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


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Thanks so much for your advice.. Everybody here seems so nice . I just took Lacey to the vet today to get all the paper work and up date her shots etc..The vet seems to know what paperwork is needed . Is there anything specific other than her paperwork from the vet that I need for her? Sorry to sound so stupid..I am just so afraid I will not have the correct papers and then be booted from the cruise..yikes. I am definetly a nervous Nellie , LOL.

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Thanks so much for your advice.. Everybody here seems so nice . I just took Lacey to the vet today to get all the paper work and up date her shots etc..The vet seems to know what paperwork is needed . Is there anything specific other than her paperwork from the vet that I need for her? Sorry to sound so stupid..I am just so afraid I will not have the correct papers and then be booted from the cruise..yikes. I am definetly a nervous Nellie , LOL.

 

The Vets paperwork; listing the most recent rabies; up-to-date on all vaccines; useage of Heartguard and Advantix; skin in good health; city license; any paperwork from training org. and your set. Some ports require blood titres [recent blood draw.] I NEVER go to ports that ask me to overly immunize my dog....NEVER!

 

Don't be nervous. Enjoy your vacation and cruise. The worst thing that could ever happen is you'll keep Lacey onboard with someone while each of you takes turn visiting the port with a problem.

 

Once you're onboard that ship, you will love and enjoy your cruise and NO ONE will hassle you.

Edited by wizard-of-roz
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You guys are gonna love this................I get a phone call today from Allison Muff of the Access Dept. of Princess Cruises. She proceeds to tell me that a passenger onboard my last cruise has filed a complaint against a person with a Service Dog and he was complaining about the behavior of both the dog and the handler. I asked who was the dog......was it a Chihuahua? With great relief she said, "yes!" The man said that the woman was feeding the dog off a plate in the dining room and the dog was allowed to lick a spoon and the plate along with "yipping and yapping" at others. It also had become very bothersome on a tender going into Santa Barbara, by jumping and scratching at people.

 

Allison asked if I had noticed any bad behavior and I had to be honest. The woman was "tugging" and "dragging" the little thing and didn't seem to be giving her any directives at all. The dog did not display any manners or good behaviors anytime that I saw her.

 

I asked what happens now and Allison said that the woman will be allowed to board future cruises but NOT with her dog.

 

It's this kind of trickery, lieing and stupidity that makes it so difficult for the rest of us!

 

Please, STOP bringing your pets onboard cruise ships.

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Roz I have to say you stressed me out... I read your honeys I'm home last night before going to sleep and in turn I had nightmares of my upcoming cruise... In my dream we got to the port in Honolulu and tried to board the Rhapsody but they said we weren't booked... I dig out my trusty iPhone and check my confirmation emails and find out I booked a PRINCESS ship out of LA for the 8 of us... The rest if the crew weren't too happy with me since we only had about 8 hours to get to the airport, buy tickets and fly back to the mainland, get to the port and on board the Princess ship... the flights were $4000 each LOL. 1/2 the group decided to wait in Honolulu for the ship to sail over - said they'd sleep on the beach (ummm ok, you're all in your 70's but whatever!!) and the other 1/2 decided to fly.... Then I woke up... Thank goodness... They weren't too happy with me to say the least!!!!

 

 

Sent from my Speak & Spell using Tapatalk

Edited by Beth C
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Roz: You also had me stressed out! I thought you were going to say that the fool that kicked Horty complained about you guys! Whewww. I was kinda hoping you would tell Allison about him, though. Although you don't know his name and I am sure you handled the situation. I was just concerned if he came across another service dog without such a smart and caring mom and he intimidated them. Too bad they can't flag his name and keep an eye out for him! Put him on the bad guy list!

Good night everyone.

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I don't think I could have kept my cool if someone had ever kicked Hershey... I would have probably said something to the effect of "this might be a well trained dog in public who will not react to you.... but me, not so much"

 

 

Sent from my Speak & Spell using Tapatalk

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Thanks, so much for your response.. I feel better already.. Still nervous though.. But, okay

so to go to the Atlantis, we need the permit from the Bahamas? Is that hard to process or expensive? If you have a copy of the permit and its not difficult to do then , that would be great..my email is bamagal08@yahoo.com..

