A death at sea on a cruise ship is an unfortunate circumstance that cruise ships are nonetheless equipped to handle. There are two typical options -- unload the deceased at the next port and begin the long process of having remains sent internationally to the correct place, or store the body in near-freezing temperatures aboard the boat in its onboard morgue.
For one 78-year-old guest aboard the Royal Caribbean Group (RCL) cruise ship Celebrity Equinox, keeping the body aboard seemed the best solution after her husband's heart condition led to his death mid-voyage.
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But according to a local Miami news source, she would have taken her chances in the nearest port in Puerto Rico if she had known that the ship's morgue was out of order.
TheStreet
When the ship arrived in the family’s home state of Florida, a funeral home employee came aboard to transport the body. But the body had been placed on a pallet on the floor of a beverage cooler, which is nowhere near cool enough to keep it appropriately preserved.
Now a lawsuit filed in Florida on behalf of the man's wife and family seeks to hold Celebrity Cruises responsible for a million dollars in damages. The lawsuit reportedly claims that "Knowing their husband and father was callously and casually left in a beverage cooler, stripping him of his dignity in the sacred time just after his passing."
"The ideas and mental images will surely never leave the memory of the plaintiffs," the suit reportedly reads. Yes, indeed, there are some things a person just can't un-see, even if it is in the mind's eye.
When asked for comment on the situation, Celebrity Cruises responded, telling TheStreet: "Given the nature of the situation, we are unable to comment on pending litigation."
