Travel

[depglass]

I was telling DH about these cruise ship deaths and wondered what they do with the bodies while they are floating around out there for weeks on end.  DH said they bury them at sea and he was dead serious.  Really?  We have never cruised and at this rate we never will.

[Dinaki]

From the American Embassy in Athens, I copied and paste it here:

Consular Report of Death of a U.S. Citizen in Greece

When a U.S. citizen dies and the death is reported to the U.S. embassy or consulate, Consular Officers:

• Confirm the death, identity, and U.S. citizenship of the deceased.
• Attempt to locate and notify the next-of-kin.
• Coordinate with the legal representative regarding the disposition of the remains and the personal effects of the deceased
• Provide guidance on forwarding funds to cover costs
• Serve as provisional conservator of the estate if there is no legal representative in the country.
• Prepare documents for the disposition of the remains in accordance with instructions from the next-of-kin or legal representative.
• Oversee the performance of the disposition of the remains and the distribution of the effects of the deceased.
• Send signed copies of the Consular Report of Death of an U.S. Citizen Abroad to the next-of-kin or legal representative for possible use in settling estate matters in the United States. 

[PA Mom-mom]

I've never been on a cruise, but I'm pretty sure they have temporary morgues.

[Dinaki]

OUPSIE...I did it again, I am sorry

I did not read exactly what the OP meant, I read it completely othewise, my bad!!!

[patbz]

I've cruised a lot and have a partial answer.  Large ships do have space to store several bodies but sometimes that's not enough.  I was on a two week Christmas/New Years cruise (Big multi generational time for cruises, including elderly).  On Celebrity they used code when making PA announcements but after a while we caught onto the code.  For a death or if a doctor was required I believe it was "Star Code".  One evening, our eighteen year old son decided to dine in our cabin and when they announced "Star Code" he bolted up to dining room (DH has major cardiac issues) but of course it wasn't DH.  I'm sure that ship more than filled their small morgue; in that case I heard they use the refrigerator in which they keep flowers.  In any case, I think they off load corpses at next port (usually only a day or two).

[lovesrecess]

My in-laws lived in Florida and cruised all the time; it was their “thing”. One of their friends who usually cruised with them died on the second day at sea from a heart attack. Her body was airlifted back to Miami per their travel insurance policy. Her body was taken to a funeral home in Lakeland where she and her husband had lived. It seems many seniors buy this type of insurance if they cruise often. I have taken two cruises...enough for me!

[depglass]

All of these answers were helpful, so my sincere thanks. 

[Calgal2too]

I don't think they 'off load corpses at the next port'.

[colliemom4]

I read ships are required to have a morgue.

[Lipstickdiva]

I'm not being a smart aleck about this but you should google this.  It's actually not that easy of an answer.  The website Cruise Critic talks about this.

Yes cruise ships are required to have a morgue but many times all that means is a refrigerated space.  It's not a morgue like you think of as a traditional morgue.  They usally hold anywhere from 3-6 bodies.

Whether the body must be repatriated immediately or can stay on board depends on where the ship is, what ports it's visiting and where the ship is registered.  Most ships can't keep a body on board for longer than a week.  Some ports don't allow the body to be off loaded and sent back home.

It's an interesting read about this.