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

[rangeley]

Forgot the balcony

[rangeley]

oops didn't post

[rangeley]

First pic is these dancers that Wex was facinated with, second pic is him watching them. He must have sat there 5 minutes and would not even look at me. Wierdo Nest 2 my son, Lee and Wex. It seems I just took pics of Wex :eek:

[rangeley]

first John and Solstice, All of us with our waiters, Putu and Ronald, And of course Wex, he was waiting for his yogurt cup to lick. OK no more torture. I'm done

Edited January 18, 2012 by rangeley

[rangeley]

Oh! No! I've done that.....only to lose the whole darn thing. I don't know why it happens, it's the "computer gods." Don't worry about it. We know that eventually we'll hear all about your wonderful trip. I hope you had a chance to catch-up on your relaxation and had some foo-foo drinks for me!

 

I'll be going to CCI in Santa Rosa next week [1/25] for Public Certification on the 26th and Graudation on the 27th, with the class.

 

Horton is a great dog. He's still a puppy and does do some pretty "stupid" and amazingly funny things but he's learning and I'm giving him some lee-way right now. Brenda is so patient with him; even when he rolls over on his back and "bats" her with his super long legs, as she's innocently walking by him and those legs are pretty powerful. I try not to laugh or say anything.....I really want them to work-out their own issues. If I were a dog and he did this to me.......I'd shove his long, lanky leg right back into his face!!!!! :rolleyes: :p

 

Brenda's much nicer than me.....she just shakes it off and keeps on walking! Such a smart, nice girl!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Horty sounds so much like Wex. I didn't know you did not get your cert when you got the dog. Did you ever hear from your puppy raisers? The Graduation will be fun. Is your family going? I know they live all over the place.

[S.S. Cruisers]

Welcome home, Cindy, John, Wexy and son............Glad you had a good time. It seems like it went fast, except the board was really quiet!

[wizard-of-roz]

Here's some pics I'll post the cabin ones first.

 

Nice HC Cabin. Lots of space for all of you. There's never a feeling of everyone climbing all over each other, I'm sure.

[wizard-of-roz]

oops didn't post

 

 

Talk to me about the potty box. Did they put it on your balcony and how was it? It seems like your balcony is big enough to hold it, again very nice.

[wizard-of-roz]

First pic is these dancers that Wex was facinated with, second pic is him watching them. He must have sat there 5 minutes and would not even look at me. Wierdo Nest 2 my son, Lee and Wex. It seems I just took pics of Wex :eek:

 

If you promise not to say "no way", can I tell you my children's names......I have three children; Lisa, Robyn and Lee. Another, how weird is that!!!!!!!

And, you could NEVER take enough pictures of Wex, as far as I'm concerned. I see that Lee loves him as much as you do.

Wex, is a spitting image for Horton. Aren't they the cutest dogs?

[wizard-of-roz]

First pic is these dancers that Wex was facinated with, second pic is him watching them. He must have sat there 5 minutes and would not even look at me. Wierdo Nest 2 my son, Lee and Wex. It seems I just took pics of Wex :eek:

 

I love how Wex is so mezmerized by the women dancing. He just can't believe that the "ants" he's looking at look and sound so much like real people!!!!! :D

[wizard-of-roz]

first John and Solstice, All of us with our waiters, Putu and Ronald, And of course Wex, he was waiting for his yogurt cup to lick. OK no more torture. I'm done

 

Great pictures! Licking a yogurt cup......good idea!!!! It's as good as stuffing a kong! I won't forget that!

[wizard-of-roz]

Horty sounds so much like Wex. I didn't know you did not get your cert when you got the dog. Did you ever hear from your puppy raisers? The Graduation will be fun. Is your family going? I know they live all over the place.

 

When I left with Horty they gave me a Public Certification License to expire on January 31st. I'm going to be test on an escalator.....so much fun. Considering when I first graduated in 2002 we had no clue how to board an escalator with a dog. It took someone from Guide Dogs to show CCI how to do it. Thank you Guide Dogs!!!!

[Latitude 20]

Thanks for sharing your pictures Cindy! How'd you work it that all of the men in your life are so good-looking? LOL!

 

Kathi

[Latitude 20]

Thats quite alright, I love all the pups here. So much talent in every service animal and pet here. Thats a great looking saddle back shepherd.

 

Thanks Jocko! Like most police dogs, Josh is from Eastern European lineage (he was born in the Czech Republic and trained in South Carolina). And he's bilingual--Teresa had to learn all of his work commands in Czech.

[rangeley]

Roz, I won't comment on how wierd it is that you have a child named Lee.

 

The potty box was on the promenade deck(which there was hardly one) down a hallway where the crew stores floor buffing equipment and a giant ladder. It was a tight hallway for John cuz it had those metal "L" bracket type things at the bottom of each section. Not sure if you will know what I mean. But John had to go straight down or he would not fit. They had a nice metal box with sod(we requested). It was up against the wall but about a quarter of the box was blocked by a electrical/water valve box on the wall. Wex bumped into it a few times doing his spinarama moves. Walking down the hallway was an experience all it's own. Hurricane force winds blew through the hallway til you got to the box room. When going to dinner, I would make Lee go down it cuz it blew your hair all over the place. Luckily Johns wheelchair had tipper bars on the back as the wind force almost blew him over a few times. Thats how strong it was, no lie. One morning I got slammed into a bolt on the side of the wall and got a big bruise. Would NOT have it there if we cruised on Celebrity again. As far as putting it on our balcony, Wex does NOT like to go out there and actually this was the first cruise he actually came out on the balcony a few times. I'm posting this before I lose it and will continue.

