I'm a little nervous about the balcony...

[angielane]

Our little guy will turn one when we sail on the Jewel of the Seas this March.

 

After reading the advice from posters, we reserved a balcony stateroom...so we can be close to him during nap and bed times.

 

I have this nagging fear about the balcony though...as in, my little one going overboard off the balcony.

 

Obviously, we don't plan to hold or dangle him near the edge....but, when I booked the cruise, I envisioned not even taking him out on the balcony.

 

Since then, I've read about having a little swim pool out there for him....while I like the idea, it kind of goes against my initial "no baby on the balcony" mindset.

 

Has anyone else worried about this? Did you take any specific precautions?

[Colorado Kat]

You know, I've felt the same way. Can you always make sure any chairs or tables are pushed up against the sliding glass door? And I doubt a 1 year old could actually open the door?

 

The top of the balcony should be at least a foot above his head.

 

Have a great trip.

[JLC@SD]

To be safe, keep tables and chairs away from the railing

 

and......we do not hear of small children going overboard.......only drunk adults go overboard.

[jmorgania]

Doors to the balcony are generally pretty heavy, unless it is a sliding door to the balcony he won't be able to open it. At his age a sliding door is pretty unlikely for him to open either. Unless you reserved a very large balcony there generally isn't any room for a kiddie pool to be placed on your balcony. Also the space between the floor and the top rail is usually a solid glass, not rails, so he won't be able to use them to climb or crawl up. Obviously I still wouldn't allow him out there alone but if you are with him and the chairs are pushed away from the rail there is really no danger in him going overboard. It is very safe.

[acceber32]

I have worried about this as well. My DS is 17 months old and is getting to that climbing phase. We sail in a week and a half (yay!!) and I have concerns but I think it just comes with being a mommy. I honestly think the doors are too heavy for a one year old to open. Plus, my DS still doesn't know how to open door handles. There isn't anyway for them to climb up and over so as long as you don't hold him near the edge you should be fine. DH and I have already discussed making sure we keep the chairs and table away from the edge so that he can't climb on those. I really don't feel like we will be out on the balcony very often with DS, we will use it mostly when he is napping. Plus, if no one makes a big deal about looking over the edge while he is around, he probably won't even think about it. Go and have fun!

[cb at sea]

Once you're on the ship, you'll feel differently. I mean, surely you've been on a landing or deck and weren't worried about your child flying over the side...it will be the same on the ship. This is a totally irrational fear.

[B_Mc]

I'm nervous too! I'm nervous about all railings around the ship! Accidents happen too quickly....

 

There was an accident at an airport here where a parents was holding a small toddler on their hip on a walkway near a railing and an older child ran to the parent and crashed into them, which caused the parent to stumble back against the railing and somehow drop the small child over the railing and on to the floor below. Totally an accident, investigated and everything, but it makes me think how easily that could happen on a ship. I'm going to remind DH about this story tonight and hopefully we'll agree to stay away from railings when DS is in our arms!!!!

[irun5k]

Having read these boards for a while, this is/was every parent's fear, including my own.

 

However I can safely say that the only remote risk is if your child were to climb on the furniture on the balcony. Even then I think it would be very hard to end up overboard, but if you see your child doing it, it will probably be disturbing enough that you'll make them get down immediately. It could be psychological- e.g. "my kid is now 18 inches closer to the railing!"

 

In general though it isn't a good idea to let them climb on the balcony furniture- the balcony isn't huge, the ship does move, etc.

[patseacruiser]

The doors are heavy and can't be opened by a one year old. The railings are high and yes you probably shouldn't put chairs near the railing where he could climb but would you ever walk away from your one year old for any reason while he was on the balcony or even better - in a pool no matter that it may be only 3 inches of water. Maybe I'm just paranoid but that's me.

[rjm11]

I think all moms have had this irrational fear. But I totally agree with the poster who said that once you get on board, you will realize this can not happen without a whole lot of freaky preventable things happening first.

