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I will be sailing on the Explorer of the Seas inn sept 8th to Alaska. My mom passed away on Sunday and I want to scatter her ashes somewhere in Alaska. Can anyone tell me if they have done this on mendehall glacier or in any other area of Alaska and what I need to do in order to do it.

 

I called RCCL 4 separate times yesterday. Each customer service person acted as if they had no clue what I was asking when I asked about arranging to have them scattered off the ship. I was placed on hold numerous times and gave up. I figure I will try to just do something in alaska. We are going to Mendenhall and I figured that would be nice. I sent an email to the forest service asking what to do. That's what I found as a contact for Mendenhall glacier park.

 

Any advice is welcome. Her dream was to go to Alaska so I want to make this happen

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I'm not sure if you will be able to scatter the ashes close to land. Perhaps there is some different law with regard to Alaska, but when we did this in the Caribbean for a close friend, the Captain made us wait for a couple of hours to ensure the container would not drift to any nearby islands.

 

Some info here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=40436457&postcount=23

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I'm not sure if you will be able to scatter the ashes close to land. Perhaps there is some different law with regard to Alaska, but when we did this in the Caribbean for a close friend, the Captain made us wait for a couple of hours to ensure the container would not drift to any nearby islands.

 

Some info here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=40436457&postcount=23[url=http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=40436457&postcount=23][/url]

 

You couldn't open the container and scatter them?

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I'm not sure if you will be able to scatter the ashes close to land. Perhaps there is some different law with regard to Alaska, but when we did this in the Caribbean for a close friend, the Captain made us wait for a couple of hours to ensure the container would not drift to any nearby islands.

 

Some info here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=40436457&postcount=23

 

 

I read there is no law against scattering them on land. Just as long as they are 200ft away from water or 3 miles off the coast. I would love to have contact with someone at Royal that actually knows what I'm talking about

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You can't just let the ashes "drift" willy-nilly anywhere....If you do it on the ship, it will have to be in a biodegradable container...and it's dropped overboard. If you want to do it on land in Alaska, you need to research their rules/laws for that sort of thing. Pretty sure if you're alone, out in the middle of nowhere, no one would notice if you did it on your own....but I get the feeling that's not what you want to do.

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I'm not sure if this address is still valid, but about 10 years ago someone had posted it when they made arrangements for scattering their loved ones ashes (and I've witnessed it on Sovereign in 2006).

 

airseagfo@rccl.com

 

On a side note, when we were ready to dispose of my Dad's ashes, the funeral home director said there were no laws applying to where on land we could do it as once cremation had occurred, the ashes were considered sterile and biodegradable. (This was in Canada)

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You couldn't open the container and scatter them?

They seemed very concerned that some ashes would be blown back onto the ship. The ashes had to be sealed inside a biodegradable container.

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Older info, but I assume it has not changed. Here is who you need to contact. They sent me a confirmation letter to bring on board.

 

Emergency Travel Team

AirSeaGFO@rccl.com

Toll Free Number: 1-800-256-6649

 

And here are some old posts from here that I copied when we were preparing to scatter my parents. As you can see, the search function works quite well.

We mixed them together in a biodegradable urn (required: just Google it), which was their wish in their wills.

 

The shore side emergency team is supposed to contact the ship, who knows if they do. Simply go to GS as soon as you board and ask for an appointment with the Environmental officer. That is who is in charge of it. We took a large family group for the cruise, and the EO told me they had about 10 scatterings to do that trip.

They do need to get a certain distance from land, and must have proper sea conditions, so I am glad we got our request in early. Alaska may have different restrictions, we were on an 11 day Southern Carib.

 

To whoever asked about just scattering them - bad idea. It's very windy there. They'll do it in an aft deck space. The EO closed that area to the public for as long as we wanted, we had some readings before we tossed them, and it was all quite lovely. She printed up a latitude/longitude certificate for all of us, another nice touch.

