Why I'm unlikely to ever "Cruise" (At least on a large ship)

[JohnK]

How high are the rails? I vaguely recall my 5 year old brother climbing the rails while when we were in the middle of the Atlantic and an adult nearby noticed and dragged him back down quickly.

 

[straitman]

How high are the rails? I vaguely recall my 5 year old brother climbing the rails while when we were in the middle of the Atlantic and an adult nearby noticed and dragged him back down quickly.

I can’t be definitive on the height but they are above my waist height. IMHO it would be difficult to accidentally fall overboard. Guesstimate is about 4 ft high.

 

[Pushka]

There can always be rogue waves. If she was unwell and vomiting then she was not cognisant of her surroundings. She may have slipped, over reacted and toppled. It’s annoying to hear random passengers say there was no wave but were not with the woman at the time.

 

[TheRealTMA]

There can always be rogue waves. If she was unwell and vomiting then she was not cognisant of her surroundings. She may have slipped, over reacted and toppled. It’s annoying to hear random passengers say there was no wave but were not with the woman at the time.

Sad indeed. But seems we don’t have sufficient information, if we ever will have.

Surely WHAS rules would mean that accidental falls from upper deck should be very difficult.

 

[straitman]

Sad indeed. But seems we don’t have sufficient information, if we ever will have.

Surely WHAS rules would mean that accidental falls from upper deck should be very difficult.

Agreed.

At 6ft 1in I don’t believe I could ‘accidentally’ fall over a ship board rail.

There has to be more to the story.

 

[tgh]

and now another one in the US.
Anthem of the Seas n/e of Virginia beach, currently searching…...

 

[Pushka]

Agreed.

At 6ft 1in I don’t believe I could ‘accidentally’ fall over a ship board rail.

There has to be more to the story.

An eye witness has confirmed the story that she was unwell, hanging over the edge, obviously too far, slipped or lost balance and fell in.

 

[tgh]

An eye witness has confirmed the story that she was unwell, hanging over the edge, obviously too far, slipped or lost balance and fell in.

Someone might elaborate , but with close to 10% body mass well over the edge (so as to minimise messing the paint) with quite a bit of lever length to the remaining mass, AND the necessary contractions of the abdominal muscles to assist evacuation of the unwanted material… it's not hard to visualise how it happened.
I guess the industry wouldn't want to publicise "how to throw up safely" , but a duty of care requirement is likely extant to at least show some process to minimise the risk.

 

[Pushka]

Someone might elaborate , but with close to 10% body mass well over the edge (so as to minimise messing the paint) with quite a bit of lever length to the remaining mass, AND the necessary contractions of the abdominal muscles to assist evacuation of the unwanted material… it's not hard to visualise how it happened.
I guess the industry wouldn't want to publicise "how to throw up safely" , but a duty of care requirement is likely extant to at least show some process to minimise the risk.

Plus they don’t want people being ill over the sides. I’m not sure what I’d do. I’d hate just chucking up in front of everyone on deck. Over the sides gives some degree of privacy but might not be pleasant if it lands on someone else’s balcony either. At the time I guess you just do whatever you think in a perceived ‘emergency.’

 

[JohnK]

I can’t be definitive on the height but they are above my waist height. IMHO it would be difficult to accidentally fall overboard. Guesstimate is about 4 ft high.

Too low. One of the extremely scary things with balconies on buildings with high floors.

 

[straitman]

Too low. One of the extremely scary things with balconies on buildings with high floors.

No it’s not.

A high building has no relevance here.

Try it before you bag it.

 

[JohnK]

No it’s not.

A high building has no relevance here.

Try it before you bag it.

I have been on a ship many times. I still think it's too low.

 

[tgh]

I have been on a ship many times. I still think it's too low.

Sooo what would be an appropriate height ?

 

[straitman]

I spent 39-40 days on a boat back in the early 70's as a child when we came to Australia. Loved it.

I've been wanting to do a cruise for many years. For a long time I was looking at the luxurious cruises where the cost was >USD115,000 for 3 months or was that a 6 month cruise?

More recently I have been wanting to do some shorter cruises. Unfortunately my wife gets sea sick even with tablets and I do not want to see her suffer. Wife has said I can go alone but the biggest issue being a single cruiser is they would charge through the nose. I don't want to pay that sort of money and I definitely do not want to share with a stranger.

I shall wait and see when daughter gets older then I can look at cruises again.

I have been on a ship many times. I still think it's too low.

The implication from your earlier post is that you have cruised once all be it for 39-40 days and that you will try again when your daughter is older. IMHO that doesn't make you an experienced cruiser and certainly not a current cruiser. Many things have changed in the last 45-50 years including the type of railings and certainly the perspective of how high a rail is as an adult compared to when you were a child. You are quite entitled to think it's too low but I am sure you will find that most people who currently cruise don't agree with you.

I feel sorry for this lady but it would be nice to have some real facts rather than contradictory speculation. I still struggle with the idea that a 4 M wave could have washed her overboard and then she fell 40 M to the sea. That just doesn't make any sense at all and while overbalancing is possible it would be very difficult.

 

[Pushka]

It seems after all this was intentional.

 

[Meggsy]

It seems after all this was intentional.

Yes, sadly it appears that way. Police will review security footage on cruise ship where mother plunged to death

 

[straitman]

To put a little perspective on this discussion here is an article from National Geographic.

Scared of Falling Off a Cruise Ship? Here's What You Should Know.

 

[straitman]

Meanwhile in the USA.

Coast Guard suspends search for man who jumped off cruise ship

 

[TheRealTMA]

It seems after all this was intentional.

Yes. Police today said she took a few steps backwards then propelled herself over the rail.

Sad.

 

[Pushka]

Yes. Police today said she took a few steps backwards then propelled herself over the rail.

Sad.

And just awful for her husband who tried stopping her. Imagine his immense grief at telling himself not to go in after her. Just awful awful. He would be feeling grief, anger, distress, rage, guilt, sorrow....