Quampapetet

Has anyone been to Atlantis in the Bahamas with their dog? The TA saw that pets were not allowed but service animals are if they are "registered". I called this morning and since we are only going for a few hours and not an extended stay, I didn't have to register the dog. Just wondering if anyone else has been there and if there was anything we should know from your experiences.

Yes, service animals are allowed. Some boat owners docked in the marina try to sneak their pets off the boats and into Marina Village or Harborside or Atlantis, so that is why you may be questioned by security/employees just to make sure your dog is not a pet (even if it is fully dressed in a mobility harness and pack with large "SERVICE DOG" lettering, go figure!).

Guests of Atlantis and Harborside must "register" (not a formal process) their service dogs with Atlantis when they arrive so an e-mail memo (with a photo of you and your dog) can be sent out to notify all security/certain staff that your dog is indeed allowed to be there and allowed access everywhere. It helps with access, as there were some access issues with some employees before they began doing this, so it is a good thing. They also ask for copies of the import and vet paperwork when you get back from seeing the Bahamian vet (I recommend Dr. Sands), which is required within 48 hours of your arrival in the Bahamas (cruises are excluded).

Thank you for all your great experience/information. I have been on a cruise when I had vision in 2006. I am legally blind now, enough lost vision that I had to use a cane and just returned home from guide dog school in NY. We are a new team graduating in January. I am going on a disney cruise with my husband and 11 yo son, and my daughter and her new family (two year old twins and newlywed husband). This is technically a honeymoon with one set of parents. I am excited but nervous. I am weighing the pros and cons of taking my GD. I will be with my family the whole time so figured i could use them as sighted guide -I was looking forward to having my dog bond with me more and having the fun experience of cruising. But, there are so many circumstances that I think he would be crated like on excursions and Bahama Islands as their laws are significantly different than US-. I guess I am trying to figure out if the work or benefit to him/me is enough for the work. Can you help with the pro and con list? Thank you ~

Where is your cruise going? While the Bahamas doesn't have access laws, they are typically good about allowing service dogs access if they know about service dogs (many know about them from American TV and movies) or once you educate them about what service dogs are and how they behave (i.e. explain to cab drivers that the dog will just lay on the floor of the van [most taxis are vans] the whole time). I take land trips to the Bahamas at least once a year for a few weeks and my service dog goes everywhere with me and we hardly ever have a problem. BTW, the import permit for the Bahamas is free for service dogs.

My service dog also goes on all cruise excursions with me. Obviously, I don't go zip-lining, LOL! Not my cup of tea. (I don't like tea, either....) We did a helicopter tour (I brought doggy hearing protection for her) - that was probably the most "exciting" one we've done. Somebody has to care for your dog if you're not with him; you're not allowed to leave him in your cabin alone (at least by some cruiselines, but you wouldn't want to do it anyway).

Roz, I'm sorry to hear of your loss! :-( ***HUGS***

The article about Wexler (oh yeah, and John, too ;) ) came through on my Google Alert for "service dog" sites/pages/news, so I had to come on here and say it was a nice article and photos!

But, whoa! I was not expecting to read Roz's news! I hope everything works out for your husband's healing, Roz! Sorry to hear you didn't buy travel insurance - did you happen to pay with an AmEx? They have some travel insurances built in. It isn't Princess' problem, of course, but you could still try, just in case, and say you helped solve their problems of overbooking and the people who wanted your cabin ridiculously badly (I didn't even know a cruiseline even would ever try calling to see if someone would move cabins!).

So, Carnival has had another incident, thankfully not in the middle of the ocean this time. All the passengers had to fly back to Florida from St. Maarten, the port of call where the ship was docked when the ship's problem began. Thankfully, that's a country that doesn't have many dog import requirements, so anybody with a service dog shouldn't have had a problem getting off the ship to get into a hotel or onto a plane. But, what if such a problem had happened at a port where the dog was not qualified to get off the ship, such as Jamaica (doesn't allow dogs), Barbados (doesn't allow dogs not coming directly from the UK), or if the owner didn't do rabies titres for countries such as Cayman Islands, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts? I wonder what would happen?

P.S. I decided not to go on the cruise, but my friends also decided not to go, at least the week we had cabins on hold for. (Too bad, as I had a hard-to-get one on hold!) If they choose to go on the same itinerary/ship later, I won't go, but might go if they choose a different one.

NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO QUESTION YOU UNDER THE ADA ACT!!!! There are severe penalties to those that do.

 

You do not have to explain yourself. My husband has MD and we have a wonderful service dog named Goldee that we bring with us everywhere. (not on a cruise yet!!!) but soon....l.

 

When we are questioned we politely inform them that we need not explain and show them our identification and leave it at that!!! It never goes further...............

 

Thank you for all your info.

Businesses do have the right to ask you if your dog is a service dog required due to your disability and what tasks the dog has been trained to do for you. They cannot ask for ID, certification, proof of disability, a demonstration of the tasks, what your disability is, etc. They also have the right to kick out any service dog that is misbehaving, such as continually barking during a movie.

Thanks, Beth! I had an issue with a loose dog in Key West (the ol' "GO HOME!!" trick actually worked), a stray right outside the cruise port in Cozumel between getting out of the taxi and walking to the entrance after my excursion (local workers thankfully stepped in and got the dog away after they realized it was prohibiting my movement), and am thankful the pack of Turks and Caicos dogs across the street from the downtown shopping area stayed across the street even though they barked and such. I see stray potcake dogs in the Bahamas every time I go, but haven't had issues with them because normally when I see them it is from the car.

Haven't made my mind up yet about the cruise for various reasons, including this one.

Has anyone here taken their service dog to Labadee (Royal Caribbean's private area of Haiti)? My friends want me to join them on a cruise for a friend's big birthday, but in a recent review on the RC board here someone mentioned there being multiple stray dogs on Labadee and posted a photo of one of them, the dog hanging out on the beach in between deck chairs. They didn't touch the dog for fear of fleas or disease. I would be scared of these dogs attacking a service dog or passing a disease to one. I guess Labadee isn't as fenced off as I thought it was, but I'm surprised RC allows the dogs to hang around where small children may be and where there will be a service dog from time to time.

When Morey cruised with me we had to bring bottled water because he drinks NOTHING else. When he stopped cruising, I went to the ships water and Brenda and Horton both seem to do well with it. I never had a problem with chlorine......that would be awful!

Boy, this Carnival thing certainly is changing my packing plans. And, I'm glad I'm not flying anywhere so I can bring as much extra as I want to. :)

Remember, my Bahamas trip was a land trip, not cruise trip. I don't know if they chlorinate cruise ship water, but they do the water in Nassau/Paradise Island to an extreme amount. When I lived in Florida, sometimes you could smell the chlorine in the water, but not all the time or as strongly as this past trip in the Bahamas (it was stronger there this time than previous trips). Nobody wants to drink pool water!

I always fly in the day before the cruise, if not several days before, so can buy water and stuff near my hotel.

Unless it happened towards the end of the cruise, of which this did not, I would have stretched his food by cutting down on the portions and I ALWAYS bring 3 extra days worth of food.

I believe the cruise was to end the next day or day after that, as the people who were on the next cruise were already heading for the port city and the cruiseline was calling them to tell them there would be a delay in boarding. I read complaints of people who paid to get to and stay in the port city prior to being called.

This is a great wake-up-call to all of us who travel with our dogs; pack extra food & doggie snacks; pack extra meds [including meclazine for the chance that the stabilizers will be off]; protein bars; something to drink and my tridominoe game. We've all learned now: BE PREPARED!

We can't depend on ANYONE to feed or care for our dogs like we do.

I use meclazine just to cruise WITH the stabilizers! :p Next time, I'll definitely bring extra snacks for myself. I travel with a box of Saltines for my nausea (part of my health issues), too. I bring bottled water on the ships for my dog and myself (and my dog had to drink bottled on our Bahamas trip, too, due to all the chlorine in the water that you could strongly smell, ick!).

Qaum, I've been thinking about this a lot! What would I do? As long as Horton was allowed to go to his potty box and we were never separated, I don't see too much of a problem. If Morey were with us, it would be impossible. Morey can't walk stairs and would be rendered to one floor with his wheelchair.

The staff have an enormous responsibility in taking care of handicapped folks who can't walk or manage stairs.

