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

[wizard-of-roz]

6 hours ago, dobiemom said:

Just dropping by to say "Hi, Roz!" 😘

Hello sweet Marcia, I hope all is well for you and your family.  I think of you often and water the wonderful plant that you bought for my Morey every week!

 

Do you think you can make the November cruise?  I'd love to see you and cruise with you again. 🐾

[wizard-of-roz]

This is Brenda & Horton sleeping side by side at my work.  I closed the door to the kennel so they would be forced to interact with each other. 

 

This was the first time I had brought them to my job together.  They treated each other with such respect.  I loved having them both!  ❤️ 

 

As you can see Horton got the bed.......Brenda was very patient with him.....except, when it came to her couch at home.....not so much there!

 

Note:  The pink feather in Brenda's hair.  I treated her like such a diva!

[S.S. Cruisers]

Such gorgeous furkids!  I want to huggle them all up and kiss those squishy faces!  Our previous next door neighbor has a service dog.  His name is Ryder.  We got to see him last week, after not seeing him for some time.  He has matured, but is still only about 26 months old.  Those that have or had labs know that that is phooey that they act all growed up at 2 yrs. old!  Ryder is  a yellow lab and average height and a little thinner than most.  He is still a big boy and just loves to cuddle.  ❤️  

[HHFamily]

Kali's first cruise is 3 weeks from today!

[wizard-of-roz]

1 hour ago, HHFamily said:

Kali's first cruise is 3 weeks from today!

Kali is so cute!  Boy or girl?  I have so many questions.  Is Kali a Poodle?  Or Poodle mix?  They are such brilliant dogs.  I have been seriously thinking of going towards a more "allergy" friendly dog because of my persistent sinusitis and upon recommendation of my doctor.

 

CCI  is not working with the Poodle's, Labradoodle's or any mix's thereof, except for the Lab & Retriever.  I'm sure that one day they will consider a breed that does not shed and will start a breeding program for them but not yet!!!!!  I'm way before my time, I'm afraid.

 

Where did you get Kali, where was he/she trained?  Tell us more!  Is it a training Org.  Or, was she privately trained?

 

I am seriously looking into a Successor Dog that is more allergy friendly when Horty is ready to retire and would love to hear more about Kali.

 

You're going to love cruising with your dog, and the ship is going to love him/her!

 

P.S.  Love the booties! 🐩

[wizard-of-roz]

Cindy, John, how was your first weekend at home with Oakland?  Do you think he'll be ready for cruising?

[S.S. Cruisers]

Kali is gawgeous! ❤️

 

[dobiemom]

On 4/13/2019 at 9:51 PM, wizard-of-roz said:

Hello sweet Marcia, I hope all is well for you and your family.  I think of you often and water the wonderful plant that you bought for my Morey every week!

 

Do you think you can make the November cruise?  I'd love to see you and cruise with you again. 🐾

I wish I could, but got hit with a large tax bill. 😱

 

I did the California coastal on the Ruby Princess last November. Wonderful cruise! And you're doing a B2B... lucky girl! 😁

[wizard-of-roz]

41 minutes ago, dobiemom said:

I wish I could, but got hit with a large tax bill. 😱

 

I did the California coastal on the Ruby Princess last November. Wonderful cruise! And you're doing a B2B... lucky girl! 😁

The first leg is the Calif. Coastal and the second is Mexican Riviera [granddaughters choice.]  Three granddaughter's will be joining me and Horton on the second leg.  I'll move out of the Mini-Suite into a cabin across the hall with Horton.  I love having the family join me and I look forward to being with them and watching them enjoy cruising as much as I do!

 

Maybe we'll have a chance to cruise together another time!

[rangeley]

20 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

Cindy, John, how was your first weekend at home with Oakland?  Do you think he'll be ready for cruising?

Weekend was great. Walked down for lunch to a local restaurant. He did great. On the way back there was the Patriots day parade going on. He was fine with all the noise. They have the reenactment of some revolutionary war stuff across the street. He didnt move, no reaction at all to the guns. 

 

As far as the cruise, he's been on ferry rides so not concerned about the ship. The potty thing is what has me worried. He's got some wierd habits. He takes forever and does alot of walking around. He also still lifts his leg if given the chance. But also squats. Thats my only worry. 

