Dog on Board Freedom of the Seas Aug 14-21

[ridgecrest]

I just got off of the Freedom of the Seas Sunday, Aug 21. While on board I saw a man with a small dog on a leash. The first time I saw the man and his dog was during the muster drill. The other time was in the afternoon mid week up on the pool deck. He got in line and got ice cream which did gross me out as he had been petting the dog. Both times the dog was wearing sun glasses and a bandana around its neck and was on a leash. The dog was well behaved but I was confused as the dog did not seem to be a helper dog.

 

What is the policy on bringing pets on board? The reason that I ask is that my DW is allergic to most every dog. So when we saw the dog, we did all we could to avoid coming in contact with it. Others, particularly kids were flocking to it to pet it, even while standing in line to get ice cream. I am not looking to stir up a debate. We had a great time on the Freedom. I am just trying to understand how he was able to bring his dog on board if it indeed was not a helper dog.

 

Thanks.

[tampadee]

Where do dogs go potty?

[ehfl]

Only assistance dogs are allowed on board. I've been on quite a few cruises and seen dogs on board.

 

Glad you had a nice time, however, if you are uncomfortable around people who need assistance animals, then perhaps cruising is not for you for your next vacation, since you never know if there will be animals on board.

[ehfl]

Where do dogs go potty?

 

 

They put out a pad with some mulch or other material for the animals. It seems to work well. I've seen this on a couple of ships, and they always seem to keep it clean. You don't really notice any smell or remnants when you walk by.

[Scotty G]

I just got off of the Freedom of the Seas Sunday, Aug 21. While on board I saw a man with a small dog on a leash. The first time I saw the man and his dog was during the muster drill. The other time was in the afternoon mid week up on the pool deck. He got in line and got ice cream which did gross me out as he had been petting the dog. Both times the dog was wearing sun glasses and a bandana around its neck and was on a leash. The dog was well behaved but I was confused as the dog did not seem to be a helper dog.

 

What is the policy on bringing pets on board? The reason that I ask is that my DW is allergic to most every dog. So when we saw the dog, we did all we could to avoid coming in contact with it. Others, particularly kids were flocking to it to pet it, even while standing in line to get ice cream. I am not looking to stir up a debate. We had a great time on the Freedom. I am just trying to understand how he was able to bring his dog on board if it indeed was not a helper dog.

 

Thanks.

In order to get on board the dog had to be a Service Animal under the Americans With a Disability Act. DW has a Service Dog that detects if she is going to have a seizure. No special identification such as a vest is required but her dog has one so that people will not react negatively to his presence in restaurants, etc.. There is an area on cruise ships where Service Dogs relieve themselves. Hope this helps!

[Toodang]

I would love to bring my dog on board with me!!! It cost's me more to board him that it would to bring him as a person in my cabin! I'm a real dog lover so please don't mess with me! :)

[yarlenna]

Some helper dogs don't need to be big - in fact, they don't even have to be a dog. I know some helper animals alert for people who have seizures. I also know of at least one that aleres for low blood suger. No, pets are not allowed on RCI. Sorry.

[ridgecrest]

Most service dogs that I have been around, the owner limits the attention that the dog is getting so that it can do its job. The kids up on the pool deck were flocking to it and petting it. That is why I did not think that it was a service dog.

 

I am not uncomfortable with service animals for they provide a tremendous service to mankind. My DW does however have to keep some distance between her and the animal - no problem. I just thought that it was an ordinary pet and that we may in the future start seeing more pets on board which would then alter our cruising enthusiasm.

 

Thanks everyone.

[coordinator23]

I can understand why some people are concerned about having an allergic reaction to dogs or anything else for that matter. My daughter's throat closes when she comes in contact with certain allergins. She carries an epi pen for that reason. If you are not expecting to come in contact with a dog, it could be a problem. Especially if you haven't packed meds for it.

[Alexat2]

It was definitely a service dog of some sort. Could have been a seizure dog, or a "hearing ear" dog. On the Noordam a couple years ago there was a lady on board who was deaf with her hearing ear dog, it was small, a bichon mix if I remember right (and it got spoiled rotten by everybody). It had basically a doggie litterbox at one end of the promenade deck - and it was always clean. :)

 

Lydia

[QuitMyDayJob]

There was an Alzheimer's alert service dog on a recent cruise we were on. Apparently it kept the gentleman from walking out the door by blocking the door and barking to alert the man's wife. Nice looking dog, and clearly a service dog, although I can't recall whether it had a vest on or not.

 

(And I can't believe no one answered Tampadee's question with "The poop deck":rolleyes:)

[Pushka]

I saw on one of those weird programs late at night where a woman said she was allowed to have her dog fly with her (in first class of course!:rolleyes:) because she was emotionally dependent on it and the airlines were not allowed to discriminate against her. Sigh.

 

As to the comment about cruises not being for you because of the dog, I fully support you Ridgecrest. My husband is allergic to dogs also, and I changed a couple of our hotels in Europe because they were dog friendly and I didn't want a full blown asthma attack simply because of dog hairs.

 

I love dogs btw, as does hubby, but they dont agree with him.

[JerseyHorseLover]

I was on a Carnival cruise and a woman had her Black Labrador with her since I could tell she was legally blind. Saw the service dog the entire cruise and what a good boy!

