Door stop/lock

[smush21]

Hi there

We are cruising with our 5 year old autistic child who is at extreme risk of elopement. We will have our assistant dog who acts as an anchor when we are out and about, but when in the cabin she will probably be able to open the door. Anyone know of portable door locks that would work? We have seen the alarm ones but shes so fast we would prefer a lock that she can't open. 

Any advice welcome.

[Seasick Sailor]

Check Amazon.  There are door portable alarms as well as security. 

 

[FOPMan]

Putting an additional lock on a door is not a  good idea. Fires on ships are a real issue and you really, really don’t want to have an extra hindrance if there is a need to evacuate quickly.

[Seasick Sailor]

I respectfully disagree with above post. Protect the child. The portable door alarms are very easy to disengage. You don't want an autistic child getting free and disappearing.

[smush21]

Thanks for the advice. We will hopefully be using a portable lock that we can open but our child cannot. We have to look after her safety first, but understand the concern re fire.

[nextcruiseis]

15 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

 The portable door alarms are very easy to disengage. 

The OP is asking about door locks, not an alarm.

[willoL]

Have you searched for close up photos of the stateroom doors for your particular ship? Such images could offer useful information that could help solve the problem.

 

Aren't there small devices one can put on an upper hinge to prevent the door swinging open physically? (Limiting how far the door can swing?)

 

An upper hinge ought to be out of reach of a young child, though my own dear little cousin by age 2 or 3 was stacking household goods to reach those "out of reach" preventatives! (She's a real adventurer, and a lovely child, but quite a lot of work for my aunt and uncle.)

 

Or perhaps one of those door jamming sticks that goes from doorknob to floor might be enough to at least slow her down, giving you time to intervene?  I found the thing I mean on Amazon under "door security bar." It looks like they cost around $25, so not a fortune.

 

Is this child particularly strong? Dexterous? Or average for her age in this respect?

 

I think it is safe enough to use a device to impede the door if parents are always in the room with her and aware of their own surroundings. Of course if there is a fire you will remove the obstruction and rescue your child.

 

I wonder if discussing this special need with ship's security is worthwhile, too? In case she did get away from you, so they know she might have special needs to be safely assisted back to her parents? Or maybe there's a way to use the door's auto closing mechanism as a brake in some way?

[Seasick Sailor]

4 hours ago, nextcruiseis said:

The OP is asking about door locks, not an alarm.

 

Yes dear, I read. It is a door lock with a beeping sound when a child, Alzheimer's patient etc attemps to open a door, allowing you to know they are attempting to escape. I used it for my step mom to locate her when she tried going on the lamb...

[gluecksbaer]

8 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

 

Yes dear, I read. It is a door lock with a beeping sound when a child, Alzheimer's patient etc attemps to open a door, allowing you to know they are attempting to escape. I used it for my step mom to locate her when she tried going on the lamb...

 

There are locks that also alarm, but "door alarms" usually mean a type of device that makes noise when someone attempts to open the door.  Those alarms don't do anything to impede the opening of the door so don't have to be disengaged to leave the room (such as to evacuate in an emergency).  Since most parents with an eloper know about alarms, I'll assume that the OP needs an actual lock.  Those vary in how easy they would be to disengage in an emergency but I agree with the poster who noted that the safety of a small child with no or limited understanding of danger wandering a ship is a higher priority than a fire concern, as real as that is.  

[chengkp75]

Looking at the portable locks on Google, I have my reservations about using one on cruise ship doors.  First off, the doors are fire rated doors, and these devices may interfere with the door latching completely, negating the fire safety rating of the door.  Second, with the key card lock, I'm not sure there is enough space to get the insert into the strike and clear everything needed to record the door closing completely.  You can try them, but I wouldn't be surprised if they don't work.  Does the child know how to operate a dead bolt lock?  All the doors have a dead bolt.

[FOPMan]

If you’re in a balcony cabin, the outside  door is very heavy. It does not have traditional mechanisms.

[AmazedByCruising]

The door usually opens inwards (but not always!). You could simply put something heavy enough against the door? 

Edited July 4, 2022 by AmazedByCruising

[FOPMan]

Where are you cruising? There may be additional paperwork/certification requirements for the animal. You also need to coordinate with the cruise line. They will provide a specific place for the animal to use for toileting. 

[Essiesmom]

The OP has continued the discussion on the Royal Caribbean board.  She appears to be on Voyager of the Seas, probably in Europe as they are in Ireland.  EM