Fantasy Injury on 9/12/15 Cruise

On the second night of our 7-day Eastern Caribbean Cruise on the Fantasy a "Bright Star" code came over the PA system around 10:30 pm. We figured since it was so late it must have been important (Bright Star is obviously a medical emergency as there was one at dinner time one night at Royal Court and I saw EMTs there shortly after.

Rumor was someone fell from 7th deck to 5th deck (the code was for a 5th deck stateroom) and the ship even made an unscheduled stop at Puerto Rico to take the person to a hospital.

My guess is someone fell off their 7th deck balcony onto one of the 5th deck extended balconies.

Anybody on this cruise that knew anymore about the situation?

Please don't spread these rumors. Other than what you say are rumors, you have no reason to believe that someone fell off a balcony. All you know is that the call was to a deck 5 stateroom.

Someone could have had chest pain, fallen in the shower, or any number of other situations that resulted in an emergency in the stateroom. Or someone on deck 5 could have slipped and fallen on their own balcony.

As far as I know, NO ONE has ever fallen off a balcony on a Disney ship. Given the construction of the balcony, a fall off is virtually impossible. The enclosed railing is about 46 inches high (by enclosed, I mean that there is either metal or plexiglass below the railing.) This is far above the center of gravity of most people. In order to "fall" off, the person would have to move a chair over to the balcony, climb up on it, and lean over. That or climb onto the railing from a table or chair and jump from there.

This kind of rumor just spreads fear among parents of their little ones falling off a balcony (hasn't happened EVER on a DCL ship). There was one incident of a teen intentionally jumping off from deck 4 when the Magic was in port many years ago. The area from which he jumped has been permanently blocked now. There is also the possibility that a missing crew member went overboard, but in reality no one knows what happened in her situation.

It is standard procedure in a medical situation to get the person off the ship in the safest and most reasonable way possible. The medical center is quite amazing, but they lack the staff to provide round the clock care for a sick individual. The goal is always to stabilize and get the person to a hospital--whether that means an unscheduled port stop, a helicopter evacuation, a more rapid transit to a scheduled port, or whatever is decided between the doctor and the captain. Yes, I know the captain makes the ultimate decision, but in a medical situation he makes his decision with input from the medical staff.

Unless you know the family of the involved individual or they post something, you'll never get any further information. DCL will respect the guest's privacy, no matter what the situation. They will not disclose any information.

Sorry to offend. I was just wondering if anyone knew exactly what happened.

I clarified it was a rumor at the beginning of my post (several people said they were told that a woman broke her leg in a fall from deck 7 to 5 and was dropped off in Puerto Rico for surgery).

I also stated the hypothetical of falling from the balcony was my own theory and total conjecture (thus the use of the phrase "my guess" (although assuming the rumor was true, I know no other way one could fall from deck 7 to 5).

Again, I meant no ill will. Just basic human curiosity.

There's no way a small child could fall off. If someone did fall, it was likely due to risky behavior (I assume a teenager doing something stupid.)

We were on the Carnival Breeze and docked with the Fantasy in St. Maarten. Forensics were there at the dock when we pulled in and heard someone jumped off the ship shortly after they docked.

There was a article yesterday that a father and young son were on the cruise. The father left the lad in the club and when he did not return at the time he was supposed to pick the lad up, a cm checked his cabin and found the man had a attack of some type.and died.

The vessel returned to the dock and the body was removed. The lad stayed on the vessel and was turned over to relatives in PC.

The really sad part is the mom had passed away 2 months ago.

No report of of anyone jumping off the vessel or on deck.

AKK

Thanks for the straight scoop, Skipper.

Spreading rumors doesn't help anyone. Fact--no one has ever fallen off a balcony on a DCL ship. They are intentionally designed and built to prevent this. The balconies are as safe as DCL knew how to make them. Of course the ultimate bit of safety is parents watching their children and not being stupid themselves.

Sorry--I've lost the ability to edit a post.

Here's what I found with a google search.

http://www.cruiseshipdeaths.com/Cruise_Ship_Deaths_5/Peter_Mizioch.html

I would be surprised if someone had jumped and they let us get off the Breeze. I know they didn't beat us to St. Maarten by much. Someone dying on board makes much more sense

There was a article yesterday that a father and young son were on the cruise. The father left the lad in the club and when he did not return at the time he was supposed to pick the lad up' date=' a cm checked his cabin and found the man had a attack of some type.and died.

 

The vessel returned to the dock and the body was removed. The lad stayed on the vessel and was turned over to relatives in PC.

 

The really sad part is the mom had passed away 2 months ago.

 

No report of of anyone jumping off the vessel or on deck.

 

AKK[/quote']

 

That cruise was in June.

