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

[rangeley]

On 5/22/2022 at 8:32 PM, DUTRAVEL said:

Have a great time on your cruise! I'm sure Oakland will remember the box and what to do.

Thank you for your confidence. I'll try to think positive!

[DUTRAVEL]

2 hours ago, rangeley said:

Thank you for your confidence. I'll try to think positive!

We had not been on a cruise since November 2019 and rarely left the house for almost two years. We did a Pacific Coastal cruise in October with my Service Dog Henrietta and she was great (once they replaced the postage size relief box). I'm sure Oakland will pick up right where he left off. 

[HenryKisor]

I'm heading for Alaska out of Vancouver for a 14-day HAL cruise next week. Checking APHIS brought up the info that for dogs and cats Alaska now requires a 7001 with a certificate number OR a state veterinary health certificate with a stamped number. Most U.S. vets use the downloadable form because they don't have a pad of numbered paper certificates, and the downloadable form has no number, so that isn't valid. My vet filled out the 7001 for the ship and the Illinois health certificate for Alaska.

 

Now we'll see if this is actually being enforced or it's just a bunch of bureaucratic bumf.

 

Massachusetts now requires a 7001, too, but doesn't specify that it carry a certificate number.

 

[Algebralovr]

Hi all!  I’m back from our family cruise on Celebrity Millennium with the fam, and have recovered from the trip home.  Long flights!

 

Scooter was THRILLED to see us when we got home.  We are now working on PA and tasks for him.  My RA is worse, and has settled in my lower back and hips.  If I drop stuff, I can’t bend over much of the time, so Scooter to the rescue!    He is happy to do those tasks around the house,  🙂  Not so happy to do PA at Walmart and be on perfect behavior.  He’d rather be able to get pets from all.  🙂

 

We are sailing on Reflection for Thanksgiving, but leaving him home.  That lawn on the S-class celebrity ships is just too much for him.  I don’t even plan to get off the ship for that cruise, just enjoy someone else cooking and cleaning, getting some sun and doing nothing.   
 

We are doing the Panama Canal in December, and while Princess has approved me bringing him, I’m undecided.  I’ll decide a couple of weeks out.  Easy to cancel bringing the dog…. And Princess will be HAPPY NOT to have him.  
 

Hope you all are well.  

[HenryKisor]

We're scheduled to board HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam next Sunday in Vancouver. Boarding time for my assigned group is 2 p.m. Ship departs at 4 p.m. That doesn't give us a lot of time to find the location of the pee station or talk to the dining room maitre 'd for a suitable table against a wall. On previous voyages out of Fort Lauderdale and Montreal, there were special desks in the departure halls for passengers with special needs. We didn't have to wait long and were whisked aboard quickly. I am thinking about the possibility of just showing up at an earlier time and heading for the special needs desk. Or maybe I should try to find a HAL rep at our hotel the night before and ask. What do youse guys think?

 

[DUTRAVEL]

On 6/13/2022 at 8:16 AM, HenryKisor said:

We're scheduled to board HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam next Sunday in Vancouver. Boarding time for my assigned group is 2 p.m. Ship departs at 4 p.m. That doesn't give us a lot of time to find the location of the pee station or talk to the dining room maitre 'd for a suitable table against a wall. On previous voyages out of Fort Lauderdale and Montreal, there were special desks in the departure halls for passengers with special needs. We didn't have to wait long and were whisked aboard quickly. I am thinking about the possibility of just showing up at an earlier time and heading for the special needs desk. Or maybe I should try to find a HAL rep at our hotel the night before and ask. What do youse guys think?

 

I haven't sailed on HAL and so I don't have any specific information on how they might handle embarkation or if they have separate desks for passengers with special needs in every departure port. I always try to board as early as possible (I would definitely go earlier than my assigned time) so that I have as much time as possible to deal with relief box issues before the ship sails.

Edited June 14, 2022 by DUTRAVEL

[rpclmc]

Hi everyone.  Had my in person and final interview with Canine Campions for Independence in Santa Rosa, California (same location Rox got her babies).  That was yesterday.  Now I wait to hear if I was accepted to get a service dog from them.  Then I wait up to 20 months, usually about a year, to get the dog.

 

Halo is close to retirement.  He is still doing ok.  He was trained when I was more mobile.  I need some different kind of help from a service dog.  Although he is smart and could learn it, it really isn't worth it since he will be retiring so soon.  Probably would have been taught the functions, pulling clothes baskets to help with laundry and assisting with opening doors, if the pandemic hadn't hit and the shattering of the leg.  Which both caused us to stay in the house for 1.5 years.

