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Lady_Jag

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  • Location
    Florida
  • Interests
    Travel, biking, online
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Royal Caribbean, Carnival
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Caribbean

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  1. I am glad you commented. This NYC/Bermuda trip last year has to be our #1 favorite, if not one of our top 5 trips ever! To answer your question, moving the box was not an option. I had puppy pads and a roll of fake grass as a [failed] “Plan B,” and I think if Charlie was a little older, wiser, and less diva-like, it would have been a great backup. I also think Royal could stand to learn a little more about how to be accommodating to guests with special circumstances. I don’t know how other lines compare, but I lost count of the number of staff who would whistle for Charlie whenever they saw him or try to pet him without even asking permission.
  2. I purchased a photo package pre-cruise, but still haven’t received an email containing a link to my pictures. It’s been almost 2 weeks since we left the ship - past the 4-7 business days indicated ~ and still no pictures. I emailed RCI twice, but no response. As much as I hate the thought of our photos being lost in cyberspace, is it time to call them and ask for a refund?🥲
  3. 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.
  4. Yes. As of May 22, 2022, the government of Bermuda put the responsibility of checking Covid test results on the cruiseline. You must have a negative test result prior to boarding. Also, if you test positive because you had Covid within the last 3 months, Bermuda is one of the ports that will still deny you debarkation and will NOT accept a certificate of recovery from a doctor in lieu of a negative test.
  5. Hi everyone, Life has kept me away from CC and cruising for some time, but now I'm back and in desperate need of assurance and/or advice. Back in late 2018, before we even considered getting a service dog, we booked a cruise to Bermuda out of Cape Liberty port on Royal Caribbean for 2021. We incorporated the cruise into a 2-week land, air, and sea journey and planned to spend a few days before and after the cruise in NYC. Well, Covid threw a monkey wrench in the works, things got rescheduled multiple times, and now finally, we are booked to leave in July of this year! Except now my teenager has a 90-pound golden retriever service dog who will be a little less than a year and a half old when we travel. Now I am really nervous about this trip! We've taken long road trips with the pup before and he's been fine in the car and at our destination, but he has not yet been on a plane, train, or ship. I want to be sure I've crossed all the T's and dotted the I's, so here's what I've done so far: Alerted Royal Caribbean of traveling with a SD and answered their questions/got cleared via email. Alerted the airline of our SD and completed the TSA form for air travel. Got the dog's vaccinations renewed yesterday. (Expires in 2025.) Printed out the Dog Import forms for Bermuda and scheduled a vet visit to occur 1 week prior to our arrival in Bermuda so that the forms can be completed. Alerted Amtrak of our SD and answered their questions via phone. Alerted our pre- and post-cruise NYC hotels of our SD (as a courtesy to the hotels). Acquired travel insurance. Got "Mutt Muffs" for the 5-hour plane trip to NYC. What am I missing? I was reading through this thread and took note of the potty box training. Now I plan on filling up a baby pool with mulch so my teen can start working on getting the dog used to doing his business there, but what else? I think I read on the RCI site that sod for the potty box is available if notified in advance, so do I contact the cruise line and ask if they'll provide sod to make it easier for the dog to go? I feel so unprepared and am worried that I'm going to forget something important that will cancel our whole trip.
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