[Desertbelle]

Though I sympathize with animal allergies (we have them in our family) I can't see how having one dog on a ship would be any more of a casual contact than if you were walking down the street in a city or visiting a park, very possibly even less. I don't think anyone would expect you to sit with the dog or eat with it, so it would probably come to a random intercept several feet apart for a few seconds. Companion dogs play an important role in some people's lives, expect to run into them from time to time during normal life activities.

[Alexat2]

I kind of wonder if someone allergic to dogs, that is thinking of "stopping cruising" because there might be ONE service dog onboard, also tries to avoid going through Customs... You're almost guaranteed to see a dog there these days, in almost any country, and it's usually pretty close when it's sniffing you and your luggage. :rolleyes: a lot closer than you'd ever get to that service dog onboard.

 

They use a lot of police dogs at European airports too..

 

Lydia

[Esmerelda]

We have seen service dogs of many shapes and sizes and for different reasons. I worked in an ER for 17 years so we had to question quite a few people coming in with dogs that didn't appear to need a dog. Nevertheless, they had papers/doctors signatures, etc.

 

I am a true dog lover but some of them do make me sneeze. I own two dogs myself that I adopted from the human society and they are the best I could ever ask for (Lucy - black lab, Ellen - beagle/jack russell) I am however, highly allergic to cats. They make me wheeze, and swell to the point I need epipened and respiratory treatments just to breath. The only thing I need to do is to not touch them or get within say 10-15 feet (due to their hair being in the air). I go into pet stores, animal shelters etc but I know when to stay back. Would I let a cat onboard stop me from cruising?? Heck no...and believe me I've had some really bad reactions since the age of 9.

 

If the OP chooses not to cruise due to that, he/she will have to choose to not do a lot of things as service dogs can go anywhere and they do.

[nicolen1101]

My Aunt & Uncle have a service dog that's a miniature dachshund. My Uncle works at a rehab center for kids with different medical conditions and the dog I guess cheers them up and acts as a companion. But with that being said, my Uncle can and does bring the dog on the airplane with him, etc. But I don't think that he would bring the dog on a cruise just to not have to board him. So the limited interaction that most seeing eye dogs for example would be accustom to, would not be the same to all types of service dogs. Lets just hope that the cruise line makes sure that the person requiring the service animal is the one traveling with it.

[CeeAngel]

Where do dogs go potty?

 

 

There is a form to complete, and it asks whether you want Cypress mulch or sod for your dog's potty area. Here is a site that should answer all your questions...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=585728

[ready2travel54]

The OP was not the one saying she would not cruise again. She was just curious.

[currlee33]

The dog you saw would have to have been a service dog of some sort. There are so many variations of these animals (and not just dogs) and the services they provide (not just for those with visual or hearing impairments). There are physical mobility assistance dogs, autism service dogs, serizure alert and seizure response dogs, alzeheimers alert and alzheimer response dogs, and psychiatric service dogs (i.e. for anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc.). Just because it wasn't obvious the service the dog provided doesn't mean it wasn't a legitimate one. Service animals are also not required to wear vests, although many do for this very reason (to avoid negative public response to the animal).

 

Regarding pet allergies, I'm not sure what the protocol is for handling service animals and those with allergies. I can definitely see there being a problem if someone has extreme allergies.

 

Here is a link with godd information on service dogs in general which you might find helpful http://awic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=3&tax_level=3&tax_subject=181&topic_id=1130&level3_id=5453&level4_id=0&level5_id=0&placement_default=0

While it doesn't spell out RC's policy, it covers the legalites of service animals, which RC would almost certainly have to abide by.

[goouchjac]

Our upcoming cruise on the Freedom Jan.2012 will have a group of "service dogs"...Me being a tremendous dog lover is looking forward to seeing all those wonderful dogs who do such a great job protecting the people with all kinds of problems.

 

Can understand is someone has allergies for dogs or cats,,our DD is allergic to cats...

 

Happy Crusing:D..

[chris153]

I was on this cruise also. I did ask a crew member why the dog was on, (just curious), did figure it was a service dog, but he did not know. It had a bell on so you always knew it was coming. And yes it did have sunglasses on. My friend was told by its owner that it never had cataracts. It was a very well behaved animal.

[constantcruiser]

Not long ago I was on a flight with a passenger who had a service cat on the plane. I have two cats, so it wasn't a problem for me...but I think anyone who is allergic to cat hair would have been very uncomfortable in that airplane cabin.

 

And as more and more hotels become pet-friendly, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to predict that cruiseships may follow suit at some point. I travel on business quite often and have tried to sleep through other guests' barking dogs more often than I care to remember. The human guests leave their dogs in their rooms when they go out for a night on the town, and of course the dogs bark. There's not much management can do at the time it's happening. If they go to the room and remove the barking dog, what are they going to do with it till its owners return?

[SheilaSailAway]

They put out a pad with some mulch or other material for the animals. It seems to work well. I've seen this on a couple of ships, and they always seem to keep it clean. You don't really notice any smell or remnants when you walk by.

 

Where do dogs go potty?

Here is a pic of the "potty area" for a dog onboard Mariner.

[PEGLEG]

A dog wearing sun glasses and a bandana sounds HIGHLY suspicious to me. I know several people with service dogs and not one of them dresses their dog like a circus clown. Sorry, but I think that RCI was scammed by a passenger, who may have presented false documentation.