to cope with their grief in private.
 
Just saw the attorney for the family on TV. He said the original police report is incorrect. Riiiight. He also said there is going to be blame - and significant blame - on the cruise line. And he will do everything he can to hold them accountable for what appears to be negligence. Guess he found his payday. Disgusting.

The window was OPEN, not broken. They seem to be at the same height as a balcony railing. So if you lift your kid up on the balcony railing, it's the same thing.

In the end, it doesn't matter. One family will never recover from this.

There is a reason these ships are registered in The Bahama's and not the US, because they have different laws. Somewhere in that cruise contract, (which the families signed), RCL is not going to be held accountable for what happened.
 
Here is a pic from a news story of people investigating A window - not clear if it was THE window. But you can see how high the window opening is...

View attachment 415479
Seeing this photo reminds me of a day when I ran into my daughter and grandson at Homegoods. I was walking out while they were walking in, and he was about the same age. Bonnie was holding him so he was vertical and facing me (out) with her arms around his waist and we were just chatting in the parking lot when he decided (I'd guess) that he wanted to get down and heaved his upper body forward and I thought he was going to drop from her arms and face plant on the parking lot. He startled me so badly that I did a quick scream. Babies have no common sense and it made no difference to him that he would have been badly injured if he met his goal of getting down. This photo shows how just lifting her up to see, could be a fatal mistake if she did anything similar to what my grandson did that day. He wouldn't have had to hold her out past the windows for her to fall if she did what my grandson did in front of me.

I'm so sorry for the whole family. This is such a sad and tragic story.
 
I also do wonder what kind of a ship has open windows on the 11th floor facing a sheer drop all the way down? Why weren't they sealed portholes that high up?
Well, Disney Dream class ships have full verandahs on deck 12, so I don't see what's wrong with open windows on deck 11. Open pool decks are on all kinds of ships higher than deck 11. This isn't about the ship, it's about a man's tragically poor judgment.
 
Those of us who have been on those ships KNOW that it's pretty much impossible for people to accidentally do anything out of a window or off a balcony.

Agreed. Millions of other cruisers figured out how to walk past that window and not drop their kids 11 stories. From years of personal experience dealing with "freak accidents", sounds alcohol related in my opinion. Only an impaired person would sit anything on an 11 story window ledge and not consider it may fall off and injure or kill others. I wouldn't even sit my cell on a window ledge, let alone a child.
 
Some say it was the pool area, but a report with quote from the family attorney says the children's play area had an open window. Thought there was glass for her to bang on, and well, no glass as it was open. But yes, the grandfather was holding her at the time.
 
Some say it was the pool area, but a report with quote from the family attorney says the children's play area had an open window. Thought there was glass for her to bang on, and well, no glass as it was open. But yes, the grandfather was holding her at the time.

I don't think he said "children's play area". I think he said where children play. He's twisting it to fit his agenda.
 
I find it hard to believe they don't have some kind of deck camera. When I'm on board I see camera's everywhere and there's most likely many that I don't see as well. That would clear up all this confusion in minutes. If it were truly the cruise line's fault as the family attorney is insinuating, wouldn't the family attorney have subpoenaed for the video by now. Only reason for the family attorney to not show the video would be if it doesn't put them in a good light.
 
"One family will never recover from this". This is my takeaway, not blame, etc. My beautiful grandsons are visiting me with my daughter while my son-in-law does some military training. The oldest is almost 3, the younger is 1 month. I said yesterday that if I caused them to die I would probably just slit my wrists right then. I can't even imagine it.
 
As I see it, the only way this is RCCL's fault is if a cast member dropped the child themselves or a window at floor level was broken open and not blocked off. It doesn't seem that either is the case. How many passengers have sailed the Freedom class ships? How many of them have fallen out a window? It's not a design issue, it was an error in judgment with the most tragic consequences.
 
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