tvaud

Cindra, you're overthinking......it will be fine, don't make yourself nuts.

 

When I first took Brenda I was so unsure of myself in many ways. I knew what I needed from her but I was insecure as to how much I should let the public interact with her. It all just fell into place. She was a nosey, busybody kind of dog [different than Horton], he's a pay attention, don't mess around until Mommy says so, kind of dog [now]. I adore them both for their differences.

 

I ALWAYS maintain control of my dogs. Of course, when Horton was attached to a chair in Horizon Court, on his very first cruise and then took off, after I walked away, with the chair in tow, doesn't count. It was a "Marley" moment. I turned to check on him and he was towing the chair behind him looking for Mommy. Signs of an insecure dog. I was so, so embarrassed, to say the least.

 

Horton is a much more secure, Service Dog now. He's not fearful of being alone anymore and will keep watching for me but will NOT move! I wanted to crawl in a hole as everyone watched us!!!!

 

It was my mistake to expect too much from a novice, two year old! He's so much smarter and relaxed now. I trust him completely!

Roz,

I am so relieved to hear you say that. I worry that Pedro will do something out of character for him on the ship. He is also two and a novice. He tends to be more shy than anything else...except with us. He does get moody from time to time too. I don't have any children of my own, so maybe I am like that first time mother doting and worrying about her first born.

You had me laughing so hard with your Horton/Marley story. I would have been mortified too and worried they might put us both off at the next port. They may be well trained, but they are still dogs, and at times, unpredictable. One good thing, Pedro is small enough that we can just pick him up and take him with us, or get him out of harms way when needed.

Some people can be so clueless in crowds. I walk with a cane and I can't tell you how many times I get pushed, knocked into or made to walk around an able bodied person. When this happens, I tend to let my big mouth take over and speak my mind. Pedro doesn't have that option. We watch over him and see possible trouble coming ahead of him and get him out of the way. The mastiffs in PetSmart were a different story, as we were told by their trainer that they were no threat to Pedro...or us!:eek: All was good.

One thing for sure, Pedro will not sit on the cold marble floors of the ship. He will only park his butt on a carpeted floor. He can stand quietly for hours if need be. His trainer suggested carting a his bed around with us. Uh..no. We do have the doggie bjorn/sling for him, just in case. Luckily, the MDR is carpeted.

It's nice to know that they mature with age and experience. Once Pedro has his first cruise under his...collar, he will be 'Joe Cool' on the next.;) Hopefully, we will too.:p

Cindra

hey notice, 1 week 4 days!!!! Hope after the next 3 storms we can make it out of here. :eek:

Think positive thoughts....and pray to the "snow gods" ;)

Cindra

Cindra, I'm sure that Pedro will be the hit of the ship with his outfits.

 

Remember; when you're on a cruise with him he's representing all of us. Having fun and enjoying your cruise to the fullest is key.

 

Don't let yourself get caught up in the passengers joy at seeing him looking so cute. He's a Service Dog FIRST! Please make sure that he's acting appropriately and that you're ALWAYS in control.

 

People will want to hold, pat, talk to and love on him. Be professional and make sure that the public knows that he's not there to entertain them, he's a working partner. Let them know that he can be playful but only when you've released him to do so.

 

It's hard work to not get caught-up in the public's joy of such a delightful and well managed and trained dog.

Roz,

Thank you for your comments. I wasn't going to dress him up at all until I ran it by you and the gang first.:) I take Pedro's service very seriously...but it's nice to have a little fun with him too. When anyone approaches him, they usually do ask to pet or interact with him first...even children...which we really appreciate. Since this is a "working vacation" for Pedro, I figured it would be fun to get him a cruise wardrobe as well. I didn't want him to feel left out. Also, the ships tend to be cold from all of the air conditioning, so I didn't want him to freeze. It may seem like I'm going a bit...overboard with his wardrobe, but I'm just swept up in the fun of the cruise. He will arrive at the port in his service vest, on the job. After we leave port and we get in the cruising mode, he will loosen up his collar and have some fun too.;)

We will make sure Pedro is on his best behavior(...keeping my fingers crossed when the horn blows for the first time.) :eek:

We are getting down to crunch time...just under 3 weeks. I had a horrifying thought. What if we have a bad snow storm or the vet gets ill for our "certificate exam?" We have an appointment on his last day working that week...followed the next day by our appointment at the USDA. If anything goes wrong, then what? I don't even want to think about it.

Cindra

How does one post a photo on the boards? To date, I have been unsuccessful. Is there a secret or a trick to it?

