So , are dogs allowed on cruise ships now ?

[mitz18]

17 hours ago, ticketsunlimited said:

Only dogs allowed on a ship should be hot dogs

 

I don't know...have you ever tried one of those hot dogs?  Maybe they should be banned as well. 😝

[crochetcruise]

3 hours ago, ryano said:

It seems like this comes up every few months now.  I thought Royal Caribbean put a stop to allowing "emotional support" dogs and pet dogs onboard?   Were these people grandfathered in? 

 

Some of you know Im paraplegic and I own a legit service dog. A female chocolate lab that is nearing 8 years old.  She fetches items I need, picks up things I drop, pulls me in my wheelchair etc and so forth.  I bought her vest off of amazon because that is where I found it to be the cheapest.  There is no such thing as a "fake vest" because a true service dog isnt even required to wear one.  The "certification" paperwork you can get offline isnt even worth the paper its printed on. 

 

I do not take Allie on cruises.  Im blessed to be her master/handler but I am also blessed to be able to do fine without her, especially when traveling with other people.  Its not fair to coup her up in such tight quarters for a week,  its a hassle to go through all the red tape to take her into ports,  and just like having a child, its nice to have a break from them once in a while.   She enjoys a week with her trainer and about 15 other labs just like her.  It really ticks me off when people abuse the system and take their ill mannered, untrained pets in public places.  It gives us all a black eye.  

 

She's GORGEOUS! Here's a cyber pat for you to please give her from me. I love dogs, but the ONLY dog that will come cruising with me, is a stuffed toy Golden Retriever I was given for a Christmas present, who travels in my carry on case.

Eagerly considering my 1st Royal Caribbean cruise, possibly out of Sydney, here in Australia.

[Saab4444]

1 hour ago, time4u2go said:

Does the cruise line actually request and verify this paperwork in Europe?  What about other regions/countries (Australia, China, etc.)?

At least European airlines do. To my knowledge bringing a fake service dog on board works only with a US airline and/or when a US airport is part of the travel. In the US every company is afraid of being sued for discrimination due to local law so better don‘t ask.

Edited September 17, 2019 by Saab4444

[Maverick61]

10 hours ago, brillohead said:

Maybe we should ban all judgmental and ill-informed people from cruising instead?  I'd much rather cruise with a hundred true service animals than with someone who is so intolerant of the disabled, who have a hard enough time just doing "normal" things and are certainly entitled to the occasional vacation.

 

 

 

Good, can we start by banning you from cruising.    I'd much rather cruise with people who understand people have different opinions and don't insult others for an opinion different from their own.  I'd much rather cruise with people who don't try to force their views on others through uncalled for insults.

[Bloodgem]

Just a thought, do deaf people need hearing dogs on a cruise when cruise lines offer technology to alert the deaf person to someone knocking at the door or the phone ringing?  

[chengkp75]

54 minutes ago, Maverick61 said:

 

Good, can we start by banning you from cruising.    I'd much rather cruise with people who understand people have different opinions and don't insult others for an opinion different from their own.  I'd much rather cruise with people who don't try to force their views on others through uncalled for insults.

Afraid I have to agree with Brillohead on this one.  What you say is your "opinion" is discriminatory to those disabled persons who are not blind, but who lead as normal a life as possible due to the service provided by their dog.  I guess that President Bush's dog Sully would be a "pet" in your eyes, since the President was not blind when he obtained Sully from the America's Vetdog organization.  Since the President was confined to a wheelchair, Sully performed many tasks for him (two pages of commands) like fetching things the President couldn't reach, answering the phone, and calling for help in an emergency.  Your discriminatory views towards the benefits of true service animals to those with disabilities beyond blindness does not belong in today's society.

[LXA350]

It's very easy, without being insulting, if you need a support dog / animal to get your way around a cruise ship is unfortunately not suitable and one of many other vacation options will need to be choosen. A cruise ship is just not made to carry any animals whatsoever

[chengkp75]

3 minutes ago, LXA350 said:

It's very easy, without being insulting, if you need a support dog / animal to get your way around a cruise ship is unfortunately not suitable and one of many other vacation options will need to be choosen. A cruise ship is just not made to carry any animals whatsoever

As one who has had to arrange the accommodations for service animals, and who has had to deal with mistakes from "genuine" service dogs (a seeing eye dog jumped in the pool to "rescue" its owner), I wholeheartedly disagree.  There is no reason that a well behaved and well trained service animal shouldn't be on a cruise ship, any more than they shouldn't be in stores, on buses, trains, or airplanes.

[LXA350]

Out of sanitary reasons you would need to ban the animal from all areas connected to food to avoid additional risks from spreading of bacterias etc ( Windjammer, MDR etc) because you are on a cruise ship. I assume the person would need also assistance in those venues, so again something that would speak against it.

