Death yesterday on VOS 6/4/04 cruise.

Sadly, a man passed away yesterday morning. The Bayonne ME was at the pier when we arrived. I had asked my waiter last night when I heard "Alpha,alpha 9235" while sitting by the pool if that meant someone had died. He told me it meant a medical emergency but confirmed my suspicions this morning. Very sad.I have no other details. Also there was a small plane that flew dangerously close to us yesterday. Did anyone else see it?

I read somewhere on these boards recently,that it happens very frequently.I also read about a ship sailing from Miami last Sunday that had a plane "buzz" them as they left the port???

Rhapsody Reunion 9-12-04

A man passed away during the evening show (heart attack) on a cruise we were on a couple of years ago. There was one other cruise more recently where there was a medical emergency, but I never heard the outcome of that one.

That many people, a lot of them elderly, it must not be uncommon.

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Yes, unfortunately, it does happen quite often. On the Celebrity Summit which I sailed in 2001 & 2002, there were passenger deaths, and the previous year, there were 4 on a Holland America cruise. Luckily, none on the NCL Star which I sailed last summer to Hawaii. Very sad indeed.

It is sad but what a way to go. Doing something that you love to do. It is too bad for the family that is left behind.

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That's sad

March 28, 2004 - Mariner of the Seas

July 4, 2004 - Sapphire Princess - Alaska

Hi, I was on the VOS this past week and I heard that Alpha, Alpha, I was wondering what that was all about. I thought it was a code but not sure what for. I had no idea it was going to mean someone died.

We have been seated at the ship's doctor's table a couple of times, and both of them told us that they average at least one death per cruise. They have a morgue. When you consider the population, it makes sense. As far as the plane, when we were on the AOS in March, there was a small plane that came so close to us that everyone ran outside (we were aft balconies), and could see him taking off. We were worried it was a terrorist, actually sat out on the balcony to see what happened. We heard later that evening that there had been an announcement made less than 10 seconds before he buzzed us that he was going to do it. We (and the guys in their underwear on the balcony next to us) didn't hear it.

I had a great aunt who spent the second half of her life cruising, back in the Grand Old Days of Cruising. She always thought that a cruise of less than a month wasn't worth the effort. You get the picture. She was a Grande Olde Dame herself.

She often told us that if she died on a cruise, we were NOT to fly her body back home. We were to just bury her body at sea.

(this is, of course, now illegal. and she died peacefully in her bed in a nursing home at age 98)

Carol

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It is fairly common, especially on lines with an older audience... HAL and Princess. We had code alpha and eventual death on the Coral Princess. You shoul db ehappy to know that many crew on board most ships are medically trained, so they can help you out in any way possible... at least that is what my crew friends told me.

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Does this imply cruise ships are equipped with morgues? Morbid I know but I suspect I'm not the only person wondering.

On our cruise on NCL our friend's son died of a heart attack on the ship while we were in port in Port Canaveral. The young man was 36 and apprently had massive blockages.

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I have read that most ships do have a small morgue, which can accomodate 2-4 guests.

On the Boards once before, I remember reading that this was not a rare occurence, due to the age of many passengers. My Dad and his wife cruised about a year ago with a large group from their retirement complex in Fl, including a newly retired couple. On the 2nd night of a 5-day cruise, the wife found her 65 yr old husband had apparently had a heart attack in their cabin's bathroom & died. My Dad told me that the ship wanted to disembark them at the next port. The group from the retirement complex went to battle for her since she wanted to return his body to Fl. The ship did accomodate her, and they stayed on the ship until the end of the cruise. My Dad said his body was quietly removed from the ship before anyone else disembarked.

That is so sad. We heard the "Alpha-Alpha" announcement twice on our cruise. One listed a cabin number and the other was pool-side. I didn't know what it meant. I found out later that we had to arrive in St. Marteen early for a medical emergency.

Shelia

Mariner of the Seas-May, 2004

Carnival Destiny-June, 2002

So, if there is a death on the cruise, the deceased can be put in the morgue until the ship arrives back to home port, or are the deceased and family put out at the next port to find a way back home? I think that if something happened to either my husband or myself, I would want to stay aboard until we arrived back home, or else have a helicopter pick us up and fly us to the closest airport to fly back home. What are the ships' policies?

