Credits: Social Media
Ex-cruise ship worker makes horrifying claim about why they throw ‘ice cream parties’
In a video posted to social media, an ex-cruise ship employee has made a startling claim about what it means when an ice cream party is thrown on board.
While millions of people enjoy cruise vacations every year, others find the idea of being cooped up on a ship for weeks on end decidedly less appealing. A video that has gone viral on social media recently, which explores the process of what happens when a passenger dies on board, is unlikely to persuade any who find themselves on the fence.
Ex-cruise ship worker claims what an ice cream party really means
Having a fellow passenger pass away during a cruise is not something most ocean-going guests find themselves thinking about while theyre trying to enjoy their much-needed vacation – but it is something that happens from time to time.
Dara Tucker (who goes by�@darastarrtucker�on TikTok), a former cruise singer who spent six months living on ships carrying up to 3,000 passengers in the Mediterranean and Caribbean, explained the phenomenon in a recent video and what it means when extra ice cream is suddenly made available to passengers.
In the viral video, which has earned more than 2.3 million views at the time of writing, Dara claimed: If the crew suddenly makes a bunch of ice cream available to the passengers, it is often because more people have died on the ship then they have room for in the morgue.
Thankfully, we [the entertainers on the ship] didnt have to deal with this kind of stuff but we were friends with some crew members who did, she continued. And they said maybe four to 10 people die every cruise, there are a lot of older people on ships and often people die on cruises.
The morgue, I believe they said, held about seven people, she claimed. And if more than seven people died on that particular ship, they would have to start moving bodies to the freezer.
So they would have to take out a lot of the ice cream and other frozen goods in order to make room for the extra bodies, she added. Before joking, So when that happened… ice cream party, woo.
- MMM, DELICIOUS: Viral fast-food casserole for kids is over 7,000 calories with layers of nuggets and fries
What is the process when a person dies during a cruise?
The reason why its rare to hear of someone dying during a cruise is that the process is handled very discreetly by cruise companies.
According to the Telegraph, crew members will often use coded messages when reporting a death, such as the phrase, Operation Bright Star.
The publication explained that all cruise ships are equipped with morgues which are often refrigerated stainless steel rooms where bodies are stored until the vessel reaches its next port.
When a body is offloaded from the ship, it is done discreetly from a small exit not used by regular passengers and the deceased are then passed into the care of a local funeral company.
Between 2000 and 2019, there were 623 reported deaths of passengers and crew aboard cruise ships according to a study conducted by the International Journal of Travel Medicine and Global Health which collected data from 78 ocean and river cruise companies.
The main causes of death among passengers were falling overboard, falling onto lower decks of the ship, cardiac incidents and suicides, revealed the study.
Social media reacts
Unsurprisingly, plenty of people have been left shocked to learn of this unsettling process while others, with apparent experience in the industry, seemingly backed up Daras claims.
One TikTok user said: Wait, so if people die on ship they don’t turn back out of respect for the loved ones? We all just keep partying while Nana is dead in the freezer?
While a second simply said: I swear every cruise fact I learn makes me want to go on one less.
Cruise ship medic here, began @cbuckc21. Can confirm the morgue and ice cream correlation.
Former sailor here – yes. It is accurate, commented another. We dont wear our covers on mess decks, and sometimes space needs to be made in the freezer.
And finally, this veteran commenter said: It can happen on military vessels too. We had no morgue on board so if anyone died or we had to transport a body it [meant] the crew ate good cause frozen space had to be found.