[ryano]

25 minutes ago, LXA350 said:

It's very easy, without being insulting, if you need a support dog / animal to get your way around a cruise ship is unfortunately not suitable and one of many other vacation options will need to be choosen. A cruise ship is just not made to carry any animals whatsoever

 

WRONG

 

11 minutes ago, LXA350 said:

Out of sanitary reasons you would need to ban the animal from all areas connected to food to avoid additional risks from spreading of bacterias etc ( Windjammer, MDR etc) because you are on a cruise ship.

 

WRONG AGAIN. 

 

 

[time4u2go]

20 minutes ago, LXA350 said:

Out of sanitary reasons you would need to ban the animal from all areas connected to food to avoid additional risks from spreading of bacterias etc ( Windjammer, MDR etc) because you are on a cruise ship. I assume the person would need also assistance in those venues, so again something that would speak against it.

So are you implying that people with legitimate service dogs would/should never take their service dog into a land-based restaurant?  Why would that be any different than on a cruise ship?  You seem to be very misinformed on service dogs.

Edited September 17, 2019 by time4u2go

[chengkp75]

10 minutes ago, LXA350 said:

Out of sanitary reasons you would need to ban the animal from all areas connected to food to avoid additional risks from spreading of bacterias etc ( Windjammer, MDR etc) because you are on a cruise ship. I assume the person would need also assistance in those venues, so again something that would speak against it.

The USPH, which governs ship sanitation on ships calling in the US, only feel that service animals need to be restricted from food preparation areas, not food service areas, and their VSP is designed by the CDC, the recognized world experts on infectious diseases.  The EU's ShipSan passenger ship sanitation regulations have no mention of restricting service animals, and in fact don't mention them at all.  A service animal, by US law, can only be in two locations:  on the floor, or in a chest carry sack (for small diabetes alert dogs), so there is very little chance of spreading diseases from the dogs.  Do you ban service dogs from all restaurants in Europe?  I don't think so, (in fact I know you can't, its against the law) so why should the buffet or MDR on a cruise ship be any different.

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, LXA350 said:

Out of sanitary reasons you would need to ban the animal from all areas connected to food to avoid additional risks from spreading of bacterias etc ( Windjammer, MDR etc) because you are on a cruise ship. I assume the person would need also assistance in those venues, so again something that would speak against it.

Saw a poodle, on a chair, eating from the table in the MDR on Harmony last year. 

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Saw a poodle, on a chair, eating from the table in the MDR on Harmony last year. 

 

Did you report it?

[spookwife]

3 hours ago, Bloodgem said:

Just a thought, do deaf people need hearing dogs on a cruise when cruise lines offer technology to alert the deaf person to someone knocking at the door or the phone ringing?  

Uhh..yES.   Unless you assume a deaf person will not get off the ship and head into port or  something 

[time4u2go]

21 hours ago, Ashland said:

That's not my place to suggest how policy should be enforced...but certainly is someone's.

Uh...ok?  Good luck with that.

Edited September 17, 2019 by time4u2go

[djhuff]

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

As one who has had to arrange the accommodations for service animals, and who has had to deal with mistakes from "genuine" service dogs (a seeing eye dog jumped in the pool to "rescue" its owner), I wholeheartedly disagree.  There is no reason that a well behaved and well trained service animal shouldn't be on a cruise ship, any more than they shouldn't be in stores, on buses, trains, or airplanes.

I think there are two topics being discussed here, we have Emotional Support animals, which IMO are a complete farce and make all service dogs look bad.  If you need an animal to feel safe and emotionally stable, then there are other issues at play that need fixing.  Plus the training threshold for these animals is virtually zero which results in the public behavior and resentment evident in this thread.

 

True service animals OTOH (seeing eye, medical alert) are HIGHLY trained animals and I for one have no problem with there presence anywhere I am, this would include on a cruise.  Key point here is well behaved and well trained

 

The difficult question becomes how do we validate the Service Animals who are trained to behave in public, and react to specific medical cues from their charge vs. the emotional support animals whose mere presence is the help, not their ability to sense or react to anything.  The people who abuse this are the ones that cause all animals to be questioned and will ruin it for all.  

 

I for one am OK with a national registry here with a database.  Yes that will require additional costs, but true service dogs are already extremely expensive, to the point where an additional ~$100 is almost inconsequential, where an emotional support animal, well, maybe that will deter someone from trying to bring fluffy on their cruise.

 

All I can say with 100% certainty, if I get on a plane and the person sitting next to me has an emotional support horse, the airline WILL accommodate my desire to not have a horse in my face for the flight.  If that means catching the next one, so be it.