[DisneyKidsDad]

Here's some pics I'll post the cabin ones first.

 

Cindy,

 

Was your cabin a "standard balcony" cabin or a Junior Suite. We are always looking for ships that allow 3 people in a "standard" balcony cabin.

[rangeley]

Mostly all the elevators were glass and had partial glass floors that overlooked the atrium. Wex did NOT like that and balked everytime we had to get in. If he had to sit in the back on the glass he freaked!

 

Again the crew were the worst offenders when it came to the dog. Calling him, kissy noises and one called him Scooby Doo and one Bozo! :eek: Not nice! John mentioned it to one of the officers and wrote on the survey that they need to be educated.

 

Grand Cayman, Wex couldn't get off. Every morning I had to get up at 6am to get ready to bring him down to have him cleared. Eastern Caribbean I only brought him down once in 7 cruises. Cozumel was ok, no problems. Honduras wanted $27 to bring him off so Lee stayed onboard with him while John and I went to the shops at the dock. Costa Maya had a few complaints, they want a rabies every year, didn't like the time when he got all his shots, they wanted it closer to travel time. Don't they know that you get shots when they are due. But they let him off.

[rangeley]

Thanks for sharing your pictures Cindy! How'd you work it that all of the men in your life are so good-looking? LOL!

 

Kathi

 

Kathi, I got lucky with my handsome boys!! ;)

[rangeley]

Welcome home, Cindy, John, Wexy and son............Glad you had a good time. It seems like it went fast, except the board was really quiet!

 

Nancy, Love the vacation but it's always nice to be back.

[rangeley]

Cindy,

 

Was your cabin a "standard balcony" cabin or a Junior Suite. We are always looking for ships that allow 3 people in a "standard" balcony cabin.

 

It was a regular HP balcony, we liked that we could fit 3 of us without getting a more expensive room. But as you can see my sons bed is on practcally on the floor.

 

But he said it was comfy.

Edited January 18, 2012 by rangeley

[wizard-of-roz]

After living with Brenda for over 9.5 years and her habit of being terrified of glass elevators/open staircases/stairs in general/open pathways that are high up and our veranda's on cruise ships, I got used to taking alternate routes and giving-in to her obsessions - It's so nice to have a dog who thinks absolutely nothing of the aforementioned! That's, basically, the only thing that makes Wex and Horty different.

I'm sorry to hear about the placement of the potty box and the officials who questioned his immunizations and made bringing him ashore so difficult. And, those dang crew members who act like moron's......I could just "thump" them on their foreheads for being so stupid!!!!! I hate, hate, hate people who make those ridiculous "kissy" sounds and weird noises to get our dogs attention. I make the filthiest look at them!!!! I'm sure they must think I'm the ridiculous one.......but, I'm sick of them!!!!!

They distract and interrupt our dogs work and make it so much more difficult for us.

I hope one day we get to meet. My Lee is married to a wonderful gal and has two amazing children; Benjamin & Sarah. As a youngster and teenager he was such a "pain" but grew into a wonderful & responsible man.

Edited January 18, 2012 by wizard-of-roz

[denversees4me]

Reporting back from the Disney Wonder 7 night MR cruise . Denver and I had a great time onboard as usual . One day a lady gave Denver an ice cream and he swallowed the stick ( im blind and did not see her feed him or I would have told her no ) still no stick so we r playing the waiting game - hopefully no 3 thousand dollar surgery :mad:

 

All in all it was great except the everlasting complaint I have that Disney ALWAYS ( at least on all 4 disney cruises I have been on ) removes the box the last morning of the cruise before I make it out there so denver has to hold it till we get off the ship = last year I let him pee and poop on the deck just to let them know that there was no box and he still had to go ( i waited for them to bring the box back but they didnt so I let him go ) and this year I thought I had it CLEAR with the crew the night before that the box was to stay on deck till 9 am - but again no luck so again we left presents !

 

I did give disney feedback and told them it would be nice since I was picking up the poop if there was a small bucket with a lid on it for the bags since they did not clean or pick up the bags the ENTIRE cruise - can you imagine being a guest sunning yourself to 7 days of poop thats 14 bags ! all out in the open in a pile EWWWwwwwww .... Also they used mulch this time which they usually use grass - I had to ask them to change it and once i asked and it did not get done - It got so wet and soggy and I think there had been a dog on board before us cuz it was wet and soggy when we boarded - that even my dog who is an ACE reliever and never misses the box - was struggling for a place to put his feet that was dry = he peed on the deck and missed the box several times because he just had no choice

 

other than that though when I told the lieazon ( did i spell that right lol ) he was very upset at the way things were handled and HOPEFULLY they will get it right on the next cruise

Thats me always paving the way !

