Why no life guards??

[Karysa]

No I still don't think there is a need for lifeguards at a pool on a cruise ship.

 

Why the differentiation between a cruiseship and say a public pool?

[Karysa]

Not in the slightest. These children drowned because their parents left them at the pool alone. They were not even in the same area. A 4 year old is not old enough to be alone EVER, let alone on a boat in the middle of the Ocean. You seem to really want lifeguard, and keep coming back to this post to push it....is this because you want to abandon your children and have others take care of them for you on vacation?

 

6&8

 

My babies are days from being 18. I am being a bit selfish on this one though. Since others have voiced their reasoning for not wanting a lifeguard I will tell you a selfish reason why I would favor lifeguards or gated pools. If I was on a cruise and a child drowned I would want off of that ship at the next port. I would be devastated. I can not picture myself carrying on in the nightclub or watching a comedy show especially if I witnessed the rescue or helped in the resuscitation efforts. Protecting the children is the number one concern here for me, but I will confess that knowing about or seeing this happen or heaven forbid, being in the pool when a child drowned would haunt me. Selfish? Perhaps, but it's the truth and the inconvenience and unsightly look of a fenced and locked pool or the cost of Lifeguards would be well worth it to me.

[NMLady]

Why do cruise ships not have lifeguards at the adult or children's pool? Wouldn't this be a liability issue?

 

It would be more of a liability issue if they did have lifeguards.

 

Also, even though there are signs saying no lifeguard on duty, many parents still let their children be in the pool with no supervision from the parents.

If there were lifeguards parents would be even more apt to leave their children there without watching them. Lifeguards are not babysitters.

[Cruiser2490]

I've always asked myself this question.... I mean, cruise ships seem to have a person for EVERYTHING... Literally.. so it was always weird there was never a lifeguard at sea at the pools...

 

I am not a lawyer and I don't know nautical or marine law, but maybe there is not a requirement for a lifeguard at sea, rather just AED/CPR Certified. But even still... maybe time for a lifeguard!

[jerseagal]

http://www.witn.com/home/headlines/COAST-GUARD-Child-Dies-Aboard-Cruise-Ship-East-of-Morehead-City-243418921.html

 

More to the story in this tragedy?

[mygreyhound66]

Our opinion is that parents need to be parents. Still, accidents do happen, and is it traumatic for all that see it, YES, and i speak from experience. We were on Santorini, staying in a hotel and a man fell from his balcony onto ours! long story short - my husband saved his life, and it totally ruined our trip - we were shook up for many months!

 

The cruise ships have plenty of signs about no guards/swim at your own risk, supervise your children etc, and i feel that the cruise line would be more penalized/sued, if they provided life-guards and an incident happened.

 

Parents need to be responsible for their children, and personal accountability needs be stressed everywhere!

[esp13]

Tradgedy can bring about change, so I ask this question. Has the drowning of a 4 year old and near drowning of a 6 year old on the NCL Breakaway this week changed your minds as to the need for Lifeguards on cruiseships?

 

It hasn't changed my mind. First, it's not clear from the reports how this happened so it's impossible to know whether a lifeguard would have been on duty at that time and/or would have made a difference. Secondly, I believe that a lifeguard being present generally only makes people less vigilant because they get a false sense of security from the lifeguard.

 

What happened is a tragedy, no question. But we cannot bubble wrap the world to try and make sure no tragedies occur. There are lessons to be learned, of course, and I would hope this would serve as a reminder that vigilance is key.

 

Now, if NCL decides it wants to hire lifeguards, great. But I do not believe that they are necessary, nor do I believe that NCL should have to do so.

[cruiseapril]

We feel that cruise ships should have lifeguards at all pools where young children are allowed to swim. There need to be people who will enforce pool rules and can be identified (in orange) for others to speak with in case of dangerous situations.

