Mom traveling with 11y autistic daughter and service dog! On the NLC Pearl

Cruise review pre and post- Pearl 9/26/2016 w/ 11y autistic daughter, her ser...

Hello everyone. In 18 days this mom (me); is taking my amazing daughter and her service dog on a great adventure! A 5 day cruise on the Pearl and then 5 day in Disneyland. Then flying back to Canada.

I must be crazy.

I'm going to be posting as much detailed information and pictures as we can before and during our trip. As anyone who cares for a special needs family member knows; there is so much to plan and organized! Not to mention the extra paper work.

My hope is that through sharing our experience we can help other family plan and take a great adventure of their own. That being said, I will be posting the good as well as the bad.

This should be fun

Have a great day

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=51006927

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Hi everyone!

I've been advanced that I should repost the thread here as well. Hope it is helpful and I'm more then happy to answer any questions.

Happy Cruising to All!

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Sounds like you are ready to have a wonderful time.

I've cruised with a Service Dog since 2005 and I can attest to the fact that it is getting better and easier to do so.

The ships are realizing that a Service Dog can be an enhancement to the cruising experience, both to the handler as well as for the other guests and crew. Everyone is missing their furbabies and seeing a wonderfully trained and groomed dog onboard gives the observers quite a treat.

I do allow for pats of my dog, when we have finally settled down or after I've given him the "sit" command.

It used to be that the most complicated factor in bringing your SD with you was the potty box. If you have a veranda and would like the box on your veranda, insist on it. Otherwise, the officers will place the box in a convenient spot for them. It might not be so convenient for you. I no longer take "no" for an answer when I ask that the box be placed on my veranda and until they move it there your dog may need to relieve himself. So, before you enter the ship make sure that your dog has had a chance to go potty.

I usually drive to the dock, so that I can bring a rolled-up piece of artificial turf, placed in a large plastic bag, [i purchase this at Kahootz Pet Store] and I place some pee-wee pads [at least 6 of them] underneath, [lay it all on the veranda] and allow my dog to go potty on this if it's taking longer than I like to set-up the box. Once the box comes I can use the grass to cover the filler, if I don't like it, or I rinse the grass off in the shower, let it dry, roll it back up, place it into the plastic bog and either take it home with me or leave it behind.

I ask that they leave the bag of filler so that I can re-fill the box, if needed, and I request a waste receptacle be placed near the box, for me to drop the bag of solid waste. I ALWAYS pick up the solids from my dog.

I bring some extra tip money to give to our cabin steward, because it's really his/her job to make sure that the box is maintained [although, I really take care of everything, until we leave].

If you have any further questions about traveling with your dog visit my blog here on Cruise Critic, under; Special Interest Cruising; Disabled Cruising; "Cruising With a Service Dog Everything You Ever wanted to Know".......there are some of the nicest people you will ever want to meet who either cruise/travel with their SD's or lovely folks who just love our dogs and have some of their own. We even have some PuppyRaisers [Walkers] who live in Scotland and add so much to our blog.

I hope your cruise is everything that you ever wanted it to be and that you do more and more them.

Isn't traveling with a dog just like bringing another kid along? :rolleyes:

Hey Joy!...please join us on Roz' thread here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=585728&page=958

getting close to 20k posts - this IS the place to be for Service Dogs and their owners (not sure who owns who though)!

Cruisers, Service Dogs, Service Dog Puppy Raisers and some lurkers (me and the Queen of Lurkerville).

Best thread on CC!