Royal Caribbean banning emotional support animals

[AUPilot14]

Ha, Ha. Good one. And to answer AU pilot, yes, it was that cruise. I would think that anyone with blood sugar sensitivities would be able to tell when they need a boost. without a dog to sense it. Or am I just misinformed about this?

 

 

 

Hey, at least it had some grass to relieve itself. But yea, it was strange to say the least. My wife wanted to try to bring our 60 pound lab in a stroller next time.

 

 

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[jelayne]

Glad to see this. Lately I have seen at least 1 emotional support animal & last cruse there were 3.

[NLH Arizona]

Ha, Ha. Good one. And to answer AU pilot, yes, it was that cruise. I would think that anyone with blood sugar sensitivities would be able to tell when they need a boost. without a dog to sense it. Or am I just misinformed about this?

There are service dogs that are trained to alert the owner of low blood sugar and they are covered under the ADA rules and regulations.

[Silkroad]

This is wonderful news! Only legitimate service animals should be allowed on cruise ships (and planes). When our beloved dogs were alive, we placed them in a kennel when we traveled. That is what responsible, reasonable pet owners do. Our dogs were large (German Shepherd/Doberman mix and Labrador Retriever/Pointer mix) and the kennels charged boarding fees by weight. When we went on our honeymoon, their boarding fees cost more than our BritFrance rail passes! I have no patience with people who are too cheap - and inconsiderate- to board their pets.

[Straughn]

For many, who claim they need their pet for “emotional support”, the real reason is that the don’t want to pay to board the animal. And, as many do, they consider the pet to be a family member. Why can’t my family member join me? Add the two issues together, and suddenly the pet provides emotional support.

 

As for true service animals on cruises, I have seen one on two cruises and it was the same animal. The dog accompanied a blind lady. If you weren’t paying attention, you would never have known the dog was there. The dog sat under the table in Al Bacio or under the table in the Ocean View. I have also seen those dogs in strollers. The only emotional support they provide is all the attention the owner gets from passengers fawning all over the pet.

[Mr. Click]

Great! Last month on Equinox a couple pushed a dog around in a baby stroller. Ridiculous! Saw this in a dining venue to boot.

Damn...and I was planning on bringing my therapy elephant on the Reflection in October...I guess that deal is out now

[Marelaine]

I admire the teamwork that it takes for a human and service animal to work well together. The instructor at my dog's kindergarten has a service dog that can alert her when she is about to have a seizure, fetch her meds and other items, and can call emergency services if the owner is unconscious.You can't tell from looking at the owner that there is a disability. The dog is so well behaved that I doubt anyone would object to her presence.

 

On our only Princess cruise, the neighbor across the hall was travelling with her standard poodle. The woman was in a wheelchair so I assume the dog was trained to perform some sort of task. Whenever we saw them in the hall, the dog was rambunctious and didn't respond to commands and the woman seemed frustrated with it. Whenever the cabin stewards were cleaning her inside cabin, they would leave the door open to air it out. The area smelled like dog poop, which the stewards were expected to clean up, judging from the conversation that I overheard. That was an unfortunate situation for everyone involved, including the dog.

[cruisetek]

That particular lady was clearly full of it (self-training a service dog for your own condition?), but yes - it's important to note that there are ADA-approved dogs for diabetics who have issues with hypoglycemic unawareness (mostly Type 1s). The dogs can sense the drop in blood sugar, allowing the handler to treat themselves before they have a disastrous low (which can lead to unconsciousness and death if left untreated).

 

I understand she was stretching the limits with her particular dog, but would hate anyone to dismiss an approved service dog with these skills as a phony. They are real, they do help people (some kids, especially, whose parents would otherwise never sleep at night), and they are legitimate.

[alfredo22]

My dog is a dietary therapy canine. He steals my food so I don’t get too fat!

[c-boy]

That's fine with me as long as they don't ban my emotional support Ketel One.

;p brilliant

[dkjretired]

;p brilliant

 

Yes, especially on a cruise ship...

[vulcan1971]

My dog is a dietary therapy canine. He steals my food so I don’t get too fat!

 

 

 

Lately, I could use that kind of support. 🤣

 

 

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[Luvcrusn]

True service animals are well trained and amazing at what they do. Emotional support animals on the other hand need no special training and in many cases are only used by their owners to get away with taking their pets with them. However, with either one, those who follow their occupancy in a stateroom who have allergies do need those rooms extra thoroughly cleaned. As someone who has severe allergies to certain types of pet dander, I suffer terribly from exposure. While I certainly understand the need for true service animals and appreciate the important job they do for those who need them, I would hope the cruise line would also consider the needs of those with allergies to those animals on turn around day. As for emotional support animals the same would apply. I have seen more and more small dogs aboard in recent years being wheeled by their owners in strollers and dress up clothes who were clearly NOT service animals but pampered pouches whose owners are abusing the privilege. Kudos to Royal, I hope X quickly follows.