 

http://www.cruiseshipdeaths.com/Cruise_Ship_Deaths_5/Richard_Williams.html

That cruise was in June.

 

http://www.cruiseshipdeaths.com/Cruise_Ship_Deaths_5/Richard_Williams.html

Correct. The link that I posted refers to the September sailing. Seems that th entire story may not be written yet,

You certainly could jump off a balcony on any ship but it would be almost impossible to fall accidentally. If you did jump from 7 I suspect the next stop would be the ocean and not deck 5.

If the story is true my heart goes out to that child. What a horrible series of events.

You certainly could jump off a balcony on any ship but it would be almost impossible to fall accidentally. If you did jump from 7 I suspect the next stop would be the ocean and not deck 5.

 

If the story is true my heart goes out to that child. What a horrible series of events.

Actually on the Dream and the Fantasy, it is very possible to go over the balcony (I won't comment on the jump/fall thing) and go from 7 to 5 due to the extended balconies on 5.

That cruiseshipdeaths.com site actually lists the woman jumping off a balcony. Says case is still unfolding. It states she was a member of a deaf group on the cruise (a huge number on this cruise many of whom had deafness as a symptom of other disorders) and jumped off 10th floor balcony). This is separate from the previously linked death of the 72 year old man (who died after our unscheduled stop in Puerto Rico).

Weird set of events on our cruise.

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That cruiseshipdeaths.com site actually lists the woman jumping off a balcony. Says case is still unfolding. It states she was a member of a deaf group on the cruise (a huge number on this cruise many of whom had deafness as a symptom of other disorders) and jumped off 10th floor balcony). This is separate from the previously linked death of the 72 year old man (who died after our unscheduled stop in Puerto Rico).

 

Weird set of events on our cruise.

 

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Must be recently added as it wasn't there yesterday morning. I just looked--it is there, saying basically what you reported with no additional details.

As to deaf groups on the ships--DCL lists specific cruises where they assure there will be a team of interpreters present. A deaf guest can book any cruise they wish and DCL will attempt to put 2 interpreters on board for them but due to schedules, etc. this may not be possible. On the cruises that DCL specifies, they tend to get a cluster of deaf guests, whether they were a group prior to cruising or not.

It does sound like you had a very strange cruise!

There was a article yesterday that a father and young son were on the cruise. The father left the lad in the club and when he did not return at the time he was supposed to pick the lad up' date=' a cm checked his cabin and found the man had a attack of some type.and died.

 

The vessel returned to the dock and the body was removed. The lad stayed on the vessel and was turned over to relatives in PC.

 

The really sad part is the mom had passed away 2 months ago.

 

No report of of anyone jumping off the vessel or on deck.

 

AKK[/quote']

 

The father dying on the cruise and orphaning his son happened in June.

Maybe you confused that story with the Sept 12 reported death because I posted them both one after he other on the other Disney cruise board.

Oops, sorry I see someone already mentioned that fact!

We were recently on the Fantasy with a 2, 3, and 4 y.o. We had balcony cabins. There was plexiglass covering the railings so the kids couldn't use them as ladders.(Thank-you DCL) However, the kids were still trying to climb on the railing and could have climbed over them if we hadn't been watching them.

My point.......It doesn't matter how many safety measures are taken. If you leave your kids to just run around unsupervised accidents can happen. Keep an eye out for any and all kids. They can find a way to do anything they set their minds to. :p

We were recently on the Fantasy with a 2, 3, and 4 y.o. We had balcony cabins. There was plexiglass covering the railings so the kids couldn't use them as ladders.(Thank-you DCL) However, the kids were still trying to climb on the railing and could have climbed over them if we hadn't been watching them.

My point.......It doesn't matter how many safety measures are taken. If you leave your kids to just run around unsupervised accidents can happen. Keep an eye out for any and all kids. They can find a way to do anything they set their minds to. :p

This is totally true. On the other hand, DCL has designed as much safety into the balconies as is reasonable. There is a big heavy door with a lock that is at about my shoulder level (I'm a 5'6" adult). The door is so heavy that when I cruised with a handicapped friend, she could not open it. Once you are past the door, as above, there is plexiglass on the inside of the railings to prevent little people from getting a foothold. No child has every been reported to have gone over a balcony railing on a DCL ship since the Magic launched in 1998.

Yes, they can move furniture over to the railing and climb on the furniture and onto the railing that way. But what is a parent doing that allowed a pre-schooler to somehow unlock and open a very heavy door and move furniture around without being seen? They would also have to move furniture inside the cabin to reach the lock and then move it out of the way to work the handle (which serves as a second deterrent.)

Could an adult do it intentionally? Sure. Accidentally? Not without either some "help" or a large dose of stupidity.

Jeez...folks get injured and even, die, on cruises ALL THE TIME!