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With the recent news of the 4 year old boy almost drowning on Oais of the Seas what are you opinions about life guards on cruise ships. As of right now Disney is the only line with lifeguards do you think more lines need to follow this, parents need to pay more attention to their children, or both groups need to change?

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As a first time cruiser, I'm shocked to hear there aren't lifeguards.    My son will be joining us on this cruise but we have a rule about NOT swimming alone - a lifeguard or parent must be present.    We enjoy a summer community where the lifeguard approves whether a child can be left without a parent.  I have NO problem with a lifeguard ejecting my child for behavior problems.    It's the same rule we have in our summer community.   I realize there are some children with abhorrent behavior where this wouldn't work.   I just can't imagine not having lifeguards in a situation where there are pools filled with kids.

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I don't see it as a big deal. Those pools are so small, lots of people in them and I don't think a parent should leave a 4yr old alone swimming either way to be honest...and when u see how small the pool is on the Brilliance you will see what I mean.

 

Some of the bigger ships have many different pools and some just geared towards childern. If they want to charge childern an extra fee on their booking price to cover the extra help required sure.

 

It's rare if ever that u hear of ppl drowing on cruise ships pools..way more drown at parks and oceans and quite often where there are lifeguards on duty.

 

No more costs to be added on please and thank you!

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That's a very good topic. I don't want to blame anyone here but my opinion is that parents need to pay more attention to their children. I can't juge, I don't know the full story, but I totally agree with monctonguy. It's a very unfortunate accident. Hope the kid will be fine. 

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I also believe their policy on the books is kids under xx age are supposed to be attended anyway by the guardian traveling with them. Unofficially we've all seen kids going solo around the ship. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure about the age thing.

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I can see both sides of the argument.  Only DCL has lifeguards but that's only after they had a drowning.  Most hotels do not have lifeguards and they have far larger pools.

 

On the other hand, a lifeguard does make people feel better.  But with a lifeguard comes more liability for the cruise line because drownings still can happen even with a lifeguard present.

 

As a parent, I have a 4 year old and she can't swim alone anyway but I'm not even sure what age I'd feel comfortable allowing her to go swimming without me.  Parents cant be everywhere and watching all the time but there's no way me or my wife is not in the pool with my daughter. 

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It is so hard to really know what we are trying to fix without the facts of the individual cases. While they are both horrific situations, with only 2 known events in a year I think things are going very well. In general I am not a proponent of the lifeguards as they seem to encourage parents to let their guard down when it's truly their job to ensure the safety of their kidos. Either way prayers to these families and those who helped them, I can't even begin to imagine.

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  • 4 months later...

Its all down to the parents, theirs no way I don't know where my 4 year old is playing- even in the kids pool, with 3 inches of water she's within grabbing distance.

Their your kids- look after them yourself!

If your kids arn't within eye sight, they are getting up to mischief, and chances are, annoying other holiday makers- but hey, their not annoying you so its ok- right?

Rant over :)

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The potential downside of having life guards is shortening of pool hours as well as less attention from parents. I could see a parent thinking s/he doesn't need to attend to his/her child since there's a life guard on duty.

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Guest amejiajr8

The potential downside of having life guards is shortening of pool hours as well as less attention from parents. I could see a parent thinking s/he doesn't need to attend to his/her child since there's a life guard on duty.

we some of that on Disney Cruise.
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I know Disney always had lifeguards on the family beaches on their private islands, but I don't believe they initially had them onboard until after either a drowning or near drowning.  I remember pool attendants on my first Disney cruise, but not life guards.

 

Disney has done a similar thing at their results.  They always had lifeguards during the day, but not 24 hours.  After a drowning, they started fencing in the pools and closing them at night when the lifeguards went off duty.

 

Keep in mind that the majority of hotels, condos, apartment buildings, etc. do not have lifeguards.  In addition, I may be an over-protective parent, but I simply don't trust that a lifeguard will notice my kid if he goes under the water.  In most places where there are lifeguards, there is just too much going on and two many people.  As a result, a tragedy could still occur even with them there.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Keep in mind that the majority of hotels, condos, apartment buildings, etc. do not have lifeguards. In addition, I may be an over-protective parent, but I simply don't trust that a lifeguard will notice my kid if he goes under the water. In most places where there are lifeguards, there is just too much going on and two many people. As a result, a tragedy could still occur even with them there.

I tend to agred with you, people often seem to think a safety device(or person) is a substitution for active involvement. Unless there was only a handful of people in the pool I cant see how anyone would trust a preteen in the pool without their own parent supervising.

 

 

A perfect example comes from I believe here in the states a few years ago when an adult woman drowned in a public pool and no one noticed her body for DAYS. Yes the lifeguard was notified and ignored the boy who reported it, but the fact a busy pool had no one notice for days speaks volumes. This is precisely why I say no one or thing is a proper substitute for active parental supervision. As the old saying goes ' if you want something done right...' .

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