Child falls overboard on Disney Cruise, rescued by crew members

[kccorona]

Looks like some updated info coming out in the initial investigation stages-

Girl who went overboard on Disney Dream cruise fell 'backward through a porthole'

Investigators are looking into what happened before two passengers went overboard on the Disney Dream.

www.usatoday.com

from the above article:

Investigators are disputing rumors about a father and daughter who were rescued after going overboard on a Disney Cruise ship over the weekend.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office told CBS News Miami the “little girl was not being held, as erroneously reported on some social media sites,” following chatter about the dad placing her on the ship’s railing.

 

[IceIce9]

Looks like some updated info coming out in the initial investigation stages-

Girl who went overboard on Disney Dream cruise fell 'backward through a porthole'

Investigators are looking into what happened before two passengers went overboard on the Disney Dream.

www.usatoday.com

from the above article:

I am hoping that Disney Cruises will release further information. I’ve sent conflicting reports of what happened, including eyewitnesses who are standing by their stories.

 

[kccorona]

I’ve sent conflicting reports of what happened, including eyewitnesses who are standing by their stories.

Agreed.

I’ve also seen new witness statements (cruise passenger speaking with crew member who was supervising the deck area) supporting these new claims- in this CBS video - “parents were playing shuffleboard and girl climbed up the side and fell overboard”

Since it happened in a publicly accessible area on the ship, surely there is video evidence to ultimately determine what happened, wouldn’t you think?

 

[tlorik]

I jumped in here to see how she was able to fall overboard on a Disney Cruise ship anyway - I just came back from a cruise and the railings are high, there is plexiglass everywhere. I'm a short little old lady and would have to work to get myself over the railing, probably with a chair! If someone was a goober enough to set a little one on a railing for a photo, well I don't have any words for that!

 

[Bigditch]

Witnesses stated that the dad had sat the girl on the rail so he could take a picture.

Oh no!

 

[tlcya]

wait, people are STILL putting children on these rails for photo ops?? Did we learn nothing from the grandfather whose granddaughter fell from a cruise ship window case? For crying out loud, there is no cure for stupid I guess.

Both are lucky to be alive.

 

[lonetraveler]

First cruise I ever took, my niece went with me. As we were trying to work on our tans, we had to continuously get up to pick a kid off of the rail. It seems some parents treat the ship like a big play pen and go do whatever they want and just let the kids run.

 

[IceIce9]

Agreed.

I’ve also seen new witness statements (cruise passenger speaking with crew member who was supervising the deck area) supporting these new claims- in this CBS video - “parents were playing shuffleboard and girl climbed up the side and fell overboard”

Since it happened in a publicly accessible area on the ship, surely there is video evidence to ultimately determine what happened, wouldn’t you think?

I’m sure there are cameras everywhere. I hope the truth comes out. Passengers who were present are standing by their story that she was sitting on the railing while the dad was going to take a photo. But some articles give conflicting reports.

Regardless, parents are responsible for their children and should be watching them.

I don’t like seeing all the comments on social media bashing Disney Cruises for not being safe for children. Making it “too easy” for a child to fall overboard. You can’t “fall overboard” unless you are doing something you shouldn’t be doing.

Tens of thousands of children have cruised on Disney ships without “falling overboard.”

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Sheriff's Office Says Girl Who Fell Off Disney Cruise Line Ship Was Not Sitting on Ledge or Being Held Over It - WDW News Today

The Broward Sheriff's Office says the girl who fell overboard from Disney Cruise Line's Disney Dream was not sitting on the ship's railing.

wdwnt.com

UPDATE: Since writing this article, the BSO has issued a new statement changing their previous quote. As of the latest statement on the evening of July 2, the little girl “lost her balance while sitting on a railing and falling backward through a porthole.” ...

 

[lonetraveler]

Sheriff's Office Says Girl Who Fell Off Disney Cruise Line Ship Was Not Sitting on Ledge or Being Held Over It - WDW News Today

The Broward Sheriff's Office says the girl who fell overboard from Disney Cruise Line's Disney Dream was not sitting on the ship's railing.

wdwnt.com

UPDATE: Since writing this article, the BSO has issued a new statement changing their previous quote. As of the latest statement on the evening of July 2, the little girl “lost her balance while sitting on a railing and falling backward through a porthole.” ...