 

He did stay with my daughter and her fiance when we went to Jamacia for a week, then to Hawaii for 3 weeks.  He will be retiring with them and it was kind of a test retirement.  He is loving being a dog.  Will stay follow his commands and behaves in public exceptionally well.  But he is sure loving being a "dog" and getting to go to a park without his work vest and just play.  Not a dog park, just a park with his buddy, my daughter's dog.  

 

Linda and Halo

[Algebralovr]

Linda, I’m so glad you had a good interview with CCI.

I’m glad that Halo has a good retirement plan!  He will be happy to see you when you visit, but will also be happy with your daughter and his pal.  That sounds perfect for all!  
 

 My hubby and I have been discussion our next steps regarding Scooter.  He is currently 6.5, but has developed a couple of medical conditions that will likely shorten his life.  They are medically controlled, he is happy, and still wants to work much of the time.  We are completely uncertain if we will seek a successor dog or not.  I look forward to hearing how things go with your team training and successor dog over the next couple of years. 

[denversees4me]

Hi all I asked a while back but I can not for the life of me find the post …

Traveling to Nassau and disneys castaway cay with my guide dog in September . Years ago it used to be that you just filled out the form and sent you $12 cash or whatever it was now there is a form on the aphis website from the United States that’s the old form but if you go to the Bahamas website it’s a new form and it says no cash and no  checks 
so I have questions for anyone that has sent in for an import permit recently

 

Western Union is down in our area it has been for months and I know Western Union is international does anyone know if they accept money gram money orders I called today and spoke with them directly at the Bahamas but the lady behind the desk was no help ( this is also been the case in the past) she tried to tell me it had to be FedEx and I know that there’s not to be true because it says right on their paperwork you can mail it of course it just takes longer but I called FedEx and they told me they don’t do money orders but the lady on the phone told me the money order had to come from FedEx so I’m completely confused lol does she mean that they themselves go to FedEx to pick up the money order or what ? Anyways if anyone sent in for an import permit lately can you please tell me what you sent in as far as payment and if you mailed it by the snail mail address that they have

 

this leads me to my next question which is the health form. I know they send you back a little  and that you  have to get a health form  but as some of you may know the system has changed and now all of the health forms are online Health form meaning health certificate sorry

 

so does anybody know because I used to get form 700 one if that will still work i’m told no because they do the automated system now  

. so what do we do in the situation 
I called the cruise line but they are no help they don’t know anything either ughhhhh 

thanks in advance it shouldn’t be this difficult to travel especially to the Bahamas such an easy one before 

 

[DUTRAVEL]

On 7/5/2022 at 1:10 PM, denversees4me said:

Hi all I asked a while back but I can not for the life of me find the post …

Traveling to Nassau and disneys castaway cay with my guide dog in September . Years ago it used to be that you just filled out the form and sent you $12 cash or whatever it was now there is a form on the aphis website from the United States that’s the old form but if you go to the Bahamas website it’s a new form and it says no cash and no  checks 
so I have questions for anyone that has sent in for an import permit recently

 

 

Chris knows more about this than I do - she has used a service in the Bahamas that obtains the permit for you. It seems well worth his $57 fee.
 

https://www.bahamaspetpermit.com/
 

As far as I know, you can still use the downloadable Aphis form 7001 health certificate and you will need the Bahamas form IMP(1)b to accompany the permit.

 

 

 

 

 

[Caribbean Chris]

6 hours ago, DUTRAVEL said:

 

Chris knows more about this than I do - she has used a service in the Bahamas that obtains the permit for you. It seems well worth his $57 fee.
 

https://www.bahamaspetpermit.com/
 

As far as I know, you can still use the downloadable Aphis form 7001 health certificate and you will need the Bahamas form IMP(1)b to accompany the permit.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, I’ve sent in the form years ago (requesting a waiver of the fee for a service dog with proof included) and eventually got the permit in the mail. The next time, I sent it and never heard another word, so ended up faxing from my vet and finally got a return fax permit. My vet’s office had no legal-length paper in their fax, so I had it printed at my friend’s law office.

 

I was tired of this hassle and have since always paid to use the Bahamas Pet Permit service. He is very reliable and organized, and hand-carries it to the government office. I plan to use him again for a Christmas cruise. He sends updates as to your application progress and emails a link. Then I can print the permit at home (believe it or not, I searched for & bought a printer with capability to handle legal length docs and paper.
 