[Denny01]

We had two experiences with Service Dogs on cruises. On a Princess cruise, a couple, both blind, had two Service Dogs. Obviously well trained, in harness and proper back cover. If someone reached down to pet them, a real no-no, both dogs would turn their heads away. We had dinner a number of times with the couple and the dogs would lay under the table. The only way we knew they were there was one licked my wife’s toes! We became friends and socialized. When we went to their SR, they took the dogs out of harness, and they became regular dogs - jumping around and getting pets and rolling around. When we pulled into Jamaica, the couple was told they couldn’t take the dogs because of wild dogs around. So we took them into town and acted as their eyes. A lovely couple and two outstanding Service Dogs.

 

A few years later, on a different Princess ship, we were in a specialty restaurant and a woman came in with her lap dog. No harness, no service cover, just a dog. She held it in her lap while eating and fed the thing. When the waiter came up, the dog barked at him This was a personal pet, not a Service Dog. When I asked the Matre de, ‘what the heck’ , he just rolled his eyes and said they had no options. He said she insisted it was an emotional support dog, and the woman also brought in her granddaughter, and you had to be 12 or older to be in this restaurant, and the girl was 6 max. She refused to follow the rules and they let her in.

 

So there are two stores, one of good Service Dogs, and another obviously cheating and brining her pet. My personal opinion is RCL has set the proper requirements including the dogs must be in harness whenever in public areas. Too many ways to cheat and get fake documents off the internet.

 

Den

[MJSailors]

I am pleased to learn of RCL’s decision. People were exploiting the real need of service dogs by trying to bring pets onboard under the guise of an emotional support dog. On a recent Summit cruise we heard a dog barking at dinner in the MDR. We could not believe what we heard.

Sure enough, the next night we observed a woman wheeling into the restaurant a small dog in a carriage. We said something to the waiter who basically shrugged and said it was up to the maitre’d to allow such things to happen.

I hope this ban spreads to other cruise lines companies and airlines.

IMHO people bringing dogs to all sorts of places has gotten out of hand.

Just today, I was walking on our small town’s Main Street.

There is a small food market that has sidewalk tables for outside eating.

A man was sitting at one of the tables with two small dogs. One was on his lap,the other on a leash blocking most of the sidewalk. As I approached that section of the sidewalk, I assumed the man would have the dog move closer to the table giving me room to walk. It was not the

case, I had to step around the dog ,going on the curb,to get passed it.

In retrospect, I should have nicely asked the man to move his dog so I could pass, but confrontation is not my thing.

[Ashland]

Knowing someone who has a Guide Dog (Registered for the Blind) --- who is an amazing, wonderful, stunning and intelligent superstar of a dog (!) --- I personally would not worry about having an extra clean after following on. To me the issue is NOT these wonderful registered service dogs and the people they support but the idiots who misuse the policy ........

 

Let's not get in to issues re cleaning cabins after service dogs -- there by the grace of God go any of us ....

"Accidents" happen....Just asked the question if this was normally done.

[RDC1]

Ha, Ha. Good one. And to answer AU pilot, yes, it was that cruise. I would think that anyone with blood sugar sensitivities would be able to tell when they need a boost. without a dog to sense it. Or am I just misinformed about this?

 

 

If someone is diabetic and has an excessive drop in blood sugar they will go into a state were it appears like they are very drunk with a similar impact on their reasoning ability. As such it is important to identify low blood sugar early. One of the reasons fragile diabetics will test blood sugar several times a day.

[peter pan]

Finally! Hoping Celebrity follows.

[TX Rainman]

We are happy that Royal grew a pair, and put a stop to this . We love pets but not on airlines and cruise ships. Now if we could get cruise lines to hold the line concerning dress codes in dinning room. Looking special a few nights is so nice to see both the women and men. It is my opinion it is not to much to ask, and might leave good impression on the younger group to dress somewhat formal and look proud.

[Silkroad]

If someone is diabetic and has an excessive drop in blood sugar they will go into a state were it appears like they are very drunk with a similar impact on their reasoning ability. As such it is important to identify low blood sugar early. One of the reasons fragile diabetics will test blood sugar several times a day.