 

 

At the top of the form write "service dog" and there is no charge. Here is the form http://www.bahamas.com/sites/default/files/pdf/Bahamas_Application_to_Import_Domestic_Animals_in_TIOTB.pdf

 

If I was you, I would try to fax it if you can since you don't have much time.

 

Any other questions, I will try to answer.

 

Cindy

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You guys are gonna love this................I get a phone call today from Allison Muff of the Access Dept. of Princess Cruises. She proceeds to tell me that a passenger onboard my last cruise has filed a complaint against a person with a Service Dog and he was complaining about the behavior of both the dog and the handler. I asked who was the dog......was it a Chihuahua? With great relief she said, "yes!" The man said that the woman was feeding the dog off a plate in the dining room and the dog was allowed to lick a spoon and the plate along with "yipping and yapping" at others. It also had become very bothersome on a tender going into Santa Barbara, by jumping and scratching at people.

 

Allison asked if I had noticed any bad behavior and I had to be honest. The woman was "tugging" and "dragging" the little thing and didn't seem to be giving her any directives at all. The dog did not display any manners or good behaviors anytime that I saw her.

 

I asked what happens now and Allison said that the woman will be allowed to board future cruises but NOT with her dog.

 

It's this kind of trickery, lieing and stupidity that makes it so difficult for the rest of us!

 

Please, STOP bringing your pets onboard cruise ships.

 

 

Best thing I've heard in a long time Roz! It's about time!

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Hi Honey's, I'm home!!!!!!!! What a fabulous cruise! Princess is truly a "rock-star" when it comes to taking care of the passengers and the pooch's!

 

There were two other dogs onboard a "Chiauhua(sp), who did absolutely nothing and got "dragged" around by it's collar by her owner, I hated to see it. Her name was "Sophie." I never asked what she did as a Service Dog but it was obvious that she wasn't very well trained. Then there was a "Jack Russel/wire-haired Terrier" named "Topper" who was a seizure alert dog. He was very well behaved, except when he saw Horton then he'd give out a quick, low bark to remind Horton not to eat him!

 

I love the Sapphire Princess and the crew was outstanding! There was an air show and the America's Cup boat race in San Francisco so two/full days in SF turned to 1 1/2 days, with huge crowds on the wharf. It rained in San Diego and the seas were a bit rough but who cares, I was on a cruise and that made everything okay.

 

The folks onboard were wonderful and fun. I only had ONE person who actually "kicked" Horton to try and get him to move from a "down/stay" so that he could sit in the seat that Horton was sitting in front of! We were sitting in the Piazza to watch a show. Another passenger saw it and asked if she should call "Security" I said "no" and then confronted the "jerk!" He was so mean. He said, "I won't bother your dog, if he doesn't bother me!" I just couldn't believe how rude he was. He also treated his wife in a mean way.......I stayed right where I was and watched to make sure he didn't touch my boy again. I NEVER ran into him again. But had a lot of supporters who were willing to beat the guy up! It always amazes me how you may never see some folks again while onboard a cruise and for some, that's just fine with me.

 

I can't begin to tell you how many folks came over and asked, "are you Roz from Cruise Critic, I read the blog every day!" I told them to join in our conversation, they said they enjoy reading what we say to each other. We have friends from all over the world, you guys....they mentioned Cindy, Karen, DVD, Quam, Nancy, Barbara, Marcia, Jocko, Trudy and even asked me questions about some folks who don't write-in so much. Amazing, we better be careful what we say....we're going to get paparazzi before we know it.

 

Marcia, I love those balloons. Such a good idea to keep hubby happy, every now and then!!!!

 

Cindy, I'm glad that Wexy's ear is getting better....I hope it stays away! Are you getting excited, you're cruise is coming up soon.