I had a dream two nights ago that Horton fell into the ocean while I was onboard a cruise and everybody was screaming. I knew he had his life jacket on and I kept yelling at the Captain to stop the ship, stop the ship.......I made myself wake up because it was so disturbing! :(

But do you normally pack an extra four (or however may days it was) days of dog food? I know I don't, so unless I was planning to continue my trip on land after the cruise, I would only have a tiny bit of extra food with me (I carry a little extra, but not several days worth). What would you have done for food for him? Food for the humans was scarce and not always something dogs could have eaten (onion sandwiches, coleslaw, etc.).

Some people need their meds to be refrigerated. Some people only bring enough meds for the length of their trip (I always bring my whole pill bottle).

The stabilizers were off, so I am sure I would have gotten seasick, too. And I would not have had enough nutrition drinks, as I only bring enough for my trip, plus they need to be refrigerated.

I think I would have gone crazy with boredom and frustration, too!!

Sorry to hear about your nightmare! Thankfully, it was just a dream.

I wonder how people in wheelchairs are getting around the ship if the elevators are not working. I know I couldn't carry my daughter up and down the stairs.

I think one elevator was being run by the generators, likely because not everyone can use the stairs.

I saw on the news about the latest Carnival ship to have issues at sea, so came on here to read about it. What would you all do if you were stuck on such a ship with your special needs and your service dog?

(If you don't know, there was an engine fire and the ship lost most of its power, so, according to the TV news reports, the passengers have had no a/c, only five flushing toilets on the whole ship, the ship is having them urinate in plastic bags and placing them in the hallways, they are eating things like onion sandwiches, the ship stinks of raw sewage, etc.)

The story of the guy who was attacked came to my attention, so of course I had to come see what you gals were saying about it. So sad that somebody would do that! I'm glad the cruiseline kicked the attacker (and only the attacker) off the ship!!

Roz, get a nail grinder to grind down Horton's nails. This will get them shorter and smoother than clipping and you won't need to worry about cutting the quick and all. Also, brushing a dog's teeth twice a week is not enough; they need to be brushed every day. A good brand of toothpaste is Virbac's C.E.T. toothpaste because it has enzymes in it. My service dog loves the malt flavor and enjoys getting her teeth done because of it! Their long-handled brush is great to use, too. Since he already has stuff on his teeth, he may need a professional teeth cleaning by his vet or a veterinary dentist under anesthesia - you want to be sure to prevent periodontal disease because it causes irreversible damage that can lead to tooth loss. Some dogs are more prone to tartar and such than others, so you might have to do more for his teeth than you ever did for Brenda's.

I won't be back on here for a bit since I'll be on a trip for a few weeks and then who knows what, so I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year celebration and start of (can you believe it?!) 2013!! I'm hoping this coming year is better than this past one, as it has not been too good, especially health-wise for me. I'm just starting a new med and it seems to be promising (might be starting to help a symptom and no side-effects so far), so hopefully this helps! Especially since my neuro said this was the last med he feels is worth trying ... guess I'd need a new neuro if this doesn't work!

Stay safe!

Wow, you gals sure got WILD while I've been gone!!! ;) Naughty, naughty, naughty!

I don't think it will work out to go on the cruise I wanted to do in early 2014 due to the other ppl I wanted to come with me, so I'm not sure when my next cruise will be.

Wow, some of you sure start packing early!!! I do all my packing the night before I leave (usually on a very early flight). However, I use a packing list app on my phone that makes remembering and packing everything so easy. I keep one master list for me (my suitcase and carry-ons) and one master list for my service dog (her suitcase and, if cruising, other bags for the potty), then use those master lists to make lists for each particular trip. You can enter the quantity of every item, so ahead of time I calculate how many cans of canned food and measuring cups of dry food I'll need, plus how many measuring spoons of supplements and how many poop bags. For me, I enter how many shirts, pants, undies, etc. to pack. Then, as you pack them, you check off the box in the app so you know what you have and haven't packed. :) Oh, and I have a shopping list app to use when I need to buy items for an upcoming trip, too.