It has been worth it to me to pay the fee and regain more control versus sending off paperwork and never getting a reply, then having to scurry around.

 

Note that you should allow plenty of time, at least a month, since the permit office itself gets backed up. A permit is good for one entry, for a year from date of issue.

[Caribbean Chris]

On 7/5/2022 at 4:10 PM, denversees4me said:

Hi all I asked a while back but I can not for the life of me find the post …

Traveling to Nassau and disneys castaway cay with my guide dog in September . Years ago it used to be that you just filled out the form and sent you $12 cash or whatever it was now there is a form on the aphis website from the United States that’s the old form but if you go to the Bahamas website it’s a new form and it says no cash and no  checks 
so I have questions for anyone that has sent in for an import permit recently

 

Western Union is down in our area it has been for months and I know Western Union is international does anyone know if they accept money gram money orders I called today and spoke with them directly at the Bahamas but the lady behind the desk was no help ( this is also been the case in the past) she tried to tell me it had to be FedEx and I know that there’s not to be true because it says right on their paperwork you can mail it of course it just takes longer but I called FedEx and they told me they don’t do money orders but the lady on the phone told me the money order had to come from FedEx so I’m completely confused lol does she mean that they themselves go to FedEx to pick up the money order or what ? Anyways if anyone sent in for an import permit lately can you please tell me what you sent in as far as payment and if you mailed it by the snail mail address that they have

 

this leads me to my next question which is the health form. I know they send you back a little  and that you  have to get a health form  but as some of you may know the system has changed and now all of the health forms are online Health form meaning health certificate sorry

 

so does anybody know because I used to get form 700 one if that will still work i’m told no because they do the automated system now  

. so what do we do in the situation 
I called the cruise line but they are no help they don’t know anything either ughhhhh 

thanks in advance it shouldn’t be this difficult to travel especially to the Bahamas such an easy one before 

 

On the question of the Form 7001 APHIS health certificate, my vet still issues the paper one for me. I just used it in April for a Caribbean cruise. 
here’s the form:

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/library/forms/pdf/APHIS7001.pdf

[DancingRich]

We are going on our first cruise(on Carnival) with my husbands service dog in about a week. I am super nervous. We are not leaving the boat during the cruise and that's not a problem or anything. Just more worried about coming back and there being an issue. Can anyone help with my nerves? Or have any tips and advice.

 

He is up to date on all his shots and we are only going to Mexico.

 

Thanks!

[Caribbean Chris]

10 hours ago, DancingRich said:

We are going on our first cruise(on Carnival) with my husbands service dog in about a week. I am super nervous. We are not leaving the boat during the cruise and that's not a problem or anything. Just more worried about coming back and there being an issue. Can anyone help with my nerves? Or have any tips and advice.

 

He is up to date on all his shots and we are only going to Mexico.

 

Thanks!

Welcome! 
 

1. Be sure you have the dog’s up to date rabies certificate. Have your vet examine the dog right away and issue an APHIS Form 7001 Health Certificate, if you haven’t done so already.  Since it is solely Mexico on the itinerary, the certificate will not need to be endorsed by any US government vet.
 

Here’s APHIS Mexico info:

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel/by-country/pettravel-mexico

Even though Mexico no longer requires the health certificate, the cruise line’s check-in personnel when you embark will ask for your dog’s “paperwork,” and expect that health certificate with the rabies document. Carry extra copies of these.
 

It’s a good idea to bring copies too of any documentation you have of the dog’s service dog training, such as an ID card. I even bring the dog’s spay certificate. The more paper, the better.

 

The following may no longer be the case but in the past, for Cancun or Cozumel, we were asked to be in a ship’s lounge at 8 a.m, to have the dog inspected by Mexican officials before the ship could be cleared. They would look into the dog’s ears, eyes, check the skin, and so on. My dog has always been very calm, and I think most SDs are used to being touched and do fine.

 

2. If you are coming back into Miami, government inspectors may pull you out of line at disembarkation and examine your dog and his papers. So don’t pack them in your suitcase.
 

3. I Assume you have already notified Carnival we’ll in advance. You also can call their accessibility department and remind them you need that relief box. Ask the front desk where it is as soon as you board. Then go introduce the dog to it. Don’t panic if the dog refuses it the first day. But you may need to trek there first thing in the morning. Or you may re-think going ashore so the dog can visit some grass.

