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

[rangeley]

Ncl has gone way down hill in our opinion. Last one for us. 

[wizard-of-roz]

3 hours ago, rangeley said:

Oh don't tease me Roz. We are going back to HAL in January. I think it's called the tropical Caribbean. Goes to their own private island, grand turk, Amber cove in Dominican, and key west. 

I promise, no teasing.....if I make up my mind to do something....look out, I'll move heaven and hell and do it!  Flying in means I have to do the trip a whole day earlier, it definitely adds cost. with the airline, hotel, etc., etc.  I'm working on it!

[wizard-of-roz]

3 hours ago, lindaler said:

So go from California through the canal and then go on rangeley’s cruise. I have thought about the Panama cruises if you don’t get off, you still get all the viewing. 

Did Panama from L.A. and it didn't even come close to Ft. Lauderdale.  But, you're thinking!

 

Our Handicapped cabin onboard the Island Princess had a view of the canal and the "mules" that pull the ships like no view I've ever seen in my life.  And, you're right, you really don't need to get off the ship......it was 19 days of pure entertainment.  One of my favorites.

[wizard-of-roz]

3 hours ago, rangeley said:

Ncl has gone way down hill in our opinion. Last one for us. 

It's probably why they're offering so many great deals next year!  They're giving everything away except the Captain!

[wizard-of-roz]

3 hours ago, rangeley said:

Theres an idea Roz   lol

Cindy, there are three sailings:  Jan. 5th, 12th or 26th.  Which date is yours?   It's a beautiful ship!

[Caribbean Chris]

4 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

Cindy, there are three sailings:  Jan. 5th, 12th or 26th.  Which date is yours?   It's a beautiful ship!

 

Yes, inquiring minds want to know! Maybe Raylene can join the fun. Other than the tiny squares of dead grass in the relief box, I LOVED the Nieuw Statendam. It is beautiful and comfortable. Lots of places to sit with the dog tucked between us or against walls in the various indoor & outdoor spaces, and the numerous shows every night were outstanding. We stayed up late (for us) every night. 

[Caribbean Chris]

Cindy, those photos of Oakland on his chair are so sweet. I was so relieved to read that he finally got with the program. Raylene often balks the first day and it’s no fun making those repeat trips to visit the box. But you guys really had a long stretch of angst.

 

His photos all remind me of Raylene’s CCI Hearing Dog buddy, Firenze. He’s a yellow Lab close in in age to Oakland, coming to our house next Wednesday - we are keeping him for a week!!

[Caribbean Chris]

On 5/28/2019 at 10:33 PM, mmarq1992 said:

Hello All! We are back from our Alaskan cruise and had a great time. We were lucky enough to have zero hiccups and can't wait until our next opportunity to cruise! Bentley was so excited to get onboard that he decided to wake up at 5:30 am, but we were able to watch our ship sail into port, so it worked out well!

 

Bentley is such a cute guy! He always seems to posing for the camera so proudly in the wonderful photos you post, which just cracks me up.

 

(Raylene turns her face away, so I have to take ten pictures to get one decent one.)

[Caribbean Chris]

On 5/29/2019 at 5:17 PM, lindaler said:

Just wanted to say, Chavela and I will be cruising to Alaska the first of August. It is official. It will be my first with my service dog. She is old and can be stuck in her ways.... Do you know where they put the box if you don't have a veranda on Holland America on the Amsterdam?...

 Thanks for understanding my first time nerves.

 

We can all relate to those first-time nerves! The good news is that Alaska is by far one of the easiest itineraries by far for taking a service dog. You’ll be able to take your dog ashore everywhere, and tour operators are very cooperative about service dog arrangements.

 

The paperwork is again the easiest possible. You’ve probably already notified Holland American and done their forms. Just get your health exam & Form 7001 (valid for 30 days) at the vet before you depart, bring your rabies certificate, pack the dog’s food, and you’ll be good to go.

 

If the dog doesn’t like the box, you’ll have lots of port time as a backup. As Cindy said, the box will probably be forward on the promenade deck. (On a few ships like Maasdam, it is all the way aft one deck below, but I am fairly sure Amsterdam will be forward.)

[rangeley]

5 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

Cindy, there are three sailings:  Jan. 5th, 12th or 26th.  Which date is yours?   It's a beautiful ship!

