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

[Gibson18]

Wow lots of service dogs on ships.  Here is a pic of Gibson’s “spot”. Holland America has always treated our dogs like kings. Note the velvet ropes lol. 

[HenryKisor]

What ship was that? Was the box at bow or stern?

[Algebralovr]

The wind tunnel that is used on the Celebrity S-Class ships is a crazy place for them to put the dog relief box.  It is used for storage, and has lots of stuff in it, plus the crazy wind tunnel to get there.  In May, on Solstice, the whole area was even closed due to weather (high wind), but Scooter and I had to brave it for his needs.  

A number of times, there was a rope up saying "No Admittance" and we just took the rope down and then put it back up when we were finished.  I was very glad of the hand rails a number of times.

Unless we are in a suite and have a larger balcony, we'll likely leave Scooter at home with friends for future cruises.  Not to mention, the locations we are going.  This February includes St. Lucia, Grenada, Barbados, Dominica and St. Kitts.  In 2019, we are doing the Western, so Costa Rica, Columbia, none of which are great places for dogs.

[HenryKisor]

Barb, I can't speak to the "wind tunnel" on Celebrity ships or St. Lucia, Grenada, Barbados, Dominica and St. Kitts, but I can say that there is no reason to avoid taking a service dog to Costa Rica or Colombia. Trooper and I have had a good time in both those countries on our cruises. The Colombians especially were hospitable. I wrote ahead to the Aviario Nacional de Colombia just outside Cartagena before visiting, and it said we would be welcome—and provided a veterinary student to guide us around and yank us out of trouble if trouble appeared.

 

The paperwork required for Costa Rica and Colombia is not particularly difficult, and APHIS has all the forms needed.

 

If you mean the feral dogs endemic south of the border, well, that is a problem everywhere, but if you are alert you can avoid them.

 

[MrPAWS]

Princess does not allow potty boxes on the balcony for the stupid reason that the ship is tiered opposite of the normal shape of ships and they seem to think that "stuff" can go over the side.  Have they never seen one?  I don't even know how a human can make it over the barrier.  Carnival was great about it and so was Celebrity and NCL.  It must be OUR job to educate . . . and so we shall;  its worth it.

Edited October 26, 2018 by MrPAWS

[MrPAWS]

On ‎10‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 7:15 PM, Miki_moto said:

I’m curious how many other service dogs were on that ship.  How many used the potty box you used?

I am just glad they are starting to "get it."

[HenryKisor]

I went and studied the online photographs of Princess ships, and it appears that they are straight-sided, with neither flare nor tumblehome to the tiers of decks. If Princess was claiming stuff can go over the side, that's a load of codswallop. (Flare means widening above the hull. Tumblehome means narrowing above the hull. Codswallop means what it sounds like.)

 

 

[MrPAWS]

30 minutes ago, HenryKisor said:

Barb, I can't speak to the "wind tunnel" on Celebrity ships or St. Lucia, Grenada, Barbados, Dominica and St. Kitts, but I can say that there is no reason to avoid taking a service dog to Costa Rica or Colombia. Trooper and I have had a good time in both those countries on our cruises. The Colombians especially were hospitable. I wrote ahead to the Aviario Nacional de Colombia just outside Cartagena before visiting, and it said we would be welcome—and provided a veterinary student to guide us around and yank us out of trouble if trouble appeared.

 

The paperwork required for Costa Rica and Colombia is not particularly difficult, and APHIS has all the forms needed.

 

If you mean the feral dogs endemic south of the border, well, that is a problem everywhere, but if you are alert you can avoid them.

 

Good to know - my vet said they might not let our dog back into the USA if we took him to Colombia (even if we did not let him off the ship) - but it wasn't worth it.  Stayed with a housesitter and became very depressed.  Temp vet also was going to charge us $600 for 3 health certificates (each port allowed) - never using THAT vet again.

[MrPAWS]

2 minutes ago, HenryKisor said:

I went and studied the online photographs of Princess ships, and it appears that they are straight-sided, with neither flare nor tumblehome to the tiers of decks. If Princess was claiming stuff can go over the side, that's a load of codswallop. (Flare means widening above the hull. Tumblehome means narrowing above the hull. Codswallop means what it sounds like.)

 

 

I know, right?!!

 

[MrPAWS]

On ‎10‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 2:18 PM, Sumacs Momma said:

Thanks for the info, we took my dog last April on a 15 day cruise to Hawaii and I was in tears for the first 4days... you can search my previous post and since then I am scared to take him again. We are looking at the same cruise again next fall and was wondering which cruise line can you put the potty box on the balcony? Princess?