One of our friends has type 1 diabetes, and a couple extended family members have type 2 diabetes. All of them faithfully check their blood sugar, and have no need for specially trained dogs to alert them to drops in blood sugar. Why do some people require services animals to alert them instead of simply checking their blood sugar regularly?

[fleckle]

I have read here on CC where there were a few issues with 'service animals' aboard some X ships, yet personally, I have never seen or seen any evidence of them on our sailings...

 

How prevalent are they aboard, I wonder or does anyone have experience as such, either using or seeing them aboard?

 

The few service dogs we have seen on cruise ships were very well behaved, as were their human companions.

We would be happy to be on a cruise with them anytime.

 

You may have been on ships with them and not even noticed them because they are usually on the floor by their owner's feet in theaters and lounges, and under the table in restaurants.

It is a shame that the people with fake "emotional support" animals create a bad impression and cause problems for those with true service animals.

Edited August 15, 2018 by fleckle

[Denny01]

........Let's not get in to issues re cleaning cabins after service dogs -- there by the grace of God go any of us ....

 

The two legit Service Dogs I talked about earlier had large sandboxes on the Balcony and the steward took care of the boxes each day. Our friends with the dogs talked about how well they were helped, and were going to make sure the steward and team were taken care of. The SR was quite nice and clean, probably bettter than the cat box I have to clean up!! Boy do I get ‘looks’ from that cat when I lapse!

 

Den

[RDC1]

One of our friends has type 1 diabetes, and a couple extended family members have type 2 diabetes. All of them faithfully check their blood sugar, and have no need for specially trained dogs to alert them to drops in blood sugar. Why do some people require services animals to alert them instead of simply checking their blood sugar regularly?

 

 

If by having a service dog that could alert you (not saying that the person who said that her dog was trained to do that, which I actually doubt. Especially since she said she self trained it.) you could have good control and reduce the number of blood samples taken per day, wouldn't you.

 

The purpose of a service dog is to improve quality of life for the impacted person. I am quite sure that many people with service dogs could survive without them, but their quality of life would be impacted.

 

The one person I know who has one, is a fragile diabetic, who requires more monitoring then normal. The dog was trained to do two primary functions. To notify him if something was wrong. The second thing is if he did not respond correctly was to pull on a rope attached to a device that automatically generated a 911 call with a recorded message.

 

Having the dog has allowed him to live alone and has saved his life at least once that I know of.

[in2up2]

For those of you hoping the airlines will follow suit, they can't. US Airlines are covered by a law other than the ADA, the Air Carrier Access Act, which requires them to accept emotional support animals, but they have all gotten stricter on required documentation from a doctor, etc.

 

 

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[Silkroad]

If by having a service dog that could alert you (not saying that the person who said that her dog was trained to do that, which I actually doubt. Especially since she said she self trained it.) you could have good control and reduce the number of blood samples taken per day, wouldn't you.

 

The purpose of a service dog is to improve quality of life for the impacted person. I am quite sure that many people with service dogs could survive without them, but their quality of life would be impacted.

 

The one person I know who has one, is a fragile diabetic, who requires more monitoring then normal. The dog was trained to do two primary functions. To notify him if something was wrong. The second thing is if he did not respond correctly was to pull on a rope attached to a device that automatically generated a 911 call with a recorded message.

 

Having the dog has allowed him to live alone and has saved his life at least once that I know of.

Thank you for your response. I see the usefulness of a trained service dog for someone whose diabetes is so severe that he wouldn’t be able to live alone otherwise. However, that person probably wouldn’t feel up to traveling, especially if he also requires renal dialysis.

 

I queried my diabetic friends & family last night. They prefer being able to live their lives as normally as possible, and two travel quite frequently for both work and holidays. So, no they don’t want service dogs. They’ve eagerly awaited non-invasive glucose monitoring devices, at least one of which was approved by the FDA last year. The new devices have pros and cons, but some diabetics do use them successfully.

 

I think many people inaccurately use the term “service dog” when referring to both trained service dogs and companion dogs. The purpose of a trained service dog is to allow someone who would not otherwise be able to function independently to have the most normal life possible. Untrained pets do provide emotional support, but pet owners do not require their pets with them to function independently. I missed my dogs when I traveled, but I never felt that my quality of life (or my ability to function independently) was degraded while I was separated from them.

 

Trained service dogs belong with their owners on planes, trains and cruise ships. Companion animals belong with pet sitters, or in kennels, when their owners travel. I applaud Royal Caribbean for stemming the ridiculous proliferation of companion animals being pushed around their ships in prams.

Edited August 15, 2018 by Silkroad