IB2

But people can buy them for the OBC and then sell them. Holders aren’t required to hang onto them for life! Thus the number of potential owners isn’t limited.

You’re very likely to get a place. Although the kennel spots go very quickly once the bookings are open, there are always cancellations, both at the 90 day point when balances have to be paid, and again in the run up to the crossing, as people decide not to take their pets, or run into trouble with the paperwork. I’ve been four times and always booked well ahead, but every time I have met pet owners who have got in shortly before. I’ve been waitlisted twice, high on the list, and both times a spot came up. For a June crossing you may well hear something quite soon, as it’s now March.

It’s normally mayhem.

The Deck 3 single cabins are magnificent. When I first booked one, I got the spiel about the supposed crowds who come down the corridor late at night, but I never heard nor saw them. The corridor was really quiet on both of my crossings with this cabin, and you get two great windows out onto the sea, a shower room better than most on the ship (at least prior to the recent refit), and a steward who has relatively few cabins to look after. Enjoy.

That was my point. When I first took my dog on the QM2 before the pandemic, I knew that they were extremely strict about service dogs, only allowing those properly registered as per the various national rules someone has posted above. On my last trip last year, it was obvious they were allowing support dogs. Indeed on my outward crossing there was an American guy with two dogs in the kennels, who spent the crossing moaning about an American woman with a dog wandering around KC. Remarkably when I did my return crossing some months later, the very same guy was on the ship again, but this time with his two dogs in the cabin, as he'd managed to copy the lady he was complaining about and register them as support dogs. He'd told me enough about himself on the earlier crossing to establish that there is no way he needed a support dog. Travelling around the US with my dog, being shut out of most places as he's not a support or service dog, I have lost count of the number of American dog owners who have told me how easy it is in the US to register your dog as support, or just to buy a harness off eBay and pretend that it is service or support, and about how American business owners are pretty limited under US law in what questions or challenges they can make. So the US has this weird - and illogical - mix of generally dog-unfriendly rules compared to Europe, yet lots of 'fake' support dogs whose owners get away with taking them into here, there and everywhere. So 'genuine' rule-following dog owners aren't happy, and people who don't want dogs going into places for whatever reason aren't getting what they want either. Why Cunard has given in to the support dogs, I don't know, but can guess given its financial position coming out of the pandemic.

You can definitely do the Hamburg-NYC leg, either way, and every crossing there is a minority of people who do the extra few days - a different experience with just three or four dogs in the kennels instead of twenty! I am not sure that you can embark or disembark with pets at Le Havre, but I don't know for certain. Only the odd crossing stops there, anyway.

Waterproof is the priority, even in summer. If in winter it’s really cold, you won’t be out there for very long.

The real issue is that, whereas in the past Cunard has adopted the strict British approach to service dogs, allowing only those fully certified for genuine and significant medical reasons, since the pandemic they’ve become a lot more lax and started to allow American ‘fake’ service and support dogs to stay in the cabins, some of which are simply owners telling porkies so that they can avoid the kennels. Which isn’t really sensible, unless they wish to review their policy toward more dog friendly travel more generally, in which case they should dedicate a particular set of adjacent cabins for that purpose.

Yes, I’ve done the trip (NY/Southampton) four times with the dog. For most dogs, and hence most owners, it’s stressful, and not the holiday that you might think from the Cunard promos. Nevertheless almost all the owners spend their time with their dogs in the kennel area for all of its opening hours (hence don’t expect to be doing too much on the ship) and by the end of the week there’s a good camaraderie among the pet owners - but a very different experience from the other passengers who have spent the week eating, drinking, and being pampered and entertained. Check out the cruisemaven website, where there’s a good article on the kennel experience and a lot of comments below it from people who’ve done it.

of travel books and airport-novels with larger sized font? 😉

And, no, you now need separate paperwork for entry to the UK and entry to the EU. If you have the time it will be easiest to sort out the EU paperwork once you are in the UK - line up one of the well-known providers (PassPets in Havant is the nearest to Southampton) in advance, and you can pick up the AHC pre-prepared with just a quick scan of the dog. This will probably save you money compared to the inflated costs vets charge in the US. The AHC is then valid for ten days for entry to the EU (including non-EU PETS countries like Norway and Switzerland), and once inside the EU is valid for four months (from date of issue), which is longer than most non-EU humans can stay. If you plan to visit Ireland, Norway, Malta or Finland the dog will need certification for the tapeworm treatment to be administered between one and five days (24-120 hours) prior to entry (even if already done for the UK), and if you're going to Norway be sure to get the box at the bottom of page eight of the AHC completed when first entering the EU. Cunard is normally reluctant to give definitive advice on the paperwork needed for pet travel, since they are keen to keep their passengers responsible for it, since the risk of getting it wrong isn't insignificant and they don't want to carry the can for bad advice.

