Drug dogs at long beach cruise terminal.

[Dwright826]

Has anyone had any experience recently with the dogs there? We've been hearing that carnival has really upped their game with the dogs recently and may be having dogs on the ships. I only ask this because the wife is DEATHLY afraid of dogs and is even on edge when she sees the"litter box" for pups on the ships. Just curious.

[DAllenTCY]

They would be in the terminal....not onboard.

 

David

 

[Dwright826]

1 minute ago, DAllenTCY said:

They would be in the terminal....not onboard.

 

David

 

She just watched a video that stated that carnival has already started having them on board and MAY start randomly letting them into people's state rooms

 

[Elaine5715]

Dogs may be at the airport, terminal or onboard.

[ncovert]

56 minutes ago, Dwright826 said:

She just watched a video that stated that carnival has already started having them on board and MAY start randomly letting them into people's state rooms

 

Sailed twice from Long Beach this year (April and May) and there were dogs in the terminal on both cruises.  I did not see dogs on board either cruise, nor did I see dogs at the ports of call.  I cannot speak to weather they are letting them into random cabins, but can confirm we have never had it happen to us.

[Mike45LC]

I did not see any drug dogs at Long Beach this month.  But we used porter-assisted luggage, and they could have had dogs patrol the luggage without our knowledge.

[Haljo1935]

Didn't see dogs at terminal or on our ship but have read there is one living on the Venezia. They could be at any terminal,  port or on the ship.

Edited August 21, 2023 by Haljo1935

[LibertyBella]

 

 

I am a dog owner, and I can understand that dogs can scare people because they are full of energy, run, jump, and make many noises.  My boy dog even gets on MY nerves--he is over fifty pounds, and still wants to be a lap dog! Your wife may have had a bad experience with a dog in the past and it is stuck in her mind (My grandmother was like that with cats, until I let her play with some of my kittens, and then she mentally and physically relaxed.).

 

However, your wife should have no worries about drug detector dogs. Those are highly trained animals, and are on leashes at all times with their handlers.  There is no reason for your wife to be afraid because the dogs will completely (and professionally) ignore her, unless, of course, she has drugs on her person or in her bags.

[pc_load_letter]

Yup, they are there. They have you queue up with your carry on then the dog goes up and down the line. 

[staceyglow]

I have never seen a drug dog on a ship, but I have seen more several trained service animals. 

 

If your wife will be disturbed by the mere presence of dogs on a ship, she should be aware that it may happen. 

[ColeThornton]

Tell here to leave the cocaine and marijuana at home and she won't have an issue.

[Indytraveler83]

10 hours ago, Dwright826 said:

She just watched a video that stated that carnival has already started having them on board and MAY start randomly letting them into people's state rooms

 

 

There's always a decent chance of encountering a drug sniffing dog in the terminal or passing a service dog onboard.  In both cases, the these are highly trained dogs that do their job and won't be jumping, biting or doing anything unexpected with her.  Even the drug dogs, while directed to sniff people, usually don't interact with you for more than a few seconds unless you have a reason for them to alert.  

 

If she is extremely scared, you may wish to alert the law enforcement officer with the dog, and politely state the issue, so they can advise her how to proceed.  In the case of service animals onboard, they will be specifically trained to disregard the public in general, as they have a very specific job to do.

 

Carnival will not be "randomly" searching your room with a drug dog. Probably a rumor started by someone breaking the rules and too clueless to understand that they made their drug use obvious and suspicious. Too many cabins, too many possible complaints and too much else to do to walk the halls with one. The ships are not a high school locker room hallway. If Carnival suspects there are drugs in your room, they can likely do whatever they want to investigate, as ship passengers have little rights to privacy, but as long as you don't give them a good reason to suspect something, you'll be left alone. 

[Elaine5715]

20 minutes ago, Indytraveler83 said:

 

There's always a decent chance of encountering a drug sniffing dog in the terminal or passing a service dog onboard.  In both cases, the these are highly trained dogs that do their job and won't be jumping, biting or doing anything unexpected with her.  Even the drug dogs, while directed to sniff people, usually don't interact with you for more than a few seconds unless you have a reason for them to alert.  

 

If she is extremely scared, you may wish to alert the law enforcement officer with the dog, and politely state the issue, so they can advise her how to proceed.  In the case of service animals onboard, they will be specifically trained to disregard the public in general, as they have a very specific job to do.

 

Carnival will not be "randomly" searching your room with a drug dog. Probably a rumor started by someone breaking the rules and too clueless to understand that they made their drug use obvious and suspicious. Too many cabins, too many possible complaints and too much else to do to walk the halls with one. The ships are not a high school locker room hallway. If Carnival suspects there are drugs in your room, they can likely do whatever they want to investigate, as ship passengers have little rights to privacy, but as long as you don't give them a good reason to suspect something, you'll be left alone. 

