Any kennel booking tips for 2025 voyages?

[j404dzb]

Hey all, we have decided to retire in 2025, woo hoo!  🙂 We are moving from the U.S. to Portugal to retire.  We really want to use the Trans-Atlantic cruise in August of 2025 to do the move along with our dog.

 

I am curious if anyone has any tips on getting the kennel booked next week when the cruises go on sale since this is a move it is critical for us to have a kennel.

 

1.  Is the main tip to be on the phone at 5 a.m.?

2.  Do Travel Agents have any advantage to the rest of us as I would use one if they have an advantage?

3.  How are the phone lines?  Should I call in from multiple phones until I get through?  Should I call in 30 minutes early?

 

Sorry for the basic questions but we have never done something like this and not big cruisers so just looking for some tips for next week.

 

Thanks!
Dave

 

[0493669935]

If you have sailed with Cunard before, bookings open Oct 4th.

 

I have just sailed east and westbound with my dog and we all had a wonderful time .

 

This morning I spoke with a consultant at Cunard and gave her all my booking requirements for our voyage in 2025 - measurements of our dog (height, weight, length and age) cabin type. She stated that requests for kennel spaces would be sent across to the kennel department as soon as bookings were open on the 4th. Each request would be time stamped and they would be treated in strict order of receipt.

 

If you call Cunard with your requirements I'm sure they will advise you of the process. Good luck.

[j404dzb]

Thanks so much for the response.  We have not sailed with Cunard before which is what has me worried that we won't even have a chance but I will still have to put a deposit down.  Not giving me the warm fuzzy feeling.  🙂

 

Thanks.

[0493669935]

If you have a dog under 25lbs you stand a very good chance of getting an upper kennel. Larger dogs that require 2 lower kennel spaces are harder to get. But you are booking early so fingers crossed.

 

 

[j404dzb]

I agree and of course you nailed it.  He does require 2 lower kennel spaces.  We miss the length requirement by 2 or 3 inches.  🙂

 

Dave

[0493669935]

On 9/27/2023 at 7:15 PM, j404dzb said:

I agree and of course you nailed it.  He does require 2 lower kennel spaces.  We miss the length requirement by 2 or 3 inches.  🙂

 

Dave

Did you manage to secure kennel space for your dog? I hope that you did.🐕

[j404dzb]

Ha!  Not even close.  We are on the waiting list but will probably be looking at the back up plan of K9Jets.

[0493669935]

13 hours ago, j404dzb said:

Ha!  Not even close.  We are on the waiting list but will probably be looking at the back up plan of K9Jets.

Sad to hear this. 😞 With only one eastbound crossing in peak season, 2025 availability seems even more limited.

 

Lots of people do cancel though and there were more than several passengers on our 2023 sailings that booked late; us included for our westbound sailing and this was for July and early September.

Each of the May thru July sailings have waitlists for lower kennels; with one of the dates having over 40 people on the waitlist. Crazy right!!

 

I'm sure you are aware of your position on the waitlist and if I were to give advice now I would say stay hopeful but have your back up plan in place. Also, if you are able to, I would book one of the dates that have confirmed spaces available knowing that you can release this at any stage prior to full payment. Not ideal I know, but it is something I regret not doing for 2024.

 

Even though the kennels were doubled in size in the last refit the demand shows there is a need for this mode of travel for our beloved pets. 

[j404dzb]

So funny story!  We just got a kennel confirmation for the cruise.  We went on the waitlist for 2 cruises.  One to Hamburg and then our travel agent suggested having a back up so we picked the July one to the UK and that is the one that we got.

 

Now after the excitement, I am not sure about one thing.  Since Brexit, do you happen to know if we can cross into the EU on the same certificate?  There is a sentence in the Cunard confirmation that says "After the first entry the certificate is valid for 4 months for re-entry to the UK and ongoing travels
including the EU. A new AHC must be issued for every new trip."  Does this mean if we get off the ship in the UK and drive to France that we covered by the certificate that we got prior to the cruise?  That is how I read it.

 

Would anyone happen to know?  We have emailed Cunard also so hoping that helps but curious if anyone has any experience here.

[david63]

These may help https://www.gov.uk/bring-pet-to-great-britain and https://www.gov.uk/taking-your-pet-abroad and will override anything Cunard say.

[0493669935]

12 hours ago, j404dzb said:

So funny story!  We just got a kennel confirmation for the cruise.  We went on the waitlist for 2 cruises.  One to Hamburg and then our travel agent suggested having a back up so we picked the July one to the UK and that is the one that we got.

 

Now after the excitement, I am not sure about one thing.  Since Brexit, do you happen to know if we can cross into the EU on the same certificate?  There is a sentence in the Cunard confirmation that says "After the first entry the certificate is valid for 4 months for re-entry to the UK and ongoing travels
including the EU. A new AHC must be issued for every new trip."  Does this mean if we get off the ship in the UK and drive to France that we covered by the certificate that we got prior to the cruise?  That is how I read it.

 

Would anyone happen to know?  We have emailed Cunard also so hoping that helps but curious if anyone has any experience here.