Cindra

Good news! Pedro's Tommy Bahama shirt arrived today with a couple of other packages without fanfare. I did call the post master to let them know it did indeed arrive today....since they never called me back. They didn't even remember my case. This doesn't surprise me at all...:rolleyes:

Along with the TB shirt, a colorful parrot Hawaiian shirt arrived for Pedro. It matches one of my husband's shirts, so we will have to coordinate that one night. It would make for a cute photo.

Cindra

To ALL our Eastern U.S. friends who are suffering through this deluge of cold, snowy weather; hang in there, spring is on its way. Even though it seems so far away. I bet you guys are pretty sick of snow by now! Horty and I send our love to all of you.

 

Fairbourne, you sound so proud of your girl. She's really coming along nicely, isn't she. We're all so proud of her!

 

For all of you who are traveling to the Caribbean and Mexico with your SD's be very careful of the strays. Morey bought me a walking stick that I took with me when we'd go adventuring around. Even an umbrella can serve as a shooing away device. There's really no secret to keeping the strays away except to just avoid them by not adventuring into areas that you're unsure of or where there would be no one else to assist you in protecting your dog, which really is your number one priority.

 

When Morey was in the hospital I brought Brenda and Horton to visit him and some moron brought an "in tact" pit bull to visit someone else. That dog would have killed one of my babies if the jerk didn't have him on a "CHAIN", NOT a leash, rope or any other tether but a CHAIN that you'd close a steel fence with. I left my dogs in with Morey, closed the door, walked down the hall and told the guy that if he didn't remove his dog I was going to call the police. He didn't say a word and walked out the door and the next time I saw the dog it was in his truck with the windows rolled-up!

 

This is what you have to be so careful of when you're out and about with your Service Dogs. They are sitting ducks when it comes to aggressive dogs. Our SD's have absolutely no idea how to protect themselves. They're taught "tolerance" at all expense. They're taught to remain calm, passive and friendly. IT'S OUR DUTY TO PROTECT THEM!!!

Roz,

We encountered two huge mastiffs in PetSmart the other day. I gasped, and Pedro's eyes got huge, but he just stayed closer to us as we passed. Luckily, the mastiffs were both show dogs and very well mannered. Our little Pedro had never seen anyone or anything that big before. I was proud that he wasn't spooked by them. You just never know...

Oh, the post office may have lost one of Pedro's new Tommy Bahama shirts. It was stated as "delivered" on the tracking site, but they were not left at the door. I called the post master today and they are looking into it. I hope they find it. In the meantime, his bow tie/collar and cuffs came in along with two Ralph Lauren shirts(one is monogrammed!:D) and a straw Panama hat. I'm still waiting for the Hawaiian shirts to come in. He's going to have a better wardrobe than me!:p

Cindra

We are expecting 18" to 24" of snow tonight. So Orson will be in the house. Davis will keep wanting to go outside to play in the snow. And we will loose the Yorkie. But when he comes in the snow sticks to his hair. e have to use a blow dryer to melt the snow off. I HATE SNOW!! :mad::mad:

DKD,

The latest weather reports have scaled back on the snowfall prediction totals. We may all catch a bit of a break. We will still get snow, but it won't be as devastating as they first predicted. Still...it's no fun for humans or our dogs. Keep an eye on that yorkie. If you see any unusually large snowballs, check for a bark.;)

Stay safe!

Cindra

I am in the Toms River area tvaud. (Exit 80)

I've lived all over the state, except the shore.

DKD,

Since I refuse to ask which exit...I'm just curious...north, south or central? I ask because even though I live in Philly, I was born and raised a Jersey girl.:D

Cindra

Cindra, maybe you could get a shot of Pedro from the ship with Jamaica in the background. I love your photo idea!

Thanks!

Beckie

Thanks Beckie...I will give your idea a shot. :)

Cindra

I have an idea in my head... You know how some people take a doll or stuffed animal or gnome with them on trips, and photograph them in famous landmarks? I thought it would be fun to photograph Pedro like that...for example, on the balcony while going through the canal or learning about coffee at the coffee plantation in Costa Rica, or at the beach in Aruba. It's too bad we can't bring him into Jamaica. It would have made a great pic of him near the falls at Dunn's River. I just hope I remember to bring a camera...or camera phone...to get these shots.

