Cruising With A Service Dog....everything You Ever Wanted To Know!

[qoap24]

20 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

Until you walk through life with a SD it's all merky and very unclear......

I couldn't agree you with you more. I wish you the very best and many happy sailings! 

[wizard-of-roz]

2 hours ago, qoap24 said:

I couldn't agree you with you more. I wish you the very best and many happy sailings! 

Thank you so much! 🐾

[rangeley]

On 5/15/2019 at 4:20 PM, qoap24 said:

What really bothered me were the people saying that if one needs a service animal, they need to find another vacation. I had written out a whole long reply and then decided, I will never change "stupid" people's minds. One day they will be discriminated against for something and will get to experience how it feels. 

 

I do not have a service animal nor does anyone I know, but I cannot tolerate ignorant people that think they have more rights than anyone else. 

 

I will get off my soap box and I wish everyone happy sailings!

You are right, you can't fix stupid. The saying goes "ignorance is bliss". 

[rangeley]

What kills me is these people that are allergic to dogs but have jumped in a vat of perfume. That stuffs me up and I cant breathe. Yuck

[DUTRAVEL]

I have been following the HAL thread on Service Dogs - to suggest that someone who has a disability that is mitigated by a Service Dog should just stay home is about as insensitive as you can get. 

 

Dianne

[wizard-of-roz]

3 hours ago, rangeley said:

What kills me is these people that are allergic to dogs but have jumped in a vat of perfume. That stuffs me up and I cant breathe. Yuck

When we first got involved with CCI and were attending Team Training in 2002, the trainer told us to tell folks who say that they're "deathly allergic" to dogs, to "take a pill!"  She was a little rough around the edges and I've NEVER said this yet!  

 

I go through life with persistent allergic rhinitis [runny nose] and my doctor said it's mainly caused by allergens in my environment.....Uh! Oh!  Hello Clariton!

[wizard-of-roz]

Happy Weekend!  

[mmarq1992]

Life has been hectic recently, but Happy Graduation to Oakland and family! And glad to see Kali had a good first cruise!

 

Hope everyone has a great weekend! We leave on our Alaskan cruise on Monday!

[wizard-of-roz]

 

1 hour ago, mmarq1992 said:

Life has been hectic recently, but Happy Graduation to Oakland and family! And glad to see Kali had a good first cruise!

 

Hope everyone has a great weekend! We leave on our Alaskan cruise on Monday!

Bon~Voyage, have a wonderful, restful and joyful cruise! 🚢

[Onagh]

My post on Carnival (John Heald Blog) & Princes Cruise Lovers (Facebook) regarding Service Dogs on Cruise Ships.

 

After Reaching Platinum VIFP status with Carnival Cruise Lines in April 2019, I just became a CCL Stock Holder! 

I travel Solo with my Service Dog (thank you for this Topic & Contributors as it has changed my Cruise Experience) who is trained for Medical/Medication Alert. 

I am also a Veteran so you can see how I can afford the Solo rates 😎 

The Epic Halloween Thanksgiving Christmas 2019 & New Year 2020 Cruises!

 

Carnival Sunrise 10/28/19 FLL RT

Halloween 2019 Caribbean 

 

Coral Princess 11/2/19 FLL-SFO

“Because I am not flying back!” 

Panama Canal Full Transit 

 

Star Princess 11/19/20 LAX

Thanksgiving Hawaii 2019

2nd time sailing this route.

 

Royal Princess 12/9-12/21 B2B 

Mexican Riviera

 

Carnival Panorama 12/21/19-1/4/20 B2B Christmas & NYE 

Mexican Riviera 

 

You read that right! Halloween Thanksgiving & the Entire Christmas & New Year Season Booked!

 

A Huge Shoutout to Princess & Carnival Ship Crew! The professional customer care & amazing service are what keeps me Cruising with Carnival!! 😍

 

SERVICE DOG Q&A

 

THE BATHROOM!

There is a litter on an assigned forward deck. Peat Moss type wood chips type lawn garden stuff... it’s very nice. Puppy pads are not allowed!

 

DOG FOOD: Yes I pack food for the duration of the Cruise plus travel and hotels. He is fed in the cabin (I use the bathroom for easy clean up).

MEDICAL ALERTS:

Stewards, Dining, Hotel Management are fully informed of alerts and have appropriate Military & Medical Documentation.

