No Result
View All Result
Eye of the Flyer
  • BANK & Travel Cards ★
    • Credit Cards
    • CardMatch™
    • Eye of the Flyer Recommended Cards
    • Best Welcome Offers
    • Travel Rewards Cards
    • Airline Credit Cards
    • Hotel Credit Cards
    • Cash Back Credit Cards
    • No Annual Fee Credit Cards
    • Small Business Credit Cards
    • Gas Rewards Cards
    • Balance Transfer Cards
    • Student Credit Cards
    • Visa Credit Cards
    • Mastercards
    • Bad or Poor Credit
    • No Credit or Limited Credit
    • Secured Cards
  • CardMatch™
  • Cruises
  • Rookie
  • Elite Mileage Runs
  • Merchandise
  • αbout US ✉
  • BANK & Travel Cards ★
    • Credit Cards
    • CardMatch™
    • Eye of the Flyer Recommended Cards
    • Best Welcome Offers
    • Travel Rewards Cards
    • Airline Credit Cards
    • Hotel Credit Cards
    • Cash Back Credit Cards
    • No Annual Fee Credit Cards
    • Small Business Credit Cards
    • Gas Rewards Cards
    • Balance Transfer Cards
    • Student Credit Cards
    • Visa Credit Cards
    • Mastercards
    • Bad or Poor Credit
    • No Credit or Limited Credit
    • Secured Cards
  • CardMatch™
  • Cruises
  • Rookie
  • Elite Mileage Runs
  • Merchandise
  • αbout US ✉
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result

What Happens When You Die On a Cruise Ship? What About Scattering Your Ashes?

That Guy by That Guy
March 1, 2024
in Cruises
2
What happens if you die on a cruise ship?

(©iStock.com/KatarzynaBialasiewicz)

Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.

As you can imagine, people die everywhere, no matter the place, the time or the activity. Heck, people even die at Disneyworld (more often than we’d like to know!). Ships are no exception. However, there are a few things you may not know about what happens in these cases.

Believe it or not, on the ship, just like there is a Medical Center, there is also a morgue. A fun fact about it is that the person who takes care of the AC in your cabin is the same person in charge of the morgue working properly at all times (that would be the Chief Refrigeration Officer and their staff). After the Pandemic, cruise lines were required to have a morgue with a higher capacity than before, according to their total passenger capacity.

a city skyline seen from a bridge

When a guest dies onboard, a whole lot of processes and procedures start to roll out immediately. If the person gets deadly sick or injured, you may hear a code “something” announcement. This announcement is different depending on the cruise line, and ALL crew members are required to be familiar with all of them. This code alerts different staff involved in guests’ welfare and deploys them to the place where help is needed. If a guest has a heart attack in their cabin, for example, thanks to this code announcement, staff involved will be there immediately.

a sunset over the ocean

The moment a guest is properly pronounced dead by the Medical staff, what’s next is a ton of paperwork and clearance requests. If it happened while the ship was sailing, the ship may have to stop in the nearest port, offload the body together with the relatives, and for that, the ship would need to request permission to dock in whatever country it finds itself.

If it happens while the ship is in port, it’s all slightly easier. Also, depending on the circumstances, for example, if there was any chance of foul play, police may have to be involved. This could severely delay departure or arrival times!

During a transatlantic ending in Venice, we had a guest die the day before our arrival from natural causes, but because we were arriving in Italy on the following day, the Italian authorities had a lot of demands in order to clear the ship, and even required the body to be taken off before anybody else was allowed to disembark. I remember we were supposed to start with debark at around 8:00am. By 10:00am we were still waiting for clearance, and guests were getting FURIOUS, as some of them would miss their flights because of this.

a group of people sitting at a table with a lamp and a sunset

In other cases, we may be able to carry the body to another port, or the final one. Many years ago, two elderly ladies were traveling together, and one of them died the day before arriving in Iceland. Fortunately, her friend didn’t have to be in charge of her deceased friend’s body in such a foreign country, and the cruise line was able to get permission to let her, and her deceased friend, end the cruise in New York, where everything had been arranged for a smooth process. So, different situations will call for different actions. And cruise lines do a great job of providing guests with assistance when needed.

a ship on the water

Another death-related situation onboard is when guests arrange for the scattering of ashes. This doesn’t happen very often, but it seems to offer relatives and loved ones a great deal of solace and closure. I had a family sail with me who brought their father’s ashes on board and scattered the ashes on the second sea day. The family had sailed with the father on the same ship in previous years, and had nothing but the best memories of their time on board. It was a most sensitive and memorable moment, and you could notice the difference in their demeanor before and after the event, they looked so much more at peace after such a personal sendoff.

Of course, arranging such an event requires a lot of paperwork. On the day of the scattering of the ashes, the staff member in charge of groups will escort the family and friends to the location, which is normally around the mooring deck (so, a crew-only area). The Environmental Officer will also be there to document everything on the legal side. The box where the ashes are contained is made of an environmentally-friendly material, and a rope helps the box open and let the ashes be properly scattered before it’s dropped in the ocean.

So, as you can see, cruise lines are readily prepared to deal with all kinds of situations, more so than many on-land locations! Hopefully, you’ll never have to deal with such an event, but if it does happen, know that the staff will be there for you. – ThatGuy

 

 

Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.

Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

Previous Post

Shared Tables and Early or Late Seating – Why? What Started It All?