Not princess, but maybe you can talk them into it once you get there.  We have been trying different lines too to see which one we like best - so far Carnival.

[MrPAWS]

On ‎10‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 4:33 PM, wizard-of-roz said:

 

Thank you so much for sharing the wonderful pictures.  I don't like when people reach out to pet or shout out to him, that is definitely distracting, but when we're sitting around and people come up to us to ask questions and I give Horton the command to let him know that he's not working......I do allow for patting.  I'm a very social being and so is Horton.  I love to talk to fellow passengers and Horton loves the extra love and attention.  I know when "enough is enough" and I let the public know.

Agree totally.

[Algebralovr]

I drew in where Celebrity put the box on the Solstice, and where others have said they've had them on other S-Class ships.  

The wind tunnel is the little hallway next to the theater.  There is a door to go backstage in the area where the box ends up.  Any time the ship is underway, the wind tunnel has a quite stiff breeze.  The area where they put the box is also used as storage for floor cleaning equipment.  This is on deck 5.  Definitely not an accessible location, either.  There is a good sized lip to step over to get from the deck into the wind tunnel.

 

 

[HenryKisor]

Thank you! This is very, very useful to know. Trooper and I have cruised only on Holland-America ships, and that line's boxes have been in only two places . . . forward on the promenade deck under the bow overhang, or aft on an open rear deck (Deck 2, I think) but under a roof. Not difficult for one without a mobility disability but sometimes a heavy blow can mean the promenade deck is closed. In that case a crew member might be enlisted to help a dog handler get forward to relieve the dog. Caribbean Chris, I think, has had experience in such a situation.

 

[Miki_moto]

4 hours ago, Algebralovr said:

I drew in where Celebrity put the box on the Solstice, and where others have said they've had them on other S-Class ships.  

The wind tunnel is the little hallway next to the theater.  There is a door to go backstage in the area where the box ends up.  Any time the ship is underway, the wind tunnel has a quite stiff breeze.  The area where they put the box is also used as storage for floor cleaning equipment.  This is on deck 5.  Definitely not an accessible location, either.  There is a good sized lip to step over to get from the deck into the wind tunnel.

 

 

 

[Miki_moto]

There’s no way I would find this acceptable.  😞 

 

We always book a balcony cabin and, while I’m not sure I want the potty box on the balcony for ten days, I wouldn’t want to have to go to hell and back for an alternative!  

 

 

[wizard-of-roz]

On ‎10‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 2:18 PM, Sumacs Momma said:

Thanks for the info, we took my dog last April on a 15 day cruise to Hawaii and I was in tears for the first 4days... you can search my previous post and since then I am scared to take him again. We are looking at the same cruise again next fall and was wondering which cruise line can you put the potty box on the balcony? Princess?

I am so sorry that you spent the first 4 days in tears.....what ship were you on?  I had a problem with Princess when I started sailing them around 2004.....they didn't know where to put the potty box at first, so they waited and waited and waited until I became a tearful, fretful, worried dog handler before they sent a crew member to assist me. 

 

I eventually learned that the best way to handle the cruise ships was to go to Guest Services [Purser's Desk] the second I get onboard and clarify with them where to place the box.  Some Hotel Manager's will put the box on your veranda, some will put it in the nearest stairwell and some will pace in front of you not knowing what to do until you tell them that your dog can no longer wait to go to the bathroom and an immediate decision MUST be made.

 

I book my cabins in the aft of the ship as close to the stairwell as I can and I also book a veranda cabin.......I prefer the veranda for the box but will accept the stairwell. 

[wizard-of-roz]

Just now, wizard-of-roz said:

I am so sorry that you spent the first 4 days in tears.....what ship were you on?  I had a problem with Princess when I started sailing them around 2004.....they didn't know where to put the potty box at first, so they waited and waited and waited until I became a tearful, fretful, worried dog handler before they sent a crew member to assist me. 

 

I eventually learned that the best way to handle the cruise ships was to go to Guest Services [Purser's Desk] the second I get onboard and clarify with them where to place the box.  Some Hotel Manager's will put the box on your veranda, some will put it in the nearest stairwell and some will pace in front of you not knowing what to do until you tell them that your dog can no longer wait to go to the bathroom and an immediate decision MUST be made.

 

I book my cabins in the aft of the ship as close to the stairwell as I can and I also book a veranda cabin.......I prefer the veranda for the box but will accept the stairwell. 