I didn't respond to the questions about ppl's trips that have already passed, such as the ladies going to the Bahamas, since they don't need the info. anymore. But, it is so easy to bring your service dog to the Bahamas (and the import permit is free for service dogs) that there is no reason to not do it. You need to get the international health certificate anyway, so you might as well get the permit, too. (Note: There is NO titer or other requirement for the international health certificate, as somebody on here thought. What goes on the certificate Is just what is needed for the country/countries you are going to, many of which do not need rabies titers. Many countries do not need the certificate to be endorsed by the USDA office vet, either, just signed by a USDA-certified vet [which is not every vet].) And, New Providence (where Nassau is) is safe to take your service dog to; I go for weeks every year and the only "issue" I have had was not with a stray, but a pet at a house we were looking at with our realtor (it was a craptastic house we didn't want to see anyway, so got back in the car instead of going near the loose, barking dog the owner didn't want to do anything about).

As for me, the med that was helping me a lot ended up giving me side-effects I can't live with, so I had to come off of it. I tried a different med, but ended up getting an allergic reaction to it (rash, sickness, and swollen lymph nodes - oh joy). So, now I'm waiting to see my neuro to see what else we can try - hopefully I can get in to see him before Christmas and especially before my three-week trip coming up! I hate being sick!! It was so nice on the working med to be able to get out to do the things I wanted to do, not have to cancel out on plans, etc. I really miss that right now.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year, if I don't come back here before then! And BEHAVE!!!!! :p

I am actually considering packing a 4x4 square of "fake" grass to lay on top of whatever I get next.

 

I was prepared to bag all droppings. It was the disposal of these bags that were collecting. I wanted a bin so I could see to it, but was told it would be taken care of.

When I went on RCCL in '08, I had issues with them getting a potty box built (took hours and me asking several ppl about it a bunch of times) and it was too small and too far away from my cabin in the end. So, now I bring my own potty stuff with me (I tell the cruiseline so they won't make a box, though on my first Carnival cruise they made one anyway). I first put down cut-open black garbage bags to protect my balcony cabin's balcony floors, then I put down disposable potty pads (the extra-absorbant kind that is large in size, since the others are made for what puppies put out - I get them from PetEdge). Then I put squares (cut to the same size as the potty pads) of K-9 faux grass on top. I make an area that is two squares by three squares. I change out the soiled pads after they are peed on (you can tell which ones are soiled just by looking at them) and, of course, pick up the poops right away. I throw the soiled pads and used poop bags in a garbage bag my room steward leaves on the balcony for me (I ask him to do this when we first meet) and he changes out the bag at least once a day.

If your potty area is in a public area of the ship, you still have to pick up your dog's poop yourself. There are trash cans all over the ship, so throwing them out should not be an issue (I recommend using an outdoor trash can, which you can find near doors, smoking sections, and other places).

I wrote to them and they said no exemptions.

Wow, that stinks! :(

Quam, I am the person you gave info to for Grand Turk. Their requirements have changed drastically since last time we went. Last time we only needed health certificate and 50 bucks. This time they want rabies vac, the rabies titer, deworming the dog, lyme disease vaccination or negative test for it. We are not doing or paying for all that unnecessary testing just to sit at the pool for a couple hours.

Those were the same requirements s before, we just had exemptions to most of them then. I don't know if the same guy still works with the gov't there or not, but he exempted us via e-mail, so I would try writing to the gov't vet address to ask for exemptions since you will only be on the island for a few hours and you plan to only go to a certain pool, so will not be around other animals.

Quam: Brenda and Horton's doctor is a USDA Accredited and Certified Vet; he's "hands on"; he examines my dogs, he fills out the paperwork, along with a letter stipulating my dogs are chipped [he did the chipping], skin/coat and general health. He writes about their useage of Heartguard & Advantix. CCI gives me the paperwork with all my dogs medical history [if it's within the first three years of my having the dog, otherwise my Vet supplies this], including spay & neutering, cert. of all vaccines and and Heartworm antigen. He has an assistant who walks with him and writes down what he stipulates.

Of course he writes about my dogs because he's the Vet who sees them.

That is your dog's veterinarian who is USDA-approved, NOT the USDA vet who is the one qualified to endorse health certificates. The USDA vet does not see any animals, they just approve that all the paperwork is correct (and that a USDA-approved vet signed it) and endorse it with their raised seal and such. That is the office that is two hours away from the OP. It is a two-hour drive for a ten-minute appointment where you just sit in a tiny waiting room the whole time - not exactly fun! :p

Two weekends ago we went out to the first day of the U.S. Open in NY. We were there with a bunch of CCI puppy raisers and folks with service dogs. It was an informal awareness. We were lucky enough to have some pictures taken with some tennis pros. But this was the best picture of the day.

