Pet cat smuggled aboard Ovation of the Seas. Found by Biosecurity agents from New Zealand in guest cabin

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

Every time we see a small lap dog on the ship my DH pouts “why don’t they let us bring the cat?”  🐈 

 

No reason is given but I wonder what the original reason was for bringing the cat. 

 

Remember, animals that travel with their owners are supposed to be service animals. I have never heard of a service cat. Cats expect to be SERVED, not do the serving!

 

As for the one smuggled onboard, stupidity?

[iflyrc5]

1 hour ago, ChinaShrek said:

I actually wish the ships had a ship cat or a ship dog. That would be cool, 

Just remember that many of us have allergies to Cats and Dogs.  My eyes swell shut if I am around a cat.

[nelblu]

18 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Anyone who smuggles a pet on board should be banned for life 

How then heck did they get the cat thru security.

[not-enough-cruising]

12 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

I actually wish the ships had a ship cat or a ship dog. That would be cool, 

Have you been to the MDR lately?

[GimmeOcean]

14 hours ago, micruiser2002 said:

But if they know then why aren't they also charging that person for the costs to bring the cat back to the US?  I still think there is more to this whole story. I really question if it wasn't a crew member and then somehow the cat got loose.

They’d likely have to sue them to recoup any costs and it’s probably not enough for RC to want to bother with that. 

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, nelblu said:

How then heck did they get the cat thru security.

Cats don’t set off metal detectors. As Bayley suggested the cat was likely sedated. My niece flew a couple of times with her cat and the cat was given a sedative just in case. You can travel with a cat on some airlines. 

[nelblu]

1 hour ago, Charles4515 said:

Cats don’t set off metal detectors. As Bayley suggested the cat was likely sedated. My niece flew a couple of times with her cat and the cat was given a sedative just in case. You can travel with a cat on some airlines. 

I'm under the impression that they scanned all bags.  I'm able to go thru security at Newark Int'l airport (Trusted Traveler) with my belt on, but at Royal security screening I was told to take it off and place it on conveyor to scan.🤣  I mean, I'm D+ and should be able to keep my belt on.🤣

[GimmeOcean]

2 minutes ago, nelblu said:

I'm under the impression that they scanned all bags.  I'm able to go thru security at Newark Int'l airport (Trusted Traveler) with my belt on, but at Royal security screening I was told to take it off and place it on conveyor to scan.🤣  I mean, I'm D+ and should be able to keep my belt on.🤣

The linked article in the OP says they suspect the guest had the cat in their sweatshirt, possibly sedated. It's probably one of those sweatshirts with the big front pockets. Wouldn't get x-rayed that way.

Edited December 28, 2023 by GimmeOcean

[nelblu]

14 minutes ago, GimmeOcean said:

The linked article in the OP says they suspect the guest had the cat in their sweatshirt, possibly sedated. It's probably one of those sweatshirts with the big front pockets. Wouldn't get x-rayed that way.

Must have been a tiny cat and a big big sweatshirt.🤣

[helen haywood]

Think of the reports you see of people shop lifting huge roasts and sides of ham…

[Airbear232]

1 hour ago, nelblu said:

I'm under the impression that they scanned all bags.  I'm able to go thru security at Newark Int'l airport (Trusted Traveler) with my belt on, but at Royal security screening I was told to take it off and place it on conveyor to scan.🤣  I mean, I'm D+ and should be able to keep my belt on.🤣

Sorry, what does D+ have to do with passing through security?  I just don’t get the logic.

[nelblu]

28 minutes ago, Airbear232 said:

Sorry, what does D+ have to do with passing through security?  I just don’t get the logic.

Take a chill pill, it was in jest as per my meme.

[smokeybandit]

5 hours ago, nelblu said:

How then heck did they get the cat thru security.

Pretty easy, especially if you're already larger in stature.  Sneak them in your sweatshirt 

[George C]

5 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

Cats don’t set off metal detectors. As Bayley suggested the cat was likely sedated. My niece flew a couple of times with her cat and the cat was given a sedative just in case. You can travel with a cat on some airlines. 

On one of our flights a cat was sitting across from us in first class , he was awake cool cat, on our cruise a few weeks ago there was a very cute service dog that everyone wanted to pet and owners never objected , he was in a suite. 

[RobInMN]

2 hours ago, George C said:

there was a very cute service dog that everyone wanted to pet and owners never objected

Then it wasn't a true service dog, and just some emotional support BS.

A true service dog is a "working dog" and the owner would never allow anyone to pet it while it is working.

