How many people look forward to their cruise but hate leaving a pet behind?

I am one of those people. This will be the first time we will probably board our pets due to our dog sitter not being able to watch the dogs the whole time. Even thought of cancelling the cruise (final payment due next week).

We felt that way the first couple of times. We have two house cats so it's easy to set up what they will need while we are gone. They were fine when we got home.

Is this the first time your pets will be boarded?

I have to admit that I/we drive our dog 2 1/2 hours away so she can stay with our daughter. The drive home after the cruise always seems longer!

We leave our dog at a dog hotel if our sitter cant look after our Yorkie.

I felt bad the first times but when I see how happy the dog is when he arrives to the dog hotel I am fine with it.

He loves it there and are taken really well care of. The owners love our dog so much I think they give him extra care as in taking him into their house, give him extra treats.:)

When we are leaving for our May cruise I actually preferred him staying at the dog hotel. I think its heatlhy for the dog to be with other dogs and to "be a dog" for a while.

We leave our dog at a dog hotel if our sitter cant look after our Yorkie.

I felt bad the first times but when I see how happy the dog is when he arrives to the dog hotel I am fine with it.

He loves it there and are taken really well care of. The owners love our dog so much I think they give him extra care as in taking him into their house, give him extra treats.:)

When we are leaving for our May cruise I actually preferred him staying at the dog hotel. I think its healthy for the dog to be with other dogs and to "be a dog" for a while.

Opps, sorry, double posting. But, it just proves my point that the dog hotel is so good I posted it twice:):D:D

We've used the same boarding facility for years, so feel very confident that they will take good care of our pets - previously our dogs, presently our cat.

Early on in each stay for the pet/trip for us, I feel a bit of guilt for her not being able to be at home or being with us, but I rest assured that I've left her in one of the best facilities around and that she's enjoying visiting with other "campers".

Hi. We all feel the pain of leaving behind our furry friends. Really, they have just as much fun as we do when we vacation. We have to board our Golden Retriever any time we vacation because we just don't have the luxury of having someone to watch her. :(

If I can make one helpful suggestion....don't make the first time boarding your pets be when you are away on a cruise for an extended amount of time. Do a trial run or two for several days so your pets are familiar with their new environment and they don't feel stressed by your absence and change of their environment. You can note any behavioral changes when they get back home.

Sleep with a towel and leave it with them in the kennel so they have your scent. Definitely bring your own food so there is no change in diet. I know it's hard but now you will have a back up "sitter" and feel more confident with your vacation plans.

Truly, we have all been there making those pet care decisions because we love them so much and they are part of our families! Good luck!

We had several pets as the kids were growing up, but no money to cruise. Now the kids are grown and gone, the pets have sadly all pasted away and there will be no more for us. Now we are free to travel, and often do.

Our last cruise, on the Century this past October a 15 day cruise to/from Hawaii, a couple had their Yorkie "service dog ' with them. ('It calms me down the wife would respond", when people inquired.) All though the doggie was very well behaved and we never heard a bark or growl from it, on a 15 day cruise it tended to be a bit too much. We have seen other 'service dogs' and possible an officer's family pet or two in the past being walked in a non-public deck. The Century has few lower level side decks to walk on which my DH and I tend to enjoy before returning to our cabin, being in the evening fresh air, looking up at the stars, across the dark seas for other ships..... Well, after the first night we ended up calling one of our favorite get-a-ways as the 'poop deck' for obvious reasons. I had never expected to step in some:confused: and then noted that there was a long trail of occasional droppings leading up to the yorkie and the white haired husband. Throughout the cruise, I saw unsuspecting crew members and other passengers fail to notice the poop on that deck, at first I thought it was my own stupidity...it wasn't.:eek: THe little indiscretions were tended to by the crew, when they were noticed.

For service animals and an occasional high ranking officer's pet, here should be a non-public area to be used as a potty trail on all cruise ships, not just expect other passengers to look and dodge where little presents are deposited. I have never seen this problem on any of the other 15 cruises that we have been on. I am all for Service Dogs, and I know that they are trained for many things and are invaluable assets, but this 'poop deck' experience was enough to make one wonder if this was just a creative way that some people use to bring their pets on board.

We've got two dogs and three cats. Do we hate leaving them behind? Absolutely not. It's so nice not to be awakened at 5:00 in the morning because one of the cats is hungry and wants breakfast early, or the dogs have to go out to do their business. Do we miss them? Well, maybe just a little. But I can guarantee it's NOT before 7:00 a.m.;):D

We tried a sitter once...didn't work! When we were not there, our dog became very protective of our home, and wouldn't let the sitter (who she knew quite well!) into the house.