[DUTRAVEL]

What a good looking bunch of service dogs we have!

 

I found the secret to a better picture of Henri is to use portrait mode on my iPhone.

 

Dianne

[wizard-of-roz]

7 hours ago, rangeley said:

Weekend was great. Walked down for lunch to a local restaurant. He did great. On the way back there was the Patriots day parade going on. He was fine with all the noise. They have the reenactment of some revolutionary war stuff across the street. He didnt move, no reaction at all to the guns. 

 

As far as the cruise, he's been on ferry rides so not concerned about the ship. The potty thing is what has me worried. He's got some wierd habits. He takes forever and does alot of walking around. He also still lifts his leg if given the chance. But also squats. Thats my only worry. 

Horton is a "colon cleanser", every time he pees, he has to poop!  I'm constantly picking up after him!!!!  He only does it in the appropriate place though.  I asked the Vet about it.......he said some dogs don't like holding onto any body waste.......lucky me!

 

Oakland sounds like a calm boy around loud noises and one who has to mentally get himself ready to relieve himself.......you know, how some folks need to have a magazine or a book!  TMI!!!!!

Edited April 16, 2019 by wizard-of-roz

[wizard-of-roz]

1 hour ago, DUTRAVEL said:

What a good looking bunch of service dogs we have!

 

I found the secret to a better picture of Henri is to use portrait mode on my iPhone.

 

Dianne

I love taking professional pix and am known to spend a fortune on board a cruise of pictures taken in every venue on every cruise I've ever taken!  My walls, shelves and photo albums are absolutely full!!!!

 

I also admit to being very lame when it comes to electronics, cameras, phones, etc., etc.  However, I am a quick learner.

[rangeley]

13 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

Horton is a "colon cleanser", every time he pees, he has to poop!  I'm constantly picking up after him!!!!  He only does it in the appropriate place though.  I asked the Vet about it.......he said some dogs don't like holding onto any body waste.......lucky me!

 

Oakland sounds like a calm boy around loud noises and one who has to mentally get himself ready to relieve himself.......you know, how some folks need to have a magazine or a book!  TMI!!!!!

He's like a camel. Pees all at once for like an hour. Very strange.  Also does this "suckling" thing with a toy. Has it in his mouth all the time. 

[Caribbean Chris]

15 hours ago, DUTRAVEL said:

What a good looking bunch of service dogs we have!

 

I found the secret to a better picture of Henri is to use portrait mode on my iPhone.

 

Dianne

 

Thanks! I’m going to try that!

[Caribbean Chris]

So here’s our report for Cindy and anyone else interested. We returned Sunday from a one week cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale to the Western Caribbean on the Nieuw Statendam, HAL’s new ship. We got a good deal on a Neptune Suite, so had a lot of space in our room, as well as use of a new suite dining room called Club Orange for breakfast and dinner. The staff there was A+ and set aside a perfect 4-seat table against a wall for the two of us to use. The main dining room host did the same when we ate there for two lunches.

 

The ship has numerous good features. There are lots of tables against walls (to keep the dog out of foot traffic) in several large entertainment lounges with dance floors on the “Music Walk,” and we actually went to performances every night. In the big theater, we sat in the back beside an open space good for stashing the dog. There was a sensational dance performance on the first gala night with all kinds of lighting effects, and Raylene snoozed peacefully through all the noise every night.

 

Outside, the two pool areas had multi levels with a lot of lounges, seating and food outlets. Indoors, the Lido buffet was always pretty crowded at lunchtime and had heavy chairs and tighter seating, harder for maneuvering a dog between tables than other HAL ships. The pool areas had automatic door access. 

 

Elevators were fast and the ship has three sets (instead of two like the Celebrity ships). Much, much better access via elevators to public spaces and seating on this ship than on the new Celebrity Edge. Nieuw Statendam is a more comfortable, well-organized ship.

 

On the promenade deck, though, I believe that only the mid-ship exits had automatic doors. Our cabin was near the forward elevator, closer to the relief box, and the three sets of forward doors by the theater leading to the promenade were very heavy wooden ones like on the other HAL ships. Hard to pull or push open alone and wrangle the dog through. They would not work well for a wheelchair user.

