Child locks for balcony rooms

We are going to be traveling on the Allure in September with our 4yo (autistic) child and this is the first time we have booked a balcony when traveling with him. In the past we have always done a port hole because it made me way too nervous to get a balcony with him. It still makes me nervous but I feel we are at a better place with him now however I would still like extra precaution with the door. Can I ask our cabin steward for a child lock for the balcony door or is that something I need to contact the special needs department about?

I believe there are already locks on the balcony doors on Allre, plus the doors are hard to move.

The child lock is at the top of the door. And yes, its heavy. On Oasis it took some effort to open.

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We are going to be traveling on the Allure in September with our 4yo (autistic) child and this is the first time we have booked a balcony when traveling with him. In the past we have always done a port hole because it made me way too nervous to get a balcony with him. It still makes me nervous but I feel we are at a better place with him now however I would still like extra precaution with the door. Can I ask our cabin steward for a child lock for the balcony door or is that something I need to contact the special needs department about?

Hi Tegl :)

There is a child lock near the top of the balcony door, similar to the lock below.

Have a wonderful, safe voyage!

:)

A picture is always worth a thousand words!!!!! :)

While they don’t have special locks, a four year old could never reach the lock on the balcony. You could buy a small plastic stick up alarm which will go off should the door open. We had them in the house when the grandchildren were young and their parents let them run wild.

Thank you guys very much for the information. The child lock is hard to do? I know if he watches us do it then he will attempt to do it himself (just push the chair over and climb up … we have an escape artist on our hands). Im glad to hear the doors are heavy. Are they heavier than the cabin door by chance?

Gerif - yes we have been thinking about bring one that for the door, we had them *years* ago when our (now) 14 year old was a toddler and use to escape the house too. We now have ADT which gives me piece of mind but in the rare event he is able to get passed that system, we also have a service dog that is trained in tracking (although we won't be brining him on this trip). I'll be glad when we get out of this phases again.

A picture is always worth a thousand words!!!!! :)

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Balcony doors are very heavy. I don't think a 4-year-old would have the strength to turn the regular handle and slide the door, however, if you are so concerned I would be extra careful.

I would be more concerned about him "escaping" out of the cabin door and into the corridor. Cabin doors are heavy but easier to open because you are not trying to slide. They also lock automatically. Have seen kids accidentally lock themselves out and not know which is their cabin. Can happen to adults too! Not a bad idea to do a door decoration. Also use deadbolt or chain when in for the night.

You might want to consider bringing alarms for both doors if you are that concerned. Cabins are so small you will never be that far away from him, but perhaps you are thinking of nighttime.

... Also use deadbolt or chain when in for the night....

What ships have a chain on the cabin door? I´ve never seen one, but I´ve not sailed every ship in the world. For sure though there´s no chains on the doors on Allure (the ship in question).

As for the use of the deadbolt, I always use it, but it´s for keeping people out from outside, it does not prevent anyone from getting out.

Even with the deadbolt being used, all you have to do is to pull the door handle to open the door, as the deadbolt will automatically open with the door handle pulled from inside. So if someone is capable of opening the door from inside, it doesn´t matter if the deadbolt is used or not.

I have sailed in a balcony room with my autistic son. He never tried to open the balcony door but given a minutes opportunity he would run out of the cabin door into the corridor. For that door I have a walkabout travel door lock. I show the cabin attendants what I am using in the door and they have always been fine with this.

We are in a balcony in a couple of months and I am planning on asking my cabin attendant if I can move the furniture off the balcony. If there is nothing to stand on there is no temptation.

There is normally a chair & a coffee table in the cabin which might be other things to move.

Luggage goes under the bed, so they can't stand on that.

I hope you enjoy your cruise.

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Just a reminder for quiet time in the room that adventure ocean has a toy lending program which is wonderful.

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Hi Tegl :)

 

There is a child lock near the top of the balcony door, similar to the lock below.

 

Have a wonderful, safe voyage!

 

 

 

 

 

:)

Which ship is this on? We are traveling on Oasis and I’m hoping they have this as well! Thanks 😊

I have sailed in a balcony room with my autistic son. He never tried to open the balcony door but given a minutes opportunity he would run out of the cabin door into the corridor. For that door I have a walkabout travel door lock. I show the cabin attendants what I am using in the door and they have always been fine with this.

 

We are in a balcony in a couple of months and I am planning on asking my cabin attendant if I can move the furniture off the balcony. If there is nothing to stand on there is no temptation.

 

There is normally a chair & a coffee table in the cabin which might be other things to move.

 

Luggage goes under the bed, so they can't stand on that.

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise.

 

 

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Didn't even think to have the furniture removed from the balcony - thats actually a good idea and something we should ask to do ourselves. We also store the luggage under the bed.

