Is anyone on the Dream right now? How did a girl fall overboard?

[brentm77]

That’s why it’s not ideal for children to be raised by grandparents, as wonderful as grandparents are. They don’t have the stamina of youth to keep up with rambunctious children. The fact that not one child to my knowledge has fallen off of a Disney Cruise Line ship in its approximately 28 years of operation until last week? That fact alone is evidence that yes it is possible to watch even the most difficult and ingenious of children (which we happen to have lol.). There are balconies and railings everywhere on a cruise ship. Why hasn’t one child ever fallen off? Because people, 99.9999% of them watch out for their children’s basic safety at a minimum.

This could actually cut the other way, because I have been on so many cruises where a good portion of the children are not watched at all, and yet nobody has fallen over. I'm talking about very young children running through the ship with nobody close by. Maybe if watching children was what was preventing this, then we would have seen many more go over? Instead, maybe this was a very rare freak accident.

In the end, we simply don't have enough information. She could have been up and over the railing in a matter of seconds for all we know. Yes, parents should watch there children closely on a ship like this, and yes I tire of parents not being responsible with their kids and think they need to be held responsible for neglect, but I am comfortable reserving judgment since there aren't enough facts in evidence in my opinion.

 

[LAS2AMS]

There are some grandparents that are in excellent physical health and can easily keep up with young children.

Some people become parents in their 40s. Others become grandparents…

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Some people become parents in their 40s. Others become grandparents…

One time my husband and I were at the mall with a toddler and our baby in a stroller. As we passed a couple of people I heard one of them say "Looks like Grandma & Grandpa have the grandkids today."


I turned and said, "No, they're ours."

Yes we were both over 40 at that point.

 

[Genie+]

Is it exhausting? Yes. Welcome to parenthood. In the natural world, some animals die as soon as their offspring are self sufficient. It’s that exhausting.

So true I’m still trying to catch my breath 5 years later!

 

[MomOTwins]

In the end, we simply don't have enough information. She could have been up and over the railing in a matter of seconds for all we know. Yes, parents should watch there children closely on a ship like this, and yes I tire of parents not being responsible with their kids and think they need to be held responsible for neglect, but I am comfortable reserving judgment since there aren't enough facts in evidence in my opinion.

People keep saying she could have quickly clambered up and over in the blink of the eye. But the police report said she was SITTING on the railing and fell backward. Which is entirely consistent with the earlier accounts of her sitting on a rail while parents took a photo. Again we can set aside the whole photo aspect as that hasn’t been confirmed, but sitting is inherently a stationary act, not some sudden motion.

 

[Genie+]

I saw mention of it not easy to climb up because those cross slats were covered with clear plexiglass in front. Making it smooth up to opening? I’ve never been on this ship though.

 

[lmhall2000]

My perspective on parenting has shifted dramatically since I was a younger parent. Back then, I often judged others' parenting choices. Now, with a grandchild, I see just how cunning children are. It's simply not realistic to expect a parent to be distraction-free and have constant eyes on their child. Maybe it's time we set aside our judgments regarding this overboard story.

I am a grandparent as well- take a completely different take- too many parents are absent-minded- multiple reasons- children in daycare- they both work- too many aren't working that instinct of discernment to know their children well by having one parent stay home with them. It's the reason our kids never rode on a motorcycle or our horses without a helmet. When you know what 'can' happen- you are diligently watching them. Anomalies happen- but when they could have been avoided- parents cry foul. Any discussion on this at all will hopefully convince other parents to be especially aware around railings- if these discussions save one child- I say prattle on!

 

[Pinkjgray]

And apparently they were wrong too, because according to someone on Reddit, it was a family member of theirs.

"Hi, just wanted to clarify that it was not a heart attack, and it was not in the first dining. This was a family member of mine and it happened mid-day around lunch time."

Heart attack might have happened but apparently it wasn't the helicopter evac incident either. I was on this cruise too and definitely so many stories out there over who/what happened!

Do you have a link to that article?