 

4. For eating on board, the buffets can be challenging, with masses of people grazing, carrying & dropping food, not paying attention. I find it easiest to get a table in a corner near the entrance first and then take turns getting buffet food, leaving the dog settled. In the Main Dining Rooms, ask the manager for a table against a wall or in a corner so you can tuck the dog away from waiters & people walking back & forth.

 

5. You’ll already know how this goes…Be prepared for a lot of strangers who want to meet the dog and ask a load of questions. And some who will grab at the dog when you are facing the other direction. It seems people get bolder on ships for some reason. Up to your husband how much interaction he allows, if any. It’s OK to always say “now is not a good time.” 
 

Finally just have a good time and just roll with the punches. The first cruise is the most stressful, but the dog just wants to be with your husband and will settle in soon. Report back if you have a chance.

[HenryKisor]

Back from a two-week Alaska cruise out of Vancouver with a bus trip afterward to Seattle, where we caught a train back to Chicago.

 

A slight glitch returning through US Customs and Immigration. We had packed individual meals in plastic sandwich baggies for Trooper, and we declared them on the customs form. The agent said we were supposed to bring the original kibble bag with us as well as a sales slip proving we bought the food in the United States. We didn't have those, and the agent said she technically had to confiscate the food, but when my wife pointed out that Trooper was a service dog and had to eat specific food, the agent said she'd let it go this time. Next time we'll again pack the individual meals in baggies, but we'll stuff them all back into the bag and take a sales slip, too. 

 

[DUTRAVEL]

2 hours ago, HenryKisor said:

Back from a two-week Alaska cruise out of Vancouver with a bus trip afterward to Seattle, where we caught a train back to Chicago.

 

A slight glitch returning through US Customs and Immigration. We had packed individual meals in plastic sandwich baggies for Trooper, and we declared them on the customs form. The agent said we were supposed to bring the original kibble bag with us as well as a sales slip proving we bought the food in the United States. We didn't have those, and the agent said she technically had to confiscate the food, but when my wife pointed out that Trooper was a service dog and had to eat specific food, the agent said she'd let it go this time. Next time we'll again pack the individual meals in baggies, but we'll stuff them all back into the bag and take a sales slip, too. 

 

That's interesting - did they ask about the dog food in Vancouver at the port on disembarkation or at the border on the way to Seattle? We have returned to Vancouver on a couple of cruises and I'm not sure if I remembered to declare that I had Henri's food with me (probably haven't done it in California or Florida either). When traveling, I bring Henri's food in the original unopened package (with enough in separate baggies until we get on the cruise ship so that I don't have to open the main bag until then). I'm going to start bringing the receipt with me too now that they questioned you.

 

The EU only lets you bring in 2 kg of pet food and it must be needed for health required reasons.  No way is 2 kg enough for a 65lb lab for two or three weeks. I always ask my Vet to write a letter stating that my service dog needs to remain on her normal diet when traveling. 

 

Did you have any issues with the Alaskan Health Certificate? I have checked with my Vet to make sure they can do a California Certificate of Veterinary Inspection when we travel to Alaska in September.  Did your Vet e-mail or mail a copy to the Alaska State Veterinarian's Office?

[HenryKisor]

On 6/13/2022 at 10:16 AM, HenryKisor said:

We're scheduled to board HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam next Sunday in Vancouver. Boarding time for my assigned group is 2 p.m. Ship departs at 4 p.m. That doesn't give us a lot of time to find the location of the pee station or talk to the dining room maitre 'd for a suitable table against a wall. On previous voyages out of Fort Lauderdale and Montreal, there were special desks in the departure halls for passengers with special needs. We didn't have to wait long and were whisked aboard quickly. I am thinking about the possibility of just showing up at an earlier time and heading for the special needs desk. Or maybe I should try to find a HAL rep at our hotel the night before and ask. What do youse guys think?

 

Here is what happened. I could not get an answer from HAL headquarters or the third-party rep who was handling HAL passengers at the hotel. So Debby, Trooper and I just arrived at the cruise terminal at 10 a.m. and were immediately directed to the special needs desk, which had us wait in an alcove with a few other gimps and when boarding started at 10:30 we were whisked aboard first. Easy peasy. 

 

[HenryKisor]

On 7/17/2022 at 9:19 PM, DUTRAVEL said:

That's interesting - did they ask about the dog food in Vancouver at the port on disembarkation or at the border on the way to Seattle? We have returned to Vancouver on a couple of cruises and I'm not sure if I remembered to declare that I had Henri's food with me (probably haven't done it in California or Florida either). When traveling, I bring Henri's food in the original unopened package (with enough in separate baggies until we get on the cruise ship so that I don't have to open the main bag until then). I'm going to start bringing the receipt with me too now that they questioned you.