 

scubagirrl: Thanks for the info. on the Bahama's. I was just in Mexico and had no problems with strays......Of course, there were police everywhere and one guard seemed to walk right behind me wherever we went. I didn't mind the "private, security guard feeling" at all!

 

bamagal: I can't stress enough; have your paperwork all in order and make copies for the registration people, at the pier. It makes everything go faster. They ask for the dogs paperwork and then they'll ask you to wait while they make a copy......you just need to hand the copies to them and tell them to keep it and move right along. Call the "Access Dept" a few days before you cruise so they can "alert" the ship, via email or fax to get the potty-box in place.

 

:)We had a 5x4 box, lined in heavy plastic, with cyprus mulch as the filler. I asked our room steward to leave the bag of mulch so that I could fill it to keep it more clean. [They NEVER put in enough.] I bring my own plastic bags, I pick up the solid waste, knot the bag and drop it into the recepticle that they provide. The mulch absorbs the urine and there's no smell. I lay a layer of new mulch daily to help with the absorbtion [i use my hands and wash-up back at my cabin.] I like the box in the stairwell near our cabin. You can put it on your veranda or have it placed on a deck, away from the public. When you call make sure you mention to use mulch.:)

 

If the Bahama's is difficult to bring your Service Dog to, stay onboard the ship. It's not worth the hassles to bring our dogs into some countries. If they don't want my money, I'm happy to spend it elsewhere!

 

 

Allow fellow passengers to ask you questions and be ready to answer them, here's a sample of some:

  • What kind of dog is that
  • What does the dog do
  • How old is the dog
  • Why do you have a dog
  • Who trained your dog
  • Can I pat your dog
  • Where does the dog go potty
  • How did you get your dog onboard
  • Is that a puppy in training

And on and on and on!!!!!!

 

People are missing their pets, they just want a "furry-fix" and I recommend you allow them to touch the genious that walks beside you and makes your life so much better [your dog not you're significant other!] :p

 

Remember, you represent ALL of us when you bring your Service Dog onboard and can make a huge difference in how we're each treated in the future!

 

I had a foo-foo drink EVERY SINGLE DAY! And, I absolutely thought about all of you.

 

I bought the Ultimate Drink Package and if you're not an alcohol person, like me, I highly recommend it! It really saves you a lot of money when you like smoothies, hot chocolate, sodas and mocktails.

 

Hey Roz...

You should have told that jerk, it's a big ocean, people get lost every day!!

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Roz I have to say you stressed me out... I read your honeys I'm home last night before going to sleep and in turn I had nightmares of my upcoming cruise... In my dream we got to the port in Honolulu and tried to board the Rhapsody but they said we weren't booked... I dig out my trusty iPhone and check my confirmation emails and find out I booked a PRINCESS ship out of LA for the 8 of us... The rest if the crew weren't too happy with me since we only had about 8 hours to get to the airport, buy tickets and fly back to the mainland, get to the port and on board the Princess ship... the flights were $4000 each LOL. 1/2 the group decided to wait in Honolulu for the ship to sail over - said they'd sleep on the beach (ummm ok, you're all in your 70's but whatever!!) and the other 1/2 decided to fly.... Then I woke up... Thank goodness... They weren't too happy with me to say the least!!!!

 

Sent from my Speak & Spell using Tapatalk

 

Your imagination is really running wild. Wait til you see how easy-peasy it is to cruise with your dog!!!! You're gonna get hooked!!!!! :p

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Roz: You also had me stressed out! I thought you were going to say that the fool that kicked Horty complained about you guys! Whewww. I was kinda hoping you would tell Allison about him, though. Although you don't know his name and I am sure you handled the situation. I was just concerned if he came across another service dog without such a smart and caring mom and he intimidated them. Too bad they can't flag his name and keep an eye out for him! Put him on the bad guy list!

 

Good night everyone.

 

Maybe I should have gotten his name and really started something.....it was just so early on in the cruise and I didn't want to give him any more power than he thought he had!

Afterall, there is a $10,000 fine for injuring a Service Dog.