 

[MomOTwins]

I saw mention of it not easy to climb up because those cross slats were covered with clear plexiglass in front. Making it smooth up to opening? I’ve never been on this ship though.

That is true for nearly all the railings but this particular ship has one area without plexiglass—this is where it happened:

 

[brentm77]

People keep saying she could have quickly clambered up and over in the blink of the eye. But the police report said she was SITTING on the railing and fell backward. Which is entirely consistent with the earlier accounts of her sitting on a rail while parents took a photo. Again we can set aside the whole photo aspect as that hasn’t been confirmed, but sitting is inherently a stationary act, not some sudden motion.

The point about the child sitting is a good one and increases the likelihood of parental negligence, though it's not definitive, as sitting can still be an act taking mere seconds. I can conceive of scenarios where the child could still get into that position in seconds, and we do know the mother was at least diligent enough to know the instant the child fell. However, I agree that it makes negligence more probable. Regardless, I still see little value in criticizing the parents when authorities are investigating and our only concrete information comes from a very brief statement from the Sheriff's office.

In any case, this serves as a good reminder for parents to be extra diligent in similar environments. I also agree with those who do not want DCL to make drastic changes to these portholes, given their extensive safety record.

 

[mamaburrito]

Has any changes been made to these portholes?

If a child truly was able to climb up by themselves without someone assisting - you would think that Disney would be all over making changes or restricting access to the area.

Are the parents to blame? Maybe, but that’s not for us to decide. Accidents happen with and without supervision all the time.

 

[RedHead0186]

Has any changes been made to these portholes?

If a child truly was able to climb up by themselves without someone assisting - you would think that Disney would be all over making changes or restricting access to the area.

Are the parents to blame? Maybe, but that’s not for us to decide. Accidents happen with and without supervision all the time.

This just happened a week and a half ago. DCL may not be able to implement changes so quickly, depending on what they are.

I believe someone earlier on this thread said they'd be on the Dream soon and report back if any changes were made.

The Dream has been sailing for over a decade, and this is the first time a child has fallen out of one of those portholes. Yes, it's a tragic accident and I'm glad everyone is safe. But I'm not sure DCL needs to be significant changes to this area because of one accident, when tens of thousands of people, including thousands of children, have sailed on this ship without similar incident.

It's up to DCL to decide, of course, and that remains to be seen. I wonder if they could put plexiglass up on the 'rungs' like they have elsewhere on the ship (to make it harder to climb out). I would hate for them to seal off the portholes (which I've heard some people mention as a speculated option) or restrict access to this area. Lots of people like to use deck 4 as a walking track, and sealing off this area means they can no longer do a full lap around the ship.

 

[Mommb]

It's up to DCL to decide, of course, and that remains to be seen. I wonder if they could put plexiglass up on the 'rungs' like they have elsewhere on the ship (to make it harder to climb out). I would hate for them to seal off the portholes (which I've heard some people mention as a speculated option) or restrict access to this area. Lots of people like to use deck 4 as a walking track, and sealing off this area means they can no longer do a full lap around the ship.

I have been on the Dream and Fantasy 5 times, and have done a full walk around Deck 4 several times on each cruise, and I didn't remember even seeing those portholes until after this incident when I looked at a video of Deck 4. I have been staring at photos trying to determine if there is plexiglass there, because I know there is elsewhere on Deck 4, but it isn't clearly visible in many photos. If there isn't, then adding it to make climbing more difficult would be a relatively easy adjustment.

I do wonder, though, if those portholes and open rails serve some function that would make adjustments more difficult. It seems odd that these areas are so much easier to climb than other areas of the ship. It could be that DCL simply figured that young children were much less likely to be unattended in these areas, compared to Deck 4 midship, verandahs, and the upper decks.

 

[cruisehopeful]

seems odd that these areas are so much easier to climb than other areas of the ship. It could be that DCL simply figured that young children were much less likely to be unattended in these areas, compared to Deck 4 midship, verandahs, and the upper decks.