Next Post

A Brilliant Hotel Credit Card Promotion, Gifted Choice Benefits, and a Fun Free Delta Wi-Fi Experience

That Guy

That Guy

Next Post
I drew ALOHA on Waikiki Beach with Diamond Head in the background. (©iStock.com/Koji)

A Brilliant Hotel Credit Card Promotion, Gifted Choice Benefits, and a Fun Free Delta Wi-Fi Experience

Comments 2

  1. DLPTATL says:
    2 years ago

    We were on an Oceania Cruises trip in the Caribbean about a year ago. An elderly woman passed away (peacefully) while on a semi-submarine excursion in Roatan, Honduras. They discovered she had passed at the end of the excursion when she failed to get-off the vessel and attempts to wake her were unsuccessful. The local authorities kept her remains for air-transport back to the US. Her travelling companion continued on for the remainder of the cruise. Needless to say it was a subject of conversation on board given we only had 450 or so passengers on the sailing.

    A friend was on a river cruise in Russia (remember when we used to be able to do those???) when one of their friends passed away on the vessel. His remains were stored on board and the trip continued with his widow comforted by her fellow passengers. At the end of the trip they flew home on the same plane. The cruise line helped with all of the necessary paperwork.

    Reply
  2. DLPTATL says:
    2 years ago

    We were on an Oceania Cruises trip in the Caribbean about a year ago. An elderly woman passed away (peacefully) while on a semi-submarine excursion in Roatan, Honduras. They discovered she had passed at the end of the excursion when she failed to get-off the vessel and attempts to wake her were unsuccessful. The local authorities kept her remains for air-transport back to the US. Her travelling companion continued on for the remainder of the cruise. Needless to say it was a subject of conversation on board given we only had 450 or so passengers on the sailing.

    A friend was on a river cruise in Russia (remember when we used to be able to do those???) when one of their friends passed away on the vessel. His remains were stored on board and the trip continued with his widow comforted by her fellow passengers. At the end of the trip they flew home on the same plane. The cruise line helped with all of the necessary paperwork.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

➤ Search Eye of the Flyer

No Result
View All Result

Subscribe

Subscribe To Our NewsletterJoin our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

GREAT Travel and Cash Back Card Offers for Spring 2025!

Eye of the Flyer may receive a commission from the links below. See our Privacy Policy

See some of the biggest and best offers now!
Capital One Venture X Business: Earn 150,000 bonus miles once you spend $30,000 on eligible purchases within three (3) months of being approved for card membership. Then, earn an additional 200,000 miles after you spend a total of $200,000 within the first six (6) months. That's a total of 350,000 miles. Learn here how to apply.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card: Earn up to 150,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points. First, earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on the card within six (6) months of being approved for card membership. Earn additional 50,000 bonus points after you spend $2,000 in eligible purchases on the card within six (6) months of being approved for card membership. Long story short: Earn 150,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on eligible purchases within the first six months of being approved. (Terms Apply.). Read more and learn here how to apply.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases within three (3) months of being approved for card membership. Learn more here.

 

American Express® Business Gold Card

American Express® Business Gold Card: Earn 100,000 bonus Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first three (3) months of being approved for card membership. Plus, enjoy a 0% introductory APR for the first six (6) months from the date of account opening on purchases eligible for Pay Over Time, then a 18.49% to 27.49% variable APR. (See Rates & Fees) Terms apply.. Learn more here.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 150,000 bonus American Express® Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 on eligible purchases on the card within the first three (3) months of being approved for card membership. Plus, earn a $500 statement credit after you spend $2,500 on qualifying flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express Travel with your Business Platinum Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership. You can earn one or both of these offers. This offer expires on June 30, 2025. Terms apply.. Plus, enjoy select airport lounge access, statement credit opportunities galore, and more! Read here why we love this card.

Eye of the Flyer partner offer!CardMatch™CardMatch™
Offers may not be available to all users.

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Eye of the Flyer with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.

Subscribe

Subscribe To Our NewsletterJoin our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Resources

  • ✍ Editors Disclaimer
  • 💰 Advertiser Disclosure
  • 🔒 Privacy Policy
  • BANK & Travel Cards ★
  • CardMatch™
  • Cruises
  • Rookie
  • Elite Mileage Runs
  • Merchandise
  • αbout US ✉

Copyright © 2025 Eye of the Flyer. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • BANK & Travel Cards ★
    • Credit Cards
    • CardMatch™
    • Eye of the Flyer Recommended Cards
    • Best Welcome Offers
    • Travel Rewards Cards
    • Airline Credit Cards
    • Hotel Credit Cards
    • Cash Back Credit Cards
    • No Annual Fee Credit Cards
    • Small Business Credit Cards
    • Gas Rewards Cards
    • Balance Transfer Cards
    • Student Credit Cards
    • Visa Credit Cards
    • Mastercards
    • Bad or Poor Credit
    • No Credit or Limited Credit
    • Secured Cards
  • CardMatch™
  • Cruises
  • Rookie
  • Elite Mileage Runs
  • Merchandise
  • αbout US ✉

Copyright © 2025 Eye of the Flyer. All Rights Reserved.

Cleantalk Pixel
No Result
View All Result
  • BANK & Travel Cards ★
    • Credit Cards
    • CardMatch™
    • Eye of the Flyer Recommended Cards
    • Best Welcome Offers
    • Travel Rewards Cards
    • Airline Credit Cards
    • Hotel Credit Cards
    • Cash Back Credit Cards
    • No Annual Fee Credit Cards
    • Small Business Credit Cards
    • Gas Rewards Cards
    • Balance Transfer Cards
    • Student Credit Cards
    • Visa Credit Cards
    • Mastercards
    • Bad or Poor Credit
    • No Credit or Limited Credit
    • Secured Cards
  • CardMatch™
  • Cruises
  • Rookie
  • Elite Mileage Runs
  • Merchandise
  • αbout US ✉

Copyright © 2025 Eye of the Flyer. All Rights Reserved.