Anybody have experience with cruises? - Page 2 - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

realtall · 01-11-2006, 01:19 AM

I've been on a couple myself but not on any of the major cruiselines. One was a cheapy in the carribean(verdict? eh.) on a small cruiseline and one was up the Nile(which was pretty good; sidetrips included the great pyramids).

My parents have been on more than a few, though. I asked Mom which line was her favorite line(or were they all wrong together :lol: ) and she said Holland. She said that Holland had better & more trustworthy staff then the others and she liked most of the entertainment.

The only thing that I can offer from firsthand experience is to go on a major reputable line.

il Padrino Ute · 01-11-2006, 03:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by non sequitur

Quote:

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

but a friend of mine from mortuary school was employed as the onboard mortician for about 6 years for Royal Carribean. He enjoyed that job very much and only had to perform his needed service about 5 times.

Okay, I'm trying to remember back to my days watching The Love Boat. Now, Gopher was the purser and Isaac was the bartender. Who the hell was the mortician?

The Love Boat didn't have the courage to talk about the mortician - perhaps because the cruise industry really doesn't talk about it either. I don't know if it would be good for business to pick up a brochure and read "and if you die, you'll be embalmed by a licensed mortician."

I suppose we can only assume that Doc was entrusted with that duty.

realtall · 01-11-2006, 03:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

The Love Boat didn't have the courage to talk about the mortician - perhaps because the cruise industry really doesn't talk about it either. I don't know if it would be good for business to pick up a brochure and read "and if you die, you'll be embalmed by a licensed mortician."

That one made me laugh.

It never occured to me that a cruise ship would have a mortician. Is this really needed? Sounds like the good life for the mortician, anyways.

il Padrino Ute · 01-11-2006, 04:01 AM

When someone dies, decomposition immediately starts, though you wouldn't notice it until a few days later, depending on the temprature and humidity, etc. The only way to really slow down decomposition is to bury, cremate, embalm or bury the body ASAP.

Crusie lines do employ morticians. One just can't bury the body at sea without the permission of the family of the deceased and it's against the law, both US and international, for someone other than a licensed funeral director to embalm, cremate or bury the body. For the family members, when I think about it, it would be nice to know that my loved one will be taken care of until I can get home with the body to give him/her a proper funeral. And most crusie lines are willing to pay for the shipping costs if you don't really mention to your friends that "it was a good time except for that death thing"

It's not surprising that people think about it, as it' ssomething that most people don't like to think about when they're not on a cruise, let alone out on the high seas having a good time. However, if you really think about it, it's a service that is needed pretty much everywhere.

As for the life of an onboard mortician, yes, it's pretty sweet. My friend helped the onboard doctor everyonce in a while in little tasks like stitches, but for the most part, he kind of walked around the ship greeting the passengers, though he didn't introduce himself as the mortician. To them, he was just another one of the crew.

realtall · 01-11-2006, 04:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

It's a service more needed than most realize

The more that I think about it, the more that I think that you're right - especialy with the number of passenger 60 and older that they have; some of them in poor health(that's why they go on these cruises a lot of the time...they don't actually have to do anything).

Its too bad that they don't introduce him right along with the rest of the crew at the first dinner on the cruise. "I'm Captain Stubing this is this the bartender, this is the purser, this is the bartender, and this is the ship's mortician. Please let us know if we can be of any service to you."

il Padrino Ute · 01-11-2006, 04:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by realtall

Its too bad that they don't introduce him right along with the rest of the crew at the first dinner on the cruise. "I'm Captain Stubing this is this the bartender, this is the purser, this is the bartender, and this is the ship's mortician. Please let us know if we can be of any service to you."

LOL! I love it.

