Widow reveals how a cruise line let her husband’s remains decompose in a drinks cooler
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Content warning: This story dives into graphic descriptions of decomposition. Reader discretion is advised.
What should have been a peaceful and happy family holiday turned into a nightmare when one family’s patriarch passed from heart complications while on board a cruise.
What’s even more horrifying is the cruise line’s alleged mishandling of his remains, with the family saying the beloved husband, father and grandfather was left in a cooler for six days.
Members, this story isn’t for the faint of heart and is absolutely heartbreaking.
The widow and her family are now suing the luxury cruise line Celebrity Cruises for allegedly mishandling her husband’s remains after he passed away while they were aboard the ship last year, as well as for the extreme emotional trauma that the incident caused.
According to Marilyn Jones, her husband of 55 years, Robert L. Jones, passed away from heart complications while on board the Celebrity Equinox on August 15, 2022. After his death, Marilyn was told the body could be kept in the ship's morgue for six days until they arrived back in Florida.
Marilyn alleges that the cruise staff urged her to keep Robert’s remains on board instead of removing the body during a stop in Puerto Rico.
However, at some point during the trip, it was reported that Robert’s remains were moved from the morgue to a drinks cooler on a different floor of the ship.
This left the body (which was found in a body bag on a floor palette) bloated and green and had been so ‘badly decomposed’ that the family was unable to have an open-coffin funeral ‘which was a long-standing family custom and was what his family had desired’, according to the lawsuit.
Marilyn, her two daughters, and three grandchildren are seeking US $1 million (AU $1.5 million) in damages.
According to the details of the lawsuit, which was filed on April 19 in the Florida Southern District Court, it was alleged that Celebrity Cruises improperly stored the body of 79-year-old Robert. The remains could not be salvaged, and in the end, ‘the family had to forgo their long-standing family custom’ of open-casket services.
‘Celebrity employees told Plaintiff Marilyn Jones that if she had her husband’s body taken ashore in San Juan, she would be required to stay in San Juan with his body and would have to make arrangements for transport for herself and her husband’s body back to the mainland United States,’ the complaint stated.
Marilyn, who was 78 at the time, was without any other family members on board the ship.
Representatives from the cruise line told one of Marilyn’s daughters that there was a ‘50/50 shot’ that the coroner’s office in San Juan would take possession of the remains before releasing them to a funeral home for preservation procedures.
It was also alleged that the family had been told the cruise ship had a working morgue on board that was ‘equipped’ to deal with situations like these.
According to the complaint, because of the cruise line crew’s recommendation, Marilyn decided to keep Robert’s remains on board, where she believed he would be looked after.
The complaint also revealed that the body was moved from the morgue to a drinks cooler during the six-day journey back to Florida – an area not adequately equipped to store human remains.
Additionally, it wasn’t until a funeral services employee in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, went to retrieve the body from the morgue that the family realised he had been moved at all. Moreover, a law enforcement officer found the cruise ship’s morgue out of service.
‘The cooler in which Mr Jones’ body was found by the funeral employee had drinks placed outside of the cooler, and was not at a temperature which was sufficient nor proper for storing a dead body to prevent decomposition,’ the complaint reads.
It continued: ‘On inspection of Mr Jones’ body, it was immediately clear that Mr Jones’ body was in advanced stages of decomposition and was never stored in a temperature appropriate to stop decomposition from occurring.’
According to reports, Robert’s body was found ‘severely expanded from gas’, his skin had ‘turned green’, and an intubation tube was still in his mouth and down his throat.
There were also blood splatters on the inside of the body bag that the coroner suggested ‘would have only occurred’ from the gas build-up in the body and then released through the intubation tube.
The Jones family believes that the ship’s morgue at the time was not properly working and that they were never informed of the situation or given a chance to make any decisions with this new information.
In order to keep deceased bodies in proper condition, they must be stored in freezing temperatures to slow the decomposition process. The complaint alleged that Celebrity Cruises should have known this and had a properly working morgue that could have kept Bob's remains in the correct state.
‘The Celebrity crew in charge of storing Mr Jones’s body during the six remaining days of the cruise acted recklessly, willfully, and wantonly, and without care for the Jones family’s loved one by failing to ensure that the morgue was properly working for the duration of the near week that the remains were stored under their care,’ the lawsuit dictated.
It went on to say that Celebrity’s actions caused the family ‘extreme trauma by visualising Mr Jones's body horrifically decomposed, and knowing their husband and father was callously and casually left in a beverage cooler, stripping him of his dignity’.
Celebrity Cruises declined to comment, citing the case's sensitivity and ‘out of respect for the family’. The Jones' attorneys are seeking a jury trial.