 

PORTS Authorities & DOCUMENTS & Passport:

Yes I have all required Health Certs sent off to Mexico & Hawaii knows we are coming. We have been to all the Caribbean & Central/South America Ports on the 10/19-1/20 Itinerary. Not only do the lines know us, but all the Port Authorities do as well!

the process is expensive the first time, but run about $300 per cruise after all the Tests/Vaccines are administered. The Cruise line does not charge for the Litter or for the Service Dog & will not provide dog food. There is a Cruise Ship Contract Addendum for my Service Dog. The Countries visited dictate Vaccines, Applications and Permits. No Country has quarantine for Cruise Ports of Call. The USDA has a disclaimer that Countries can and do change requirements without notice. Basically all countries have Agricultural documents and they must have a USDA APHIS (Agricultural) Raised Stamp to be authentic. Inspection is typically 15 minutes before the scheduled Gangway All Clear at a determined location near the gangway. Port Authorities clear the Service Dog, sometimes not. It's happened. If we are on a Ship with YOU and I am running full speed through the Hotel to Deck X it’s because we have a last minute Inspection request from the Local Port Authorities!

 

PORTS:

We go to Beach Ports I get an Umbrella & chair & I periodically dunk him in the ocean. Just like a toddler we go straight to shower and we both wash completely before leaving the cabin again.

We wear spray on 100+ Sunscreen at all times.😎

 

 GROOMING: a true Service Dog is fully groomed every 10 days down to the skin level to prevent Skin Diseases, and touch ups with Wipes to paws limbs and undercarriage daily. A dog with yellow eyes/muzzle or sticky fur around the face is not a working dog. A fluffy anything is not a Working Dog, & there is a huge difference between a WHITE FACE & PAWS Teddy Bear Cut, or Working Cut Well Groomed & Clean, and a fluffy thing. A Working Dog is Clean Dry & Serviceable at all times.😍

 

BEHAVIOR: 

https://search.ada.gov/search?query=Service+Dog+&search=go&sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=iso-8859-1&oe=UTF-8&client=default_frontend&proxystylesheet=default_frontend&affiliate=justice-ada

[wizard-of-roz]

1 hour ago, Onagh said:

My post on Carnival (John Heald Blog) & Princes Cruise Lovers (Facebook) regarding Service Dogs on Cruise Ships.

 

After Reaching Platinum VIFP status with Carnival Cruise Lines in April 2019, I just became a CCL Stock Holder! 

I travel Solo with my Service Dog (thank you for this Topic & Contributors as it has changed my Cruise Experience) who is trained for Medical/Medication Alert. 

I am also a Veteran so you can see how I can afford the Solo rates 😎 

The Epic Halloween Thanksgiving Christmas 2019 & New Year 2020 Cruises!

 

You read that right! Halloween Thanksgiving & the Entire Christmas & New Year Season Booked!

 

 

Wow!  The end of this year will be filled with lots of cruising fun for you!  Thanks for sharing all your good info.

[Onagh]

Oh no Thank you for all the great information and tips!! This Topic & the people sharing information has been a gold mine!!

[Miki_moto]

I’m curious...

 

In all my correspondence with Cunard regarding my service dog, their reply has been “Your reservation has been noted...”

yet my copies have no mention of a service dog.

 

Has anyone gotten their booking confirmation or other documentation with any mention of your service dog?  

 

I’ve printed off all my email correspondence but I can’t help thinking how muck easier it would be - for all involved - if my booking documentation was updated to say the dog and all documentation pertaining to him was received and up to date. 

 

Heck, I’d settle for just a note about the dog!

[bobbijooneal]

My family will be traveling to Cuba in August 2019.  Wondering if anyone has taken their service dog there and what your experience was?  Did you have any trouble with the excursions and having a service dog with you?

 

Thanks!

[rangeley]

1 minute ago, bobbijooneal said:

My family will be traveling to Cuba in August 2019.  Wondering if anyone has taken their service dog there and what your experience was?  Did you have any trouble with the excursions and having a service dog with you?

 

Thanks!

As far as I know, they do not allow service dogs in Cuba. 

[rangeley]

3 hours ago, Miki_moto said:

I’m curious...

 

In all my correspondence with Cunard regarding my service dog, their reply has been “Your reservation has been noted...”

yet my copies have no mention of a service dog.

 

Has anyone gotten their booking confirmation or other documentation with any mention of your service dog?  

 

I’ve printed off all my email correspondence but I can’t help thinking how muck easier it would be - for all involved - if my booking documentation was updated to say the dog and all documentation pertaining to him was received and up to date. 