 

The EU only lets you bring in 2 kg of pet food and it must be needed for health required reasons.  No way is 2 kg enough for a 65lb lab for two or three weeks. I always ask my Vet to write a letter stating that my service dog needs to remain on her normal diet when traveling. 

 

Did you have any issues with the Alaskan Health Certificate? I have checked with my Vet to make sure they can do a California Certificate of Veterinary Inspection when we travel to Alaska in September.  Did your Vet e-mail or mail a copy to the Alaska State Veterinarian's Office?

No questions at Vancouver disembarkation. The questions came at the U.S. border on the way to Seattle. No questions anywhere about the health certificate, except to show the rabies vaxx cert. Vet did not file an email or mail a copy to the Alaska state vet office, but just gave the documents to me. I did give a copy of the Illinois health certificate (which just says the dog has been vaxxed against rabies and is in good health) as well as the 7001 to the ship after we boarded. Possibly the ship's port officer informed Alaskan ports of the documentation, but we hopped off the ship at Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau and Whittier without any official turning up to question us. 

 

[DUTRAVEL]

1 hour ago, HenryKisor said:

No questions at Vancouver disembarkation. The questions came at the U.S. border on the way to Seattle. No questions anywhere about the health certificate, except to show the rabies vaxx cert. Vet did not file an email or mail a copy to the Alaska state vet office, but just gave the documents to me. I did give a copy of the Illinois health certificate (which just says the dog has been vaxxed against rabies and is in good health) as well as the 7001 to the ship after we boarded. Possibly the ship's port officer informed Alaskan ports of the documentation, but we hopped off the ship at Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau and Whittier without any official turning up to question us. 

 

Thanks for the info - I will just bring the California Certificate of Veterinary Inspection and the usual 7001 and be over prepared as usual!

[HenryKisor]

Just make sure the California certificate has a serial number on it. 

[Lady_Jag]

Hello, all!

We just got home from a 12-day air-land-sea vacation with my teen’s service dog, Charlie. He’s an 18-month-old white golden retriever, weighing in at 93 pounds. This vacation was his first flight, his first cruise, his first time in New York, first time in Bermuda, and his first train ride! I have to say things went even more smoothly than expected, although I was VERY disappointed in the lack of education and accommodations by Royal Caribbean’s personnel on board.

 

Here are my take aways from the experience. (Warning, it’s a long one!)

• Flight: Southwest from JAX to STL, then STL to LGA. Delays with the second leg of the trip made the first day nothing but a travel day. We made sure to complete the FSA service dog travel form, which we presented at check in. Southwest was AWESOME at letting me, hubs, and our teenager pre-board together with Charlie so that we could sit in the bulkhead seats and have plenty of space for Charlie. We brought along his blanket and a yogurt-filled bone (no more than 3 oz of filling for TSA!) so that he had something to lick and chew during takeoff and landing and also to keep him occupied during the flight.
  Speaking of TSA - I packed the kibble for each of Charlie’s meals into 24 separate zip top bags, then spread the food bags out across all our checked luggage and carry-ons so that we wouldn’t be pinged for overweight luggage, and wouldn’t be up a creek if any bag got lost. It worked out brilliantly, except TSA pinged the food bags in the carry-on luggage when they went through X-ray, and our carry-ons got searched. Also, my teenager was wanded instead of passing through the scanner, and Charlie was thoroughly patted down. However, it was a quick process, and my teen didn’t have to be touched, except for a check of their palms for residue.
   
• Airports: All the airports had “relief stations;” some way nicer than others. JAX had a full out lounge with hand washing stations, benches and rocking chairs for us hoo-mans, litter boxes for traveling kitties, and a huge span of artificial turf with fake fire hydrant, poo bags, and trash cans for the pups. The place also has a great drainage system and separate ventilation system so that no odors permeated to the main terminal area. STL had a way smaller version of the artificial turf and fake fire hydrant, hand washing station, and poo bags/trash can, but no place or room to sit. It was pretty much an open area tucked away off an inconspicuous hallway, but was well marked and kept clean. On the opposite end of the spectrum was the LGA relief area. Oooof! Hubs and I opened the door to follow our teen and Charlie inside, and quickly backed out of the room and closed the door! It was basically a closet converted to a doggie waste dump. It reeked horribly, and the smell permeated outside the closed door. Needless to say, Charlie and his handler did not want to stick around long enough to “go.”
   
