Ditchdoc

There seems to be a lot of smoke and mirrors being used for excuses in an effort to place blame.
I know much of this has been gone over or commented on before .
I have looked out these very same/type of windows before on several occasions.  There is a tint to them that even from a distance, its pretty easy to tell if one is open or not. It might be a bit more difficult for someone that is color blind but still, an open window would be brighter and a lighter shade than a closed window. Then there are other senses. Near the water there is often a breeze, a slight difference in temperature near an open window compared to the sun coming through the glass of a closed window. There are smells and sounds that are more pronounced at an open window compared to a close one. Sight, sound, hearing, touch, smell ... they all come into play. Then there is the psychological knowledge and experience of ones surrounding. You know where you are. You realize you are at a considerable height. A responsible adult would take this into consideration where a child might not as in the case of Eric Clapton's son who went out a 50 story window not realizing the danger.
Pretty much any but the most obtuse adult would sense and understand the danger in this situation.
It is somewhat a natural tendency at these windows to want to lean forward over the railing for a "better" view. Many people just want to see the  ground or water below. The want to see up and down the length of the ship. They want some perspective, to they lean out a bit, look down, look left and right, think 'wow!' to themselves and move on.
Hanging on to a child can be tricky business. Add that they do not necessarily understand the danger even being a few feet off the ground. I've held kids and dogs that just what to jump out of your arms and it can be a struggle to hang onto them. They don't understand that even falling 3 or 4 feet could hurt. Add that clothing can some times complicate the issue as it slides around the body making the job of holding on them even more of a challenge.
Put all of this together. An adult that exercises poor judgement, has a child in his arms, goes to look out the window, probably leans forward a bit, the child thinks its a grand adventure, wiggle or tries jumps out of his arms, the adult looses their grip, potentially complicated by loose clothing or slippery skin due to sweat or sun screen oils and possibly physical limitations of the adult.
Disaster.
Something along these lines is the most probable scenario.
No matter how many signs you put up or safety precautions you take or legislate (and there are probably a million of them that pertain to building and running a cruise ship), you can not keep everyone absolutely safe all the time, especially if they use poor judgement to begin with.
Does all this make the cruise line responsible? No doubt there are a few cases where negligence of the cruise line is a factor.  I personally do not think this is one of them.
 

Good point. I've taken a lot of pictures from the railing of cruise ships. It always scares me that I will drop my camera overboard and tend to make sure a lanyard is around my wrist. Holding a child up to the railing just makes no sense at all.

We will take over the helm when you get back. We leave out on Harmony on the 29th, return Jan 5. Try not to eat everything.

We will take over the helm when you get back. We leave out on Harmony on the 29th, return Jan 5. Try not to eat everything.

It has 4 - 9 cyl. diesel engines
There are two propellers.
These ships have a drive configuration that are electric diesel. The diesel engines actually run generators. The generators in turn run electric motors that turn the propellers. Additional generators may be dedicated to ship operations other than propulsion.
There could be more than two electric motors connected to gear boxes so one motor can be off line with out effecting operation.
Typically these ships have one engine more than needed for full power operation. That is so one can be off line continuously for maintenance. If two are off line, full generator power may not be realized.
Engine rooms can stretch over 5 decks or more to include control rooms and all the various electrical panels, engines, motors, generators and so on.

I certainly understand. Those concerned should simply avoid the smoking area. That is a personal choice.
A water slide may not cause cancer but according the National Institute of Health, riders have sustained lacerations (53%), contusions or abrasions (25%), fractured bones (7%), sprains (7%), fractured teeth (6%), and concussions (3%). I wont even get into candy, obesity, diabetes etc.
Pick your life style and live it.

It has 4 - 9 cyl. diesel engines
There are two propellers.
These ships have a drive configuration that are electric diesel. The diesel engines actually run generators. The generators in turn run electric motors that turn the propellers. Additional generators may be dedicated to ship operations other than propulsion.
There could be more than two electric motors connected to gear boxes so one motor can be off line with out effecting operation.
Typically these ships have one engine more than needed for full power operation. That is so one can be off line continuously for maintenance. If two are off line, full generator power may not be realized.
Engine rooms can stretch over 5 decks or more to include control rooms and all the various electrical panels, engines, motors, generators and so on.

Thanks. In search for possible containers for these magnetic hooks, on Amazon I also found small, screw top plastic containers. Often these are advertised as 'slime containers' in order to keep kids play slime in. I also thought those specimen cups that medical clinics have you use (unused of course ? ) would be about the right size. Though I have not gone shopping for these, it seems Walmart or Dollar stores may have small, suitable plastic containers to individually store these magnets that would make them safer and easier to use.

Good idea. Also makes me think of the plastic eggs so popular at Easter that snap or unscrew into two halves. You might could keep one magnet inside one of these to handle them separately.

I purchased some of these. The magnets are unbelievably strong. There is a plastic piece between two of them. If you separate them, remove the plastic and allow them them to stick together again, good luck getting them apart. You will need a couple pair of pliers or a vise to help separate them. Also be aware that it's easy to pinch a finger or skin inbetween two of these and they will hurt. To the point of blood blisters or tearing off some skin. It will happen faster than you realize. 
 
Use extra care handling these things and keep the plastic disk to put back between them. It's best to handle them one at the time and keep them separated as much as possible. At no time should you allow any part of your body come between two of these magnets if there is any chance they will snap togather. 
 
If any one has any other suggestions or techniques for handling them, please share.

