Travelling on the Queen Mary with pet in kennel

We are moving to Europe from the US next year and the only way to get our cat there comfortably was to take advantage of the kennel service on the Queen Mary NYC to Southhampton cruise.

Has anyone traveled with their pets and have some tips for me? One of my main concerns is what time we can disembark in Southampton so I can arrange for the car service to pick us up for our ride through the Chunnel. Do the pet people all leave at the same time or do I sit around waiting with my cat in her pet carry-on?

Also, do we embark the normal way or is there a special procedure for that as well? I will appreciate any insight on this, getting humans to and from a cruise is sometimes a hassle, this will be a totally new experience for me with a cat!

On our NYC to Southampton cruise in July 2018, there were 17 dogs and 1 cat. We got the full run down when the captain gave his breakdown of passengers from each country in his welcome speech.

You need to show all the UK vaccination paperwork for the cat. A pet passport so to speak. That is a specialist subject in its own right.

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This thread is about dogs and disembarking in NYC but hopefully it will be better than nothing until someone who has travelled with a cat can help.

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2654642

Thank you Hattie, there was a video at your link that was quite amusing, everyone disembarking in a pet parade. :D The post also answered my main question, every one ques up at 7:30 and leaves the ship at the same time. Mimi read the post as well:

Don't want to put a dampener on things but could a no Brexit deal alter the present way pet passports work between UK and the EU ? Is QM2 going on to Hamburg when you bring your pet over.

Pennbank, from what I have read, the government has pledged to kept the Passports for pets the same as it is now. I am not sure how solid that pledge is but I sure hope it will be the case.

Pennbank, from what I have read, the government has pledged to kept the Passports for pets the same as it is now. I am not sure how solid that pledge is but I sure hope it will be the case.

Yea, sure no problem for our Government in the UK accepting pet passports but was thinking of UK to EU ? And EU countries still accepting them from the UK. Hence I mentioned if QM2 was carrying on to Hamburg.

Thank you Hattie, there was a video at your link that was quite amusing, everyone disembarking in a pet parade. :D The post also answered my main question, every one ques up at 7:30 and leaves the ship at the same time. Mimi read the post as well:

 

 

 

I have brought my dogs several times on QM2. They do a super job. As for your main question: expect to get off around 7:30am. I was in the video that Host Hattie posted. Everyone goes off together. Works very well and the Kennel Masters are absolutely fantastic. Now there can be a delay getting off. While all your papers are checked getting on in NYC, sometimes DEFRA will come aboard in Southampton. They will check papers, tapeworm treatment and microchip. It takes about 30 min or so. On my five trips with dogs, DEFRA only came twice and they are very good. In my experience you will have nothing to worry about!

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Thanks tag for the first hand approval of the kennel. How loud was it on your cruises, was there lots of barking?

The service seems very popular so I hope you have a confirmed place in the kennel for your cat already.

Happy and healthy sailing!

Yes! There can be lots of barking. Typically it more the first day as the dogs adjust. Then everything settles down. I have travelled several times with when there have been cats aboard and the cats all seem to do well!

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We brought our cat from the USA to the UK in June 2017. It was a very satisfactory process. Easier than shipping a cat by cargo which is required to the UK. If you are travelling to mainland Europe you might be able to take the cat with you - but for us, the QM2 was cheaper than flying!

She was the only cat with 19 dogs. The kennel was fine - she had 2 cages (required for cats so they can have a separate area for litter). The kennel was pretty noisy and smelled of dog - but they put her in the corner with a curtain in front of her cage so she couldn't see the dogs. The kennel masters were delightful and very affectionate with the cat and she really was OK during the voyage.

You can go and visit the pets and we did multiple times a day - she ate normally (they will pre-order whatever food you specify - if its available in the UK that is). We also got the sole use of the pets lounge one afternoon to get her out and play with her.

Disembarkation was as described and was the only time our cat was bothered - I think it was very noisy and she was unhappy in her carrier. All the pet owners disembark together so there were a lot of dogs on leads around us.

The paperwork is well documented on the defra site. You will need to get her proof of microchip and rabies certificate form completed by your own vet and then validated by a USDA vet. Cunard check that on embarkation. We didnt have a defra inspection on arrival.