• Car transportation/taxi: This was the biggest challenge of the entire trip, so I did as much preplanning as possible. We live over an hour from JAX airport, so I rented a small SUV from Budget rentals near our house the day before to turn in at the airport the next morning. Brilliant plan, if I do say so myself. Lol! We we’re able to load up all 10 of our bags the night before, and it was cheaper than an Uber or Lyft.
  I also prearranged a private car to pick us up at the airport in NYC and take us to our hotel. I booked through GoAirLink because the rate was all inclusive: fare, tax, and tip. I tried to prebook another private car company to take us to the cruise port from our hotel later that week, but the companies I contacted were either booked that day or, in the case of one company in particular, wanted to charge me a $35 “pet fee,” despite multiple arguments about Charlie being a service dog, not a pet. In the end, the brilliant concierge at our hotel arrange for a Cadillac Escalade to take us from Manhattan to the cruise port for only $95. We we’re so impressed, we got the driver’s card an called him when our ship returned to the cruise port so he could take us to our post-cruise hotel in the Chelsea area of NYC.
  As for Bermuda, Charlie stayed on board with hubs the first day (since dogs aren’t allowed on the beaches at this time), while the teenager and I attended a Girl Scout/Girl Guide international cultural exchange and beach cleanup. That was just as well, as the poor boy was very seasick from the rough seas the night before, and needed the day to recuperate. The second day in Bermuda, I hired the only Pet Taxi in Bermuda for the day. The owner/driver, Paul, was super nice and took us to BAMZ (Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo) on the other side of the island, telling us about Bermuda history and points of interest along the way. I would HIGHLY recommend contacting him for anyone traveling to Bermuda with a service dog!
   
• RCI Adventure of the Seas: Gotta say I was unimpressed with the available information and accommodations. I contacted RCI multiple times in the months leading up to our cruise, and had to piece together the little bits of information I received from each person I spoke to. Charlie is a spoiled country boy with a big 1.5 acre yard of grass to relieve himself in, so I requested a couple of times 3-4 months prior for sod to be provided in the relief box. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting such a miracle, but did have a small hope that maybe if I asked nicely way in advance, Charlie might get his wish. As a Plan B, I got a plastic baby pool, cut drain holes all through the bottom, and filled it with mulch so that we could get Charlie used to the concept at home. Nope. Dang dog will EAT the mulch, but no use the pool for its intended purpose. And why should he? I mean, there’s all that grass around the pool for his enjoyment, after all. Lol!
  Plan C - I brought puppy pads for those “just in case” moments. Nope. He eats those too!
  Plan D - I brought a large rubber backed mat of artificial grass along. Nope. Charlie loves to rub all over it, but would not “go” on it.
  As it turns out, though, the 3.5 days we spent in Manhattan was all he needed. Poor guy was so lost in this concrete jungle with not a blade of grass to be seen anywhere! It took about a day, but he learned to use the tiny areas around some of the trees when he had to pee, and just let it go on the concrete when nature called on line #2.
  So the folks at the pier were super nice when we checked in. I provided the RCI service dog form, the US APHIS health form, and the Bermuda Import Certificate, along with Charlie’s rabies vaccination certificate and shots records. I had these at the ready, along with the stack of other paperwork required to sail: For each of Charlie’s Hoo-mans, I needed to provide a Bermuda Visa, negative Covid test, passport, vaccination card, and RCI boarding pass.
  On the ship, the tiny relief box was located at the very back of the ship in deck 4. (Too bad our room was at the very front of the ship on deck 9.) When we got there, the box had just a tiny bit of mulch in it, which Charlie reluctantly agreed to pee in, but would never poo in. (Instead, he would go just outside the box.) By the end of the second day, Charlie was disgusted by the lack of mulch and would only put his front paws in the box to pee in it. Can’t say I blame him, as with such little filler, the pee started seeping through the joints and running out onto the deck.
  I went to guest services and ask that they refresh and refill the relief box. Try as they might, no one at the desk had any understanding of what I was asking. Finally, one of the reps put me on the phone with the person in charge of their special services/disabilities department so I could make my request, and there was a full box of new mulch by the next morning.
  So you’re probably wondering what was the problem with the relief accommodations, right? Well, both of our days at sea had some very choppy waves - 6’-10’ swells, in fact! That meant we were climbing and dropping 12’-20’ feet through the night! Add to it rain and high winds, and it makes for a very hazardous deck surface, especially for someone like my teenager who has mobility issues. Anyway, such weather caused the doors on deck 4 of one side of the ship to be locked and marked “closed due to weather,” so my teenager would use the doors on the opposite side in deck 4 and walk Charlie “the long way” to the relief box. Okay, not ideal, but still manageable. 
  Unfortunately, the crew decided that when the one side was closed due to weather, it was a great time to close the doors on the other side of deck 4 for maintenance! Which meant we had to walk Charlie to the relief box through the water, suds, and chemicals they were spraying all over the deck, creating a fall hazard for even the most balanced people! My teenager was enraged, and after sloshing back to the promenade inside, marched straight to the Guest Services desk to complain. Then it got even uglier. 
  When my teenager explained the issue to the clerk at the desk, the clerk couldn’t understand, and retrieved a manager. The manager heard the complaint, then walked my teenager down to the roped off maintenance area on deck 4 and said, “see, you just have to go around.” Ummm what?!? My child was furious and later told me, “I hope Charlie poops in front of the Guest Services desk so I can tell the manager to ‘just go around!’” 
   