 

next cruise is eastern carib - never been - advice ? and what paperwork or permits will I need ? special microchips ? etc - I plan on leaving my dog ON BOARD though but still need to be prepared

also roz I never had to present my dog to customs - they never called and asked - the paperwork I had was enough :-)

 

thanks everyone !

[wizard-of-roz]

Reporting back from the Disney Wonder 7 night MR cruise . Denver and I had a great time onboard as usual . One day a lady gave Denver an ice cream and he swallowed the stick ( im blind and did not see her feed him or I would have told her no ) still no stick so we r playing the waiting game - hopefully no 3 thousand dollar surgery :mad:

 

All in all it was great except the everlasting complaint I have that Disney ALWAYS ( at least on all 4 disney cruises I have been on ) removes the box the last morning of the cruise before I make it out there so denver has to hold it till we get off the ship = last year I let him pee and poop on the deck just to let them know that there was no box and he still had to go ( i waited for them to bring the box back but they didnt so I let him go ) and this year I thought I had it CLEAR with the crew the night before that the box was to stay on deck till 9 am - but again no luck so again we left presents !

 

I did give disney feedback and told them it would be nice since I was picking up the poop if there was a small bucket with a lid on it for the bags since they did not clean or pick up the bags the ENTIRE cruise - can you imagine being a guest sunning yourself to 7 days of poop thats 14 bags ! all out in the open in a pile EWWWwwwwww .... Also they used mulch this time which they usually use grass - I had to ask them to change it and once i asked and it did not get done - It got so wet and soggy and I think there had been a dog on board before us cuz it was wet and soggy when we boarded - that even my dog who is an ACE reliever and never misses the box - was struggling for a place to put his feet that was dry = he peed on the deck and missed the box several times because he just had no choice

 

other than that though when I told the lieazon ( did i spell that right lol ) he was very upset at the way things were handled and HOPEFULLY they will get it right on the next cruise

Thats me always paving the way !

 

next cruise is eastern carib - never been - advice ? and what paperwork or permits will I need ? special microchips ? etc - I plan on leaving my dog ON BOARD though but still need to be prepared

also roz I never had to present my dog to customs - they never called and asked - the paperwork I had was enough :-)

 

thanks everyone !

 

OMG! What an adventurous trip you and my dear friend Denver had. Poor boy......Ice cream sticks; soggy potty box's; relieving himself on deck........Geeeeezzzzzz! I'm surprised you didn't get some kind of cruise credits for all the inconvenience they caused you. And, then you bottom line us with "the cruise was great!" That's my friend Cari, such an optimist.

I'm very angry about the way they handled the pottybox. It's inexcusable! And, not having the box there for the last morning, what are they thinking? The answer is Disney is not thinking [at least not on this trip!] The Hotel Manager would have had such an ear-full from me before I left that ship. Please call Disney "Special Needs Dept." and let them know about all the issues, insist that they compensate you for the all the trouble you went through!

The paper work & permits may be different for the Eastern/Western and Southern Caribbean, check with your cruiseline to be sure......Each port may handle your entering differently but the ship itself will probably need exactly what you brought for this trip.

My only warning about the paperwork is to make sure that it is received and dated appropriately. Some ports require 10 days within passage, some 3 weeks and some will accept 3 months. You are always safer to have it as close to the cruise date as you can unless it's a titer which may require it be 45 days out or no more than 45 days. Also, some cruiselines are requesting parasite clearance......my Vet always supplies a letter of stool sample check and useage of Heartguard and Advantix.

Denver is such a good boy to put-up with the potty-box fiasco.....this is my biggest bone of contention with the cruiselines.......Don't let them get away with being lame.......Hold them to a high standard and demand compensation for less!!!!!

[wizard-of-roz]

Also, Cindy, where they placed the pottybox for Wexy is also ridiculous!!!!!! Come-on they expected you to walk through gale-force winds to take your dog potty. Then to have you "slammed" against a wall.........ENOUGH!!!!!!

The box should have been placed in a stairwell or closet, out of the elements where you could take your dog to relieve himself in safety.

Again, I would have been at the Hotel Managers throat to put the box in a place where NO ONE was subjected to poor conditions.

I wish I was with Cindy and Cari - I promise you the box would have been "perfect" - There would be a receptacle, proper filler and it would have been "in place" on the last morning.

When our dogs are treated in a poor manner, it's as if the cruiseline is treating one of our family members in that way and it's not acceptable. We have spent a lot of money to take these trips and I promise you not one of these cruiseline companies can afford to anger a group as big as ours.

 

But leave it to people like Cindy and Cari to share with us how wonderful their trips were and that they're planning to do more cruising. I love their attitudes.

[dobiemom]

Here's some pics I'll post the cabin ones first.

Forgot the balcony

First pic is these dancers that Wex was facinated with, second pic is him watching them. He must have sat there 5 minutes and would not even look at me. Wierdo Nest 2 my son, Lee and Wex. It seems I just took pics of Wex :eek:

Great pics, thanks for sharing. Welcome home!