So while our cat says no more cruises for her - I cant think that flying would have been any better for her. She was well looked after and ate fine during the journey.

Thank you Ferretworld, you have perfectly described life on board for a cat for me. We are booked for the Oct. 17th 2019 sailing with one kennel, we are #1 on the wait list for kennel #2 so I hope we will clear the list soon.

I love the picture of you cat gazing out of the window, so regal!

Nice to hear from a cat owner and lovely photograph, thanks for posting Ferretworld.

We took our two dogs Eastbound from NYC on the May 18-24, 2018 sailing, and we will be returning on the Oct 18-25 sailing very soon.

We did not have any cats on our crossing.

The kennels - while well run - they are still a stressful time for pets. Especially if yours are like ours and used to spending almost all of their time with you. The first few nights being locked up are certainly stressful...but our dogs - like most - are adaptable and soon fall into the routine, even if they are not 100% happy about if.

The first few days we would have to block one from jumping back out of the combined kennel, while we put the other in with her. After a few days we told them to jump up and get in, and they would grudgingly abide.

Disembarkation in Southampton for us was a snap. We were instructed to meet at the kennels at 0730. They gave us all the call to disembark about 0830 and by about 0900 we were all in the hall looking for our luggage.

I have a travel blog which details all of our travels, including our preparation and crossing etc.

You can find the part referring to the crossing starting at: http://eilean350.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-voyage-has-begun.html

The kennelmaster Oliver does a fantastic job. I can't speak highly enough about him. A top notch employee for sure.

Cunard on the other hand is IMO just so so at best.

Most of the pet owners spend all of their visiting hours with their pets and miss out of much of the amenities the ship has to offer.

Because of the stress on our pets - many pet owners like us make the decision to be with them and miss things like afternoon tea. We've asked Cunard if they would be so kind as to wheel a tray up a few times during the crossing so that we could have our own little group tea.... but no such luck. We even said that we were not looking for it to be served... just how about a tray of some scones - leave them outside the kennel- and we would serve them ourselves. I'd even bring the cart back. But it seems its too much to ask. Small things like that. There were many more shared by all of us but I wont go into it here.

So as a pet owner, most of the other owners (not all) agreed that crossing on the QM2 is just a big ferry ride with a stuffy dress code - but its worth it rather than putting the pets in the cargo hold. But I guess my idea of white glove service is different than theirs.

gkerlin, your blog is both fascinating and terrifying at the same time! I hope I can get the pet paperwork done without any hiccups, reading what you went through will make me take it seriously!

gkerlin, I forgot to ask you if you could explain this to me, will my vet know what it is?

I can answer! It is a government document that your local vet fills out. It details your pet, microchip date, rabies vaccination date and tape worm treatment date. Then the document has to be signed off by a government vet. I am from Canada and my local vet was very familiar with the document and was able to complete it. Then I had to bring the document to the CFIA(Canadian Food Inspection Agency) who are the equivalent to the USDA. My word of caution: talk to your vet months in advance and find out where the USDA certified vet is located. In Canada the CFIA offices where the docs are signed off are located in major urban areas. I believe this is much the same in the US. You may have to travel a distance to where it the USDA vet is located.

The funny thing is that the process and steps are very easy BUT sometimes the vets misinterpret the rules. For example the tape worm treatment must be given 5 days before entering the UK. If you think about it this means you will be onboard the ship. For Cunard, the requirement is 5 days before boarding.

In my experience I had a CFIA official who really did not understand the process. He was troublesome. The other times I had a CFIA official who fully understood the process and was easy to deal with.

Again: my advice. Let your local vet know months in advance and locate your nearest USDA office who will sign off and talk with them. That way it should go off with out a problem.

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Thank you tag! I will ask my vet is she is a USDA vet and if not, I hope there is one not too far away.

The process sounds more cumbersome than it really is - but if you mess up.... you don't get on board so its important to get it right.

The 3rd country health certificate has to be signed off by USDA no more than 10 days before you board. We boarded on Thursday May 17 so I made my vet appointment for Tuesday May8. Then overnighted to USDA they had it on Weds May 9 so it was within the 10 day limit. I included a pre-paid, labeled, return overnight package to USDA with my submission and they sent it back that night. I had the docs in my hands on Thur May 10.

