mmarq1992

We received our permit for the Bahamas today! It was a quick and easy process thanks to all of your advice!

Attached with the permit was a form for a veterinarian to fill out upon arrival in the Bahamas. Does someone meet us at the ship to do this or is it something we do not have to do since we are visiting during a cruise?

Thank you all again for your help, only 42 days to wait until our first cruise as a team!

On 2/15/2019 at 7:28 PM, wizard-of-roz said:

From dreary, rainy, water drenched Los Angeles; Happy Weekend everyone!  

 

Horty and I had to go out and get provisions.....I'm shopping very differently these days.  Instead of shopping for a few days, I'm now picking up enough stuff for a week or two.  Who wants to venture out in this cold rain?

 

Well,  Horton is official, he's now using his ramp for entering into the back of my SUV.  I have a warm, cozy bed there for him.  He lays down when we move and when we stop he picks up his head, sits up and looks out all the windows.  He hops out easily instead of me having to put the ramp up again. 

 

Although the ramp is not light, it's easy to manipulate because of the handle on the side.  It's an expandable, wanding type ramp.  It rests on the back bumper solidly and there's no worry that it won't hold his weight.  I bought it from Drs. Foster & Smith years ago for Brenda.

 

I can't imagine going out on my adventures without Horton and now, with the ramp in tow, I don't have to!

 

 

Good job Horton! Service dogs are so confident, they catch on to new things so quickly!

Thank you all again for your help! 

I also wanted to introduce ourselves! I'm Melissa and my dog Bentley is a 2 year old yellow Lab who does many tasks to help with my invisible disabilities. I have trained him since I brought him home at 8 weeks and he has grown into such a great dog. I've been on 10 Disney Cruises and our upcoming cruises will be Bentley's first, though he has done quite a bit of other traveling with me. Here's a picture of him from our most recent trip to Disneyland!

1 minute ago, thephantomsgirl said:

Yes.  It doesn't make sense - but it worked.   

 

I have talked to them several times, including the Director of Vet Services there  and they still insist on an ID.  They don't seem to care what it looks like....    Ours is from our organization, but I know they make them themselves.  It's only for our personal use as ID's are useless really.  Except in the Bahama's eyes...

Good to know, thank you again!

1 minute ago, thephantomsgirl said:

I just attached what ours look like.

That PDF is exactly what you sent and they accepted it?

1 minute ago, thephantomsgirl said:

A letter from the training organization did not work, and they never bothered answering.   The Bahamas has gotten hard to deal with if you don't supply everything.  

 

So don't rely on a vet faxing things for the permit!  They specifically are looking for an ID.   We went through this in November for a December cruise when they never answered our letter from the training organization outlining all the training.  They said they'd only accept an ID.   Just telling you my experience lately.

Thank you for your help, looks like we'll have to go that route to insure everything is processed.

We've taken the ADI Public Access test with a non-ADI trainer just to have for ourselves. I'm also a member of IAADP and have the card from them. Do you think copies of those would be enough or are they looking for an ID specifically? I'd hate to support the fake-id companies, but I'll go that route if I have to. My service dog and I have worked incredibly hard on both his obedience and task training, and I definitely need him with me.

7 minutes ago, thephantomsgirl said:

Oh...and they NOW want a copy of your dog's "service dog id".   Talked to them several times about how easy it is to get a fake ID and they don't seem to care.  

Thanks for the information! My service dog is owner trained, hopefully that won't be an issue.

29 minutes ago, HenryKisor said:

Fax, do not write. Letters tend to get ignored or lost. The permit will be faxed back to you, so have a fax number ready.

I recommend having your veterinarian do the faxing over the vet's letterhead. That seems to be more "official" to the Bahamians than anything else.

Have your vet attest to the dog's status as a service dog and the Bahamians will waive the fee.

You need only one permit for the Bahamas. I think it's good for six months.

 

 

 

Thank you! So there won't be any fees at all, not even the fax fee it mentions? How long is the turn around time?

Hello All!

My service dog and I are going on an Alaskan cruise with Disney in May, for which we are all set. Due to a family friend battling cancer, we just decided to do another cruise even sooner in April. I definitely wasn't prepared for this to pop up so quickly and I'm hoping you wonderful people can answer a couple questions for me!

The cruise will be going to the Bahamas, both Nassau and Castaway Cay. Do I need to submit for 2 permits or will just 1 cover the 2 stops? And what is the fastest way to submit for the permit? Am I able to fax it to them and how do you suggest sending the payment? 

Thanks in advance!

Melissa & Bentley