but I can't get the image of a girl falling overboard out of my head and that definitely prejudices me against a cruise. We don't go on cruises as a family, either.
You may find good reasons not to send a kid on a cruise like this, but it's impossible for a person to "fall overboard" -- except from a private balcony.
First, the ship's rails are about my shoulder height (I'm 5'), so it'd take some climbing to get to the top -- a child too young to understand the danger couldn't do it. The rails are built angled inward so IF you were to climb up them, it'd be like a rock climber climbing an inverted mountain -- again -- a child couldn't do it. Finally, they put clear plexiglass on the inside of the rails to prevent anyone from getting a foothold on the rails. It's virtually impossible to climb onto the rails. An average adult would need the help of a chair to get on top of the rail.
Second, the public areas of the ship are all "tiered" like a wedding cake. So IF you could manage to get to the top of the rail on Deck 10, you would not fall into the ocean -- you'd fall onto Deck 9. You'd have to be a mighty jumper to clear the deck below. It's planned that way. If you find pictures of "straight" rails, they're overlooking the pool, etc.
On the main pool deck, you don't have rails separating you from the ocean. You have floor-to-ceiling plexiglass, which prevents the strong sea winds from being "too much". It's a little like being in a punch-bowl The air circulation comes from the deck above, which has rails.
It IS possible to go overboard from a private balcony. There you'd have the help of a chair to reach the top of the railing, no audience watching you, and most balconies are straight above the water. But you'd never do it accidentally -- you'd have to be doing something foolish or purposeful to go overboard even on your private balcony. And you don't have to choose to have a balcony.
Finally, think about WHO you hear about going overboard. With all the children on the ship, none ever go overboard. Not even one. And plenty of their parents are not necessarily vigilant about watching them on the ship. No, the people who go overboard are adults. Usually adults who've been drinking and are doing something foolish, or foul play is involved. An adult who is trying could go overboard or could throw someone overboard, but no child will go over accidentally.
I can see plenty of reasons not to allow this particular child to go on this particular trip, but there's
no reason to allow fear of going overboard to keep you from going on a cruise. It just isn't something that will happen. The ship is designed to keep everyone onboard.
The real safety concerns onboard having nothing to do with the railings. They have to do with keeping kids out of other people's cabins (where anything could happen) and making sure kids are either with you or in the kids' club activities after dinner (when too many kids are allowed to run around unsupervised, and the ship does have lots of dark areas).