 

[0493669935]

Congratulations! Would you mind sharing where you were on the waitlist for the July cruise? Just asking for some friends of ours.

[j404dzb]

Of course, when they were first released, I believe we were in position 3/4.  We need two kennels for our kid.

[0493669935]

5 minutes ago, j404dzb said:

Of course, when they were first released, I believe we were in position 3/4.  We need two kennels for our kid.

Thank you. 

[D&N]

@j404dzb

I've not read the uk gov advice recently. We brought our cats to France before the Brexit vote.

 

But from a practical point of view would suggest you all the documentation to prove that you have made a single trip, albeit multi-modal.

Perhaps daily pictures of you and your dog during the trip. The photos will have a digital time stamp to back up your documentation.

Back in 2016 the folk who checked us at Eurotunnel Folkestone were more interested in whether we had paid for two cats and weren't sneaking any more through than paid for. They weren't interested in their pet passports.

[david63]

I think that the issue here is that of arriving in Southampton and then, by some means, crossing into Europe and to the best of my knowledge there is no transport link between the two so it will mean travelling, possibly to London, to get Eurostar.

 

Get one bit of this wrong and it will work out very expensive - four months quarantine in the UK then transporting the dog to Europe!

[exlondoner]

6 minutes ago, david63 said:

I think that the issue here is that of arriving in Southampton and then, by some means, crossing into Europe and to the best of my knowledge there is no transport link between the two so it will mean travelling, possibly to London, to get Eurostar.

 

Get one bit of this wrong and it will work out very expensive - four months quarantine in the UK then transporting the dog to Europe!

There are ferries from Portsmouth. 
 

https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/

[D&N]

26 minutes ago, david63 said:

I think that the issue here is that of arriving in Southampton and then, by some means, crossing into Europe and to the best of my knowledge there is no transport link between the two so it will mean travelling, possibly to London, to get Eurostar.

 

Get one bit of this wrong and it will work out very expensive - four months quarantine in the UK then transporting the dog to Europe!

OP wrote "get off the ship in the UK and drive to France". I would hope that means a one way rental or a car with driver. Assuming the regs do allow such a routing between USA and France they should have means of showing disembarkation at Southampton about 3 hours prior to checking in for Eurotunnel, and clearing all formalities at Folkestone.

I'll try and read them if I get a chance.

[j404dzb]

Thanks for actually reading the post, Cote, I appreciate it.  I am also working through Cunard and my travel agent but it does not appear to be an issue if it is all part of the trip.  It does not seem to be a problem.

 

I will figure out a car with a driver or a one way rental that I have to drive back and return to the UK but I have some time to figure that part out.

[0493669935]

We only travelled to the UK so can't help on the additional paperwork to Europe but don't worry you have plenty of time to sort out the logistics.

 

A couple on our July crossing travel down to Italy every year with their elderly lab. They always rent a one way vehicle when they reach France (not sure of their mode of travel to France) preferring to have a left hand drive vehicle.

 

Alternatively, you can take Brittany Ferries to Spain or several different ports in France. Brittany Ferries have dog friendly cabins or they can stay in the vehicle or in kennels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF0ekQFhpGY

 

The admin can seem a little daunting at first but it is not as complicated as I initially thought. You'll be fine.

[IB2]

To be sure of a kennels place, you need to phone on the day bookings open (from the UK, for 2024 voyages last year this was 3 December), as soon as they open.  The old system where you dealt yourself separately with the kennels department has been replaced, at least during the peak early bookings period, with your having to request the kennel space over the phone when you book the crossing (hence unlike everyone else, you can't book online - which creates another consequence if it's a hotly demanded cabin you are after).

 

Dont try and phone a minute or two early, since it will seem like you are on hold but they clear down the switchboard so you will be cut off when they actually open the bookings.

 

If you phone on the opening day, you are pretty likely to get a space, even though you could be hanging on waiting for their reply for an hour or more.  

 

The turnover of places is pretty significant (a lot can happen to pets in a couple of years) so even if you're waitlisted, the chances of getting a spot are high, although you may not actually be offered it until the 90 day point.

[IB2]

And, no, you now need separate paperwork for entry to the UK and entry to the EU.  If you have the time it will be easiest to sort out the EU paperwork once you are in the UK - line up one of the well-known providers (PassPets in Havant is the nearest to Southampton) in advance, and you can pick up the AHC pre-prepared with just a quick scan of the dog. This will probably save you money compared to the inflated costs vets charge in the US.  

 

The AHC is then valid for ten days for entry to the EU (including non-EU PETS countries like Norway and Switzerland), and once inside the EU is valid for four months (from date of issue), which is longer than most non-EU humans can stay.  If you plan to visit Ireland, Norway, Malta or Finland the dog will need certification for the tapeworm treatment to be administered between one and five days (24-120 hours) prior to entry (even if already done for the UK), and if you're going to Norway be sure to get the box at the bottom of page eight of the AHC completed when first entering the EU.  

 

Cunard is normally reluctant to give definitive advice on the paperwork needed for pet travel, since they are keen to keep their passengers responsible for it, since the risk of getting it wrong isn't insignificant and they don't want to carry the can for bad advice.

Edited October 15, 2023 by IB2