Then Tuesday May 15, 2 days prior to boarding I went back to the vet, they did the tapeworm treatment, noted it on the 3rd Country H.C. That was within the window (24hrs - 120 hrs prior) for tapeworm treatment... we were good to go.

We are full-time travelers in our Motorhome and came from Az to NJ where we stored the Motorhome and then traveled to Brooklyn to board. So we found a Vet in NJ who was familiar with the paperwork and has done it before. We stayed in the area for 10 days ahead of time to get everything done plus get the motorcoach ready for 5 months storage.

The Vet that we found - Lawrence Animal Hospital near Princeton, NJ was the best. Dr Walker has done this before and knew exactly what to do. I can't recommend them highly enough. She took a lot of stress out of the procedure and was 100% spot on.

When we overnighted the package to the USDA office in Albany, NY it turned out there was a slight problem with the Rabies Certificates from the Vet in Oregon who gave them the rabies booster (AFTER) implanting the ISO microchips.

He had put the name (Merial) and the batch/expiration date on the rabies certificate... but not the exact name of the Merial Vaccine product. I guess there is more than 1 Merial Rabies Vaccine. USDA emailed me the day they received the paperwork... I emailed the Vet in Oregon who corrected the certificates - I had them email them back to me so that I could control the paperwork flow and know where we stood... I emailed it to USDA... they replied that it looked good and we were all set.

So... a couple of things to make sure your vets do...

Stamp all forms with their Vet office Stamp. (sometimes its just printed on the form and thats ok)

Sign all forms in BLUE INK. (this is important)

Include the Rabies Brand, Name, Batch # and expiration date on the rabies certificate.

Include the pets microchip # on all forms. (I'll insist on this this from now on)

When you go to the vet for the 3rd country health certificate you should have the above Rabies certificates properly completed and filled out.

You should also have something that shows the date of the microchip implantation. It must show the chip was implanted the same date or prior to the date of the rabies vaccination. A dated invoice from the vet showing the implantation (with the microchip number) would suffice. I made him sign it with BLUE ink to be sure.

The rabies certificate and the proof of microchip date all get sent to USDA with the 3rd country health certificate that your USDA certified vet filled out. They check it all over... Stamp everything and send it back - usually the same day.

Look for a vet that has done this form before and is authorized by USDA to do it. You can email USDA. They will not give you a list of vets... but if you have a name of one that says they are authorized, USDA will verify that name with you.

Hope this helps.

Thank you gkerlin and everyone who who has provided light on this process. I have printed out your post and highlighted portions we need to really get right. Not getting on the ship is a nightmare I have been having this week and the more info I have, the less chance of mistake. That said, I shared your blog with my friends and after reading it, they all think we are nuts! :eek:

Again don’t wish to be alarming, but in March UK exits Brexit, what the EU will do to Persons in the UK for travelling on to the EU is anyone’s guess. Let alone animals. So if QM2 is going forward to France or Germany from Southampton . I would take it.

The process is a little easier for cats as the heartworm treatment is not required. My vet in CA was also familar with the form, and I hand delivered it to the USDA vet at SFO where I was able to make an appointment. In reality very painless.

Also - I wouldnt worry about the kennel space. We booked our passage in November for the following June and was 3 or 4 on the waitlist for 2 kennel spaces. We got confirmation around March that we had the spaces for Charlotte.

A transatlantic move is stressful enough, but you just have to dot the Is and cross the Ts. We found that the TA on the QM2 was the perfect antidote to the stress of moving and we arrived in the UK without jetlag.

We had no problems with visiting Charlotte and the kennels is actually closed to visitors for some hours of the day. Our cat was not unduly stressed by her kennel stay (and of course had stayed in a cattery previously so she knew the ropes!) and we had plenty of time to enjoy the facilities on offer.

See Junker is Threatening the UK with a 4 day Quarantine period for UK to Europe for pets . Re Brexit.

So if QM2 is continuing to France or Hamburg after its Southampton stop, it may seriously be worth considering.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6228497/British-planes-wont-able-land-EU-Brexit-goes-wrong-pets-face-four-day-quarantines.html