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

[Caribbean Chris]

Call animal control and explain the situation in hopes that they'll pick the dog up. I bet it is illegal where you live for a dog to be at large (off leash off the owner's property). Not all animal controls will pick up animals anymore, so you might have to catch it and bring it to the shelter yourself. Your service dog's safety comes first!

 

Yes, it is illegal in our county, and I've seen a deputy speak to the owner (I've spoken to her myself) but she still leaves the dog free to run off the property. It is also illegal in our subdivision according to HOA By-Laws. Once the poodle darted across the road toward my dog on the other side, just as a truck drove past and put on his brakes to avoid hitting the little pup. The owner is a person who thinks she can ignore rules.

[wizard-of-roz]

Not typically, but there have been exceptions. My retired service dog was bitten by another service dog (from a small program) and they still graduated it that weekend. One of the large programs (CCI?) had a dog that tried to attack a child, I think it was, and they immediately retired that dog. If a program/private trainer doesn't recertify their dogs every year or two, a dog can easily become untrained, especially if something bad happens to it. Most owner-trainers are good, but not all are, and many refuse to have a third party test their dog, which I think is ridiculous, but they are probably afraid their dog isn't good enough.

 

If it was a real service dog, it should be retired. It may have been a fake, though, and that's the most likely answer.

 

CCI like any organization has had incidences when strays and poorly trained dogs have attacked our dogs but have not had a reported case of any child being attacked by one of their working dogs.

 

I can't tell you how many times when I've been out in public when a child has run up to Horton or Brenda and both of them just sat down and stared at me ["what do I do now Mom?"]

 

On my last cruise; I was reading a book, Horton was laying at my feet and a little girl literally threw herself on top of him before I could catch or stop her! Again, Horton just looked at me for direction and completely ignored the child's wild behavior!!! The reaction of a truly well-trained Service Dog!

[Caribbean Chris]

On our first cruise, an adorable little toddler, maybe two at the most, went toward Rayene, arms outstretched, wanting to touch every time she saw us. The parents asked if she could come closer, so we all allowed the two to get aquainted.

 

When the heavy patting and ear-pulling had gone on long enough (and I could see Raylene thinking about escalating to face-licking,) we all smiled, withdrew and said our goodbyes. The pitiful shrieks from the little girl, suddenly bereft of her new doggie pal, rattled the bulkheads, and I am sure half the passengers were positive somebody bit somebody.

[DisneyKidsDad]

So would it count as a service dog biting incident if I bite somebody for not leaving my daughters service dog alone? Because there would be a better chance of that happening than Orson biting someone.

[Caribbean Chris]

So here's a mini-review of our 7-day cruise on Holland America's Ryndam from Tampa to Key West, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico. My second cruise with Hearing Dog Raylene.

 

We drove, spent the night before, and left our car at the Holiday Inn Express Rocky Point which has a "park & cruise" package with round trip shuttle for the pier. All worked out fine, and I'm relieved that these shuttles are easy enough to use with the dog.

 

High marks for the Tampa pier staff. We were directed to a line for people with disabilities to check in, turned in the paperwork there for the ship, and were aboard by 11:30 after only 15 minutes' wait until our number was called.

 

We went to the front desk and had a very efficient welcome and fast information on where to find the relief box, which was being prepared. So we strolled around the promenade deck -forward, in a sheltered area - to check it out, and found a rather small, empty box. A short while later, it had been replaced with a bigger 4X4 wood box filled with sod. Great location, on the same deck as our cabin, which was by a door leading to the promenade. Some smiling deck attendants responded immediately to my request for a trash can by the box.

 

As before, Raylene did not embrace the concept until later in the day when she realized, like Toto, that she wasn't in Kansas anymore, so had to accept it. She seemed to like the sod less than Celebrity's mulch, which surprised me.

 

A+++ for the Ryndam staff. We ate most of our meals in the main dining room, always greeted with big smiles and led to an ideal table, either a two-top against the wall at a corner near the entrance, or (each night for dinner) to our regular four-top set for two against a partition. Easy in & out, plenty of space for the big girl to snooze on the floor by my feet without tail jeopardy.

