With about 20 million cruise passengers traveling every year — half of whom are 50 years of age or older — there are bound to be some people who pass away during voyages, mostly from natural causes. Although bodies can generally be transported back to the family of the departed at the next port of call, this can get tricky on small islands or in third world countries, and thus almost all cruise lines have morgues onboard that are capable of storing one to three bodies each. Obviously companies don’t release these figures, but reports from coroners’ offices near ports suggest it occurs on a regular (but still relatively rare) basis. In that event, the cruise lines need to be prepared. Death doesn’t take a vacation.