The *Alpha* announcement is that of a medical emergency... There are deaths on a good percentage of cruises, that no one even knows about. Yes... There are freezers onboard used as a morgue... I was on a group cruise in '02, where one of our group members had a heart attack and died... Age was not a factor. I'm pretty sure that he was under 50..

As for the recent death on the VOS... It was either the aunt or uncle of my friend's step son... I heard about it earlier. The whole family remained on the ship until it docked, yesterday...

The guy who passed that was in our group, was taken off the ship at one of the port stops. His wife stayed onboard for the rest of the cruise... Go figure...

Pam : )

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Yikes. I hope I never hear it. I don't want to know.

Pam - it happened on our cruise in November (Grand Princess). We spoke to a couple at lunch one day. They had been told by their TA (according to them) that they were going to receive an upgrade. When they got on the ship, they hadn't. So they complained and in general made a great nuisance of themselves to the pursers desk every day, but were told the cruise was booked and there were no cabins available.

When we were in Cayman, they heard from others that a man had died and was flown home with his wife from Cayman. They joked that it would be funny if they got that cabin. Sure enough, when they got back on the ship, there was a note for them to see the purser. The purse told them a couple had "disembarked" in GC, and they now had a cabin available.

The wife freaked out and asked if it was the cabin someone had died it. They denied it at first, but finally agreed with her. They did NOT end up taking the cabin. It was that afternoon we spoke to them and the wife was still upset that they would offer her that cabin. We thought it was kind of a funny story, especially since they seemed to feel they deserved an upgrade even though they hadn't paid for one.

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This is sad I hope the family had someone to meet then at the pier to help in arrangements and support.

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It might depend on the cruise line and the wishes of the family. My friend's parents were on a cruise through the Panama Canal when her mother passed away from a heart attack. The father and the friend traveling with them stayed on board until the ship reached LA where the rest of the family was waiting for them. There were also procedures to follow as far as the coroner from LA county was concerned. I don't think they could take the body immediately.

Very sad, but she passed away doing something she loved!

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sad thread...but....someone said that the ships had morgues onboard that could accomodate 2-4 "guests"???? please...at that point, i don't think they're guests anymore...and...hmmm....did they still have to tip for the full cruise in the dining room???

yes...i'm a sick puppy

The Alpha, Alpha, Alpha call is definitely for medical emergency. This doesn´t mean always that someone had died.

However on my last cruise on the Jewel I heard the call Alpha, Alpha, alpha in front of yabin number ****. What was really strange to me this cabin number was not existant on the ship.

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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by amaddog10:

sad thread...but....someone said that the ships had morgues onboard that could accomodate 2-4 "guests"???? please...at that point, i don't think they're guests anymore...and...hmmm....did they still have to tip for the full cruise in the dining room???

yes...i'm a sick puppy<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

hey you sick pup - then you won't mind my wonderin' if the death rates have increased since ***** and the others have hit the market...Just a wonderin' "sick pup" too.

Yes - we also heard the alpha call and thought it odd... anyone hear what happened to the folks that totaled the waverunner in Labadee?

Also, I met one lady that had a kid drop 20 feet onto her kneck at Labadee...lucky didn't break her neck, but really messed her up!

The Alpha Alpha Alpha call can be for anywhere on the ship. It signifies a medical emergency and sets in motion the medical teams. Just like calling 911, alpha alpha alpha dispatches the EMS system on the ship. So, it can be anywhere onboard. In engine spaces, offices, dining rooms, or crew accomidations. Most likely if you heard a cabin # and it wasn't in the guest area it was probably a in a crew area and was probably a crew cabin. Remember they have emergencies too and sometimes need the ship's version of the local ambulance.

Also as stated above it does NOT mean someone has died. Usually the bridge officer is responsible for making the announcement. He or she basically work as a 911 call taker and dispatcher in this sense. Based on the information they get over the phone, they determine (based on guidelines) whether or not to send the EMS teams. These usually consist of the nurses, doctors, setretcher teams, security, and some senior officers. So, it can really be anything. Sometimes it's big and sometimes it turns out to be nothing (better safe than sorry).