By the way; Princess Cruise Lines is now my favorite!

[wizard-of-roz]

On ‎10‎/‎25‎/‎2018 at 6:30 AM, DisneyKidsDad said:

Well we just got back from a week in Disney World.  We went with friends and had two service dogs and one hearing dog.

Needless to say we tended to draw a crowd every time we stopped to take pictures.  But before we left, I did manage to book a cruise for April 2020.  We are taking another Disney cruise.  Unfortunately Gretel will not be going.  One of the ports is Tortola and I do not want to go through the hassle and expense again.  Plus the fact that we were not allowed into many of the stores with the dog.  She will most likely be staying with her puppy raiser.  Here is a picture of Gretel in Disney World.

 

Gretel, you are such a beautiful girl.  And, so lucky to have such a wonderful family as your own!

I'm so glad that Hawaii is not demanding that Horton go through the Rabies Titer testing again [$250.00] and another $255.00 for the Direct Release Officer.  The Rabies Titer Test is good for 3 years and because it will be less than a year ago that we were on a cruise to Hawaii we may be able to avoid another fee to Direct Release.

I will NOT leave Horton behind but it certainly can be pricey to do cruise travel with our Service Dogs.

 

 

[wizard-of-roz]

7 hours ago, MrPAWS said:

Princess does not allow potty boxes on the balcony for the stupid reason that the ship is tiered opposite of the normal shape of ships and they seem to think that "stuff" can go over the side.  Have they never seen one?  I don't even know how a human can make it over the barrier.  Carnival was great about it and so was Celebrity and NCL.  It must be OUR job to educate . . . and so we shall;  its worth it.

Princess is very reluctant to place the box on the veranda......they will go out of their way to use the nearest stairwell, which is okay with me.....I always book a veranda cabin and do not have problems with Carnival, Holland America or Celebrity when it comes to placing the box on my veranda.  They're very helpful.

 

I prefer Princess and book aft cabins [usually mini-suites], I have the box placed in the stairwell, which is right around the corner......As you say, it's so worth educating them because I will cruise with my dog and I will make it as easy as I can for all of us!

[wizard-of-roz]

5 hours ago, Algebralovr said:

I drew in where Celebrity put the box on the Solstice, and where others have said they've had them on other S-Class ships.  

The wind tunnel is the little hallway next to the theater.  There is a door to go backstage in the area where the box ends up.  Any time the ship is underway, the wind tunnel has a quite stiff breeze.  The area where they put the box is also used as storage for floor cleaning equipment.  This is on deck 5.  Definitely not an accessible location, either.  There is a good sized lip to step over to get from the deck into the wind tunnel.

 

 

This is exactly where the Celebrity Summit placed Brenda's potty box until the morning that a deck hand had washed down the deck and her potty box to the point where it was so slippery I could hardly walk and her box was so wet she couldn't use it.  I complained and they placed a box on our veranda within an hour!!!!

 

How do they think that someone in a wheelchair is going to deal with this location? 

 

I'm so surprised that they are still using this area after these many years!!!!  Boy, talk about slow learners.

 

If this does NOT work for you please don't be reluctant to tell the Hotel Manager and ask them move it!!!!

[wizard-of-roz]

1 hour ago, Miki_moto said:

There’s no way I would find this acceptable.  😞 

 

We always book a balcony cabin and, while I’m not sure I want the potty box on the balcony for ten days, I wouldn’t want to have to go to hell and back for an alternative!  

 

 

Isn't that ridiculous!  The potty box will ALWAYS be an issue for our dogs.  The placement on our veranda's is really the best place.  Second choice; the closest stairwell.

 

Unless your veranda is extremely small, the box can be placed off in a corner and since the solid wastes are picked up immediately, it really just becomes a square of green off in a corner.  Especially if you bring a piece of rolled-up, light weight patio cover [with holes cut in it for drainage], and place it on top of whatever filler the ship is using.  It stays in place, is very attractive to look at and is easy for the ship to remove at the end of the cruise.  It's not expensive and can be placed in a kitchen trash bag for easy packing in your suit case.

[wizard-of-roz]

Have a good weekend everyone! 

 

My brother had some serious surgery and has come out the other side, with a prognosis that we all can live with!  As my "Horton" sat with me in the hospital waiting room, allowing all of my family to stroke him and walk him, both giving him and us great relief! 

