How safe are the top bunks that pull down?

[suesings]

Hi,
This will be our first Disney Cruise. We are booked in a Guaranteed Cat. 10. I think most of these rooms have the pull down bunk. How safe is this bunk? Do you think it would be safe enough for a 5 year old? I know my daughter will want to sleep in it, but I was wondering if that was appropriate? Is there a minimum age limit or anything? How old were your kids when they slept in it. I want to be able to prepare my daughter now that she can't sleep in it if need be.

Thanks,
Sue

 

[lbgraves]

Our DS slept in it for both cruises. He turned 5 the day before we cruised the first time & didn't have a problem with the bunk. He had never even been up on a bunk bed before. He loves sleeping in it now. He found the little light for it on the wall on the last night the first time. He liked keeping it on until he went to sleep for our last cruise. There is a bedrail on half of it. He is also used to sleeping in a double bed & adjusted fine to the smaller mattress.

 

[clh2]

My DD (9 at the time of the cruise) loved the top bunk. We actually left it "out" the entire cruise. That way DD had a place to store her stuff - and her own "space" without messing up the rest of the room.

 

[scrapperjill]

Our daughter slept on in durring our cruise...but she was quite a bit older than your child..(dd11)...I was a little concerned about our youngest sleeping in it (dd6)...just because at home she gets out of bed alot...and wonders into our room. So I was just worried she would think she was at home and jump out of bed...and forget she was on a bunk. But after cruising...I think she would have been just fine. She..well both of the girls were soooo tird by the end of the day...they hardly stired all night long.

I also read some place that there may be additional safety bars the room steward can apply if asked..if your worried it may be worth asking.

I'm not sure how many people you have in your stateroom...but if it's just the three of you...the pull down is very hidden so you DS may not even know it's up there unless you point it out. If you do decide not to let him in on the secret bed...you better let your room stewad know you want the sofa made up instead of the pull down. I'm not sure which one he'd do first for a party of three.

 

[ThreeSmiths]

Our DD was 6 and loved the pull-down bed. I kept having visions of it "snapping" up into the ceiling, but my husband showed me exactly how it worked at that it would definitely not retract into the ceiling with DD in it!!! She is normally afraid of heights, but she had no fear of the bunk at all!

Stacy

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Does anyone have a picure of the pull-down bed? I'm having a hard time visualizing it.

Thanks, T&B

 

[crisi]

Our four and five year old took turns. I wouldn't leave a younger child unsupervised near a bunk, nor put one in it who was prone to getting up in the middle of the night (potty breaks, sleepwalking), and I'd hesitate to put a really active kid (awake or asleep) up there.

 

[CamColt]

My DS was almost 4 when we sailed and the bunk was one of the biggest highlights of the cruise for him.
He slept there with no problem and when we returned home and it was time to get him a real bed instead of his toddler bed, he requested a loft bed..."like on the Disney boat".

 

[Skywalker]

Our cabin steward warned me that although people do it all the time, the suggested age is really 7 and over. He said that it is usually "don't ask, don't tell" but since I mentioned about my boys he had to warn me. Anyway, since my son is 6 and large for his age we allowed it. My youngest, who is 4, I would have been more concerned about but he did not want to sleep up there anyway. Either way, I thought it was very safe and wouldn't have a problem with it.

 

[Brittwoman]

My 15 yr old DD had no problems sleepingin the top bunk

 

[cepmom]

if you go to Barb's site, it has great pictures of the ceiling bed. I can not post a link here, but the site is castawayclub then just add the .com

 

[1princessesmom]

We were on the Magic 2 weeks ago and my 4 yo DD slept in the top bunk with no problems. She loved it!! I was actually quite surprised as she is usually scared of such things. We did not put the ladder up....she could only get up when we put her up.......also we did not want our 2 year old DS climbing up. There is a metal safety rail on it. Your hostess also has regular mesh bed rails.....she put one up every night on my son's bed (the couch/twin bed).


I have a picture of my daughter in the bed that I would be happy to share, but I can't figure out how to post it on this message.

 

[Enna]

It was my understanding that the AAP or AMA (one of those medical associations) don't want kids under 7 in the top bunk. That would be consistant with what the cabin steward told a previous poster.

My son will be 5 when we cruise, and I'm VERY iffy about letting him sleep there...but there may not be any other choice. My son will need potty access, but my daughter who will be turning 4 sometimes sleeps hanging off the bed and would be a greater risk in a raised bunk.

If someone can tell me how to fit 2 adults & 2 kids WITHOUT using the top bunk (or sending one of the kids to sleep in Granny's cabin), please let me know!

Enna

 

[disneyfan73]

Does anyone have a picure of the pull-down bed? I'm having a hard time visualizing it.

Thanks, T&B

Have a photo in my album with beds down... its the 9th photo. BTW room is a cat 4

http://client.webshots.com/album/231368892NCWYUe

 

[DVC Mary]

Our DS age 7 loved the top bunk. We ordered the extra safety rail & extra pillows to stuff around everywhere. He had no problem. I told him that when he woke up to go to the bathroom to wake me up by shoving his pillow at me--LOL , but got up quick. I would then help him get down the ladder. By the 3rd night, he didn't need my help orienting himself anymore.

I don't know how you'd fit a 4th child w/o using the top bunk, unless you cram them in w/ you or put them on the floor, but there's really very little floor space. I wonder if you get them to take the coffee table out in order to make available floor sleeping space, but I don't think I'd recommend it.

Happy sailing!

 

[tvguy]

And there is a weight limit of 200 pounds on the upper berth. DS is 6'2" and 210 pounds, so DD got the upper berth by default.

 

[mickeyfanmom]

Our DS slept in it for both cruises. He turned 5 the day before we cruised the first time & didn't have a problem with the bunk. He had never even been up on a bunk bed before. He loves sleeping in it now. He found the little light for it on the wall on the last night the first time. He liked keeping it on until he went to sleep for our last cruise. There is a bedrail on half of it. He is also used to sleeping in a double bed & adjusted fine to the smaller mattress.

So that's what that little box in the upper right corner is? Our DS9 thought that it was an alarm and was afraid to push the button. I never looked at it or checked it out. I will pass on the info!

 

[lbgraves]

ROFL! No, it's not an alarm. DS will try anything, wouldn't have thought of the alarm part. He just didn't find it because he was so tired by the time we got back to the cabin. He didn't have time to explore.

 

[crisi]

The guideline is "under the age of six" and is from the cspa. Like all guidelines, it is simply that - a recommendation. I wouldn't put a hyper seven year old in a top bunk even though the recommendation says its ok, but I put my "sleeps like a rock" four year old up there. The recommendation also assumes the bunks are in their own bedroom - most bunkbed accidents happen from kids horsing around the bunks, not from them being used the way they are supposed to be used. In their own bedroom, there is a lot more opportunity to play "push sister while on the top bunk" than there is likely to be if you are in the cabin with them.

 

[clori]

I was on the ship a few weeks ago with a 4.5 year old. I had told her we would ask to have the bunk opened for her to play on but she would sleep on the sofa (baby in pack n play). The hostest asked where dd was sleeping and I said th sofa since I wasn't comfortable with the head having no rail. Next thing I knew the hostest was back with a head rail. After that was added I felt safe having my 4 year old sleep up there. She knew if she woke up in the middle of the night to call for us to get her rather than getting up herself. At home she seldom sleeps thru the night but on the ship she slept thru the night no problem and loved her bunk. The side rails are metal bars but the head rail is a safety first mesh rail.