DUTRAVEL

Henrietta and I will be following along. Hopefully, you will have an uneventful B3B. We are looking forward to our Alaska cruise next month - haven’t sailed since our cruise with you on Millennium last October. Have a great time. Dianne

Thanks for your very thorough review Lady_Jag. I’m glad that in the end almost everything worked out for your son and his service dog. I have found with the cruise ships I just don’t take no for an answer and generally things are worked out to our satisfaction.

Thanks for the info - I will just bring the California Certificate of Veterinary Inspection and the usual 7001 and be over prepared as usual!

That's interesting - did they ask about the dog food in Vancouver at the port on disembarkation or at the border on the way to Seattle? We have returned to Vancouver on a couple of cruises and I'm not sure if I remembered to declare that I had Henri's food with me (probably haven't done it in California or Florida either). When traveling, I bring Henri's food in the original unopened package (with enough in separate baggies until we get on the cruise ship so that I don't have to open the main bag until then). I'm going to start bringing the receipt with me too now that they questioned you. The EU only lets you bring in 2 kg of pet food and it must be needed for health required reasons. No way is 2 kg enough for a 65lb lab for two or three weeks. I always ask my Vet to write a letter stating that my service dog needs to remain on her normal diet when traveling. Did you have any issues with the Alaskan Health Certificate? I have checked with my Vet to make sure they can do a California Certificate of Veterinary Inspection when we travel to Alaska in September. Did your Vet e-mail or mail a copy to the Alaska State Veterinarian's Office?

Yes, you will need to fill out ArriveCan twice. Once within 72 hours before your flight and then again before you embark on the cruise. You can only have one trip listed at a time and you will need to delete the first trip after you arrive in Vancouver. Assuming that your ship will call on Victoria before returning to Vancouver, you will list Victoria as your port of entry for the cruise.

We have stayed at Holiday Inn & Suites Oakland Airport. They have a Sports Bar and Grill at the hotel. The hotel is at the entrance to the Airport and has a free shuttle.

Chris knows more about this than I do - she has used a service in the Bahamas that obtains the permit for you. It seems well worth his $57 fee. https://www.bahamaspetpermit.com/ As far as I know, you can still use the downloadable Aphis form 7001 health certificate and you will need the Bahamas form IMP(1)b to accompany the permit.

Royal should have the tender ports marked on your itinerary. You can go here to find out the schedule for Juneau the day you are there: https://claalaska.com/?page_id=1551

We have used Rome Cabs several times - they will work with you on the size of vehicle you need. My husband and I travel with a couple of large suitcases, a wheelchair and a 65lb service dog and they always accommodate us with the right vehicle. They are wonderful to work with.

I haven't sailed on HAL and so I don't have any specific information on how they might handle embarkation or if they have separate desks for passengers with special needs in every departure port. I always try to board as early as possible (I would definitely go earlier than my assigned time) so that I have as much time as possible to deal with relief box issues before the ship sails.

I always apply pretty far in advance (so I don't forget to do it). I applied a couple of months ago for a November 2023 TA and can see the OBC on our reservation online.

We had not been on a cruise since November 2019 and rarely left the house for almost two years. We did a Pacific Coastal cruise in October with my Service Dog Henrietta and she was great (once they replaced the postage size relief box). I'm sure Oakland will pick up right where he left off.

Have a great time on your cruise! I'm sure Oakland will remember the box and what to do.

Yes it all the same, the only difference is that one car has the lift and the spaces for four wheelchairs.

See my edited post for a picture of the space for wheelchairs and walkers.

Just be aware that if you do not book through the cruise line you have to go into town to board the train (at least that's the way it was when we were in Skagway). If that is still the case, you will definitely need the wheelchair. There is plenty of room on the wheelchair accessible car for the walker and there are spaces for wheelchair users who remain in their chair. The attached picture shows the space as the end of the train car - you can just see the wheel of a walker on the top right.

If you are playing table games, you go to the cashier and he/she will give you promotional chips (for non-refundable OBC). When you win at the table, you will be given "real" chips. We play Black Jack and most of the time we are able to covert the majority of our non-refundable OBC into cash. When you are done playing, take the "real" chips to the cashier and he/she will give you cash.

We haven't been to Sitka since 2018, but at least one shuttle had a wheelchair lift.

Thanks so much for continuing this thread on the "land" potion of your cruise. I'm really enjoying all of your lovely pictures.