• Amtrak: Charlie’s 2nd favorite mode of transportation! We took the train from Moynhain station in NYC to Jax, which turned out to be a 22-hour trip. Because it was a long overnight trip, I bought tickets for the sleeper car. Charlie, the teenager and I had a full bedroom with camper-style bathroom, and hubs had a Roomette, which was about half the size but still comfortable. When I booked, I asked for an accessible room, but Amtrak wouldn’t allow it unless one occupants needed a wheelchair or walker. The room was tight, especially when the couch was pulled out to be made into a bed, but we managed. The only problem we had was that unlike airports, train stations have no pet relief areas. Worse, there were only a few stops along the route that afforded us enough time to walk Charlie onto the platform for some relief. Given most of the platforms were nothing but concrete, though, Charlie didn’t get much relief. However, the Amtrak employees were great and made sure to give us a heads up for the available stops, and which had some grass for Charlie.
   
• Ports of Call: NYC
  So NYC wasn’t a port of call per se, but it’s worth mentioning that we saw a Broadway and an off Broadway show with Charlie during our pre- and post-cruise visit. For both shows, I purchased tickets at least a month prior through a discount site offered by my workplace. For both, I requested assistance seating, and for both, I was told none was available but we should be fine if we got aisle seats. So I got Beetlejuice tickets with aisle seats in the Mezzanine of the Marquis Theatre. Not a good fit. Literally.  Even though the theater is a bit more modern than most Broadway theaters and have bigger seats and leg room, Charlie just couldn’t fit in front of or under the seats. Instead, he sort of oozed into the aisle and onto the steps. Just after the show started, an usher, the theater manager, and someone from security approached my teenager and carted my kiddo and Charlie out of the theater. The manager apologized and said that Charlie could not be in the aisle because it posed a fire hazard, and asked what they could do to accommodate him and my teen. They wound up moving my kiddo and Charlie to accessible seats just behind the orchestra section downstairs, and the usher sought us out to make sure we knew they were taking good care of the SD team.
  The other show we saw was Blue Man Group at the much older Astor Palace Theatre. Being an older theater, there were absolutely no accessible seats. In fact, one guy arrived in a wheelchair and was carried up and down the theater stairs. Anyway, when we arrived, the usher noticed Charlie and asked where our seats were. I showed her our tickets, and she said “we’re not sold out, so let me check with the box office and see if I can get you better seats.” I thanked her and told her that even if we had to split up so that Charlie and his handler were accommodated, we would be okay with that. When she came back, she gave us 2 options: 4 seats together on an aisle mid orchestra section, or 2 seats just behind the poncho section near an exit door, so there was much more leg room. We agreed to the exit door seats for Charlie and my kiddo, and hubs and I went back to our original seats in the upper mezzanine. Well, before the show started, the usher returned and said, “I have good news - I convinced the people in the downstairs row to move down, so if you want, you can all sit together.” Wow! Yeah! Great seats and great view. Charlie did well throughout the show,  for the most part, although we had to snag a marshmallow thrown at us so that Charlie wouldn’t eat it. 
  The biggest challenge came at the end, when the perfect storm had Charlie jumping into my child’s lap and trying to climb over the seats. There was very loud bass and drums, heavy strobe lights, and paper ribbons being shot out throughout the audience from the BMG who were in various locations in the aisle. Taken individually, Charlie would have been able to handle it. But when all the stimuli came together at one time, Charlie freaked out. Poor boy! He was fine once the house lights came back on, but needless to say, Charlie was not a fan of the show.
   