 

I brought my package of paperwork, and never was asked to appear in person. I believe that lots of documentation makes everybody happy, so now when we travel, I carry along a "resume" cover sheet with every possible vital statistic I have (my name & passport number, dog's date of birth, breed, weight, vet contact, microchip #, date of last heartworm and pest treatments, etc etc) - stapled to copies of her 7001 form, rabies and other vaccines, state service dog registration letter, microchip registration, Dogs for the Deaf ID card, etc.

 

I kept the originals, but gave the ship that package with APHIS 7001 forms (one with some wording Guatemala wants, one with different wording for Mexico, bilingual) that the USDA vet gave me. I did not bother sending the form to the Guatemala embassy in Washington for endorsement, and this caused no problem. I also did not get new booster inoculations for hepatitis and Leptospirosis before the trip. My dog has a three-year rabies vaccination and this has not caused any issues despite things you read about "within one year."

 

Returning to the US in Tampa, once again the port official viewing our passports barely looked at the dog and did not want to see the 7001.

 

We went ashore in Key West and Honduras and just walked around. We'd been to the other ports before and both were fighting a cold, so mostly just relaxed on board. No problem riding the tender, but we learned last trip that it's good to wait until the crowds subside.

 

Passengers and crew were very, very friendly toward the dog, and almost always asked first to pet her. Lots of friendly questions about what Hearing Dogs do. Raylene was well-behaved at all times, so she gets an A+, too. The last day, a man said to us, "You are a good promotion for service dogs," which really made us feel very good since we are still kind of a novice-level team after just 15 months together.

 

Bottom line, Holland America was terrific. Efficient, friendly, welcoming and never intrusive. We've booked a longer cruise for our anniversary with them again next April. Happy to answer any questions if anybody has them.

[thephantomsgirl]

GREAT review! Thanks so much.

 

Hope you all had a wonderful time. If you have photos - would love to see them. :)

[alexspepa]

Hey Chris - so glad you and HDR had a great cruise. Just curious, how was the food? We took a trans-atlantic on the Noordam a couple of years ago, and although I loved the ship and crew, frankly breakfast was the best meal of the day.(and i am not a breakfast person).

[Folk Singer]

GREAT review! Thanks so much.

 

Hope you all had a wonderful time. If you have photos - would love to see them. :)

 

 

Yes thank you for the Review.

[wizard-of-roz]

On our first cruise, an adorable little toddler, maybe two at the most, went toward Rayene, arms outstretched, wanting to touch every time she saw us. The parents asked if she could come closer, so we all allowed the two to get aquainted.

 

When the heavy patting and ear-pulling had gone on long enough (and I could see Raylene thinking about escalating to face-licking,) we all smiled, withdrew and said our goodbyes. The pitiful shrieks from the little girl, suddenly bereft of her new doggie pal, rattled the bulkheads, and I am sure half the passengers were positive somebody bit somebody.

 

Chris, you definitely have a way with words. You painted the perfect picture.

 

It's so weird, neither one of my CCI dogs have been lickers [except for Horton and shopping carts, another story!] When I asked the trainers about this they said they don't specifically train the licking out of a dog but do discourage it while working with them. Enough so that some dogs just won't do it and others overdo it!

[wizard-of-roz]

So would it count as a service dog biting incident if I bite somebody for not leaving my daughters service dog alone? Because there would be a better chance of that happening than Orson biting someone.

 

I'm not a bit surprised by you coming up with this!!!! Too cute!!!!

[wizard-of-roz]

Chris, thank you so much for the review and the simplicity of travel with a Service Dog.

 

I'm a true believer in having the paperwork in order [too much is better than not enough!]

 

I'm very glad to hear that your organization gives you an I.D. Card, I'm a firm believer that if more handlers carried cards there might be less "fakery" going on! I know that ID cards can be purchased online but the cards that come from training Orgs. are very different than the fake ones. Hopefully, this nonsense will stop in the near future!

 

I haven't been on HAL in a long time and when we traveled with Brenda on their ships we also felt the treatment was very good. I've been traveling on Princess for past few years. There's lots of choices and we should try them all!