So, we found a lovely kennel, and from that point on, we kenneled her. Yea, she looked sad and pitiful...but she was well taken care of, and happy to see us when we returned.

Your pets will be fine.

I agree with everything Sadie said. We have a Boxer who is our child. We were inexperienced many years ago and placed our dog in a home with someone who had other dogs. We did not test the waters and left for our vacation. Our dog paced all night and it was not a pleasant experience. This was a short trip. When we tried calling her to do the day care set up so the dog would get to know her they always responded that they were booked- I told my husband we were fired..We do not cage our dog so it took a lot of research to find what we wanted. We found a person who boards from their home on 4 acres. Lots of play time and the day care dogs are just M-W-F with the dogs that board if any on the other days We still do a weekly day care and 2 weeks ago did the trial 3 night stay. Just so our baby doesn't forget. We always supply his blanket, and food. We do not take any of his toys but we do give her his favorite snack so his routine is the same. He fly's out of the car, and is running to the door to go out before we even leave, so yes we know he is fine. This trip is 11 days for us and its the longest we have been gone so I feel your pain. Just find someone you trust and all will be ok.

We used to board our cats at a very nice "Cat Hotel" in Miami. Those babies are now gone. Now we have Stanley "Feline Child". Stanley's Aunt Brenda comes over (she lives across the road) several times a day to take care of him. He has Aunt Brenda refreshing beverages and snacks. She sits with him and reads her book. We still worry, he is fine, it's us that has the problem.

:DWe are very lucky!!! We have family that comes out to Las Vegas from Florida to watch our critters. We get a Cruise and they get a free trip to Vegas and the critters get to relax with people they love and we know will take good care of them. Well worth the cost of air fare!!!

We keep our two Westies at a kennel that has a webcam on the kennels and the play area. We spend a lot of time watching them sleep. It is fun to watch them interact with the other dogs during playtime.

I HATE leaving them, especially for our upcoming cruise, as our oldest will be 15. I would have canceled, but DH said he is getting old (63) and didn't want to. She does know the routine at the kennel, and has special geriatric services where they take her out in the middle of the night. I know they do it, because of the webcam! At any rate, I was caught between a rock and a hard place for this one.

My cat counts the luggage!!

If it's only a carry on he's OK, but more bags and he's in a snit. For short trips he has a flow feeder and water but for longer trips-the norm-he goes to my son's house.

We have three dogs and my mother comes to stay at our house when we are gone on vacation. I don't know what we will do when she gets to old to take care of them. Sometimes I think they like Grandma better than us.

Of course she hosts "potato chip" parties for the dogs and we do not, that could have something to do with it!

I worry about leaving my aging beagle, but my son lives at home and will take care of her and give her extra attention. The older she gets the more she misses me even for a work day. When I have been gone several days she 'talks' to me for an hour... So I expect her to be very vocal and clingy after 10 days away!

Grandogma has been doing it for us, but I am afraid that our two week trip this year will be too much for her...our neighbor across the street also volunteers to come sleep with Lucy - yes she is spoiled rotten, but the best choc lab ever.

They'll be all right, but one way I ease my guilt in leaving my cats behind is to give them extra attention on my return -- and maybe pick up a new kind of treats while I'm away. Perhaps look for a new chew toy at one of the ports?

My dog goes to "doggy sleep away camp" when I go on vacation anywhere. I have an amazing kennel where I live. They also do "day camp" where you can drop off your dog for some dog play and social time. The kennel has a large warehouse for indoor play and a big outdoor area with grass and a doggie swimming pool. They have some picnic tables for hanging out on top of or underneath. There are some kid play house-type things - ramps, a slide, for them to play on. The sleeping quarters are individual rooms (yes rooms), varying from basic to some with little beds and TVs. He has some lifelong buddies from the kennel. He always runs to the door when we get there. Webcams allow us to watch what's going on - it so funny to watch all the dogs play!!!

I used to worry when we left our bird -- he was very attached to me, and would pine. Came home from vacation one time to find he'd rubbed all the feathers off his head :( even though he had a daily visitor who would sit and play with him and give him "free fly" time.

Sadly, he has passed on .... I don't worry about our cat. She gets regular visits and manages fine, though she tries to lay on the guilt when I get home ;)

They'll be all right, but one way I ease my guilt in leaving my cats behind is to give them extra attention on my return -- and maybe pick up a new kind of treats while I'm away. Perhaps look for a new chew toy at one of the ports?

That doesn't work for Salem. After he tells us off, he won't talk to us for days!

dogvacay did wonders for us. My dog has separation anxiety issues. We found a sitter that watches him in her own home. she is a stay at home mom. she even lets the pup stay in her bed at night. he's always happy when we get home. no boarding, no crating.