We are going the 5th

[rangeley]

2 hours ago, Caribbean Chris said:

 

Yes, inquiring minds want to know! Maybe Raylene can join the fun. Other than the tiny squares of dead grass in the relief box, I LOVED the Nieuw Statendam. It is beautiful and comfortable. Lots of places to sit with the dog tucked between us or against walls in the various indoor & outdoor spaces, and the numerous shows every night were outstanding. We stayed up late (for us) every night. 

Would love to cruise with you!!! 

[MelanieDyer]

12 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

I, too, would love to cruise with other SD's.  I've been lucky to have a few experiences with true SD's but I'm ashamed to say, I've had more with fakes!

We cruise beginning of May with 29 SD.  It was so much fun.  Going again next May.  Not sure how many we'll end up with next time

[rpclmc]

12 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

Someone needs to let Carnival know about her tactics.  She wouldn't be allowed to pull her nonsense for very long with me!

If you can, email me lcotner1@gmail.com.

 

Linda and Halo

 

[Caribbean Chris]

3 hours ago, rangeley said:

We are going the 5th

 

I’m writing that down!

(May take a while to talk Bob into it since we have a Hawaii cruise booked for March. )

Chris

[rangeley]

1 hour ago, Caribbean Chris said:

 

I’m writing that down!

(May take a while to talk Bob into it since we have a Hawaii cruise booked for March. )

Chris

Haha good luck with that. 

[lindaler]

2 hours ago, Caribbean Chris said:

 

I’m writing that down!

(May take a while to talk Bob into it since we have a Hawaii cruise booked for March. )

Chris

So please share the hoops that you have to jump through to get to take your sd to Hawaii.  I have heard about the titer before. 

[Caribbean Chris]

36 minutes ago, lindaler said:

So please share the hoops that you have to jump through to get to take your sd to Hawaii.  I have heard about the titer before. 

 

This is our first time taking my dog to Hawaii, and I am jumping for joy because Holland America just changed the itinerary on our March 18, 2020 18-day San Diego/Hawaii round trip cruise - the first port is now Honolulu for two days with an overnight! If your cruise enters the state via Honolulu, the quarantine staff there will go out to the ship to clear the dog. For any other Hawaiian island, you have to hire a vet at the first port of entry under the "neighbor island inspection" program, at your expense and get the paperwork submitted with plenty of advance time for those arrangements. So a Honolulu arrival will simplify the process.

 

Roz is definitely the expert on this topic, having gone through the whole rigmarole for arriving at a port other than Honolulu, and people should be able to find her posts through the search feature at the top right.

 

The complete info is on this website, and it is extremely detailed, so keep scrolling downward to read everything, especially the part about service animals, and to find the form you need to fill out. The site gives info about which types of microchips are acceptable to be provided to the Lab that runs the titer test: 

http://hdoa.hawaii.gov/ai/aqs/aqs-info/

 

 I have an appointment with Raylene's vet in ten days to get the ball rolling with the blood draw. I'm starting early because I've heard there can be false results, which means repeating the test. I'll try to remember to keep notes.

 

 

[Caribbean Chris]

5 hours ago, MelanieDyer said:

We cruise beginning of May with 29 SD.  It was so much fun.  Going again next May.  Not sure how many we'll end up with next time

 

Wow, 29 dogs! Was that a Paws With a Cause Cruise? I read an article once in a magazine about how every year or two they sponsor a cruise for their program's handlers & dogs.

[DUTRAVEL]

17 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

I, too, would love to cruise with other SD's.  I've been lucky to have a few experiences with true SD's but I'm ashamed to say, I've had more with fakes!

We have had two cruises with another service dog onboard. On our Hawaiian cruise, there was a guide dog from New York - we had dinner with the woman she belonged to a couple of times. On our Transatlantic cruise, there was a small dog that would bark furiously at Henri whenever she saw her - we tried to stay away from them because Henri has been attacked by a small dog and all the barking was making her nervous.

 

Dianne

[Miki_moto]

Updated January 4, 2019 - 

On January 1, 2019, a new Hawaii law went into effect that makes it illegal to knowingly misrepresent an animal as a service animal. Violators may be subject to civil penalties.

