Burial at sea

[RickinStl]

Very touching stories :)

[dleem63]

Still waiting on a correct certificate. It is frustrating and had to deal with during the holidays.

 

They e-mailed one with no signatures and the day and date were incorrect. I.e, it said Wednesday, December 5, 2015. Well that is not something I want to send to family and I don't think that is what RCI wants to put out their either. Hopefully we will get something shortly.

 

I am glad others had a much better experience, even with two days notice.

 

With us they were put on notice when I booked and then e-mailed them and they supposed sent a confirmation to me and the ship, I did not get the confirmation so I called back to make sure everything was okay and got the confirmation.

 

DeAnna

[candyman511]

Is there an additional fee for the service?

[Clarea]

Is there an additional fee for the service?

No fee at all when we did it on Liberty in 2012.

[destiny217]

We had a service on the Enchantment of the Seas in 2011. Everything was handled perfectly by the cruise line. Our only problem was going through security. Before we knew what the security person was doing, she had the biodegradable urn in her hands and wanted to know what was inside. When told, she was sorry but you could tell she was visibly shaken by the news. I'm not sure if there are any rules to follow.

[wendychloecruiser]

On a similar lighter side... Ship security asked me "what was in my (carry on) bag" and I said.."just my sister." He looked at me quizzically and said that "uhhh...I think she needs a sea pass?" I said "don't worry, she has one" and kept walking.

 

 

Sometimes you just gotta try and lighten things up.

[theredwoodguy]

My wife has a different name for that.:rolleyes:

 

When she tells you that you think you know it all...just simply reply, I know!:)

[knittinggirl]

I just did a Burial at Sea on the Independence of the Seas on the 11/30 sailing. Although I got permission and brought everything they asked for, it was like pulling teeth for them to follow through. It was finally done on the second sea day but I am still, almost a week later attempting to get the certificate that was promised.

 

The guest services people on the Independence need to be trained better in handling these type of situations. On the morning of debarkation I was told they had not printed the certificate and they would just e-mail it to me. No apology, etc.

 

This was our first Royal cruse and probably the last, the customer service line sucks and today was on hold and passed around four times, having to repeat my request, etc.

 

Don't offer the service if you cannot provide so with dignity and respect.

 

I called to confirm that this service was available prior to booking and was the only reason I booked this cruise.

 

I have cruised 13 times previously on Carnival and Disney, so not new to sailing.

 

DeAnna

 

Sorry about the poor burial.

 

We cruised Independence in 2013, and I never heard the word "no" so many times. On "this" ship, we don't do that. They're supposed to have an all different crew now, two years later. So, I wonder what's with the ship?

 

We're so glad we're diamond, because Guest Relations is seldom any help. On Serenade, I walked up to the line, and the single attendant manning the desk picked up the phone just as I walked up. And she stayed on the phone until I left. Fortunately, another Guest Relations worker arrived to help me. If we bounce off Guest Relations, we can visit the Concierge in the Diamond or Concierge Lounge, but most passengers don't have that perk.

 

How much trouble is it to print out a certificate?

 

It's nice to see the directors also read here!

Edited December 19, 2015 by knittinggirl

[SeaTeach]

Just did a burial at sea on the 11/13/15 sailing on the Serenade of the Seas. Absolutely no problems. As stated before, purchase a biodegradable vessel. You will also need to present death and cremation certificates. Was pleasantly surprised who asked how many copies of the "burial stats" I wanted. They supplied enough for family and friends that were present, plus those who were not able to make the trip.

 

To back up a little, Rcl was made aware of our request pre cruise. Was told via email contact Guest Relations once on board with response letter as well as the other 2 docs. Did so. Was asked desired, date which I stated. Environmental Officer met with me (wind velocity and distance from land mass discussed), and the time was solidified. We went to GS at the appointed time, was met by 2 Officers who escorted us to the lowest spot available. We took music (on a portable player), but sound was carried away.

 

Afterwards, we gathered in our suite for a "Celebration of Life", with each person telling humorous antidotes, laughing, rejoicing, and giving thanks for being allowed the years in which we shared with my birth mom.

 

Rose petals were also scattered, which went up into the air. That along, with the variegation of "turquoise water" after the launching will always be with us. We videoed the ceremony to share with others.

[travelgoddess1]

Very helpful and informative thread, thank you. This information is being filed for future use.

[utopiahereicome]

We did this on Oasis June 2014 for my husband. I had contacted Royal via email prior to the cruise to arrange. The ship's personnel did a wonderful job of keeping us informed of date and time, and handled the ceremony with compassion and dignity. I brought the biodegradable urn in my carry on, no one even asked about it. The certificate is very nice, and includes the latitude/longitude of the place we were at when we scattered his ashes.

[crookedhalo]

I am so glad to see that things have obviously changed for the better since I buried my mother at see in 2006. We had arranged everything in advance (thru of all departments Airline Deviation?) and boarded the ship with no problems. The only really trouble was that we were not given an actual date to scatter - it was dependent on when the captain felt conditions were optimal. So it was almost six days into a nine day cruise before we could scatter her (I was beginning to think we'd wind up taking her 'home' again). We were escorted below decks to a non-public area and there was a door open in the bulkhead with a rope or something to prevent us from going out too far. We scattered her ashes, said a few words and then scattered yellow rose petals at the end. The ships staff stood back respectfully and offered condolences when it was all complete. There was no certificate or any other type of marker offered.

 

The whole process was very quiet and somber. I really don't feel the need to have a precise location to 'visit' Mom. The water in the Caribbean is the same beautiful blue as her eyes - in fact I 'visited' with her last week:)

[dleem63]

Finally after three tries at it we got a certificate two weeks after the burial at sea. I have requested they mail it to me as the borders on the certificate will not print correctly. I do not think that if we print it this way and send to family that it will be a good reflection of the cruiseline. At least the dining room servers and room steward were excellent so that outweighed some of the incompetence of the guest services desk.

 

DeAnna

[slatterj]

I just had the burial at sea put in my will along with $10,000 set aside for the cruise. My daughter thought I was kidding until she saw the will. My wife thinks I'm crazy but also knows how much I love to cruise and all of the wonderful memories we have cruising as a family. I want my death not to be sad but a happy moment knowing that this is how I want things to end.