He has never tried to leave the cabin but then again as he gets older and we travel this may change. We always use the deadbolt but extra precaution is always better. I plan on bringing a small "Stop sign" visual to stick on the door so he remembers he cant go out without us.

Just a reminder for quiet time in the room that adventure ocean has a toy lending program which is wonderful.

 

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Yes we love this program, although I wish some of their kits had older age toys in them. They tend to gage their kits for the little ones so Im hoping this cruise we can find something that will interest him. Last year it was tough cause they were 'baby-ish' toys and didnt engage him enough to keep his interest. But we did learned 2 sailings back to go first day or 2 because the best kits always get "rented" first.

I don't see any way possible for a child to open a balcony door without an adult in the room being aware of it. Honestly, I don't think even a weight-lifting 4yo child would be able to open the door unassisted no matter how good of a copycat they are... those doors are HEAVY.

Also, if you're in a room with the beds on the balcony side of the room, there's no way for the child to move furniture over to the door to try to reach the child lock (and I still don't think they'd be able to move the door even if it were completely unlocked).

I also don't recommend asking that the furniture on the balcony be removed... you're never going to let the kid out there unsupervised, and they won't be able to get out there alone, so why not leave the furniture there for YOU to enjoy when the child is napping/sleeping?

I would definitely recommend an audible travel alarm for the door to the corridor, though, and only turn it on when the child is in the room.

But seriously, STOP worrying about the balcony door. You have NOTHING to worry about there.

Just a reminder for quiet time in the room that adventure ocean has a toy lending program which is wonderful.

 

 

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Hmmm. I only thought the toy lending program on RCI was with the Royal Babies & Tots Nursery age cruiser's....not the next level up Adventure Ocean Aquanauts :confused:

I just purchased one of the door alarms which will go off in the event that he opens the door whilst I am not watching.

The thing with autism is that these kids can be very smart & will spend ages working out how something works. That includes door locks.

Hmmm. I only thought the toy lending program on RCI was with the Royal Babies & Tots Nursery age cruiser's....not the next level up Adventure Ocean Aquanauts :confused:

As I don’t use kids clubs at all. The staff on royal have always gone out of their way to help me. This includes when my son was younger lending me toys & books

Hmmm. I only thought the toy lending program on RCI was with the Royal Babies & Tots Nursery age cruiser's....not the next level up Adventure Ocean Aquanauts :confused:

My son is 27 years old and has brain damage. We always borrow books from Adventure Ocean.

You will never be more than a step or two away from your child in those small cabins. You can get to him before he could get the chair there!

We are going to be traveling on the Allure in September with our 4yo (autistic) child and this is the first time we have booked a balcony when traveling with him. In the past we have always done a port hole because it made me way too nervous to get a balcony with him. It still makes me nervous but I feel we are at a better place with him now however I would still like extra precaution with the door. Can I ask our cabin steward for a child lock for the balcony door or is that something I need to contact the special needs department about?

If your little guy can open the Balcony door on his own power. Thats one strong kid. I hope you and your family have a wonderful cruise. I hear so many amazing things about the Oasis class ships.

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As I don’t use kids clubs at all. The staff on royal have always gone out of their way to help me. This includes when my son was younger lending me toys & books

My son is 27 years old and has brain damage. We always borrow books from Adventure Ocean.

A nice fact to know...We just brought our 4 year old grandsons own toys. We thought the toy lending was only when he used to be in the nursery. Thanks, but he probably would think they might be a bit geared for younger kids and was happy with his own "Blayze and the Monster Machine cars" :D

TEGL - do what you feel is the safest thing for your son! You know his strength and what he is capable of doing. Set routines and rules as soon as you get into the cabin. The only thing I would add is a set of jingle bells to the top door lock. You’ll hear them if he touches the lock and can be alerted before the door is opened.

Enjoy your cruise and your munchkin!

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TEGL - do what you feel is the safest thing for your son! You know his strength and what he is capable of doing. Set routines and rules as soon as you get into the cabin. The only thing I would add is a set of jingle bells to the top door lock. You’ll hear them if he touches the lock and can be alerted before the door is opened.

Enjoy your cruise and your munchkin!

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This is a great idea!! We have 'jingle bells' hanging from the back door for his service dog (he rings it with his nose to alert us he needs to go outside ... instead of barking) so I keep these on hand.

im glad to hear the doors are heavy and there are child locks - im sure he wont be able to open them but the bell is a great idea and wont be as sensitive as the door alarms. We used to have those on our doors with my oldest was a little guy (he is now 14) and i remember they use to go off randomly sometimes even when the seal wasnt broken.

He def wont be left alone at any time so Im not near as concerned about the door as I once was. Hearing how heavy they are and that they all have child locks already make me feel much more comfortable. The only major change we will be making is we wont be leaving it open to enjoy the ocean sounds ... we used to love to do this, especially at night, when it was just my husband and I traveling.