[time4u2go]

4 minutes ago, djhuff said:

I think there are two topics being discussed here, we have Emotional Support animals, which IMO are a complete farce and make all service dogs look bad.  If you need an animal to feel safe and emotionally stable, then there are other issues at play that need fixing.  Plus the training threshold for these animals is virtually zero which results in the public behavior and resentment evident in this thread.

 

True service animals OTOH (seeing eye, medical alert) are HIGHLY trained animals and I for one have no problem with there presence anywhere I am, this would include on a cruise.  Key point here is well behaved and well trained

 

The difficult question becomes how do we validate the Service Animals who are trained to behave in public, and react to specific medical cues from their charge vs. the emotional support animals whose mere presence is the help, not their ability to sense or react to anything.  The people who abuse this are the ones that cause all animals to be questioned and will ruin it for all.  

 

I for one am OK with a national registry here with a database.  Yes that will require additional costs, but true service dogs are already extremely expensive, to the point where an additional ~$100 is almost inconsequential, where an emotional support animal, well, maybe that will deter someone from trying to bring fluffy on their cruise.

 

All I can say with 100% certainty, if I get on a plane and the person sitting next to me has an emotional support horse, the airline WILL accommodate my desire to not have a horse in my face for the flight.  If that means catching the next one, so be it.

What nation?  There are cruises that operate out of different countries.

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Did you report it?

We did, to our servers. The head waiter cam to speak to us, we were told that there were “extenuating” circumstances with the dog and the owner; no details. We went to guest services later and spoke to head of food services.  The dog was there every night after that but was not on the chair, but sitting on the floor being fed from the table. 

[celoplyr]

28 minutes ago, djhuff said:

I think there are two topics being discussed here, we have Emotional Support animals, which IMO are a complete farce and make all service dogs look bad.  If you need an animal to feel safe and emotionally stable, then there are other issues at play that need fixing.  Plus the training threshold for these animals is virtually zero which results in the public behavior and resentment evident in this thread.

 

True service animals OTOH (seeing eye, medical alert) are HIGHLY trained animals and I for one have no problem with there presence anywhere I am, this would include on a cruise.  Key point here is well behaved and well trained

 

The difficult question becomes how do we validate the Service Animals who are trained to behave in public, and react to specific medical cues from their charge vs. the emotional support animals whose mere presence is the help, not their ability to sense or react to anything.  The people who abuse this are the ones that cause all animals to be questioned and will ruin it for all.  

 

I for one am OK with a national registry here with a database.  Yes that will require additional costs, but true service dogs are already extremely expensive, to the point where an additional ~$100 is almost inconsequential, where an emotional support animal, well, maybe that will deter someone from trying to bring fluffy on their cruise.

 

All I can say with 100% certainty, if I get on a plane and the person sitting next to me has an emotional support horse, the airline WILL accommodate my desire to not have a horse in my face for the flight.  If that means catching the next one, so be it.

 

I very much agree with this.  However, I have a slightly different perspective.  I am highly allergic (asthmatic) to anything with fur.  Dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, gerbils and bunnies have all set me off.  When does their disability trump mine (and yes, it's a disability according to the ADA, which is what we are mostly talking about)?  It doesn't.  I do pull out that question if I am on a plane 🙂

 

I really believe that support animals on cruises should be banned, and service animals on cruises should be very limited to those that can demonstrate that they do what they are intended to do.  I would support a national database and registry, but I also believe that they should restrict them to certain cabins on the ship, so that I won't get a cabin that wasn't cleaned well enough and I get sick.  

[time4u2go]

7 minutes ago, celoplyr said:

 

I very much agree with this.  However, I have a slightly different perspective.  I am highly allergic (asthmatic) to anything with fur.  Dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, gerbils and bunnies have all set me off.  When does their disability trump mine (and yes, it's a disability according to the ADA, which is what we are mostly talking about)?  It doesn't.  I do pull out that question if I am on a plane 🙂

 

I really believe that support animals on cruises should be banned, and service animals on cruises should be very limited to those that can demonstrate that they do what they are intended to do.  I would support a national database and registry, but I also believe that they should restrict them to certain cabins on the ship, so that I won't get a cabin that wasn't cleaned well enough and I get sick.  

I totally respect your opinion on this, and I appreciate your weighing in on this.  I'm curious as to what your opinion is when it comes to people with allergies to perfume.  Do you feel that perfume should be banned?  Please keep in mind that I'm not trying to diminish your situation.  I know it's real, and it's a legitimate concern.  I'm just trying to understand different perspectives.

[chengkp75]

39 minutes ago, djhuff said:

I think there are two topics being discussed here, we have Emotional Support animals, which IMO are a complete farce and make all service dogs look bad.