[ChinaShrek]

19 hours ago, iflyrc5 said:

Just remember that many of us have allergies to Cats and Dogs.  My eyes swell shut if I am around a cat.

Yes, I figured that but I also think an animal or two on a ship could really help with morale or provide therapy to anxious people. A lot of millennials suffer from anxiety. Goats could also work.

[George C]

43 minutes ago, RobInMN said:

Then it wasn't a true service dog, and just some emotional support BS.

A true service dog is a "working dog" and the owner would never allow anyone to pet it while it is working.

I would bet most service animals are not true working animals on planes etc 

[RobInMN]

20 minutes ago, George C said:

I would bet most service animals are not true working animals on planes etc 

Don't get me started on that.

I am a huge supporter of legit service dogs, but this whole "emotional support" BS is just that.

[ChutChut]

I guess the cat's "out of the bag" so to speak....

[Jasukkie]

9 hours ago, nelblu said:

Must have been a tiny cat and a big big sweatshirt.🤣

Think of the size of the rum runners people walk right through those scanners with. The agents are not paid enough to inquire about someone's humps and bumps. 

[Airbear232]

9 hours ago, nelblu said:

Take a chill pill, it was in jest as per my meme.

Oh my, touchy touchy!

[DallasGuy75219]

10 hours ago, RobInMN said:

A true service dog is a "working dog" and the owner would never allow anyone to pet it while it is working.

Incorrect. A service animal is a dog "trained to perform a task directly related to a person’s disability".  There's no requirement that the service animal necessarily "work" or perform that task 24/7. 

 

https://www.ada.gov/topics/service-animals/

[ace2542]

On 12/27/2023 at 9:40 PM, micruiser2002 said:

This whole story is so confusing because they still have not said how or who "smuggled" the cat onboard yet they say they found it in a guest cabin?  This is what Bayley said which makes it seem like they do not know who did it.  

 

Royal Caribbean Cruises president and CEO Michael Bayley put out a statement on Dec. 22 saying they “believe” a guest smuggled the small feline onto the cruise.

It is a joke as to how it got past security.

[RobInMN]

5 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Incorrect. A service animal is a dog "trained to perform a task directly related to a person’s disability".  There's no requirement that the service animal necessarily "work" or perform that task 24/7. 

 

https://www.ada.gov/topics/service-animals/

I never said they were on duty 24/7 or even actively preforming the task 24/7, but out in public, where non-service dogs are not allowed, the only reason they should be there is if they are, in fact, working or ready to work, at that time. Service dogs have down time, and their owners/handlers will have a command that they give to tell the dog they are "off duty". Even if they are not actively performing a task at that exact moment, they are still "on duty" until told otherwise. And many tasks a service dog can perform are passive. Seizers, diabetic alert (which btw, a stranger petting could really mess up the ability to detect the owner's blood suger), etc.

 

Google "Can I pet a service dog" and the vast majority of responses are "no". The rest of the answers are "only if you ask first", but if the owners "never objected" as @George C indicated, then that would have been extremely distracting to the dog, if it were a true service dog. The owner would be constantly telling the dog that it was On/Off duty.

 

[DerekB]

3 hours ago, RobInMN said:

I never said they were on duty 24/7 or even actively preforming the task 24/7, but out in public, where non-service dogs are not allowed, the only reason they should be there is if they are, in fact, working or ready to work, at that time. Service dogs have down time, and their owners/handlers will have a command that they give to tell the dog they are "off duty". Even if they are not actively performing a task at that exact moment, they are still "on duty" until told otherwise. And many tasks a service dog can perform are passive. Seizers, diabetic alert (which btw, a stranger petting could really mess up the ability to detect the owner's blood suger), etc.

 

Google "Can I pet a service dog" and the vast majority of responses are "no". The rest of the answers are "only if you ask first", but if the owners "never objected" as @George C indicated, then that would have been extremely distracting to the dog, if it were a true service dog. The owner would be constantly telling the dog that it was On/Off duty.

 

 

My sister has a service dog who has cruised even on a transtlantic. The "off/on switch" for her is the harness. If the harness is on, she is working and will act accordingly. If you take the harness off, she becomes a regular dog. It's rather insane to see the difference. We did have LOTS of people ask if they could pet her. My sister mostly said yes (what dog doesn't like a little petting?) - however her dog would respond by literally just standing there. This caused no distraction to her and usually the whole interaction took no more than a few seconds of time. Had her harness been off, the petting would have been responded to by licks and jumps of joy. 

 

We did find that if we really needed to get someplace the best bath to take was the room corridors because they were usually vacant and we wouldn't get stopped 20 times in the process.