The service dog MAY be highly trained.  

[Indytraveler83]

56 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

The service dog MAY be highly trained.  

 

They should be highly trained.  Carnival doesn't permit emotional support animals or "in training" animals, so the only service dogs that are permitted are ones that actually received official training and have paperwork to prove it.

 

This isn't saying that cannot be faked or that the individual with the animal reinforces the training appropriately, but you wont see dogs onboard with quick print internet certificates.  

[sparks1093]

9 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

 

 

I am a dog owner, and I can understand that dogs can scare people because they are full of energy, run, jump, and make many noises.  My boy dog even gets on MY nerves--he is over fifty pounds, and still wants to be a lap dog! Your wife may have had a bad experience with a dog in the past and it is stuck in her mind (My grandmother was like that with cats, until I let her play with some of my kittens, and then she mentally and physically relaxed.).

 

However, your wife should have no worries about drug detector dogs. Those are highly trained animals, and are on leashes at all times with their handlers.  There is no reason for your wife to be afraid because the dogs will completely (and professionally) ignore her, unless, of course, she has drugs on her person or in her bags.

I was going to say exactly this, and even if she did have drugs on her person a normal alert is for the dog to sit down.

[jimbo5544]

Drug dogs have zero interest in people, total focus on contraband

[Butterbean1000]

I only ask this because the wife is DEATHLY afraid of dogs and is even on edge when she sees the"litter box" for pups on the ships. Just curious.

 

I'm really not trying to be rude.  What does she do when out in public?  There are dogs everywhere.

[Riles34]

10 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Didn't see dogs at terminal or on our ship but have read there is one living on the Venezia. They could be at any terminal,  port or on the ship.

Was on the Venezia last weekend. The dog does live on the ship and they also had the NYPD tactical teams walking the ship with all their gear and machine guns. It was a first!

[ldubs]

Not drugs, and not really even related, but what the heck.   My nephew got pulled aside when a dog smelled the hat made of banana leaf in his luggage.   He didn't realize it was considered one of the banned items.  

[dallasdan]

In my 20 cruises I have yet to see a dog onboard.  Have seen them while boarding and in various ports.  

[chengkp75]

3 hours ago, Indytraveler83 said:

 

They should be highly trained.  Carnival doesn't permit emotional support animals or "in training" animals, so the only service dogs that are permitted are ones that actually received official training and have paperwork to prove it.

 

This isn't saying that cannot be faked or that the individual with the animal reinforces the training appropriately, but you wont see dogs onboard with quick print internet certificates.  

Sorry, but there is no "official training" or "paperwork" required by the US government for a service animal, so Carnival cannot ask to see any.  The ADA specifically allows for owner trained animals, but there is a "code of conduct" that the animal must adhere to.

 

2 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

I was going to say exactly this, and even if she did have drugs on her person a normal alert is for the dog to sit down.

Drug dogs are trained to sniff and scratch at the found item.  It is bomb dogs that are trained to sit or lay down, as you don't want them disturbing the item.

[Petersonfcu]

11 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Sorry, but there is no "official training" or "paperwork" required by the US government for a service animal, so Carnival cannot ask to see any.  The ADA specifically allows for owner trained animals, but there is a "code of conduct" that the animal must adhere to.

 

Drug dogs are trained to sniff and scratch at the found item.  It is bomb dogs that are trained to sit or lay down, as you don't want them disturbing the item.

This must be only for US trained dogs.  The "fruit dogs" that we often see at Mexican ports do sit down when they smell fruit. 

Edited August 21, 2023 by Petersonfcu

[Elaine5715]

3 minutes ago, Petersonfcu said:

This must be only for US trained dogs.  The "fruit dogs" that we often see at Mexican ports do sit down when they smell fruit. 

Those dogs may be cross trained

[wemjam]

50 minutes ago, ldubs said:

Not drugs, and not really even related, but what the heck.   My nephew got pulled aside when a dog smelled the hat made of banana leaf in his luggage.   He didn't realize it was considered one of the banned items.  

A lot of people don't realize that one.  Especially when you get off in ports like Cozumel.  The dogs they have there are fruit sniffing dogs, not drugs.

 

They are looking for and worried about the fruits, vegetables, etc. that may be harboring insects coming into the country.

[chengkp75]

25 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

I tend to agree.  One issue might be California's cannabis law is not the same as the Fed's.  Folks might not realize cruise ships adhere to Federal regulations.   

While the terminal will adhere to federal regulations, the ship adheres to international convention, and flag state law.