That's how I feel about it. It's probably less likely that young kids would be unsupervised on the deck, especially where it's kinda boring. It's a running deck. Perhaps the Mom was letting her child run off some energy while walking behind, not realizing that there would be an open port hole ahead. Kid could climb it very quickly by the looks of the picture above, sit in it and wave to Mommy when Mommy catches up. I suppose we'll hear more about it if the family decides to do a big lawsuit.

 

[rockchick04]

Do you have a link to that article?

https://www.reddit.com/r/dcl/comments/1kmc4y3/comment/msfzbl2

 

[Pinkjgray]

https://www.reddit.com/r/dcl/comments/1kmc4y3/comment/msfzbl2

Thank you for uploading the picture. It doesn’t indicate if she/he was referring to the May EBTA cruise. Moreover, there was a medi-evac that occurred on the Dream and Fantasy ships within the last 6 days. They could’ve been talking about with one of those. I don’t want the original commenter to be seen as a liar and the person who told me (without disclosing who) is credible.

 

[rockchick04]

Thank you for uploading the picture. It doesn’t indicate if she/he was referring to the May EBTA cruise. Moreover, there was a medi-evac that occurred on the Dream and Fantasy ships within the last 6 days. They could’ve been talking about with one of those. I don’t want the original commenter to be seen as a liar and the person who told me (without disclosing who) is credible.

The original thread and video posted is from the May ETBA this year if you click on it.

 

[runcrazy]

I have been on the Dream and Fantasy 5 times, and have done a full walk around Deck 4 several times on each cruise, and I didn't remember even seeing those portholes until after this incident when I looked at a video of Deck 4. I have been staring at photos trying to determine if there is plexiglass there, because I know there is elsewhere on Deck 4, but it isn't clearly visible in many photos. If there isn't, then adding it to make climbing more difficult would be a relatively easy adjustment.

I do wonder, though, if those portholes and open rails serve some function that would make adjustments more difficult. It seems odd that these areas are so much easier to climb than other areas of the ship. It could be that DCL simply figured that young children were much less likely to be unattended in these areas, compared to Deck 4 midship, verandahs, and the upper decks.

I was on the Fantasy last May and it does have plexiglass up to the railing - covering railings and ledge. I gather the Dream did not.

 

[mmouse37]

We just got off the Dream on Thursday and didn't have time to upload any photos....unfortunately we got a phone call as we were boarding the ship that my husband's brother passed away. We knew it was coming and he was a huge DCL fan. He and his wife told us not to change any plans as he knows how special family time is. It was hard on my husband but being surrounded by our kids and all the grandkids helped tremendously. We debarked on Thursday and Friday traveled for the funeral. Just got home yesterday.

I walked Deck 4 the last morning of the cruise to check out the portholes. The ones in question are in the aft location of the Deck 4 track on both the port and starboard sides. They are not near the shuffleboard
courts. The deck 4 track was fully open and there didn't seem to be any work being done. Portholes are open.

 

[DCLMP]

I have been on the Dream and Fantasy 5 times, and have done a full walk around Deck 4 several times on each cruise, and I didn't remember even seeing those portholes until after this incident when I looked at a video of Deck 4. I have been staring at photos trying to determine if there is plexiglass there, because I know there is elsewhere on Deck 4, but it isn't clearly visible in many photos. If there isn't, then adding it to make climbing more difficult would be a relatively easy adjustment.

I do wonder, though, if those portholes and open rails serve some function that would make adjustments more difficult. It seems odd that these areas are so much easier to climb than other areas of the ship. It could be that DCL simply figured that young children were much less likely to be unattended in these areas, compared to Deck 4 midship, verandahs, and the upper decks.

All the railings are easy to climb. The port holes are just easier. Cruise ships are built so people don't fall off. You have to watch your kids and explain to them the dangers in climbing. Some kids will get it with an explanation and then there are the others. I had one of the others. I'm amazed he made it to adulthood and turned out to be a pretty amazing young man.