 

We also feel that young children should always be with their caretakers. As a teacher and summer camp lifeguard, "young children" to me means any child under high school age. Parental guidance is important on a huge ship with many possible dangers- not just unattended pools. Too many people are not tending to their children and that is not fair to the child.

 

Having lifeguards will not prevent every accident, but it may deter many. Certainly it is not too much to ask for a few lifeguards near a family pool.

And certainly it is not asking too much to have parents mind their children at all times, except when the children are in the ship's childcare programs.

 

It is just too sad for all when young children die in preventable accidents.

Edited February 5, 2014 by cruiseapril

[roger001]

Where should assignment of responsibility begin and end? With NCL, the parents, other guests who are present in an accident like this??? At what point should the perceived chance of injury or death be recognized and addressed ? How tall should balcony railings around a cabin balcony be? Should they be totally enclosed? Should the promenade deck be totally enclosed? How tall or of what design is good be good enough? Should 24 hour guards or staff be stationed around the promenade deck? Should parents who let their unsupervised small children enter the adult designed pool be removed from the ship when observed letting this occur? If NCL tells you that an issue has possible safety considerations to recognize and you let an accident occur, will you then sue NCL because they did not insure complete safety?

[Karysa]

It hasn't changed my mind. First, it's not clear from the reports how this happened so it's impossible to know whether a lifeguard would have been on duty at that time and/or would have made a difference. Secondly, I believe that a lifeguard being present generally only makes people less vigilant because they get a false sense of security from the lifeguard.

 

What happened is a tragedy, no question. But we cannot bubble wrap the world to try and make sure no tragedies occur. There are lessons to be learned, of course, and I would hope this would serve as a reminder that vigilance is key.

 

Now, if NCL decides it wants to hire lifeguards, great. But I do not believe that they are necessary, nor do I believe that NCL should have to do so.

 

Many folks refer to a cruiseship as a town. I have never visited or lived in a town that has anything bigger than a wading pool that has not been supervised by lifeguards. I don't see a difference here between a cruiseship pool and a community pool. Enlighten me please.

[Charles4515]

Tradgedy can bring about change, so I ask this question. Has the drowning of a 4 year old and near drowning of a 6 year old on the NCL Breakaway this week changed your minds as to the need for Lifeguards on cruiseships?

 

I was in favor of lifeguards before the drownings and I remain in favor! Lifeguards are needed.

[RNPJN]

Why do cruise ships not have lifeguards at the adult or children's pool? Wouldn't this be a liability issue?

Its not just cruise ships hotels and resorts do not have them either. And I believe it is due to the liability issue.

Edited February 5, 2014 by RNPJN

[RNPJN]

Many folks refer to a cruiseship as a town. I have never visited or lived in a town that has anything bigger than a wading pool that has not been supervised by lifeguards. I don't see a difference here between a cruiseship pool and a community pool. Enlighten me please.

It's more like a hotel/resort on water.

Edited February 5, 2014 by RNPJN

[Karysa]

Floating hotel

 

I have never stayed in a hotel that had upwards of 5000 people with 1500 being minors have you? I think village or town is probably a more correct comparison as to the amount of people. So if you are liking it to a hotel would you prefer to have it fenced in and a key card used for accessibility like hotels have?

Edited February 5, 2014 by Karysa

[RNPJN]

I have never stayed in a hotel that had upwards of 5000 people with 1500 being minors have you? I think village or town is probably a more correct comparison as to the amount of people. So if you are liking it to a hotel would you prefer to have it fenced in and a key card used for accessibility like hotels have?

No but

I also never left my kids unattended either

[Karysa]

Its not just cruise ships hotels and resorts do not have them either. And I believe it is due to the liability issue.

 

Hotels have fenced and locked pools outside and locked rooms for inside pools. Key card or code access is usually the norm for hotel pools. Even a backyard pool in my city requires one to fence it in and lock the gate.

[Karysa]

No but

I also never left my kids unattended either

 

That does not support your argument as to why cruiseships should not have lifeguards or secured pools compared to a community, hotel or private pool now does it?