 

There was one other service dog on board, a guide dog for a man with a visual disability. The relief area was forward on the port side and not protected as it has been on the other HAL ships, since the bulkhead had large openings letting in a lot of wind and spray. The faux teak deck covering was very slippery when wet. 

 

Box filler was very unsatisfactory, unusually so for HAL, which in the past has provided a full box of fresh green sod. The two 4’ square plywood boxes contained only small, dry, withered sod patches, which the dogs were reluctant to use. The rest of the box had leftover dirt from previous sod, so when the dogs peed, the liquid ran off into the dirt and turned into mud under their paws. So of course they tracked it onto the deck. Very messy, unsanitary, and disappointing, and my numerous requests never resulted in any improvement. None of this was typical of HAL in my past experience.

 

On a more fun note, Bob and I were invited with a lot of other people to receive a bronze medallion from the captain for 100 days sailing with HAL, at a reception before the Mariner's Club (repeaters) luncheon. One of the Mariner staff women decided that Raylene should also receive a medallion (see photo) which she wore proudly as she slept through lunch.

 

Four ports - We went ashore on Half Moon Cay (yes, we needed our Bahamas permit) and sat on the beach loungers for a while - always enjoy doing that. We wrote on the form 7001 that we would not disembark in Jamaica or Grand Cayman (because of the paperwork hassle). The ship docked at Ocho Rios where both of us had climbed Dunn’s River Falls years ago. On Grand Cayman day, the captain called back the tenders and cancelled our day there due to swells that caused tender damage and safety issues; we left by 10 a.m. and HAL later gave everyone a $50 pp on board credit so I think there must have been a lot of grumbling.  For Cozumel, Raylene and the guide dog had to appear before the Mexico officials at 7:45 a.m. for a body check with attention to ears and skin. We brought just the standard 7001 form (not endorsed) and the vet’s bilingual statement signed on her letterhead, with the language provided by Mexico (see APHIS website). The inspector was happy with that. Later we went ashore and after getting past the mobs (lots of big ships in port), we found plenty of nice grass for Raylene and two big margaritas for us.

 

Embarkation was very easy - we were escorted onto the ship before general boarding, which was the case on our HAL cruise last year, directly to the front desk to hand in our dog paperwork. Disembarkation was busy but very smooth because we got a porter - he took us to the Global Entry booth (we don’t have GE) and then whisked us across the street into the parking garage up the elevator to our car! 

 

Bottom line, we had a great cruise, with the only glitch being the lack of customer service to do with the skimpy, inadequate box filler. The dog eventually adapted to the reality, of course, but it took extra unnecessary trips, and I was wishing I had traveled with a bag of garden mulch. 

[wizard-of-roz]

6 hours ago, rangeley said:

He's like a camel. Pees all at once for like an hour. Very strange.  Also does this "suckling" thing with a toy. Has it in his mouth all the time. 

I think his habit of needing a toy in his mouth is absolutely adorable......do they make pacifiers for dogs?  You won the lottery on getting a very sweet boy!

 

When I got Horton I had forgotten how long it takes for these amazing heroes to adjust.  They've been through so many changes and people in their short lives.  I'd be an emotional wreck!

[S.S. Cruisers]

Oh Chris, those potty boxes are pathetic.  Someone should have given them a "pot" and asked them how they would like to use it for a week!  Raylene is gawgeous with her medallion.  I also love her hat. (OMD, just noticed that is actually the chair behind her! BOL BOL)

 

[S.S. Cruisers]

Cindy, 

That is one precious boy, there.  Travis had a little dinosaur that had a small blue t-shirt on that looks a lot like Oaklands.  He loved his dinosaur, too.  Didn't suck on it fortunately but sure hugged him tightly.  

[rangeley]

5 hours ago, Caribbean Chris said:

So here’s our report for Cindy and anyone else interested. We returned Sunday from a one week cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale to the Western Caribbean on the Nieuw Statendam, HAL’s new ship. We got a good deal on a Neptune Suite, so had a lot of space in our room, as well as use of a new suite dining room called Club Orange for breakfast and dinner. The staff there was A+ and set aside a perfect 4-seat table against a wall for the two of us to use. The main dining room host did the same when we ate there for two lunches.

