A doctor has exposed the truth about ‘free ice cream parties’ on cruise ships that have allegedly occurred when a passenger dies at sea.

The clarification occurred when a former cruise ship singer took to TikTok to disclose the strange protocol that is used after a passenger dies.

A decade ago, Dara Starr Tucker would often sing aboard cruise ships as they cruised across the Caribbean and Mediterranean.

However, the occasional death at sea marred these lovely holidays.

In one of Dara’s viral videos, the singer discussed a somber reason for organizing ‘free ice cream parties’ after someone died.

One of her followers wondered whether this was a genuine thing, so she created the video and explained it to them.

One TikTok user wondered if the ‘amount of ice cream offered suddenly rises, it signifies they need more freezer room for a body.’.

She answered, “Well, sadly, this is often true. If the crew suddenly makes a large amount of ice cream accessible to the passengers, as at a free ice cream party, it is usually because more people have died on the ship than there is capacity for in the morgue.

“I’m not sure why talking about cruise ships turns so morbid, but this is true. I worked as a vocalist on a cruise ship for almost ten years and spent six months traveling across the Mediterranean and Caribbean.

“Fortunately, we did not have to cope with this type of situation, but we were acquainted with other crew members who did. And they estimated that four to ten individuals die on each voyage. There are a lot of elderly individuals on ships, and people frequently die on trips.”

Dara continued, “Four to ten individuals on a ship like ours, which carries roughly 2,500 to 3,000 guests on a regular voyage.

“The morgue, I believe, contained around seven people, and if more than seven people died on that specific ship, they would have to begin transporting remains to the freezer, which meant making place in 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 other bodies.”

But do ice cream parties actually happen?

They definitely did. However, their reality differs significantly from life in 2025.

Amy White is the head of medical operations at Vikand, which offers medical services to over 150 ships across 33 cruise lines.

According to White, they were formerly quite genuine but are no longer required by current cruise companies.

“Before they had morgues, they put them in the ice cream fridge,” White told CNN Travel.

For ships without a morgue, which are scarce and mostly limited to expedition ships, bodies will be held outside in cold, covered places.

“Sometimes the body is put outside, when you don’t have any land for three days, or the possibility of a helicopter,” White noted.

Obviously, a passenger cruise ship’s morgue has limited room. So, if tragedy strikes and more people die than there is a place for, contingency preparations will undoubtedly be required.