That photo was adorable! It looks like he is trying sooooo hard to be good and not go after that tennis ball! :D

When you drive to the USDA Vet for all the paperwork have him attach a letter of the necessary immuizations for a dog Wex's age. Make sure he mentions Wex's skin and coat condition. Also that NO parasites were seen and that Wex is on Heartguard and Advantix. It made a huge difference with the officers in Brazil and Mexico [who wanted me to get a titer and another Rabies shot for Brenda] and my Vet wouldn't do it. [His letter stating what was really necessary along with a strong report on Brenda's health, and his USDA Seal worked.]

The USDA vet doesn't see the dog at all, they just look at the paperwork in their office (which the secretary at the front desk brings back to them) and make sure it is in order. Then they endorse the paperwork with a stamp/seal and give it back to the secretary, who then brings it back to the front to give to you. They tell people not to bring their pets to their offices, but of course service dogs are allowed with you as you sit in the waiting room.

So, the USDA vet is not going to write a letter about a dog they have never seen, much less examined. Whatever info. you need for each country needs to be written on the health certificate by your dog's vet, who has examined the dog at that time and has a record of vaccination, titers, etc.

I wrote to Grand Turk the other day to find out what we needed for paperwork for the dog. They sent me a 5 page health certificate form and another form that is shorter but is kind of the same questions as the 5 page one. The form is actually called "international health certificate for dogs and cats from the US and Canada". OMG! Why isn't our health form enough. It asks for the same info.It says the dog should be treated for parasites14 days before we go. Why would we treat him for something he does not have? It also wants a titre test done "sometime in it's lifetime". It also looks like they want a USDA seal which we will have to drive 2 hours to get. They also want the "originals" to all the tests and paperwork. It has to be filled out by the vet no more that 7 days before the trip so I guess they do not want the form back til we get there. UGH. We are only going to the Margaritaville/poolarea at the dock. You would think with a service dog that they would know it's not just some mutt with rabies. Ok I'm done ranting.

I can't recall if you are the one who went to Grand Turk before that I gave the info. on who to write to to. Ask them any questions you have and ask for exemptions from the fees, rabies titer, etc. Note that you will need to print out the reply of any exemptions they give you and bring it with you to the USDA office so you have the proof for them, otherwise they may not endorse the certificate because it won't fit the normal requirements for Grand Turk.

One more rant. They also want a rabies vac done not less that 3 months before we go. So that gives me a week to get him there and get the shot.

You do realize "less" means you can't give it the three months prior to the trip, NOT that it has to be done during the three months prior to the trip, right? If they wanted it done within the three months, it would say "more than". So, his current vaccine should still be valid unless it is going to expire the three months before your trip or any of the countries refuse to accept the three-year vaccine and it will be more than one year when your trip happens. No country accepts it done within the month before the trip.

If you do need to do a rabies titer, be aware that you can't do it until at least 30 days have passed after the vaccine was given and it may take up to a month for the results to arrive, depending how busy they are. If you're an IAADP member, I believe they still have a discount for KSU rabies titers as well as give you priority in order of the test being done. Bring the IAADP info. to the vet with you, as they likely will have no clue how to do the discount and give you priority status.

First, Sunshine, I'm so glad to hear of the successful double lung transplant your husband had!! I hope all continues to progress as it needs to (slow is okay sometimes) and that he'll have a better life with his new breathers now! :)

Second, to the guy who asked about doctor's approval for getting a service dog, no, a doctor's "prescription" or letter is not required by law. Most service dog programs do choose to require the doctor to fill out forms and give medical info. on the person because they want to be sure the person has a real need (they spend tens of thousands of dollars training each dog) and they need to know what the person can and can't do and what they need the dog to help them with. That documentation is for the program, not for the law. Should the service dog handler be taken to court over an access issue, however, they will then need documentation from their doctor(s) as well as dog experts and the dog's trainer.

Thirdly, for those who lost their dogs, that is so sad to hear! May you forever keep your dogs in your hearts and memories.