 

The ship has numerous good features. There are lots of tables against walls (to keep the dog out of foot traffic) in several large entertainment lounges with dance floors on the “Music Walk,” and we actually went to performances every night. In the big theater, we sat in the back beside an open space good for stashing the dog. There was a sensational dance performance on the first gala night with all kinds of lighting effects, and Raylene snoozed peacefully through all the noise every night.

 

Outside, the two pool areas had multi levels with a lot of lounges, seating and food outlets. Indoors, the Lido buffet was always pretty crowded at lunchtime and had heavy chairs and tighter seating, harder for maneuvering a dog between tables than other HAL ships. The pool areas had automatic door access. 

 

Elevators were fast and the ship has three sets (instead of two like the Celebrity ships). Much, much better access via elevators to public spaces and seating on this ship than on the new Celebrity Edge. Nieuw Statendam is a more comfortable, well-organized ship.

 

On the promenade deck, though, I believe that only the mid-ship exits had automatic doors. Our cabin was near the forward elevator, closer to the relief box, and the three sets of forward doors by the theater leading to the promenade were very heavy wooden ones like on the other HAL ships. Hard to pull or push open alone and wrangle the dog through. They would not work well for a wheelchair user.

 

There was one other service dog on board, a guide dog for a man with a visual disability. The relief area was forward on the port side and not protected as it has been on the other HAL ships, since the bulkhead had large openings letting in a lot of wind and spray. The faux teak deck covering was very slippery when wet. 

 

Box filler was very unsatisfactory, unusually so for HAL, which in the past has provided a full box of fresh green sod. The two 4’ square plywood boxes contained only small, dry, withered sod patches, which the dogs were reluctant to use. The rest of the box had leftover dirt from previous sod, so when the dogs peed, the liquid ran off into the dirt and turned into mud under their paws. So of course they tracked it onto the deck. Very messy, unsanitary, and disappointing, and my numerous requests never resulted in any improvement. None of this was typical of HAL in my past experience.

 

On a more fun note, Bob and I were invited with a lot of other people to receive a bronze medallion from the captain for 100 days sailing with HAL, at a reception before the Mariner's Club (repeaters) luncheon. One of the Mariner staff women decided that Raylene should also receive a medallion (see photo) which she wore proudly as she slept through lunch.

 

Four ports - We went ashore on Half Moon Cay (yes, we needed our Bahamas permit) and sat on the beach loungers for a while - always enjoy doing that. We wrote on the form 7001 that we would not disembark in Jamaica or Grand Cayman (because of the paperwork hassle). The ship docked at Ocho Rios where both of us had climbed Dunn’s River Falls years ago. On Grand Cayman day, the captain called back the tenders and cancelled our day there due to swells that caused tender damage and safety issues; we left by 10 a.m. and HAL later gave everyone a $50 pp on board credit so I think there must have been a lot of grumbling.  For Cozumel, Raylene and the guide dog had to appear before the Mexico officials at 7:45 a.m. for a body check with attention to ears and skin. We brought just the standard 7001 form (not endorsed) and the vet’s bilingual statement signed on her letterhead, with the language provided by Mexico (see APHIS website). The inspector was happy with that. Later we went ashore and after getting past the mobs (lots of big ships in port), we found plenty of nice grass for Raylene and two big margaritas for us.

 

Embarkation was very easy - we were escorted onto the ship before general boarding, which was the case on our HAL cruise last year, directly to the front desk to hand in our dog paperwork. Disembarkation was busy but very smooth because we got a porter - he took us to the Global Entry booth (we don’t have GE) and then whisked us across the street into the parking garage up the elevator to our car! 

 

Bottom line, we had a great cruise, with the only glitch being the lack of customer service to do with the skimpy, inadequate box filler. The dog eventually adapted to the reality, of course, but it took extra unnecessary trips, and I was wishing I had traveled with a bag of garden mulch. 

Chris thank you so much for the extensive report. I'm sad to see that none of these ships still can't get the darn potty box right. I guess we will try like you and be disappointed as usual. I dont see how hard it is to get a piece of grass. ☹️

 

We are doing eastern Caribbean actually called "tropical" Caribbean. We will also be going to HMC, my favorite place. We have already rented the handicapped cabana. With John in the wheelchair, its the best way to enjoy ifor him to enjoy it. 