• Ports of Call: Bermuda
  I stressed a lot over all the paperwork required for bridging Charlie to Bermuda. But everything worked out okay, and I had everything I needed. The first day there, when my teen and I left the ship without Charlie, we were flagged on the way out when we scanned our cards. I pointed out that the dog was not with us, so security cleared the flag, and we were never pinged again, even when Charlie was with us the next day.
  As I mentioned, I arranged ahead of time for the Pet Taxi to transport us to BAMZ.The folks at BAMZ were incredibly nice and accommodating, and when we purchased admission said there was no charge for our disabled teenager. Charlie was great and really loved the fish and seals. The lemurs, on the other hand, despised him and congregated near us to glare and growl at him. I led Charlie out of the exhibit so that hubs and the teenager could see the lemurs when they were undisturbed and not so p*$$3d off. I later found out that Charlie was not allowed in the lemur exhibit for exactly that reason, but no one told us that until after the fact. (Oops!) So word of caution - don’t take a service dog into the lemurs exhibit, because it upsets the lemurs. (All other exhibits are fine.)
   
• Miscellaneous: Even though I didn’t need them, I was glad that I looked up and added to my phone the numbers of emergency vets in NYC and Bermuda. Charlie’s seasickness had me extremely concerned on the ship, and I considered calling the Bermuda vet and asking Paul to take us to their clinic that Sunday. Fortunately, though, once we were off the ship and Charlie was able to get to dry land and green grass, he perked up a lot and was back to his normal self almost immediately. I was also glad to have purchased trip insurance, even though we didn’t need it. Since Charlie is a service dog, our trip insurance would have reimbursed us for any emergency veterinary visits.

Edited July 31, 2022 by Lady_Jag

[DUTRAVEL]

1 hour ago, Lady_Jag said:

Thanks for your very thorough review Lady_Jag. I’m glad that in the end almost everything worked out for your son and his service dog. I have found with the cruise ships I just don’t take no for an answer and generally things are worked out to our satisfaction. 

[rpclmc]

I did accepted to receive a dog from Canine Companions for Independence (CCI).  12-20 months before I get invited to the team training.  My schedule is very flexible, but I did have to let them know that September 2023 will NOT work.  My only child, daughter, get married the end of next September and I kind of thought it would be important to be available for that.

 

Halo stayed with our daughter and fiance, they live with us right now, when I was in Hawaii for 3 weeks with my husband.  He was there for 2 months on a job.  Halo did not want to come back in, there is an apartment out back they are staying in, when I got back.  Confirming he is going to do great with them in retirement.

 

We are heading back to our home in Florida in November.  My husband and I have a 6 day cruise in November.  We are bringing friends with to our Florida house to watch Halo while we are gone.  Flying back and forth is just too hard on me, so we thought having the friends stay with Halo while we cruise, my husband does not like to cruise with Halo was a better option than leaving him in Idaho and coming back for him to fly back to Florida.  And then we will do some stuff with the friends, fishing, St Augustine, beaches, etc. before they fly back to Idaho.

 

Linda and Halo

[Algebralovr]

Greetings all!  I realized it was over a month since someone posted here so I wanted to see how everyone is doing.

Scooter is doing well.  He has his days when he doesn’t want to work, and other days when he is glued to my hip and incredibly helpful.  He does struggle a bit with the fact that far too many days I just don’t do anything but lay on the sofa.  He is still young enough (nearly 7) that he wants more activity than I often have the energy for.  Between the RA and the NETs, they suck out my energy.   He at least makes me get up and move every couple of hours to take him out in the daytime.  Good for both of us. 
 

I picked up a discount cruise on Celebrity Solstice for October.  Scooter will stay home.  While he travels fine by car, the planes are an issue, and the lawn on the Celebrity ships is totally forbidden, with good reason.  We managed to get an points booking on a non-stop flight in Southwest from STL to LAX to get to the cruise.  Hopefully I can walk when we get off the flight…. Since it will be a long one.  
 

I’ll think of Roz when we go to the Port of San Pedro,  I recall that was her favorite embarkation port, and an easy drive for her to get to. 

[Insuregal]

Best wishes for a pleasant journey!

 

Roz was such a special lady, always trying to help each one of us.  Sure do miss her...