 

 

• “Prior to arrival the dog must have passed one OIE-FAVN test after 12 months of age, with a level of 0.5 I.U. rabies antibody or greater.  The laboratory will not perform the tests unless the microchip number accompanies the test request form. A passing test result is valid for three (3) years.”

Valid for three years - is this new?  For some reason I thought it was one year.

 

https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/ai/aqs/animal-quarantine-information-page/guide-service-dogs-entering-hawaii/

Edited May 31, 2019 by Miki_moto

[DUTRAVEL]

17 minutes ago, Caribbean Chris said:

 

This is our first time taking my dog to Hawaii, and I am jumping for joy because Holland America just changed the itinerary on our March 18, 2020 18-day San Diego/Hawaii round trip cruise - the first port is now Honolulu for two days with an overnight! If your cruise enters the state via Honolulu, the quarantine staff there will go out to the ship to clear the dog. For any other Hawaiian island, you have to hire a vet at the first port of entry under the "neighbor island inspection" program, at your expense and get the paperwork submitted with plenty of advance time for those arrangements. So a Honolulu arrival will simplify the process.

 

Roz is definitely the expert on this topic, having gone through the whole rigmarole for arriving at a port other than Honolulu, and people should be able to find her posts through the search feature at the top right.

 

The complete info is on this website, and it is extremely detailed, so keep scrolling downward to read everything, especially the part about service animals, and to find the form you need to fill out. The site gives info about which types of microchips are acceptable to be provided to the Lab that runs the titer test: 

http://hdoa.hawaii.gov/ai/aqs/aqs-info/

 

 I have an appointment with Raylene's vet in ten days to get the ball rolling with the blood draw. I'm starting early because I've heard there can be false results, which means repeating the test. I'll try to remember to keep notes.

 

 

I agree that it is not very complicated to take your service dog to Hawaii if your first port is Honolulu or if you are flying directly into Honolulu. I also had Henri’s titer done ahead of time - the key thing to remember is to have the lab send the results directly to Hawaii and not to you or your vet. I later requested an original from the lab for my files (I think I had to pay another $45) because in the EU the test is good forever as long as you keep the rabies shots up to date. In Hawaii the results are only valid for three years.

 

Chris, I have a detailed cover sheet I used to fax all my documents to the Hawaiian Agriculture Department. Let me know if you want a copy of it.

 

Dianne

[DUTRAVEL]

4 minutes ago, Miki_moto said:

Updated January 4, 2019 - 

 

• “Prior to arrival the dog must have passed one OIE-FAVN test after 12 months of age, with a level of 0.5 I.U. rabies antibody or greater.  The laboratory will not perform the tests unless the microchip number accompanies the test request form. A passing test result is valid for three (3) years.”

Valid for three years - is this new?  For some reason I thought it was one year.

 

https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/ai/aqs/animal-quarantine-information-page/guide-service-dogs-entering-hawaii/

I think it has been three years for awhile, the only thing that changed this year are the penalties for misrepresenting a service dog.

 

Dianne

Edited May 31, 2019 by DUTRAVEL

[Caribbean Chris]

10 minutes ago, DUTRAVEL said:

I agree that it is not very complicated to take your service dog to Hawaii if your first port is Honolulu or if you are flying directly into Honolulu. I also had Henri’s titer done ahead of time - the key thing to remember is to have the lab send the results directly to Hawaii and not to you or your vet. I later requested an original from the lab for my files (I think I had to pay another $45) because in the EU the test is good forever as long as you keep the rabies shots up to date. In Hawaii the results are only valid for three years.

 

Chris, I have a detailed cover sheet I used to fax all my documents to the Hawaiian Agriculture Department. Let me know if you want a copy of it.

 

Dianne

 

YES! I would love that. Do you still have my email? If not, let me know here or on FB.

[lindaler]

Thanks for all the information on Hawaii. If this Alaska cruise goes good then I think Hawaii is in the future for this winter.  Either that or a round trip Panama Canal. I would love to see your cover sheet and any other information you think a newbie should know. My email is alsous at msn dot com. 

Edited May 31, 2019 by lindaler

[lindaler]

Roz, I got a roll of astro turf, what size do you take with you on the ship? Is it as big as the box, 4 X 4 or just maybe for the center? I didn't find good chips. The guy at home depot said their chips, mulch and bark would give splinters in the dog's feet. He told me to go to Petco and get hamster bedding.