While I agree with what you say, that is not my point, it is to the person who claims that only dogs for blind people are service animals, and all others should be banned.  I am responding to that person's ignorance of what benefits a service dog can bring to a life of a person with a disability.  That poster should be bound in a wheelchair for just one day, to see what cannot be accomplished, and then have the benefit of a service animal to provide the basics of a somewhat normal existence.

 

43 minutes ago, djhuff said:

Yes that will require additional costs, but true service dogs are already extremely expensive, to the point where an additional ~$100 is almost inconsequential,

If you think that a national register will only cost $100/person, you live in a fairy tale land.  While that might be the cost of a "license", the cost to society for the bureaucracy to attend to the licensing would of course be in the millions.  And not all service animals are trained at costly facilities.  Some family pets have been found to be able to detect diabetic problems, or autism events, and then with proper training by the family this pet transitions to a service animal.  Many people who need service animals cannot afford the expensive formal training, and many insurance coverages do not extend to service animals.  This is why the law does not require any specific training of a service animal, it only gives a "code of conduct" that a service animal needs to adhere to, and in truth the law says that if the animal does not meet these standards, it can be asked to leave the premises.  I've seen the expensively trained service dogs, and I've seen ones that are trained by volunteers at veteran centers, and who might have the occasional relapse of looking at a distraction ("Squirrel!") that the professionally trained dog wouldn't dream of looking at, but the volunteer dog is just as well behaved, and a welcome guest on my ships.

[chengkp75]

14 minutes ago, celoplyr said:

 

I very much agree with this.  However, I have a slightly different perspective.  I am highly allergic (asthmatic) to anything with fur.  Dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, gerbils and bunnies have all set me off.  When does their disability trump mine (and yes, it's a disability according to the ADA, which is what we are mostly talking about)?  It doesn't.  I do pull out that question if I am on a plane 🙂

 

I really believe that support animals on cruises should be banned, and service animals on cruises should be very limited to those that can demonstrate that they do what they are intended to do.  I would support a national database and registry, but I also believe that they should restrict them to certain cabins on the ship, so that I won't get a cabin that wasn't cleaned well enough and I get sick.  

My question is, when you go to a hotel, does that hotel only allow service animals in certain rooms?  I don't believe they can do that.  Support animals should not be allowed on cruise ships, but the cruise lines are wary of bad PR if they tell folks they can't bring their support animal.  Whether the service dog was in your cabin or had passed through the MDR a few minutes before you, does that make a difference?  Should the animals be limited to certain areas of venues, or limited venues?  Then you start down the road to only allowing the disabled in certain land restaurants, certain housing, certain stores.  Where does this end?

[brillohead]

6 hours ago, Maverick61 said:

Good, can we start by banning you from cruising.    I'd much rather cruise with people who understand people have different opinions and don't insult others for an opinion different from their own.  I'd much rather cruise with people who don't try to force their views on others through uncalled for insults.

I'm sorry that the truth hurts your feelings, but the truth is that you are all of the things I mentioned:

• judgmental
• ill-informed 
• intolerant of the disabled

If you don't want me to point out the truth, maybe you shouldn't demonstrate those qualities quite so prominently in your posts here.  

[AmazedByCruising]

 

4 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

A service animal, by US law, can only be in two locations:  on the floor, or in a chest carry sack (for small diabetes alert dogs), so there is very little chance of spreading diseases from the dogs.  Do you ban service dogs from all restaurants in Europe?  I don't think so, (in fact I know you can't, its against the law) so why should the buffet or MDR on a cruise ship be any different.

 

What does a law about restaurants in Europe have to do with it? You're not entering a restaurant, you're entering a ship. A restaurant doesn't care about people getting Noro because they won't be blamed, but a ship does.

 

And even then, US law, or EU law has nothing to do with it. Bahamian law, Maltese law and even Dutch law maybe, not sure if they care that much about a service animal. I'm quite sure the Dutch police would put a complaint in the same place as where a bicycle theft goes. 

 

The US does force their laws upon foreign ships by subduing entire fleets when one of their ships wants to moore at their ports. As you told me there are USPH regulations about the right kind of screws for dishwashers. Every way to prevent a passenger from getting sick is taken care of. (which is, even after the US not giving a hoot about international law, still beyond their mandate even under US law, but we discussed that before).

 

What if dogs were "invented" today. Licking salt from the table, licking people's hands at another table who throw bread at them. A perfect way to bring viruses and bacteria from one passenger to the other. Would dogs be allowed on a ship? In the absence of other rules, compared to the proper screws, I'd think of course not. 

 

EDIT: To be clear,  I don't mind dogs on a ship, I think the other rules are far too strict. Broken tiles in the galley, 3 points. I couldn't care less.

Edited September 18, 2019 by AmazedByCruising