[suncityjim]

I think all persons traveling on cruise ships, regardless of age, should be wrapped in nerf for the entire voyage.

 

They should also have to wear their life vests whenever outside of their staterooms.

 

Also, they should not be allowed to have any sharp items in their staterooms and all eating utensils in the dining rooms should be made of plastic.

 

And bars should only be open for 1 hour each day.

 

In short, everyone should be protected from everything because nobody takes any responsibility for themselves or any members of their family.

 

We're in the Nanny-World, folks.

[garycarla]

Tradgedy can bring about change, so I ask this question. Has the drowning of a 4 year old and near drowning of a 6 year old on the NCL Breakaway this week changed your minds as to the need for Lifeguards on cruiseships?

 

Before anyone answers this question, let me ask this:

 

Would having lifeguards on duty have changed the outcome?

 

And, if you answer is yes, please share with the rest of us what actually took place.

 

Thank You.

[Charles4515]

Before anyone answers this question, let me ask this:

 

Would having lifeguards on duty have changed the outcome?

 

And, if you answer is yes, please share with the rest of us what actually took place.

 

Thank You.

 

We don't know if it would have changed the outcome but we do know the outcome. So we know having them might have meant a better outcome. That's a good enough reason to have lifeguards.

[RDC1]

I am sure that Disney Cruise Lines and Disney has lots of lawyers that understand their liability and the ramifications of providing lifeguards. They don't rely on amateur opinions like those being posted on this thread.

 

Disney is hiring Red Cross certified lifeguards. It does not matter to me whether it is to reduce their liability or if they are hiring them for noble reasons. I applaud them for hiring lifeguards. They are setting an example that the other cruise lines should follow.

 

The reason for Disney adding lifeguards is probably more for PR and marketing then liability reasons. The PR and marketing gain over shadows the increased liability risk.

 

The reason why is with the drowning on the Disney ship the most immediate reaction was Disney is the cruise line for children and they are not safe. Considering the premium they charge that is a public relations view that they could not afford. Disney has lots of lawyers, all very experienced on winning liability cases. There is a reason why you hardly ever hear of someone getting injured at a Disney park. That is they have very will developed protocols for responding to injuries both from a medical attention point of view, but also from a legal liability reduction point of view.

[RDC1]

I have never stayed in a hotel that had upwards of 5000 people with 1500 being minors have you? I think village or town is probably a more correct comparison as to the amount of people. So if you are liking it to a hotel would you prefer to have it fenced in and a key card used for accessibility like hotels have?

 

Yep, go stay at a Disney property in Disney World. The pool at hotel I stayed at could be accessed without having to use a card key just by walking through the hotel and out a door on the first floor. The pool had a number of lifeguards during the peak period of the day. The open hours were relatively short (closed at 6pm) and it was unmanned outside of those hours even though it could be accessed without a key card. The life guards spent more of their time running kids activities then they did just sitting and watching the pool. note the pool was only 3 feet deep even though it covered a fairly large area.

[SissasMomE]

Its not just cruise ships hotels and resorts do not have them either. And I believe it is due to the liability issue.

 

I've been to plenty of resorts with lifeguards.

[SissasMomE]

Hotels have fenced and locked pools outside and locked rooms for inside pools. Key card or code access is usually the norm for hotel pools. Even a backyard pool in my city requires one to fence it in and lock the gate.

 

That is not true, either. There are plenty of disney resort hotels, which cater to thousands more than any cruise ship I know of, that do not have fenced/locked pools.

[SissasMomE]

I have never stayed in a hotel that had upwards of 5000 people with 1500 being minors have you? I think village or town is probably a more correct comparison as to the amount of people. So if you are liking it to a hotel would you prefer to have it fenced in and a key card used for accessibility like hotels have?

 

I sure have. Again - Disney resorts have thousands more than your figures above.