I've been doing okay. I've been having some symptoms come back despite my treatments of my newly-rediagnosed issue, but I'm hoping some adjustments to my med and soon an additional PRN med (hopefully) and maybe an adjustment to my medical device will help.

Recently, we went on a last-minute Bahamas trip (three days to prepare between hearing it would happen and flying out!) and that was nice. We'd never been there in August before - boy was the humidity killer! I would just step outside and literally start dripping in sweat! (I'm thinking maybe my new med made me more prone to sweating, too, since I do not normally sweat like that!!)

The funniest thing happened to us as we were stopped at the gas station to fill the rental car up before returning it. It was a full-service station, so an employee filled the tank for us. He happened to look into the window of the back seat and saw the "CERTIFIED SERVICE DOG" writing on the little pack my service dog wears behind her mobility harness, as my dog was sitting on that side of the car. He started freaking out, so excited to see a service dog in real life! He kept saying to all his co-workers, "Look! It's a real service dog! It's a service dog! They are so amazing! They can alert to people's medical problems and help them!" It was the funniest thing, especially since we were just sitting in the car, not out walking, so it isn't like he saw the dog helping me at the moment. He was pointing her out to EVERYONE - even as we were driving off, we could hear him excitedly saying, "Look! It's a service dog!" He must have seen them on TV/in movies ... and obviously is very impressed with all the wonderful things our dogs can do for us! :) (For those who don't know, the Bahamas doesn't really have service dogs. They tried it once, but it didn't work well because the locals had too many access issues since there are no access laws for disabled people with service dogs in the Bahamas. So, Bahamians don't see service dogs unless they work with tourists and, even then, it is rare. I've not had any access denials in the Bahamas, but I'm more used to educating people than the locals new to having service dogs likely were. Hopefully, they will try having service dogs again one day.)

Well, I'm still looking into a cruise in 2014 with friends and family (whoever wants to come), but am not sure which one yet. I thought I was, but talking with others has made me look at some other options. It'd be nice to cruise again, so I hope it works out! Until then, I have land trips to keep me travel-happy. ;) For those going on cruises soon, I hope you have a blast!!

So, I obviously decided to pop on in here today. ;) I'm glad to see that Horton is working well for Roz and getting along well with Brenda. Sorry to see some of you struggling with different things with their family and/or their dogs, though. I wish you all the best!

Things are pretty crazy here, too, and I'll mention one of the things since it has to do with service dogs, since service dogs are for our disabilities. Well, for at least seventeen years, I have had a certain diagnosis that was one of my disabilities. Long story short, I was recently diagnosed with what I now believe is the correct diagnosis (I had never heard of this diagnosis before). I am now on meds and use a medical device to treat it and they are both helping - I haven't felt this well in forever, if ever! (I progressively got worse over the last seventeen or more years - probably over my whole lifetime really.) I still have my other disabilities and still need my service dog, but thankfully I am not as sick as I had been, especially since it got pretty bad just before my actual diagnosis. Thankfully, I was able to amazingly get a quick appointment at a top hospital with their best neurologist for my diagnosis, so was able to get on the meds not too long after my condition got worse (though I was already using the medical device and that was helping a good amount). This should mean that I won't be having to miss as many events and things anymore!

As for cruises, I am thinking of doing the same Southern Caribbean on Carnival out of Puerto Rico one that I did in 2011, but that wouldn't be until 2014. I was looking for something closer, like this year or early next year, but didn't find anything I wanted to do that my friends would be able to afford (like Hawaii or like Alaska out of California). When I do plan it, I'll make sure at least one other friend will be going, but will also open it up to any and all of my friends who want to come, so I hope a good number of them will be able to come, especially if I start planning it over a year in advance.

All right, I need to get off the board now. Take care, everyone! I'll come back to visit again at some point, LOL!

Hello everyone' date='

Sorry it'a been so long but today at 1:15 pm Valentine had to be put down due to extended illness. I love her and miss her terribly. I'm sure you will all understand that I won't be posting for a while but will be lurking.

 

Please everyone say a prayer to send Valentine in the right direction.

 

All our Love, Barbara, David and Valentine[/quote']

 

So very, very sorry for your great loss! :( Take comfort in that you gave her athe most wonderful kind of life a dog could have: a service dog who travels and cruises! I'm sure she was an incredibly happy pooch and loved you more than anything else!