Do Cruise Ships Have Morgues? Yes . Photos & Videos
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A lot of ports aren’t suitable and would refuse to accept a body, so often a passenger who has passed away will remain on the ship for up to a week until the ship returns to a suitable location. Cruise ships have facilities and protocols for dealing with deaths on board. Most deaths result from natural causes, though accidents, suicides, and murder can occur.
Handling Passenger Death
Elderly passengers make up a large portion of the cruise ship demographic. The death of a passenger will need reporting to the relevant local authorities. The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will also need to be informed when the cruise ship is at a US homeport. On a ship, the morgue will be relatively small and just large enough to serve the purpose of holding up to 3 to 6 bodies in cool refrigerated compartments made fro stainless steel. This post goes over the process of dealing with a death on a cruise ship and what happens to the body after the cruise. How soon a body can be offloaded depends on several factors, including local regulations, where the ship is in its itinerary and where the vessel is flagged.
What Can You Expect When Facing A Death Onboard?
They don’t usually look like morgues you see on TV, with individual units for each body. Cruise ships have morgues, and body bags, and it would be a very exceptional case where more people passed away than the ship could accommodate. They would have backup plans in place that likely wouldn’t involve using food storage spaces. The most common cause of death on cruise ships is natural, primarily due to heart attacks (source). The prevalence of heart attacks as a leading cause of death isn’t surprising, given the higher average age of cruise passengers.
People die on cruise ships all the time…
Repatriating a body is a complex and costly procedure, often necessitating assistance from embassies and requiring comprehensive travel insurance to manage potential expenses. All oceangoing cruise ships are required to have a morgue onboard along with body bags in which to store the body. Being so close to land they are not required, although provisions would be in place to deal with a body in the event of a death. Don't know about the use of the meat locker but, yes, the cruise lines frequently have to handle the remains of passengers who have died. (I would think that health regulations wouldn't allow the passenger's body to be stored in the kitchens).
What happens when someone dies on a cruise ship?
The cost of returning the deceased falls to the family, but travel insurance usually covers these expenses. Cruise ships are legally obligated to have a morgue because, on average, 200 people pass on cruise ships annually. The International Journal of Travel Medicine and Global Health (IJTMGH) conducted a study in 2020 that investigated the mortality rates of crew and passenger mortality on cruise ships.
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If the death was due to natural causes, the ship would usually not be required to investigate. Knowing there is a place for those who pass away on the ship can give peace of mind to these passengers and their traveling companions. As many of these passengers are in retirement, some choose to go on cruises for months. Many passengers on a cruise are in their older years and perhaps in ill health but still trying to enjoy their life to the fullest. Why pick 28, and where they are stored, when filled, was not mentioned.
An accompanying passenger to the deceased will also tend to disembark with the body. Make sure your trip insurance plan includes repatriation as that will cover the bulk of these expenses. Depending on the insurance company, you may also get help sorting through all the paperwork and requirements.
In fact, it is estimated that around 200 people die on cruise ships each year. Here, we explore a few of the more common steps taken by cruise lines in the unfortunate event of a passenger death. When a passenger dies on a cruise ship, the family can’t request that the body is immediately buried at sea.
Many cruise lines offer daily Alcoholics Anonymous meetings that are usually scheduled as “Friends of Bill W.,” a reference to William Wilson, who co-founded the A.A. Cruise lines entertain other superstitions, like appointing godmothers to bless new vessels and ensure the safety of passengers and crew. They also hold naming ceremonies in which a bottle of champagne is smashed against the hull of a new ship for good luck. If the bottle fails to break, the vessel will, according to superstition, have bad luck. These days, cruise lines use mechanical devices to ensure that does not happen. Once the necessary arrangements are in order, they have authorities issue a death certificate and return the deceased to their home country.
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The staging area for luggage, the separate refrigeration room for meat which must be kept separate from chicken which must be kept separate from fish. Many cruise lines, including Disney Cruise Lines, Carnival and Royal Caribbean, offer weddings and wedding renewals aboard the ship or at scenic tropical locations. We're lucky in Florida, home to some of the world's busiest cruise ports including PortMiami, Port Canaveral, Port Everglades, Port Tampa Bay, JAXPORT, and Port of Palm Beach.
Each oceangoing cruise ship is required to carry body bags and maintain a morgue. Separate from food storage areas, most morgues are small, with room for three to six bodies. When sailing the seven seas, one would wonder if the ship’s morgue is just around the corner from the buffet. Rest easy, potential cruisers, especially those with curious little ones, cruise ship morgues are not places one can just stumble upon while exploring the ship. They are typically well-hidden in restricted areas, inaccessible to passengers, ensuring that the holiday ambiance remains undisturbed.
And repatriation, with all its necessary paperwork and hassle, is not inexpensive. Misbehavior or breaking the law on a cruise ship can see you confined to your cabin or locked up in the brig. When thinking of a cruise, we generally imagine sailing away for a relaxing vacation of sun and fun. Lots of food, perhaps a drink with an umbrella in it and the magnificent ocean.
While clinical and somber in feel, the morgue allows bodies to be safely contained with proper respect until arrangements can be made at the next port. The morgue is typically about the size of a large walk-in closet or small bedroom — just large enough to hold one or two bodies at a time. However, for extremely sensitive matters, almost all cruise lines use the same critical codes. “Operation Bright Star,” is used for serious medical issues, while “Operation Rising Star,” is used in the event of a death on board.
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