[Caribbean Chris]

Hey Chris - so glad you and HDR had a great cruise. Just curious, how was the food? We took a trans-atlantic on the Noordam a couple of years ago, and although I loved the ship and crew, frankly breakfast was the best meal of the day.(and i am not a breakfast person).

 

It was definitely better than on our past Holland America cruises, and seemed like there was more emphasis on quality than just over-filling plates for quantity. We both ordered seafood a lot and it was always very good. The lobster tail was much better than in the past, not so overly salted, for the last formal night surf & turf. We ate at Pinnacle once, and Bob kept remarking that his 10 0z filet mignon was the best he had ever tasted.

 

They now call the pool grill the "Dive In," with high quality burgers and dogs cooked to order - they give you a beeper and page when it's ready. We only had lunch twice at the Lido buffet - harder with the dog there.

 

The service was great in the dining room, including the wine steward. Things always brought hot and presented elegantly like a fine dining restaurant would. Really top notch.

 

Also pool waiters were constantly circulating, bringing drinks and cleaning up. All the bars had fast waiter service too.

 

Great cruise overall!

Edited April 23, 2015 by Caribbean Chris

[Insuregal]

So would it count as a service dog biting incident if I bite somebody for not leaving my daughters service dog alone? Because there would be a better chance of that happening than Orson biting someone.

 

DKD, I think it would require new labeling. "Service dog handler's dad bite." What do you think? :) Doesn't easily roll off the tongue.

 

Beckie

[Caribbean Chris]

Chris, you definitely have a way with words. You painted the perfect picture.

 

It's so weird, neither one of my CCI dogs have been lickers [except for Horton and shopping carts, another story!] When I asked the trainers about this they said they don't specifically train the licking out of a dog but do discourage it while working with them. Enough so that some dogs just won't do it and others overdo it!

 

So funny! Raylene will go for a face lick if she's getting a bit too much lovey-dovey, in-your-face cuddling for too long. i guess she figures she's returning the love. I warn people that she "can't hold her licker."

Edited April 23, 2015 by Caribbean Chris

[Caribbean Chris]

GREAT review! Thanks so much.

 

Hope you all had a wonderful time. If you have photos - would love to see them. :)

 

Thanks for the kind words, everybody.

 

Didn't take many pics this time...Will see what we ended up with -we get home this afternoon.

[Insuregal]

Bravo Chris and Raylene! You both made us all so proud out here in Lurkerville! Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

Beckie

[wizard-of-roz]

It was definitely better than on our past Holland America cruises, and seemed like there was more emphasis on quality than just over-filling plates for quantity. We both ordered seafood a lot and it was always very good. The lobster tail was much better than in the past, not so overly salted, for the last formal night surf & turf. We ate at Pinnacle once, and Bob kept remarking that his 10 0z filet mignon was the best he had ever tasted.

 

They now call the pool grill the "Dive In," with high quality burgers and dogs cooked to order - they give you a beeper and page when it's ready. We only had lunch twice at the Lido buffet - harder with the dog there.

 

The service was great in the dining room, including the wine steward. Things always brought hot and presented elegantly like a fine dining restaurant would. Really top notch.

 

Nice to hear!

 

While Horton and I were walking into the buffet area onboard the Golden Princess, a staff person said, "you may NOT bring your dog into this area!" I gave him a dirty look and just kept walking! I got my food, found a table, placed Horton under the table, attaching him to a chair, gave him the command to "stay" and went back to get something. The same person who told me I couldn't bring Horton in approached me and apologized profusely about what he had said.......I simply gave him my usual "cold shoulder", when someone speaks out-of-turn and incorrectly I've learned to simply ignore them......It works wonders on making them feel small instead of me!!!!

[DUTRAVEL]

So here's a mini-review of our 7-day cruise on Holland America's Ryndam from Tampa to Key West, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico. My second cruise with Hearing Dog Raylene.

 

 

Thanks for the review. Its good to know that HAL is so accommodating with the placement of the relief box.

 

Dianne

[alexspepa]

It was definitely better than on our past Holland America cruises, and seemed like there was more emphasis on quality than just over-filling plates for quantity. We both ordered seafood a lot and it was always very good. The lobster tail was much better than in the past, not so overly salted, for the last formal night surf & turf. We ate at Pinnacle once, and Bob kept remarking that his 10 0z filet mignon was the best he had ever tasted.