 

Last year my neighbor was putting in a new lawn and I dug up 2 pieces of sod and actually put them in my granny cart to bring on the ship. Next month we go to Bermuda and we will have to rely on them to get us some grass. Maybe this guy will go on mulch, who knows. I will be glad when his first cruise is done. It will be an easy one since we leave out of Boston and no flying. 

[Miki_moto]

Wow, Chris, thanks for all the information.  

 

The boxes do look a bit disappointing.  I had to laugh, though, since it looks much like the setup i’m using currently for our pre-cruise training with Nico!  I figured if he used it, anything better on the ship would be a bonus.  🙂

 

I’m using one plastic ‘raised bed’ from a pair I got from Costco - $89 Canadian at the warehouse.  We shift it to to different  places in the utility section of our yard so Nico knows it’s going in the ‘box’ that’s important, not the exact location.

 

At the suggestion of one his trainers, I’ve just added the kiddie pool that Nico refuses to use as a pool (!) to the box.  I’ll start shifting it towards the garage where, hopefully, Nico will pee in the pool in the box so that he knows it’s okay to pee inside.  That said, he had no problem going in the doggie relief area at SeaTac prior to our trip to England.  It will need cleaning out but better the pool than the garage floor!

[wizard-of-roz]

5 hours ago, Caribbean Chris said:

So here’s our report for Cindy and anyone else interested. We returned Sunday from a one week cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale to the Western Caribbean on the Nieuw Statendam, HAL’s new ship. We got a good deal on a Neptune Suite, so had a lot of space in our room, as well as use of a new suite dining room called Club Orange for breakfast and dinner. The staff there was A+ and set aside a perfect 4-seat table against a wall for the two of us to use. The main dining room host did the same when we ate there for two lunches.

 

The ship has numerous good features. There are lots of tables against walls (to keep the dog out of foot traffic) in several large entertainment lounges with dance floors on the “Music Walk,” and we actually went to performances every night. In the big theater, we sat in the back beside an open space good for stashing the dog. There was a sensational dance performance on the first gala night with all kinds of lighting effects, and Raylene snoozed peacefully through all the noise every night.

 

Outside, the two pool areas had multi levels with a lot of lounges, seating and food outlets. Indoors, the Lido buffet was always pretty crowded at lunchtime and had heavy chairs and tighter seating, harder for maneuvering a dog between tables than other HAL ships. The pool areas had automatic door access. 

 

Elevators were fast and the ship has three sets (instead of two like the Celebrity ships). Much, much better access via elevators to public spaces and seating on this ship than on the new Celebrity Edge. Nieuw Statendam is a more comfortable, well-organized ship.

 

On the promenade deck, though, I believe that only the mid-ship exits had automatic doors. Our cabin was near the forward elevator, closer to the relief box, and the three sets of forward doors by the theater leading to the promenade were very heavy wooden ones like on the other HAL ships. Hard to pull or push open alone and wrangle the dog through. They would not work well for a wheelchair user.

 

There was one other service dog on board, a guide dog for a man with a visual disability. The relief area was forward on the port side and not protected as it has been on the other HAL ships, since the bulkhead had large openings letting in a lot of wind and spray. The faux teak deck covering was very slippery when wet. 

 

Box filler was very unsatisfactory, unusually so for HAL, which in the past has provided a full box of fresh green sod. The two 4’ square plywood boxes contained only small, dry, withered sod patches, which the dogs were reluctant to use. The rest of the box had leftover dirt from previous sod, so when the dogs peed, the liquid ran off into the dirt and turned into mud under their paws. So of course they tracked it onto the deck. Very messy, unsanitary, and disappointing, and my numerous requests never resulted in any improvement. None of this was typical of HAL in my past experience.

 

On a more fun note, Bob and I were invited with a lot of other people to receive a bronze medallion from the captain for 100 days sailing with HAL, at a reception before the Mariner's Club (repeaters) luncheon. One of the Mariner staff women decided that Raylene should also receive a medallion (see photo) which she wore proudly as she slept through lunch.