 

Heck, I’d settle for just a note about the dog!

The only documentation we got is the service dog form to fill out. No mention of it on our reservation. 

[bobbijooneal]

On 11/14/2018 at 12:02 AM, wizard-of-roz said:

Peach, you are quite a cutie.  It sounds like you had a wonderful cruise.  Where did they place the potty-box?

We are headed to Cuba in August of this year (2019).  Did you take an excursion and if so did you have any problems?  We are signed up for a tour that takes place in some of the old cars.  Wondering if we will have any problems.  

[Miki_moto]

6 minutes ago, rangeley said:

The only documentation we got is the service dog form to fill out. No mention of it on our reservation. 

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

I guess I’m ahead of the curve since I have an actual letter that says “Your Service Animal has been approved to sail and we look forward to welcoming you aboard.”   There was also what I would call a letter of indemnity for me to sign.

 

[MelanieDyer]

Does anyone have information on requirements for cruising with SD to Belize and Roatan?

[Caribbean Chris]

11 hours ago, MelanieDyer said:

Does anyone have information on requirements for cruising with SD to Belize and Roatan?

 

Best source is usually the APHIS website:

 

For Belize: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel/by-country/pettravel-belize

 

but APHIS has not been provided info by Honduras:

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel/by-country/unknown-requirements-pet-travel-green-banner-and-text

 

When we went to Honduras a few years ago via ship, I never found info, so was prepared for the dog to stay aboard. However, the officials apparently accepted the same general documentation we possessed for other ports because we were allowed to go ashore.

Edited May 20, 2019 by Caribbean Chris

[Caribbean Chris]

On 5/18/2019 at 1:04 PM, bobbijooneal said:

My family will be traveling to Cuba in August 2019.  Wondering if anyone has taken their service dog there and what your experience was?  Did you have any trouble with the excursions and having a service dog with you?

 

Thanks!

 

I recall that you asked about this onCruise Critic in the past. In November/December 2018 there was information given from a poster named  Saiayoko who had taken his/her dog ashore in Cuba. The documentation that person took was a form 7001 issued by a USDA APHIS accredited vet and endorsed by a USDA APHIS service center veterinarian. The dog was inspected on arrival.

 

Always a good idea to try the search feature in the upper right part of the page. Or you can click previous pages (on my ipad it is page 813 of this forum) until you arrive at November 12, 2018, post 20302 onward. 

 

Edited May 20, 2019 by Caribbean Chris

[rangeley]

1 hour ago, Caribbean Chris said:

 

I recall that you asked about this onCruise Critic in the past. In November/December 2018 there was information given from a poster named  Saiayoko who had taken his/her dog ashore in Cuba. The documentation that person took was a form 7001 issued by a USDA APHIS accredited vet and endorsed by a USDA APHIS service center veterinarian. The dog was inspected on arrival.

 

Always a good idea to try the search feature in the upper right part of the page. Or you can click previous pages (on my ipad it is page 813 of this forum) until you arrive at November 12, 2018, post 20302 onward. 

 

Did Cuba change? I heard you could not bring your dog. 

[Caribbean Chris]

46 minutes ago, rangeley said:

Did Cuba change? I heard you could not bring your dog. 

 

I haven't heard any recent reports - most recent was that person who posted in November about taking their dog. There's nothing on the APHIS website.

 

But things have been in a state of uncertainty between the US and Cuba again lately...so I'd guess nobody really knows what could happen for tourism.

[wizard-of-roz]

4 hours ago, Caribbean Chris said:

 

I haven't heard any recent reports - most recent was that person who posted in November about taking their dog. There's nothing on the APHIS website.

 

But things have been in a state of uncertainty between the US and Cuba again lately...so I'd guess nobody really knows what could happen for tourism.

I asked my Vet about entering Cuba with my SD and he suggested NOT taking Horton into Port.  He said their rules and regulations are unclear on how we would be treated and suggested we wait until the current administration is a more "immigration friendly" one [sorry, I don't mean to be stirring politico stuff!]

[rangeley]

6 minutes ago, wizard-of-roz said:

I asked my Vet about entering Cuba with my SD and he suggested NOT taking Horton into Port.  He said their rules and regulations are unclear on how we would be treated and suggested we wait until the current administration is a more "immigration friendly" one [sorry, I don't mean to be stirring politico stuff!]

The administration is not going to be more Cuba friendly. We will not be going there. I hear they are terrible for wheelchairs anyway. Just like all the other islands.