 

I had some oral surgery and thought......really thought that I was going to go through a hole in the floor of the surgeons office.......Why does a problem in our mouth ALWAYS feel like who ever is attending to me has entered the Grand Canyon?  Off in a corner, in back of the chair I was in, laid my amazing and wonderful Service Dog, "Horton", he greeted me afterwards with that usual handsome, sweet and devoted stare.  Thank goodness for him......he centers me and makes all our world's such a better place.

[Sumacs Momma]

16 minutes ago, wizard-of-roz said:

Especially if you bring a piece of rolled-up, light weight patio cover [with holes cut in it for drainage], and place it on top of whatever filler the ship is using.  It stays in place, is very attractive to look at and is easy for the ship to remove at the end of the cruise.  It's not expensive and can be placed in a kitchen trash bag for easy packing in your suit case.

Oh dear Lord thats a good idea!!! We had the box located on the promenade on 7 deck which was closed during the state 9 storm we were going through but yet we were told thats our spot and nothing but!!! You shouldve seen how badly we were exposed to the storm from that deck, right out front too... poop myself scared and my pup would NOT budge... the material they used were large chunk of bark and Sumac would have nothing with it... i kneeled by him and encouraged him, brought in his scent, i did everything under the moon and Sumac would have nothing with doing his business inside (that is once they finally moved the box by a food elevator)!!! Anyway that was a nightmare, i contacted the cruiseline upon our return and nobody ever got back to us, we dont matter... no one cared about the welfare of an animal I depend on... anyway.... 😕 it gives me serious anxiety thinking i would put him theough this again... 

Do you have a proper term for that fake grass? What do you you tack with it btw? I'm fairly sure he would go on that material since he had no problem on the 14th deck fake grass

[wizard-of-roz]

On ‎10‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 8:45 PM, Sumacs Momma said:

Oh dear Lord thats a good idea!!! We had the box located on the promenade on 7 deck which was closed during the state 9 storm we were going through but yet we were told thats our spot and nothing but!!! You shouldve seen how badly we were exposed to the storm from that deck, right out front too... poop myself scared and my pup would NOT budge... the material they used were large chunk of bark and Sumac would have nothing with it... i kneeled by him and encouraged him, brought in his scent, i did everything under the moon and Sumac would have nothing with doing his business inside (that is once they finally moved the box by a food elevator)!!! Anyway that was a nightmare, i contacted the cruiseline upon our return and nobody ever got back to us, we dont matter... no one cared about the welfare of an animal I depend on... anyway.... 😕 it gives me serious anxiety thinking i would put him theough this again... 

Do you have a proper term for that fake grass? What do you you tack with it btw? I'm fairly sure he would go on that material since he had no problem on the 14th deck fake grass

What a handsome face.......I never loved the Black Lab much before I met Brenda in 2002.  Now, I can't imagine my life without one!  I graduated with my Successor "Horton" in 2011 [he's a cross between an American Black Lab and a Golden Retriever], and is as handsome as Sumac.

 

The grass is "patio or deck cover".......bought at Lowe's, looks like artificial turf and feels like it to our dogs.  It's cheap, lightweight and has a rubber backing.  You will have to cut some drainage holes [look out for some loose green scraps] when you cut it into a 4x4 or 4x5 square.  You can roll it or fold it up, place it in a kitchen trash bag and put it in your luggage.  I just roll it up and place it in the "granny cart" that contains all of Horton's paraphernalia and food.  I'm lucky, in that I can drive to the dock and all of my dog's "stuff" is placed on the scanner along with my stuff, put back into my granny cart and off to the ship we go.

 

Horton also refused to step on the pellets that Carnival uses.  It hurts the webbed toes that most Labs have.  It's why I got the idea of bringing the artificial patio cover stuff to protect his paws.  Princess uses either wood shavings or a mulch type material.  It doesn't matter anymore what they use........I COVER IT WITH MY FAKE STUFF!

[rpclmc]

Sumacs Momma, someone had the great suggestion of training at home.  I got the 2nd nature dog litter that Carnival uses and turf (another name for the green stuff), my husband made a box and we trained Halo to it.  November will be our first cruise with him, it has taken the stress of about that challenge.

 

My question.  As most of you have seen, Carnival is not being very helpful about putting the box on our balcony.  I usually get in inside room, I paid more so we could have the box on the balcony.  I will be ticked if the extra money was all for not.  Ok, rant over.  When on board, do I just talk to the guest services people or ask for the hotel manager?  And what should I say?

 

Thank you so much.

 

Linda and Halo