Thank you all for your kind words. It was my mother's wish to go on one final carnival cruise and be left in the Caribbean. So that is what we are doing. She loved cruising and the beautiful waters. Someone mentioned about not having a place to go visit by doing burial at sea. I have struggled with this myself. What we have decided to do is keep a small bit of remains in the urn she came home in, and place it in a niche wall at the cemetery. I didn't know what to do with the urn since we will place her in a biodegradable one for burial at sea, so this helps that problem as well. The cost is very small compared to what a regular burial would be by purchasing a spot on the wall. It also gives me and my children a physical place to go locally to pay our respects. I was surprised how common it is these days for people to have a burial at sea (properly) through carnival. Back in 2015, it was reported that they had done over 200 that year. I can only imagine that the number has gone up since then. I had found a couple dollars in my mom's wallet that I will take to take a couple spins on a slot machine for her in the casino, and also found her bingo dabber and will play a special game in her honor. My mom always said to not be sad when she is gone. That of course it hard to do, but sending her off in a beautiful way while also having fun remembering all the things she loved while cruising (such has chocolate melting cake) will put a smile on our faces. I'm thankful that the cruise lines give an opportunity to do this.
