Burial at sea on future cruises due to death on board

[kevingastreich]

2 hours ago, sfaaa said:

Now the serious stuff. Will my estate get a refund on my unused OBC and shore excursion tickets if I check out early and get dumped over the side of promenade deck? 

I'm sure there is a charge for it.  That is where your OBC will be used.

[asebastian]

7 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

You must have been on the official tour 😉

 

 

 

Yes John, rest assured I wasn't a stow-away 😁.

 

And again, thank you for your excellent narration and explanation on all aspects of HAL ships. Much appreciated.

[HokiePoq]

On 4/17/2020 at 12:43 PM, Shmoo here said:

You are aware that there could be a body (or two) on any given cruise, regardless of COVID19 or not?  

Exactly.  Happened on a Royal cruise we were on and probably on others we don't know about.

[Copper10-8]

7 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

John, don't know how many times I've had to correct crew who think the watertight doors are like elevator doors, and will reverse when they meet an obstruction.  The door is operated by 3000 psi hydraulics, and will not stop moving in the closed direction until it is jammed into a wedge shaped door jamb, and the hydraulic pressure builds all the way up.  NCL had a crew member die from being cut in half when his coveralls caught while crossing a closing door, and Princess had someone lose a hand the same way.  I know that on NCL, none of the doors outside the engine room were allowed to be opened while at sea, except for emergencies, but that the 12 or so doors in the engine room were routinely opened and closed as the motormen went about their duties.

 

It never ceases to amaze me that some crew don't want to grasp the potential dire consequences of crossing a watertight door that is in the act of closing, just like you wrote. I've written discipline, on the recommendation of the staff chief engineer, to wipers/machinists and other crew who were seen "stepping through" a closing watertight door as if it was no big thing. At times, I've contemplated if showing graphic photographs of those unfortunate incidents you mentioned might get the message across

[SeaDog-46]

Crew often do not take safety seriously because life is cheap where they come from.

[sassy12]

We also were told and actually saw the morgue on the Volendam on her last cruise and it was full of flowers. Were told the flowers would be removed if the room was needed for it's original purpose.

[david,Mississauga]

7 hours ago, TexasBrit said:

FWIW, on my transatlantic crossing in 1968, there was a burial at sea. I happened to be out on an upper deck aft, waiting for the late dining room sitting, and was asked to leave the area due to the burial about to take place below on the crew deck. As I did not see it, I don't know anything about the ceremony, procedure etc.

 

I asked about this to one of the waiters who was from my home town and I had become friendly with. He mentioned that it happened sometimes due to the large number of elderly people on the ship on each crossing. This was a passenger liner for transport, not a cruise ship for recreation/vacation. 

 

In 1977 there was a burial of a passenger on board the RMS Windsor Castle of the Union-Castle Line between Cape Town and Southampton. The gentleman's wife had indicated to some passengers (not me) that he loved the sea and always wanted to be buried at sea. According to what we call "usually reliable sources" the private ceremony was held at dawn on a low deck at the stern.

 

I suspected by 1977 burials at sea were rare. There were witnesses that the unfortunate gent collapsed and died on deck. What if there was suspicion of the cause of death - murder, poisoning - one must wonder? The deceased was English and the ship was registered in England.

[Copper10-8]

4 hours ago, SeaDog-46 said:

Crew often do not take safety seriously because life is cheap where they come from.

 

 

I know some staff captains that would have their hide for acting stupid like that

[Copper10-8]

3 hours ago, sassy12 said:

We also were told and actually saw the morgue on the Volendam on her last cruise and it was full of flowers. Were told the flowers would be removed if the room was needed for it's original purpose.

 

 

That is true; if not being used for its intended purpose/sitting vacant more times than not, and since it is a climate controlled space, the ship's florist often use the morgue to store their large selection of flowers

[SeaDog-46]

As master I have done several casket ash burials at sea.

But no mater whether ship is stopped or going slow - I always managed to get ash in the face!

Not nice.

Edited April 19, 2020 by SeaDog-46

[chengkp75]

4 hours ago, SeaDog-46 said:

As master I have done several casket ash burials at sea.

But no mater whether ship is stopped or going slow - I always managed to get ash in the face!

Not nice.

That's why most cruise lines require a biodegradable urn, and the urn is dropped over the side, ashes are generally not allowed to be "spread" for just this reason.

[chengkp75]

9 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

It never ceases to amaze me that some crew don't want to grasp the potential dire consequences of crossing a watertight door that is in the act of closing, just like you wrote. I've written discipline, on the recommendation of the staff chief engineer, to wipers/machinists and other crew who were seen "stepping through" a closing watertight door as if it was no big thing. At times, I've contemplated if showing graphic photographs of those unfortunate incidents you mentioned might get the message across

We could control the doors outside the engine room pretty well, with the door indicators on the bridge and the surveillance cameras, but the engineers were always a problem.  Unfortunately, the local control handles are at the side of the door that opens first, so guys would hold the lever in the open position, let the door open just enough to get through, reach across and get hold of the handle on the other side, hold it in open, and step through.  All good until you miss the second handle.  Knowing that they were going through the doors several times a watch, and there was frequently no other way into the compartments, I could sympathize with their frustration, but still had a hard time convincing them to take the extra 30-40 seconds to open the door all the way and then close it.

[RocketMan275]

I can only imagine the outrage on this board should cruise lines enact mandatory burial at sea policies.  

One also wonders how much OBC some would demand if their DH/DW/D? were buried at sea?

[AV8rix]

12 hours ago, SeaDog-46 said:

As master I have done several casket ash burials at sea.

But no mater whether ship is stopped or going slow - I always managed to get ash in the face!

Not nice.

Same thing happens when we're trying to do one from a small airplane.  Should say "we WERE trying...."  Learned our lesson a long time ago.  My cremains will be dumped out of one of my friends' planes in a biodegradable container.

[Boytjie]

17 hours ago, sassy12 said:

We also were told and actually saw the morgue on the Volendam on her last cruise and it was full of flowers. Were told the flowers would be removed if the room was needed for it's original purpose.

 

That is what we saw on the Eurodam too in 2009. I took a picture of the door but not the flowers.

 

John: what makes it an "official" tour? :D (We were shown around by the HM).

 

Edited April 19, 2020 by Boytjie

[Boytjie]

9 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

That's why most cruise lines require a biodegradable urn, and the urn is dropped over the side, ashes are generally not allowed to be "spread" for just this reason.

 

We had a friend's ashes scattered of ashes on a HAL ship a few years ago. It was from the Main deck aft and we had now ash blow back issues, but nobody thought to bring hand towels or something similar so it was am awkward walk back to the aft cabin a few decks above where we had a farewell gathering.

[Copper10-8]

16 minutes ago, Boytjie said:

 

That is what we saw on the Eurodam too in 2009. I took a picture of the door but not the flowers.

 

John: what makes it an "official" tour? :D (We were shown around by the HM).

 

 

The one you, Asebastian and others have taken, Peter. The one you have to pay for a la a shore excursion, as opposed to knowing a friendly crew member who will give you a tour for free 😉 Stay safe up there in the Big Apple, still one of the hot spots! 

Edited April 19, 2020 by Copper10-8

[sassy12]

They offered a tour of the laundry area.  Someone saw the sign on the door and asked about it.  Our tour leader left and came back with authorization to show us.

 

BTW:  The entire laundry area got a redo in October. It is really hi-tech now.

 

Not sure how we got the invitation as we were only on our third HAL cruise but are 3 star Mariners.  Glad we did, though.