 

Four ports - We went ashore on Half Moon Cay (yes, we needed our Bahamas permit) and sat on the beach loungers for a while - always enjoy doing that. We wrote on the form 7001 that we would not disembark in Jamaica or Grand Cayman (because of the paperwork hassle). The ship docked at Ocho Rios where both of us had climbed Dunn’s River Falls years ago. On Grand Cayman day, the captain called back the tenders and cancelled our day there due to swells that caused tender damage and safety issues; we left by 10 a.m. and HAL later gave everyone a $50 pp on board credit so I think there must have been a lot of grumbling.  For Cozumel, Raylene and the guide dog had to appear before the Mexico officials at 7:45 a.m. for a body check with attention to ears and skin. We brought just the standard 7001 form (not endorsed) and the vet’s bilingual statement signed on her letterhead, with the language provided by Mexico (see APHIS website). The inspector was happy with that. Later we went ashore and after getting past the mobs (lots of big ships in port), we found plenty of nice grass for Raylene and two big margaritas for us.

 

Embarkation was very easy - we were escorted onto the ship before general boarding, which was the case on our HAL cruise last year, directly to the front desk to hand in our dog paperwork. Disembarkation was busy but very smooth because we got a porter - he took us to the Global Entry booth (we don’t have GE) and then whisked us across the street into the parking garage up the elevator to our car! 

 

Bottom line, we had a great cruise, with the only glitch being the lack of customer service to do with the skimpy, inadequate box filler. The dog eventually adapted to the reality, of course, but it took extra unnecessary trips, and I was wishing I had traveled with a bag of garden mulch. 

A rolled up piece of artificial grass [green patio deck cover, purchased by the yard at Lowe's] would have covered HAL's lame attempt at "litter".....easy to pack and bring!  You do have to cut drainage holes in it but it folds easily into a carry on.

 

My suggestion if this happens again, go to the Passenger Service's desk and request a bag of wood shavings.  EVERY ship has a woodworking dept.  They have access to wood shavings.  

 

There is no excuse for these cruise ships not to have the potty box and it's filler down pat.  They just DON'T GET IT!!!!!  It's a ridiculous battle every time we cruise.  Some ships do better than others but it still remains a source of confusion and common sense.  

 

I know that Carnival will have no problem placing the box on my veranda; Princess will place the box in a stairwell near my cabin [some of them will place it on my veranda; Island, Sapphire, Golden], some will refuse.  HAL's Oosterdam had no problem placing it on our veranda, while other HAL ships refused.  There's no consistency, even within the cruiseline.  I'm ALWAYS prepared to go to the Passenger Services Desk upon arrival and insist on where the box be placed, for my convenience, NOT THEIRS!  Now that I bring the rolled-up artificial stuff....I don't care what they use as filler. 

 

I refuse to walk to the other side of the ship, go outside, into the elements through heavy doors and huge lifts so that my dog may relieve himself.  It's so not necessary and I will NOT allow myself or my dog to be treated badly because it may inconvenience the folks who work onboard.  I remain respectful and do honor their hard work, while insisting on what is the right thing to do!  We've paid a lot of money and it's NOT that difficult to please us!!!!     

 

 

[wizard-of-roz]

1 hour ago, S.S. Cruisers said:

Oh Chris, those potty boxes are pathetic.  Someone should have given them a "pot" and asked them how they would like to use it for a week!  Raylene is gawgeous with her medallion.  I also love her hat. (OMD, just noticed that is actually the chair behind her! BOL BOL)

 

Nancy, time for new glasses!!!

[Caribbean Chris]

2 hours ago, S.S. Cruisers said:

Oh Chris, those potty boxes are pathetic.  Someone should have given them a "pot" and asked them how they would like to use it for a week!  Raylene is gawgeous with her medallion.  I also love her hat. (OMD, just noticed that is actually the chair behind her! BOL BOL)

 

I did think she was quite stunning with her medallion! and she never pawed at it or complained when I tied it around her neck. Truth be told, she hasn’t had 100 nights on HAL, but - what the heck, right?

[Caribbean Chris]

Roz, you are right,and I keep meaning to bring along some fake grass. HAL has done the sod right in the past (or fixed it fast one time, even in Kodiak, Alaska) so I was lulled into false confidence that all would be well!