Those porthole windows are fixed and do not open. See next post for photo.
Shame on the BSO. IMO

 

[lonetraveler]

 

[lonetraveler]

Agreed.

I’ve also seen new witness statements (cruise passenger speaking with crew member who was supervising the deck area) supporting these new claims- in this CBS video - “parents were playing shuffleboard and girl climbed up the side and fell overboard”

Since it happened in a publicly accessible area on the ship, surely there is video evidence to ultimately determine what happened, wouldn’t you think?

This story is what I believe.

 

[kccorona]

Those porthole windows are fixed and do not open. See next post for photo.
Shame on the BSO. IMO

I’ve seen the below photos referenced in media that are present on this particular ship- open “portholes” and railings halfway up but not completely closed off.

 

[justbeachy]

I’ve seen the below photos referenced in media that are present on this particular ship- open “portholes” and railings halfway up but not completely closed off.

View attachment 599532

I have been on several Disney cruises and if, in fact, she actually fell from a porthole, I believe it would be this type and not the traditional closed, window portholes that most people would think of when they hear the word porthole. I hope the true story comes out about what actually happened because some of the stories don't seem to sound likely IMO. The shuffleboard eye-witness accounts sound very feasible to me (although on Disney ships the shuffleboard areas typically don't have portholes but have railings which are blocked by plexiglass). Even if a piece of plexiglass popped out from a railing, I can't imagine a scenario where a child would accidentally slip through. I'll see if I can find a picture of the Dream shuffleboard area, but there are a ton of videos on YouTube. In some of those videos, you can see kids playing shuffleboard with the railing visible so you can see how high the railings are as well as the plexiglass.

Hopefully we will get more info!

IMO

 

[lonetraveler]

I’ve seen the below photos referenced in media that are present on this particular ship- open “portholes” and railings halfway up but not completely closed off.

View attachment 599532

After looking at these I really wonder why on earth would there be a shelf built under the railing.

 

[justbeachy]

Ok, so the sheriff is saying she was sitting on a railing and fell backwards through a porthole. And all reports I've read say it was from Deck 4. The Dream deck plan shows that deck as the walking/jogging track so that makes sense and would correlate to the picture posted by @kccorona. How did she come to be sitting on the railing? Did someone put her there? Did she climb up herself and no one noticed in time? Why on earth would someone let a child (or anyone for that matter) sit on the railing of an open porthole?!? Hopefully they will release more info. I'm sure they must have cameras out there so hopefully the incident was captured.

https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/girl-who-went-overboard-from-disney-cruise-fell-backward-through-a-porthole-sheriffs-investigation-finds/

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships/deck-plans/dream/

 

[10ofRods]

wait, people are STILL putting children on these rails for photo ops?? Did we learn nothing from the grandfather whose granddaughter fell from a cruise ship window case? For crying out loud, there is no cure for stupid I guess.

Both are lucky to be alive.

Not everyone reads the news, that's for sure. It continuously amazes me.

 

[Seni]

Truth about dad who jumped off Disney cruise to save daughter

The five-year-old fell from the fourth deck of the $900 million Disney Dream about 11am on Sunday as it was sailing to Fort Lauderdale from the Bahamas and her dad dived in to save her.

www.dailymail.co.uk

DM has clear photos of Deck 4, the shuffleboard, running track and portholes.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

I’ve seen the below photos referenced in media that are present on this particular ship- open “portholes” and railings halfway up but not completely closed off.

View attachment 599532

The use of the word "porthole" is confusing. The above openings are more like "windows" than traditional ship portholes found in some types of staterooms. I can picture a small child fitting through a porthole, but I doubt that an adult could. When I heard that the child had actually fallen backwards from a porthole and the father jumped in after her, I was more than a little confused. WTF? Disney Cruises is referring to these round openings as "portholes", so I can easily picture how a small child could climb up to the railing from the wide ledge below the open porthole.

 

[mickey2942]

So, I may be a "helicopter" mom, but aren't parents supposed to supervise children on a cruise? If they are not in the paid, supervised daycare area, then I would expect to have a tight hand on my kid.

I had one, a little spider monkey. He could climb anything by the time he was 3. I was constantly grabbing him. We decided no trips, he was enough of a handful at home.