________________________________________________________________________

RCCLBurial at Sea as of 10/24/13

I called Royal Caribbean today and theyprovided the following information

Burial at Sea Procedures as of 10/24/13:

  1. Plan a cruise on Royal Caribbean phone 866-562-7625 or with your TA
  2. Call the emergency team to verify current procedure 1-800-256-6649
  3. Email ship at least three weeks prior to sailing = emergencyteam@rccl.com with request to distribute ashes at sea (a/k/a Burial at Sea), provide booking number, sail date, ship, your name, stateroom number, deceased name
  4. Cremation / Purchase biodegradable urn (see TSA Requirements below if flying)
  5. Once on board go to 'Guest Relations' (formerly known as Purser's Desk) to arrange a date and time. (check ship's deck plan online to find location of guest relations desk)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The purpose of this threadis to provide information for those who might be considering this. It's illegalto do this on your own without permission or within 12 miles of the U.S. soplease keep this in mind if you respond.

"Thank you for your request to spread asheswhile at sea during your cruise onboard the Sapphire Princess, cruise #H102N,commencing January 5, 2011.

"We would like to inform you of thefollowing:

 

* Ashes must be contained in a biodegradable urn

* Ashes/Flowers may only be spread inInternational waters

* In accordance with environmental laws, onlyashes, biodegradable urns and biodegradable flowers are permitted to be spreadoverboard. Cards, paper, metals, plastics and other non-biodegradable items arenot permitted.

* Our ships do not employ a Chaplain

 

"The ship will be notified of your requestand you shall be contacted while onboard. You will be informed of anappropriate time to carry out the spreading of the ashes. A member of theship's company will escort you to a suitable private location and stay with youduring this time."

 

Once onboard, I went down to the PassengerServices Desk with a copy of the above letter. Naturally, no one at Princesshad notified the ship, but not to worry. I received a call from Trent, fromCustomer Service, the next morning and he told me he would check with thenavigator to find out what days and times would be possible

We all arrived at the Passenger Services Desk atabout 10:45am and were met by Manuel, who was going to help us. He had arrangedfor a gorgeous flower arrangement (at no cost) for us to toss with the ashes andled us up to deck 7 aft. He had two crew members stationed on both sides of theship who closed off the back of Promenade deck after we passed by. We went tothe very back of the ship and had a few quiet moments while my nephew openedthe box and then sent Jim's ashes out to sea.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I emailed Royal severalweeks in advance of our cruise for permission to have the burialatsea. They responded with approval, letting me knowthat I could scatter ashes only, or use a biodegradable urn. I was told tocontact the Purser's Desk once aboard, and that a time would be set up for a seaday. We were booked in a suite, so the weekbefore the cruise, I emailed the concierge, asking him to set up thearrangements.

 

On the Friday seaday, he met us, then escorted us to meet the 2ship's officers that took us to a spot below public decks where there was asmall balcony. They allowed us to say a few words, and we chose to scatter theashes without an urn.

 

They obviously have done this before; they wereso respectful, and when we stepped back from the balcony, they provided a boxof tissues.

 

The next day we received a certificate with hisname, dates of birth and death, date and time of burialatsea, and the latitude and longitude where it tookplace.

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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Can anyone tell me if they have done this on mendehall glacier or in any other area of Alaska and what I need to do in order to do it.

 

You might want to reach out to these folks to see if they can provide some guidance. Even if you're not using their services, if they're professionals they should be willing to answer some questions.

 

http://www.alaskacremation.com/about-society/learn-about-society/

 

 

Comfort, grace, and peace... --bruce T.

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That makes sense. I wasn't thinking biodegradable.

That's why they wanted to be some minimum distance from any islands. They wanted the container to disintegrate and deposit the ashes in the ocean before it drifted to some land.