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I don't think I could have kept my cool if someone had ever kicked Hershey... I would have probably said something to the effect of "this might be a well trained dog in public who will not react to you.... but me, not so much"

 

 

Sent from my Speak & Spell using Tapatalk

 

Very well said!

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Am I being ignored by Roz? :confused:

 

Cindy, when, how did I ignore you? You weirdo! If I did, it was totally because your always in my head and I just think that I've written you autimatically.........Sorry, boo-boo! I love you, forgive me.

 

I bet you're getting very excited.....your cruise is closing-in!

We just moved our offices from one part of L.A. to another and it's been such a nightmare...poor Horty is so darned confused. He's been taken from one place to another since he was placed with me, I feel so bad for him [and, I had to throw two cruises into the mix], I'm giving him a lot of leeway and no big expectations from him, other than being well-behaved.

Again, I'm sorry Cindy for being so absent-minded. I consider you one of my my dearest friends....are we okay? :confused:

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Mornin' all:

Roz: There is a dear woman that has posted 2 new questions about cruising with her husband's service dog. Twice another nice board member has given her a link to your post, but I am not sure that she clicked on the link because she started another thread. I went on the one and also told her about you wonderful, knowledgable, and approachable people on your thread. Maybe if you trundle over she might come at least visit us? Always trying to be helpful!

Everyone have a great Fiday! :D

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Cindy, when, how did I ignore you? You weirdo! If I did, it was totally because your always in my head and I just think that I've written you autimatically.........Sorry, boo-boo! I love you, forgive me.

 

I bet you're getting very excited.....your cruise is closing-in!

 

We just moved our offices from one part of L.A. to another and it's been such a nightmare...poor Horty is so darned confused. He's been taken from one place to another since he was placed with me, I feel so bad for him [and, I had to throw two cruises into the mix], I'm giving him a lot of leeway and no big expectations from him, other than being well-behaved.

 

Again, I'm sorry Cindy for being so absent-minded. I consider you one of my my dearest friends....are we okay? :confused:

 

 

Weirdo? Boy you know me to well ;) I'm glad to hear I'm always in your head :D There's nothing to forgive you for, I still love you!

 

We are getting very excited about the cruise. And I get to meet Trudy and another couple I have been emailing with. We usually keep to ourselves, so it's kinda fun to be meeting people.

 

You are finally settled in your new place? Hopefully Horty will settle in and tell his mom to stay in one place. They are creatures of habit and I bet it throws them off when things change. If Wex doesn't get things at the same time each day he's all confused. There's a woman here that gave him a cookie she had in her pocket 2 times. Now when he sees her he goes nuts and thinks he is getting another one. Thats why I warned Trudy, once she gives him a cookie, she better have a weeks supply! We will make sure we give Trudy plenty of treats to give him.

 

Still waiting on my Bahamas permit. Hopefully it will come soon. Everything from the islands take so long!!! All Wex needs is his intl health cert. Which we get a week before the cruise.

 

We got a new printer cuz the last one finally pooped out. When I set it up we decided to move the tower to a different place. Boy did that open a can of worms :mad: As I was moving the power strip, the plug with the speakers sparked and blew the strip. So John went out and got a new one, and new speakers. The new strip didn't work :mad: so we had to bring it back and get another one. Then the keyboard screwed up. :mad: We fixed it, we thought and now today it stopped working! GEESH Now I have dragged our old one out of the cabinet. It's got white keys (other one was black) and they have a different feeling to them. Now I remember we didn't like it and thats why we had the black one. Lesson: Don't touch anything!!!!!

Enough of my complaining.

 

Cindy

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Mornin' all:

Roz: There is a dear woman that has posted 2 new questions about cruising with her husband's service dog. Twice another nice board member has given her a link to your post, but I am not sure that she clicked on the link because she started another thread. I went on the one and also told her about you wonderful, knowledgable, and approachable people on your thread. Maybe if you trundle over she might come at least visit us? Always trying to be helpful!