 

On our balcony on the NCL Pearl there were child-locks up high to prevent a kid from "wandering" out there in the night (plus the doors are VERY heavy)... the rails were at least 48" high... came up to about my armpits.... no way a kid could slip and fall over.....

 

even while climbing on a chair they would have to really hoist themselves to get up and over...... the "rails" are solid glass and can't be climbed.... and see-through so no incentive for one to want to climb up for a better view... etc.

 

After seeing all this I really had no concerns (mine were 4 and 3 years old). Just use your regular good intuition and your family will be fine.

[reallyitsmema]

I did a quick search and found this thread that has links to pictures of balconies on the Jewel. It will give you an idea of how high they are.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1136847&highlight=balcony+pictures

 

Your little one will be fine, just don't let him climb on anything near the railing. As far as opening the slider, I have a hard time opening the slider on most ships because there is a vaccuum effect so I doubt your little one can get it open. Plus, Jewel does have a child lock up high on the slider so if you keep that locked you will be fine.

 

We were just on that ship in October and loved it. There is an open area at the back of the WJ to eat outside which was wonderful. Have a great cruise.:)

[alj1208]

A one-year-old is much easier to control/keep safe from the balcony than a toddler (18-month to three-years-old). You will be okay. Obviously, just be vigilant. Also, at that age, you can make liberal use of a stroller near railings in public areas of the ship. I think it's also fine to not do the little-pool-on-the-balcony if the concept makes you uncomfortable. You could try that on the pool deck away from the railings. The balcony could be your "adults only" retreat during naps or early bedtime. Maybe even more fun if you look at it that way.

 

I have heard some mothers bring a shower curtain tension rod as an extra way to secure the balcony slider.

 

My DS is 4.5 and old enough to understand instructions that he is not allowed on the balcony alone or allowed to climb on furniture. However, he is a climber and hyper as all get-out, so I would NOT have chosen a balcony cabin if he were two or three years old.

 

That said, he will be supervised at all times, and our ship has a second child lock high up on the balcony door. I will also be bringing that tension rod just in case (although I doubt it will be necessary.... just for my peace of mind)! By the way, I have also given much thought to securing the door to the cabin. You may want to check out the posting on this board called, "Lost my four-year-old," by poster Bill Turcotte. Good food for thought.

[Twelvevman]

With a 1 year old you should not have any problems with the balcony. THe pic below was with our son who had just turned 1. You can see the balcony railing is much taller then he is. As long as you are not holding him near the railing or keeping the furniture right against it then there is little cause for alarm.

 

[jam82]

I was nervous about having a balcony with my son as well. We only cruised without one once as DH refused to cruise without a balcony ever again. ;-)

 

To all those out there who think a one year old can't open the balcony door, please be aware that it is possible. IMHO, the real danger with that is that the doors slams shut easily and while my son was able to open it the door, he had trouble getting out of the way before it slammed close. We have since instituted our "only adults may touch the door in the cabin" policy. He is also not allowed to touch the wall or the rail of the balcony. This works for us.

 

We also purchased a door alarm for $15 from Home Depot that provides piece of mind that he won't try to sneak out in the middle of the night.

[cctimmom]

The doors are heavy and can't be opened by a one year old.

 

I can understand your anxiety if you have never cruised before, but really, these doors can be challenging for an adult to open... lol

[dorito6778]

here's DD on the Independence of the Seas at 16 months. if you can figure out how she might scale that glass wall, then i will gladly buy a round of drinks for all.

[tomko2]

The sliders have a locking mechanism; if you have it open and are going in and out of the cabin then I recommend you lock it in the open position. Those sliders can move fast and are very heavy.

 

The Jewel is a beautiful ship (photos of the Jewel and Brilliance balcony aft cabins in the link below).

 

Have a wonderful cruise.:)

[angielane]

Wow! I feel so much better with all the encouragement and (super cute) photos!!!

 

We have cruised several times...but this will be the first time we're a trio with DS. It helps to know so many others have had the same passing fears!!

 

(Now, if I could just get grandma to stop saying she's having terrible nightmares about her grandson going overboard, i think we'd ALL relax.) :)