I'm sure that would be accepted well by the geriatrics on the ship:

"Now I know why my kids sent me on this cruise. They don't want to have to deal with my death and have already told the Captain to just dump my body in the water when it happens."

non sequitur · 01-11-2006, 04:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

Crusie lines do employ morticians. One just can't bury the body at sea without the permission of the family of the deceased and it's against the law, both US and international, for someone other than a licensed funeral director to embalm, cremate or bury the body. For the family members, when I think about it, it would be nice to know that my loved one will be taken care of until I can get home with the body to give him/her a proper funeral. And most crusie lines are willing to pay for the shipping costs if you don't really mention to your friends that "it was a good time except for that death thing"

Okay, this is a serious question. What happens if someone dies onboard and they can't contact the next of kin? When you sign up for a cruise is there anything that stipulates the manner in which your body will be disposed of in case you die?

All-American · 01-11-2006, 04:23 AM

That does it.

After wresting with a major decision, reading this thread has put me over the top.

Gentlemen, I have changed my home page. Cougarboard is dead. Long Live CougarGuard!

il Padrino Ute · 01-11-2006, 04:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by non sequitur

Okay, this is a serious question. What happens if someone dies onboard and they can't contact the next of kin? When you sign up for a cruise is there anything that stipulates the manner in which your body will be disposed of in case you die?

I have no idea. My guess would be that there is a freezer/storage area somewhere in the ship that is for the sole purpose of keeping the deceased until the ship can reach port. I would imagine that the cruise lines would never dispose of a body without contacting the next of kin. Quite honestly, if that were to happen, we could see Disney Cruise Lines' name changed to "Mrs. Della Piana's Cruiseline"

il Padrino Ute · 01-11-2006, 04:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by All-American

That does it.

After wresting with a major decision, reading this thread has put me over the top.

Gentlemen, I have changed my home page. Cougarboard is dead. Long Live CougarGuard!

A wise decision. My homepage is utefans.net, but Cougarguard is at the top of my bookmarks list. Cougarboard is gone with the cookies having been eaten.

01-11-2006, 04:01 AM	#14
il Padrino Ute Board Pinhead Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: In the basement of my house, Murray, Utah. Posts: 15,941	It's a service more needed than most realize... When someone dies, decomposition immediately starts, though you wouldn't notice it until a few days later, depending on the temprature and humidity, etc. The only way to really slow down decomposition is to bury, cremate, embalm or bury the body ASAP. Crusie lines do employ morticians. One just can't bury the body at sea without the permission of the family of the deceased and it's against the law, both US and international, for someone other than a licensed funeral director to embalm, cremate or bury the body. For the family members, when I think about it, it would be nice to know that my loved one will be taken care of until I can get home with the body to give him/her a proper funeral. And most crusie lines are willing to pay for the shipping costs if you don't really mention to your friends that "it was a good time except for that death thing" It's not surprising that people think about it, as it' ssomething that most people don't like to think about when they're not on a cruise, let alone out on the high seas having a good time. However, if you really think about it, it's a service that is needed pretty much everywhere. As for the life of an onboard mortician, yes, it's pretty sweet. My friend helped the onboard doctor everyonce in a while in little tasks like stitches, but for the most part, he kind of walked around the ship greeting the passengers, though he didn't introduce himself as the mortician. To them, he was just another one of the crew. __________________ "The beauty of baseball is not having to explain it." - Chuck Shriver "This is now the joke that stupid people laugh at." - Christopher Hitchens on IQ jokes about GWB.

01-11-2006, 01:19 AM	#11
realtall Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Krum, TX Posts: 891	I've been on a couple myself but not on any of the major cruiselines. One was a cheapy in the carribean(verdict? eh.) on a small cruiseline and one was up the Nile(which was pretty good; sidetrips included the great pyramids). My parents have been on more than a few, though. I asked Mom which line was her favorite line(or were they all wrong together :lol: ) and she said Holland. She said that Holland had better & more trustworthy staff then the others and she liked most of the entertainment. The only thing that I can offer from firsthand experience is to go on a major reputable line.

01-11-2006, 04:23 AM	#18
All-American Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 3,420	That does it. After wresting with a major decision, reading this thread has put me over the top. Gentlemen, I have changed my home page. Cougarboard is dead. Long Live CougarGuard!