There seems to be a lot of smoke and mirrors being used for excuses in an effort to place blame.
I know much of this has been gone over or commented on before .
I have looked out these very same/type of windows before on several occasions.  There is a tint to them that even from a distance, its pretty easy to tell if one is open or not. It might be a bit more difficult for someone that is color blind but still, an open window would be brighter and a lighter shade than a closed window. Then there are other senses. Near the water there is often a breeze, a slight difference in temperature near an open window compared to the sun coming through the glass of a closed window. There are smells and sounds that are more pronounced at an open window compared to a close one. Sight, sound, hearing, touch, smell ... they all come into play. Then there is the psychological knowledge and experience of ones surrounding. You know where you are. You realize you are at a considerable height. A responsible adult would take this into consideration where a child might not as in the case of Eric Clapton's son who went out a 50 story window not realizing the danger.
Pretty much any but the most obtuse adult would sense and understand the danger in this situation.
It is somewhat a natural tendency at these windows to want to lean forward over the railing for a "better" view. Many people just want to see the  ground or water below. The want to see up and down the length of the ship. They want some perspective, to they lean out a bit, look down, look left and right, think 'wow!' to themselves and move on.
Hanging on to a child can be tricky business. Add that they do not necessarily understand the danger even being a few feet off the ground. I've held kids and dogs that just what to jump out of your arms and it can be a struggle to hang onto them. They don't understand that even falling 3 or 4 feet could hurt. Add that clothing can some times complicate the issue as it slides around the body making the job of holding on them even more of a challenge.
Put all of this together. An adult that exercises poor judgement, has a child in his arms, goes to look out the window, probably leans forward a bit, the child thinks its a grand adventure, wiggle or tries jumps out of his arms, the adult looses their grip, potentially complicated by loose clothing or slippery skin due to sweat or sun screen oils and possibly physical limitations of the adult.
Disaster.
Something along these lines is the most probable scenario.
No matter how many signs you put up or safety precautions you take or legislate (and there are probably a million of them that pertain to building and running a cruise ship), you can not keep everyone absolutely safe all the time, especially if they use poor judgement to begin with.
Does all this make the cruise line responsible? No doubt there are a few cases where negligence of the cruise line is a factor.  I personally do not think this is one of them.
 

Everyone ages differently. I worked in health care many years. I'm 67, healthy, work out in the gym 5 days a week, walk over 75 miles a week. I have patients that when I first met them, I guessed they were older than me. They had long medical histories and took many medications. Then their birth dates would show they were sometimes decades younger than myself. Just because he's "only 51" is very relative when it comes to health.

It can not get much simpler. If you don't want to get run over, don't walk in traffic.
There is easily over a million square feet of space on a large cruise ship. A smoking lounge that was 1,000 square feet is 0.1% of that. A smoking lounge that is enclosed, ventilated, with doors is sealed and contained. If you walk in and complain of second hand smoke, I would say the problem is simple. Leave.

I certainly understand. Those concerned should simply avoid the smoking area. That is a personal choice.
A water slide may not cause cancer but according the National Institute of Health, riders have sustained lacerations (53%), contusions or abrasions (25%), fractured bones (7%), sprains (7%), fractured teeth (6%), and concussions (3%). I wont even get into candy, obesity, diabetes etc.
Pick your life style and live it.

I am a fitness buff. I eat well and go to the gym 5 days a week.
I also enjoy life and believe in moderation.
I enjoy a good whiskey and a good cigar on ocassion. Cruising is one of those ocassions. I always enjoyed the concierge lounge on ships that had them. I also realize it's a bit of a niche market and allocating square footage that does not make money is a corporate no no.
I would settle for a nice spot out side, out of the wind with a nice view most any where on the ship where I could have a drink and a smoke. They have found room for water sldes, candy shops and many other things I have little interest in. Reserving a small, appropriate space for people like me should not be that hard, biased, controversial or political.

Exiting the ship, a cross wind blew my $50 Tilly hat off my head into the drink between the ship and the dock. 

The injured are currently in various hospitals around New Zealand. A number have severe burn injuries including inhalation burns requiring assisted breathing.
It is expected that some of the people with the worst injuries will not survive.
Authorities are also looking to move some of the victims back to Australia to be treated so they can be closer to their families.
Last night New Zealand police took DNA samples from the cabins of the missing passengers to help identify the missing and injured.
Included in the missing is a family of 4 from Sydney.
6 confirmed dead 8 missing, presumed dead 30 are in hospital - 24 are in four regional burns units and the other six will be transferred as soon as possible 3 have been discharged The police on going onto White Island today to attempt to retrieve the bodies for identification purposes. Due to the injuries suffered it has been very difficult to identify the bodies and injured.
 

People take risks. On a RCCL stop in Costa Rica I hiked an active volcano. Walked the lava field, toasted marshmallows over not spots, watched boulders being tossed up inside the crater. It was exciting.
 
Was it risky? No doubt. So is driving to the grocery store.
 

People take risks. On a RCCL stop in Costa Rica I hiked an active volcano. Walked the lava field, toasted marshmallows over not spots, watched boulders being tossed up inside the crater. It was exciting.
 
Was it risky? No doubt. So is driving to the grocery store.
 

People take risks. On a RCCL stop in Costa Rica I hiked an active volcano. Walked the lava field, toasted marshmallows over not spots, watched boulders being tossed up inside the crater. It was exciting.
 
Was it risky? No doubt. So is driving to the grocery store.
 

People take risks. On a RCCL stop in Costa Rica I hiked an active volcano. Walked the lava field, toasted marshmallows over not spots, watched boulders being tossed up inside the crater. It was exciting.
 
Was it risky? No doubt. So is driving to the grocery store.
 

A good scotch in  a stemmed glass with a splash of water.

Exiting the ship, a cross wind blew my $50 Tilly hat off my head into the drink between the ship and the dock. 

Exiting the ship, a cross wind blew my $50 Tilly hat off my head into the drink between the ship and the dock. 

Exiting the ship, a cross wind blew my $50 Tilly hat off my head into the drink between the ship and the dock.