Speaking of camera phones, my love of small things continues. After Christmas, I decided to buy a few magnetic lenses for my phone. I had been researching them...and put them on my Christmas list, since they are pretty inexpensive. Well, since no one in the family got me any, I bought them myself. One set of three lenses was under $10 and contained a wide angle, a short telephoto and a macro lens. Along with that set, I got a longer telephoto lens that came with a mini tripod. I have been playing with them and they are actually quite good! Since the entire lot takes up very little space, I can carry them with me almost anywhere. Now, I just have to remember to turn off the roaming feature on the phone...and turn on "airplane mode."

Cindra

I promise to take lots of pictures of him on the ship and on tour, and post them here.

I used to bring a copy of the official Princess posting about embarkation lunch in the dining room to show the MD or HW, so they would let us in. Lately, I haven't had to do that. As long as you go there knowing lunch is available, you get in. Don't take "no" for an answer.

We were in E332 on the Royal last year. The only obstruction was below us...a tender. We had an otherwise panoramic view. I would definitely book that cabin again.

Beatlemanics! We have seen their show on a couple of ships. They are a lookalike, soundalike cover band act. They play all the Beatles' songs and are just great. On the Royal, they did a late night show in the piazza that had everyone up dancing...and singing. I would love to see them again.

OK...someone is gonna have to rein me in. I went a little crazy late last night. I found the cutest shirts for Pedro. After all, we will be deep in the Caribbean and South America...he has to fit in and look the part. Just because he is working, doesn't mean he can't be on vacation too...and be a style icon.;) I am a fashion slave, so it had to rub off on Pedro at some point. Besides, there was room in his suitcase.:p I ordered him a couple of Hawaiian style shirts, one that says "Bitches Love Me," a set of tuxedo collar/bowtie and cuffs and a Panama hat...yes, a hat. Actually, the ships can get cold and he has a thinner coat, so I don't want him to get cold.;)

Do I need to be committed...? Or do the Fashion Police need to come and lock me up?

Cindra

Looks like it worked but please let me know if you guys see it. Lol

 

Sent from my SCH-S738C using Forums mobile app

It's working. I see it. :D

Cindra

Well, we just can't help ourselves. (Like I saw on someone's post once: "I don't have cruise control. They just sort of book themselves.")

Chris,

You do realize that this quote is on a t-shirt that you can currently buy. It pops up on my facebook page at least a few times per week. I've even thought about buying one. LOL

Cindra

Congratulations, that sounds wonderful. Not as wonderful as going onboard the Golden Princess on April 6th for 10 days. We could sail together, how about it? You said you don't care so, why not?

 

The last time we were onboard HAL the potty box was on the Promenade Deck toward the front of the ship. I must say, I didn't like it. They were always washing down the deck so when I'd go there early in the morning, it was ALWAYS slippery.

 

On our next HAL cruise we got a suite and they put the box on our patio.....loved that!

 

You might want to ask if they can place it on your patio, if you have one.

 

They can also put it in a crew work closet near your cabin, just ask!

 

I like HAL they're always very nice and try to make you happy.

Roz,

I was wondering why they just don't put the box on your balcony, if you have one? Wouldn't that make more sense? I thought I read somewhere that they wouldn't do that for sanitary reasons. As long as you keep it clean and the steward can change out the filler, if necessary, why would there be a problem?:confused:

Cindra

Thanks for all of the suggestions. If the weather cooperates, we will most likely wind up at the bar and grill.

Last year on the Royal, I looked forward to that horn in every port. I wish they would put it on fleet wide. It is the brand...

Last year, we were in E332 on the Royal and the obstruction was only below. We had an otherwise perfect view.

We will be sailing on the Coral next month for the first time and want to find a nice bar to enjoy a relaxing sailaway, away from the deck party chaos. We've been on the Island, sailing to Alaska, but watched the ship sail from our balcony. Is the Bar & Grill on Sun Deck open for sailaway? Any other suggestions? Thanks.

Now that Americans can go to Cuba, how long do you think it will be before Princess tweeks their itineraries? Which ports will go to add Cuba in?

I hope it's soon. I, myself, can't wait to go!

I still have all of my Sitmar stuff too. I love looking at my Circolo del Comandante passport as well.

All of my Sitmar cruises counted toward Princess loyalty status. I didn't have to submit proof. All I did was read my cruises to the rep on the phone from my Circolo passport.

You will be pleased to see some of the Sitmar traditions live on on Princess...The Captain's Circle passports, albeit not the same, but close enough, Captain's Circle cocktail party...though no glasses...the champagne waterfall on formal night, and even some of the crew is still on board. Now, if we could just get the bartender to make a Lampadina...hmm.

I miss Sitmar so much.

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