Near Drowning Aboard "Fantasy" Today

[Ed]

A 4 year old boy has been hospitalized after being pulled from the family pool aboard Disney Fantasy this afternoon before the ship had left the port for a 7-night cruise. Details in this Orlando Sentinel article.

Parents must remember that there are no lifeguards at the pools on any of the ships. Signs to that effect are prominently posted near each of the pools.

[Maleficent's Dad]

Very sad.
Any word on boy's condition? Drowning?

[Maleficent's Dad]

Just read about this. So sad.
Prayers for his family and him on this Easter Sunday.

[Ed]

As of this morning, no update on the boy's condition.

Prayers and for an Easter miracle and the young man's full recovery.

[BrerGnat]

Very sad. Kids behave like crazy people at those pools, jumping with no regard to others in the water, etc. We were on our kids like white on rice whenever they were in the Donald pool on the Dream, because I got an awful feeling that they needed to be protected there.

I can only imagine the chaos of sail away day on the Easter week cruise. Probably a madhouse.

I hope this story ends up having a happy ending.

[VWL Mom]

My thoughts and prayers are with this little boy and his family. How awful!

[faline]

How awful! I do hope he recovers!!

[buzznwoodysmom]

Nothing "official" but, there is a post on another site saying the boy is now in stable condition. Praying for this boy and his family.

[marlyn]

I was on this cruise. We had all gathered on deck for the Sail Away party. We noticed them down on pool deck and photographers taking pictures of area. The cruise director came overhead and announced that due to technical difficulties the sail away party would be moved to the Atrium lobby. At the time we assumed there was difficulty with the stage.....then someone who had seen them resuscitating the boy told us. So sad :-(

While on Castaway Cay a crew member told me that the boy was going to be ok. Thank God.

[VWL Mom]

While on Castaway Cay a crew member told me that the boy was going to be ok. Thank God.

Good news! Thanks for the update.

[buzznwoodysmom]

I have been following their story on the caring bridge site. I think this site is set up through the hospital.

Anyway, the boy is not yet "ok", stable, but not yet fully recovered. He is breathing on his own, heart is beating on its own, but so far he has not be able to communicate with his family or the staff. The family has been told that this may very well be as good as it gets. The doctors suspect he may have suffered extensive brain damage. As of today they were talking about possible plans to transfer him home, but they still have a very long road ahead of them, and their little boy, their life, may never be the same. So sad.

Continuing to pray for a greater outcome for this little boy and his family.

[marlyn]

Oh Denise, that is do sad. There was a lot of talk and speculation about this during our cruise. When the crew member told me he heard the boy was going to be ok, I was so relived. I'm sad to hear that is not the case....
Prayers to the boy and his family.

[buzznwoodysmom]

Oh Denise, that is do sad. There was a lot of talk and speculation about this during our cruise. When the crew member told me he heard the boy was going to be ok, I was so relived. I'm sad to hear that is not the case....
Prayers to the boy and his family.

I know, breaks my heart just to think about what this family is going through. I am following their posts on caringbridge.com, and both mom and dad seem to be in a very good place in dealing with it all. You can tell they have a lot of faith.

[minnie04]

OMG!! So sad, hope everything turns out good I also was surprised to hear there aren’t any life guards on duty during a cruise. Especially a Disney Cruise full of children. Yes it is ultimately up to the parents to watch, but sometimes it’s nice to have a few extra eyes watching as well. Again I hope he recovers soon..Prayers go out to the whole family.

[BrerGnat]

There are life guards on duty on Disney Cruises. However, not in the traditional sense of the word. There are lifeguard positions, and their duties include lifeguarding at Castaway Cay (traditional style, with chairs and whistles and stuff), and onboard, their duties include monitoring the pools, AquaDuck, and Mickey Slide. There is also a CM posted at the water play area (Nemo's Reef) at all times. In addition, these are "recreation" CM's, so they work doing various activities onboard, including those on deck as well as in other areas of ship.

However, they do not sit guard at the pools, but rather patrol the general area (the entire deck, which includes two pools, 4 hot tubs, etc.). On our cruise, we saw 1 CM posted at the Mickey Slide (at the bottom), 1 CM posted at Nemo's Reef, and 1 CM walking back and forth between the two pools.

So, they DO exist, but they cannot possibly be watching everyone all the time. Ultimately, parents are responsible for their kids.

As sad as this situation is, I still am having a very hard time understanding how this happened. It is well known at this point that this 4 year old boy was completely out of reach and/or eye contact of the adults responsible for him, for more than several minutes. I don't understand this. I am torn between feeling horrible for this family and feeling like this could have been an avoidable tragedy. Sad all around.

[marlyn]

The lifeguards on castaway cay are not from the cruise ship. They actually live on the island. I spoke with them.

During the emergency drill we heard someone being paged to go to deck 1 fwd. That is where medical center is. The crew doing our drill seemed surprised to hear this announcement. Turns out it was the parents of this young boy being paged. There was a very large party traveling with this boy and his parents....they didn't all get off the ship, some stayed on. Perhaps the parents had left him in the care of another of their family and that is why they needed to be paged overhead.

[buzznwoodysmom]

Perhaps the parents had left him in the care of another of their family and that is why they needed to be paged overhead.

Based on accounts from other passengers who were also on the cruise (from another site) there was a female family member/friend in the pool area when it happened. According to what the other passenger recalls a female recognized the boy and began shouting "oh God it's Chase". So it is very possible, and looks like, the boy was with family or friends, just not his parents which is why they had to be called. They also said two calls went out, the first for the parents, the second for the boys siblings. I can't even begin to imagine what these parents have been through/are going through.

[buzznwoodysmom]

The family has set up a public Facebook page. If anyone wants to keep up with the boys progress PM me and I'll give you the link. I have seen lots of comments from Disney fans who don't know the family, or guests who were on the same cruise sending well wishes and prayers their way.

[BrerGnat]

The lifeguards on castaway cay are not from the cruise ship. They actually live on the island. I spoke with them.

The lifeguards on Castaway Cay are required to work on the ship monthly, for either 1 or 2 cruises at a time. They all rotate. There are always Lifeguards aboard the ships. They basically live on the island for 2-3 weeks out of the month, and the rest of the time on the ship.

This is a job description for this position on DCL's Careers page:

Recreation Staff (Lifeguard)-Island:
Lifeguard at multiple lifeguard stations 300 feet apart on Castaway Cay. Clean/rent equipment—bikes, snorkel masks, boats, floats. Assist with island activities. Clean and oversee beach/boat lagoon. When working onboard the ship (approximately every 30 days for 1-2 cruises at a time), monitors children/family pools and water slides/Aqua Duck as well as all onboard recreational areas while ensuring safety of all guests and enforcing rules. Monitors integrity of adult areas. Performs hosting duties within lounges and Walt Disney Theatre in evenings. Actively supports Port Adventures (shore excursion) operation. This role has high guest interaction.

[minnie04]

Thank you Natalie, I'm glad to hear they do have lifeguards on hand