To be sure of a kennels place, you need to phone on the day bookings open (from the UK, for 2024 voyages last year this was 3 December), as soon as they open. The old system where you dealt yourself separately with the kennels department has been replaced, at least during the peak early bookings period, with your having to request the kennel space over the phone when you book the crossing (hence unlike everyone else, you can't book online - which creates another consequence if it's a hotly demanded cabin you are after). Dont try and phone a minute or two early, since it will seem like you are on hold but they clear down the switchboard so you will be cut off when they actually open the bookings. If you phone on the opening day, you are pretty likely to get a space, even though you could be hanging on waiting for their reply for an hour or more. The turnover of places is pretty significant (a lot can happen to pets in a couple of years) so even if you're waitlisted, the chances of getting a spot are high, although you may not actually be offered it until the 90 day point.

People don’t normally tip so generously….

I don't think there is a 'yet'; they will have had this year's docking arrangements sorted way back. But they've either messed up, been bounced, or advertised their 2024 schedule before confirming the Brooklyn berthing they need.

Rick Steves is a menace.

Fair enough, I've only travelled in the Deck 3 ones, which I know are regarded the most highly. Whether there's some other reason they made the Deck 2 ones singles, I don't know?

I don't know how things stack up financially, but it does seem rare for single cabins to be designed into a new ship - cruise companies generally want maximum occupancy for their space. The QM2 only got them in a refit, and the cabins are singles because the limited space along that side of the ship forced the cabins to be turned sideways (which actually makes them better cabins, with two large windows - but no designer would deliberately 'waste' window space like that) and even then they are only wide enough for a single bed.

There is no way that going to the CT will get you away from the crowds or be relaxing! The area suffers from massive over-tourism, especially when the cruise ships are in. At peak times the trains are so crowded you can’t always get on, and some of the small villages have been known to have queue just to start walking (shuffling) down the narrow main street The usual complaint is ships switched from Spezia to Livorno, making it a longer trip to the CT. My recommendation would be to go see Lucca, or alternatively the maritime museum in Spezia is excellent, there’s a characterful covered market, and some good shopping. The gardens laid out by the waterfront are pleasant. Spezia is light on historical character, having been the principal Italian naval base during WWII and suffered a lot of bombing.

Worriers are immune from missing the ship, since they will get to the port way early, staying nearby overnight if they have a long trip, and are usually ready to embark hours early, at the front of the queue. So, don’t worry - as a worrier you won’t miss the ship - those few who do will all be non-worriers, who didn’t worry enough.

A sensible precaution, surely, would be to embark with at least one set of clothes in the next larger size up from the rest of your wardrobe?

Firstly, you need to check the legalities around the rabies injection, which will have a legal lower age limit and comes with a three week waiting period before you can apply for your documents to travel. I have done four crossings with a dog and seen a young puppy just the once. Puppies actually cope better with unfamiliar experiences as they are still within their socialisation period, but - as most owners do anyway - you would need to spend every hour the kennels are open with your dog, and manage its interactions with the others. A week in cramped conditions with little opportunity for exercise is stressful for any dog, and although Cunard advertises the experience as some kind of holiday for the dogs, really it isnt. You also need to judge the puppy’s temperament to make sure it will cope with the confinement. Much of a TA is spent sitting with the dogs in the kennel rooms, since it’s often wet and windy out on deck (especially westbound), and you want a dog that is capable of sitting or being held calmly, or sleeping, for a good amount of time, next to other owners and other dogs. A puppy from a breed that needs constant stimulation isn’t going to do so well.

The solos are in high demand and usually sell out within a few days of booking opening. They’re special cabins and you should say no to an upgrade, if you are lucky enough to bag one.

Westbound tends to be quite windy, as the ship is heading into the prevailing wind, which acts a discouragement to spending too much time on deck. The last couple of days as the ship nears the US can be quite warm at that time of year; the earlier days depends on luck of the draw with British and mid-Atlantic weather. People usually express a preference for westbound TAs, but if you enjoy time on deck the eastbound is usually better, and if you are lucky the ship’s speed can almost cancel out any wind and you can sunbathe in very calm conditions going east.

My last crossing, I met a woman was moving house using the ship for most of her stuff, and she said she came on board with 21 cases and boxes, and that the ship was storing a fair few of them for her. I got the impression the ‘must go in your room’ is advertised as a disincentive to people thinking of bringing lots of stuff, but in practice if you do you will probably get some help from the ship to make it work.

I just received an email (actually the same one twice) from Cunard about the above, with an attachment setting out the details of my long-ago booked 2024 westbound, and I am looking at it and can't see anything that Cunard hasn't already confirmed previously Am I missing something or is this merely a routine re-confirmation communicated in an over-dramatic way?