Verandah's with little ones

[Lisa loves Pooh]

As I ponder future cruising and envy those with counters on already....

What are the safety features of the verandah--can the kids poke there heads through--wouldn't want them plunging off of the ship.

Also--what is the safety feature on the door that prevents my precocious (sp?) iddy biddies from venturing outside on their own.

I would be aprehensive about booking without fooly trusting that I won't be having a panic attack during a cruise worrying about them every two seconds.

They are almost 4 and 1 1/2 now--they should be 20 and 18 by the time we sale (j/k They would be 2 to 3 years older actually...

anyone cruise with little ones in a verandah cabin?

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

This is what I have learned from this board (ie: not personal experience yet...)

The doors are difficult to open with high up locks or maybe it's high up latches- but in any case... many have said that they (adults) have had problems opening them- so apparently it would be very difficult to open those doors if you were a small child.

The verandahs are either plexiglass halfway up or steel (or what appears to be steel to me... I might be wrong on that). Plexiglass they can see through- steel they can't. The only way they could get over the top (to be dangerous) would be perhaps to stand on a table or chairs. Other than climbing- I believe they are way too tall for them to just fall off the top and definitely can't fall "through" anything...


With that said- we decided against verandah for our first cruise and perhaps until the children are much older. We decided this because we are booking 2 rooms for our family of 5 and intend on the children sleeping in the connecting room (with door in between). Our OLDEST would be capable of opening the doors- and we wouldn't want to worry about the youngest (or perhaps even the middle child) climbing on a chair or table and falling over (my heart skips a beat just thinking about it). So for us- it's porthole for awhile... until I think the kids are old enough that this wouldn't be a possibility (like I know my oldest would not climb on a chair and lean over the top). Personal choice though. If we were all staying in the same room (let's say it was only 4 of us- we'd probably only book one room then) -then I'd go with a verandah... because they'd have to open the doors in the same room I'm sleeping in and it wouldn't happen without me waking up (as it could in just a connected room)

 

[JerseyMom]

The handles are difficult to master - at least for me. Also there is plexiglass covering the railings so no need to worry about them sticking their heads out of the railings. A few of the category 6s have a solid balcony. If you are still nervous, you might want to consider the Navigators Balcony - it is enclosed except for a round or oval (depending if it's the Magic or the Wonder) Porthole. In addition, DCL is happy to remove your balcony furniture if you are afraid that climbing on the furniture might be a problem.

I'm sure whatever you decide, both you and the kids will love it.

Karen

 

[crisi]

What helped me was the realization that DCL has hundreds of kids on every ship and has been sailing for years. If it were easy for little monkeys to go over the edge, someone would have done it by now.

 

[BuzzBoyMom]

Our boys were 4 and 6 on our last cruise. We had no problems. The doors are definately hard to open. We struggled and the kids couldn't do it (not that it would be impossible for them, but they just couldn't do it). I think it just comes down to common sense. There are 2 chairs and a table out there so if they climb up on them they increase the possibility of falling over, but we never let our boys out there alone. Hopefully no parent would allow small children to be out there alone. I never saw any openings on the plexiglass that would allow them to poke their heads through.

Saying all that - enjoy but be careful! Our boys thought it was the best thing to wake up, go out on the verandah and see the ocean rolling by! Ahhhhh!!!!! Incredible!!!

 

[erikthewise]

The doors may be difficult to open but they are also difficult to lock. I thought I knew how to lock them but found out after a couple days I had been wrong. Apparently most staterooms had instructions posted somewhere about how to lock them, but ours did not. Make sure you get instructions!

 

[outahere]

I would be more apprehensive about the inside door. When you pull down on the handle, it unlocks the deadbolt and the door is open. There was a thread not too long ago about a 2 year child found wandering the halls by herself.