 

They now call the pool grill the "Dive In," with high quality burgers and dogs cooked to order - they give you a beeper and page when it's ready. We only had lunch twice at the Lido buffet - harder with the dog there.

 

The service was great in the dining room, including the wine steward. Things always brought hot and presented elegantly like a fine dining restaurant would. Really top notch.

 

Also pool waiters were constantly circulating, bringing drinks and cleaning up. All the bars had fast waiter service too.

 

Great cruise overall!

that is really great to hear...as I said I loved everything about the cruise other than the food. Which ship were you on?

[Caribbean Chris]

that is really great to hear...as I said I loved everything about the cruise other than the food. Which ship were you on?

 

We were on the Ryndam, our 35th anniversary (we were on board also for a 21-day transatlantic for our 31st anniversary four years ago.) It was her last Caribbean cruise ever before heading for Europe - she is leaving the Holland America fleet in November along with the Statendam, and going to P&O in Australia.

 

I hate to see her go because I like the 1200-passenger size, and the fact that you can book a cabin that is right on the broad Promenade Deck (Deck 6). Very convenient for morning walks (especially with a pooch) or for relaxing in an old-time teakwood lounger peacefully facing the sea away from all the pool deck action elsewhere.

 

The Maasdam and Veendam are sister ships that still will be in the HAL fleet, and since Veendam is going to be based out of Tampa again, we'll probably sail her in 2016 or 2017. (We are planning to move to Florida this year.) Our first HAL cruise in 2007 was on Veendam.

[Caribbean Chris]

 

While Horton and I were walking into the buffet area onboard the Golden Princess, a staff person said, "you may NOT bring your dog into this area!"

 

Incredible!!!:eek:

[Caribbean Chris]

Thanks for the review. Its good to know that HAL is so accommodating with the placement of the relief box.

 

Dianne

 

It's a good place all the way forward on the full promenade, so you may have to be out in the wind briefly from the nearest door, but once at the box, you are very protected from wind and sea spray while you encourage She Who Must Be Relieved to get with it. Of course, the 6 a.m. speed walkers got to know us after a few days.

 

The other passengers, naturally, always want to know how the dog does its business, and when we mentioned the sod box, they said they wondered what it's purpose was. (Bob made some rude comments warning people not to eat the parsley plate decorations, and I THINK they all knew he was kidding.)

[thephantomsgirl]

while you encourage She Who Must Be Relieved to get with it. Of course, the 6 a.m. speed walkers got to know us after a few days.

 

The other passengers, naturally, always want to know how the dog does its business, and when we mentioned the sod box, they said they wondered what it's purpose was. (Bob made some rude comments warning people not to eat the parsley plate decorations, and I THINK they all knew he was kidding.)

 

Oh, thanks for the laughs this morning. Almost decorated my monitor with coffee! :D

 

Holly

[Quampapetet]

Yes, it is illegal in our county, and I've seen a deputy speak to the owner (I've spoken to her myself) but she still leaves the dog free to run off the property. It is also illegal in our subdivision according to HOA By-Laws. Once the poodle darted across the road toward my dog on the other side, just as a truck drove past and put on his brakes to avoid hitting the little pup. The owner is a person who thinks she can ignore rules.

 

That stinks! One of our neighbors used to let their German Shepherd run loose - and one day it showed up inside our garage while one of us was building something, showing up right by them! We had already talked to them more than once about it, but finally after that incident threatened to call the police next time and they got the message.

 

I don't know why people don't take better care of their dogs - wouldn't your neighbor be upset if the dog was hit by a car?! I hope that doesn't happen!

[thephantomsgirl]

We had one dog in our neighborhood - or really the next street over that would always show up at either our house or the house across the street. This happened ALL the time.

 

Finally the house across the street asked if they could just have the dog since he was there all the time. The owner agreed as they knew they weren't taking proper care of him. It ended up being a win for the dog, as we can see he's very well taken care of and has become a part of their family.

 

Why get a dog if you aren't going to take care of him/her?