Grand Cayman with Guide Dog

[GJClay]

I use a guide dog and am scheduled to fly to our port in less than 48 hours to sail on Carnival Liberty and am in desperate need of some clarification. I have been told on numerous occasions by Carnival Guest Access services that I was not required specific paperwork for Grand Cayman. For the past few months I asked this question repeatedly to insure a smooth trip and was informed numerous times nothing was required for the dog. Today I was contacted by Carnival and informed that I do, indeed, need a separate form for my dog to cruise to GC. I do not have the time or access to apply for this at this late time but cannot get a straight answer from Carnival.

 

Does anyone have information on this issue that would enlighten me as to whether or not this will be a problem in GC?

[Quampapetet]

You will need a health certificate from the vet regardless of if you get off the boat or not (you'll need it to get back into the US).

 

To enter the Cayman Islands (CI), your service dog (SD) will have needed to have been vaccinated with the Rabies vaccine and then taken a titer blood test. If the test turns out good, the SD will be allowed to enter CI six months from the date the blood was taken (I believe - either that or six months from the test date, I don't recall).

 

There are certain countries a dog cannot have just come from and enter CI, Mexico being one. So, if your cruise port the day before is in Mexico, he can't enter CI regardless of the right paperwork. (The blood draw for the tests can be expensive, by the way.)

 

[Note that this is a VERY casual description of the regulations - for the actual regulations and any other required paperwork [i can't recall if an import permit is required for CI or not], you'll need to find out the actual wording of the regulations.]

 

Since you are going in a few days, you likely don't have the rabies titer paperwork for CI. (Or, if you'll be in Mexico before CI, you can't enter CI.) In this case, your SD must stay on the cruise ship, as he will not be allowed to disembark at CI.

 

Never trust the cruise line to tell you the right thing, especially in regards to what paperwork countries require for our SDs. Sorry that you learned the hard way! I hope you enjoy the amenities of the ship while it is in CI, though! That's what I did, since my ship stopped in Mexico before CI (plus I didn't want to spend all that money on the testing), and my SD and I had a nice, relaxing day onboard.

[GJClay]

You will need a health certificate from the vet regardless of if you get off the boat or not (you'll need it to get back into the US).

 

To enter the Cayman Islands (CI), your service dog (SD) will have needed to have been vaccinated with the Rabies vaccine and then taken a titer blood test. If the test turns out good, the SD will be allowed to enter CI six months from the date the blood was taken (I believe - either that or six months from the test date, I don't recall).

 

There are certain countries a dog cannot have just come from and enter CI, Mexico being one. So, if your cruise port the day before is in Mexico, he can't enter CI regardless of the right paperwork. (The blood draw for the tests can be expensive, by the way.)

 

[Note that this is a VERY casual description of the regulations - for the actual regulations and any other required paperwork [i can't recall if an import permit is required for CI or not], you'll need to find out the actual wording of the regulations.]

 

Since you are going in a few days, you likely don't have the rabies titer paperwork for CI. (Or, if you'll be in Mexico before CI, you can't enter CI.) In this case, your SD must stay on the cruise ship, as he will not be allowed to disembark at CI.

 

Never trust the cruise line to tell you the right thing, especially in regards to what paperwork countries require for our SDs. Sorry that you learned the hard way! I hope you enjoy the amenities of the ship while it is in CI, though! That's what I did, since my ship stopped in Mexico before CI (plus I didn't want to spend all that money on the testing), and my SD and I had a nice, relaxing day onboard.

 

Thanks for the info. Who knew??

[Quampapetet]

A lot of countries have import regulations you have to prepare in advance for. The Bahamas requires an import permit, for instance. (Also, Hawaii, even though one of the states, requires the rabies titer test and six-month wait since it is a rabies-free island. England and Ireland also require it.)

 

Some countries do not allow dogs to enter, such as Jamaica.

 

When going to another country (or Hawaii) with a dog, one always must check out the regulations or they will be refused entry (or the dog destroyed).