 

Everyone have a great Fiday! :D

 

I saw that womans post and that guy told here to come here. Maybe she feels that we can't help, since it's a guild dog and we have service dogs. I certainly can't, since we have never been to Europe. She is going for a longgggg time and to alot of places. Thats a tough one. But we do have experts here who have travelled abroad.

Edited by rangeley
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Mornin' all:

Roz: There is a dear woman that has posted 2 new questions about cruising with her husband's service dog. Twice another nice board member has given her a link to your post, but I am not sure that she clicked on the link because she started another thread. I went on the one and also told her about you wonderful, knowledgable, and approachable people on your thread. Maybe if you trundle over she might come at least visit us? Always trying to be helpful!

 

Everyone have a great Fiday! :D

 

After I clear-out a few more boxes from my office.....I'll go looking for this lost soul.

 

Thanks, Nancy, for always being so helpful! Have a wonderful weekend.....I'm going to do absolutely NOTHING!!!!!

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Weirdo? Boy you know me to well ;) I'm glad to hear I'm always in your head :D There's nothing to forgive you for, I still love you!

 

We are getting very excited about the cruise. And I get to meet Trudy and another couple I have been emailing with. We usually keep to ourselves, so it's kinda fun to be meeting people.

 

You are finally settled in your new place? Hopefully Horty will settle in and tell his mom to stay in one place. They are creatures of habit and I bet it throws them off when things change. If Wex doesn't get things at the same time each day he's all confused. There's a woman here that gave him a cookie she had in her pocket 2 times. Now when he sees her he goes nuts and thinks he is getting another one. Thats why I warned Trudy, once she gives him a cookie, she better have a weeks supply! We will make sure we give Trudy plenty of treats to give him.

 

Still waiting on my Bahamas permit. Hopefully it will come soon. Everything from the islands take so long!!! All Wex needs is his intl health cert. Which we get a week before the cruise.

 

We got a new printer cuz the last one finally pooped out. When I set it up we decided to move the tower to a different place. Boy did that open a can of worms :mad: As I was moving the power strip, the plug with the speakers sparked and blew the strip. So John went out and got a new one, and new speakers. The new strip didn't work :mad: so we had to bring it back and get another one. Then the keyboard screwed up. :mad: We fixed it, we thought and now today it stopped working! GEESH Now I have dragged our old one out of the cabinet. It's got white keys (other one was black) and they have a different feeling to them. Now I remember we didn't like it and thats why we had the black one. Lesson: Don't touch anything!!!!!

Enough of my complaining.

 

Cindy

 

Cindy, I'm scared to death to change anything about my computer or anything attached to it.....Thank goodness we have a whole IT Dept. here at work and I have TimeWarner at home....I love the computer but how it works and how to fix it....scares me to high-heaven.

 

I'm so glad we're still good!

 

I brought Horty's bed/crate/toys and anything else that he loves and put them all in easy reach for him......you should see him go right from his crate to his bed and then back again. He won't touch his toys....I don't know why...maybe they need to be put in his crate so they get that Horty/Brenny smell all over them. Poor big guy....at least his home environment is not changing! :o

Have a good weekend and I hope your computer/printer/keyboard issues all get resolved!

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Thought I better drop in and say Hello to all of you. I have been busy but doing what, I still haven't figured it out.:D

 

We also have had bad news two weeks ago. DH Ed's daughter passed away, so I have not been in the mood to get on the computer to talk. Died in her sleep and we think it might have been drugs and drink, not really sure---results have not come back yet. Three kids left and no parents. I think things have finally come to a good ending. Kids are taken care of and thats all we wanted for them. They are only 17 15 and 11 years old. God Bless them.

 

Yes, we are so looking forward to this cruise. I have most of my snacks for Wex already. :p I am a sucker when it comes to animals. I have to carry treats for the animals around here.

 

Well, I better get a move on and get some things done. Just got back from my first Art Guild meeting of the year. And get some cleaning and painting done. My feathers are calling me to finish painting on them ;)

 

Have a great weekend and hopefully I will be able to get here more often.

 

Trudy

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