Our thoughts are with the Jones family at this difficult time.
What should have been a peaceful and happy family holiday turned into a nightmare when one family’s patriarch passed from heart complications while on board a cruise.
What’s even more horrifying is the cruise line’s alleged mishandling of his remains, with the family saying the beloved husband, father and grandfather was left in a cooler for six days.
Members, this story isn’t for the faint of heart and is absolutely heartbreaking.
The widow and her family are now suing the luxury cruise line Celebrity Cruises for allegedly mishandling her husband’s remains after he passed away while they were aboard the ship last year, as well as for the extreme emotional trauma that the incident caused.
According to Marilyn Jones, her husband of 55 years, Robert L. Jones, passed away from heart complications while on board the Celebrity Equinox on August 15, 2022. After his death, Marilyn was told the body could be kept in the ship's morgue for six days until they arrived back in Florida.
The family is suing the famous cruise line. Credit: Shutterstock
Marilyn alleges that the cruise staff urged her to keep Robert’s remains on board instead of removing the body during a stop in Puerto Rico.
However, at some point during the trip, it was reported that Robert’s remains were moved from the morgue to a drinks cooler on a different floor of the ship.
This left the body (which was found in a body bag on a floor palette) bloated and green and had been so ‘badly decomposed’ that the family was unable to have an open-coffin funeral ‘which was a long-standing family custom and was what his family had desired’, according to the lawsuit.
Marilyn, her two daughters, and three grandchildren are seeking US $1 million (AU $1.5 million) in damages.
According to the details of the lawsuit, which was filed on April 19 in the Florida Southern District Court, it was alleged that Celebrity Cruises improperly stored the body of 79-year-old Robert. The remains could not be salvaged, and in the end, ‘the family had to forgo their long-standing family custom’ of open-casket services.
‘Celebrity employees told Plaintiff Marilyn Jones that if she had her husband’s body taken ashore in San Juan, she would be required to stay in San Juan with his body and would have to make arrangements for transport for herself and her husband’s body back to the mainland United States,’ the complaint stated.
Marilyn, who was 78 at the time, was without any other family members on board the ship.
It was alleged that the cruise line staff urged Marilyn to keep the body on board the ship. Credit: Shutterstock
Representatives from the cruise line told one of Marilyn’s daughters that there was a ‘50/50 shot’ that the coroner’s office in San Juan would take possession of the remains before releasing them to a funeral home for preservation procedures.
It was also alleged that the family had been told the cruise ship had a working morgue on board that was ‘equipped’ to deal with situations like these.
According to the complaint, because of the cruise line crew’s recommendation, Marilyn decided to keep Robert’s remains on board, where she believed he would be looked after.
The complaint also revealed that the body was moved from the morgue to a drinks cooler during the six-day journey back to Florida – an area not adequately equipped to store human remains.
Additionally, it wasn’t until a funeral services employee in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, went to retrieve the body from the morgue that the family realised he had been moved at all. Moreover, a law enforcement officer found the cruise ship’s morgue out of service.
‘The cooler in which Mr Jones’ body was found by the funeral employee had drinks placed outside of the cooler, and was not at a temperature which was sufficient nor proper for storing a dead body to prevent decomposition,’ the complaint reads.
It continued: ‘On inspection of Mr Jones’ body, it was immediately clear that Mr Jones’ body was in advanced stages of decomposition and was never stored in a temperature appropriate to stop decomposition from occurring.’
According to reports, Robert’s body was found ‘severely expanded from gas’, his skin had ‘turned green’, and an intubation tube was still in his mouth and down his throat.
There were also blood splatters on the inside of the body bag that the coroner suggested ‘would have only occurred’ from the gas build-up in the body and then released through the intubation tube.
The Jones family believes that the ship’s morgue at the time was not properly working and that they were never informed of the situation or given a chance to make any decisions with this new information.
In order to keep deceased bodies in proper condition, they must be stored in freezing temperatures to slow the decomposition process. The complaint alleged that Celebrity Cruises should have known this and had a properly working morgue that could have kept Bob's remains in the correct state.
‘The Celebrity crew in charge of storing Mr Jones’s body during the six remaining days of the cruise acted recklessly, willfully, and wantonly, and without care for the Jones family’s loved one by failing to ensure that the morgue was properly working for the duration of the near week that the remains were stored under their care,’ the lawsuit dictated.
It went on to say that Celebrity’s actions caused the family ‘extreme trauma by visualising Mr Jones's body horrifically decomposed, and knowing their husband and father was callously and casually left in a beverage cooler, stripping him of his dignity’.
Celebrity Cruises declined to comment, citing the case's sensitivity and ‘out of respect for the family’. The Jones' attorneys are seeking a jury trial.
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