Yesterday afternoon, the Monarch of the Seas was forced to return to Port Canaveral after a toddler was reported to have fallen from deck 11 to deck 10 after crawling under a railing.
The Monarch of the Seas was only a few hours into a 3 night Bahamas cruise when a 1 year old child apparently crawled under a railing on deck 11 and fell to the deck below. When the incident was reported to Royal Caribbean staff, the ship was immediately turned around and soon made its way back into Port Canaveral. When the ship arrived, paramedics boarded the ship and quickly airlifted the child to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, Florida.
Royal Caribbean stated in a press release, “The guest was initially treated in our medical facility, but required additional and urgent medical attention that could only be provided in a hospital.” The child’s condition is currently unknown, but it is reported that the child suffered some kind of head injury. Royal Caribbean has stated that they are providing a Care Team to the family.
Now, here is my take on the story. The facts do not add up. Deck 11 of the Monarch of the Seas is the ship’s Lido Deck (which contains the pool, the Windjammer Restaurant, and the sports court) and is completely enclosed in windows and glass railings. There is not a single area of Deck 11’s railings that has an open area where a child could crawl through and fall down to the deck below. So as of right now, I’m confused on what really happened. Hopefully, the child will recover very quickly. We are keeping the child and the family in our prayers.
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Photo: Mike Faust