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We used this pillow, bought from another site. https://www.oneworldmemorials.com/collections/biodegradable-cremation-urns/products/journey-aqua

 

We spread ashes on Carnival, know others who've done this on Princess. The EO will advise when the best time to do this. We had to wait 3 days (from LA) on our HI cruise because of sea conditions.

If you are flying in , airlines have their own set of rules to follow.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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We planned to do the same for mom. It was such an effort to get it approved on the cruise ship we contacted a local in port place and hired them to do it during a port stop. It did cost a few $$ but was a little more intimate.

 

We also did it at San Diego last year and you do have to get a permit specific for it or at least that's CA law. In CA they require you list the final disposition of remains and if "at sea" they want to know the general location.

 

When we checked with the cruise ship they would schedule a date and time then you would meet below decks on the fantail and they would do a little ceremony and toss over board. Seems I recall attendees was limited to a small number.

 

As a tip, use a paper mache container and poke a few holes in it. Otherwise you will be standing there forever waiting for it to sink.

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... Seems I recall attendees was limited to a small number. ...

On Liberty, they allowed us around 20 people for the ceremony on the aft mooring deck. When it came time to release the container into the sea, only two could fit on the little balcony they had.

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I second the advice to check with your airline, and make sure you will get the ashes back from the funeral home in time for your cruise.

 

Costco sells urns, but not all urns can be shipped to all states: https://www.costco.com/Mystic-Blue-Brass-Urn.product.11605225.html Note the TSA warning there.

 

There are a bunch of different laws you will need to navigate here. What you are doing is very special, and I hope it brings you peace.

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We flew with ours and since it contained nothing that couldn't go through the Xray it wasn't a problem. The best part was when the TSA screener asked my brother, "What's in there?" and the response was, "mom". It was priceless.

 

The same thing happened to me "what have you got in there, sand?".

Pulled over by security, my mother would have loved it.

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Any advice is welcome. Her dream was to go to Alaska so I want to make this happen

If you don't mind walking a bit, Yakutania Point in Skagway is very nice. Unlike Mindenhall, you'll see very few folks out there and can do everything in the privacy of your group/family.

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I will be sailing on the Explorer of the Seas inn sept 8th to Alaska. My mom passed away on Sunday and I want to scatter her ashes somewhere in Alaska. Can anyone tell me if they have done this on mendehall glacier or in any other area of Alaska and what I need to do in order to do it.

 

I called RCCL 4 separate times yesterday. Each customer service person acted as if they had no clue what I was asking when I asked about arranging to have them scattered off the ship. I was placed on hold numerous times and gave up. I figure I will try to just do something in alaska. We are going to Mendenhall and I figured that would be nice. I sent an email to the forest service asking what to do. That's what I found as a contact for Mendenhall glacier park.

 

Any advice is welcome. Her dream was to go to Alaska so I want to make this happen

 

I am so sorry. And how wonderful that you are making sure she sees Alaska.

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You might check with the County you'll be in. When we spread my mother's ashes it had to be done 1 mile out to sea.

 

I know this is personal and I don't want to butt in... but you might think of splitting the ashes up and spread some ashes close to where you live so you can "visit" every once in a while.... every time I go to the coast I still look out to where we spread her remains and think of her.

 

Man, I miss my mother.

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I was quoted above in the recap of several posts. My experience scattering my brother's ashes was very good. I emailed first to get approval and requirements, then made final arrangements with the concierge.

 

We sailed on Freedom; everyone was very helpful. We were told there is no requirement to have a container but if we used one it must be biodegradable. We didn't use a container, but scattered the ashes downwind.

 

The next day I received a nice certificate with his name, dates of birth and death, latitude and longitude, date and time of the burial signed by the captain.

 

I feel this was done with great respect, thank you Royal.

 

Barb

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We also did a Burial at Sea of my father several years ago on the way to Hawaii on Royal Caribbean. We opted for the container and just contacted Guest Services on the ship. They let us know when and where we would be scattering his ashes and they actually had a chaplain who came and said a few prayers with us. Very respectful.

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