Cruising with Children- How safe are balconies

I spoke with a client today who was very concerned about taking a small child on a cruise and staying
in a balcony cabin, they had heard that Royal Caribbean provide a net that can be put up at the balcony.

I spoke to Royal Caribbean cruises who advised me that no they do not offer this but that the balconies are high and of course the parents can ask for furniture to be removed from the balcony.

I thought I would see what other people have written regarding this subject on the world wide web, as of course this is something that many parents may wonder when making their choice of cabin.

It appeared to me that there were very mixed views, some clients never had a problem as their children
were as good as gold and when told you must not do xxx they wouldnt... if only all our children were the same...

Others had removed furniture from the balcony so that there was no chance that a little one could
possibly be able to try and climb over.

There were also suggestions from some parents of getting a safety device to attach to the patio door, to stop it being opened as you would to prevent burglaries at home or that you could get an alarm that would sound should your little one dare to step over the door step.

Most people seemed to agree that if you were looking at a toddler then they wouldnt really be able to open the door to get out there in the first place.

Some people have even written a set of rules for taking little ones on a balcony see below:

But it's always best to have some rules in place...

1. No child is allowed on the balcony without an adult.

2. All chairs are moved from the edge. No standing on chairs.

3. Child must be sitting at all times while on balcony.

4. No horseplay on the balcony.

5. If any of the above rules are broken, the child will be instantly moved to the inside of the cabin and loses balcony privileges. ;)

BUT.....I think the best thing of all is if you are concerned and it may ruin your cruise with all
the stress of worrying about your little one,, then go for an oceanview cabin instead..

All our children are so very different and behave in different ways so as a parent you can only be
the judge of whether your little one may cause you undue stress and worry, only you can decide which cabin will suit your personal circumstances.

If anyone out there has any further hints or tips then please let me know so I can inform my worried
clients...