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Emotional Support Animals No Longer Allowed on Royal Caribbean Cruise Ships


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It is ridiculous!!!! How much is Southwest charging passengers to allow them to bring their miniature horses on the plane? Do the horses have a seat? How many passengers are allowed to bring their miniature horses on an individual flight?

 

 

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My issue is that they are forced to stand in the seats between the backs and your knees....what if they take a *****. Are they paper trained?

 

Can you imagine.....

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As long as doctors will write up letters for the "fakers" this problem won't end no matter how much government is involved.

 

 

 

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Doctors can’t write notes for ASA trained animals. Doctors can only write notes for people who need emotional support.

 

Take the fakers out of the mix by setting a recognized association with a national standard of training. People with legitimate needs have already paid for this out of necessity, and the fakers won’t spend the dollars. A note from a doctor will no longer get them a pass.

 

If someone really needs their animal for emotional support they will spend the money, and they will have a well trained dog that won’t cause issues in public. That would be OK by me.

Edited by A&L_Ont
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I used to be skeptical of emotional support animals - always took the "Suck it up, Buttercup" attitude. Until a little over a year ago a friend's wife died. They'd been married 50 years. Everyone at the golf course where he works noticed his depression getting worse. Then someone convinced him to get Snuggles, a cute little Lhasa Apso. Almost immediately he perked up. He brings Snuggles to work. She's never been a problem and has even become something of a course mascot. So I'm less skeptical than I was about their validity. BTW, he went on a cruise last month. He didn't think taking Snuggles was appropriate so she spent the week in a kennel. Neither was traumatized by the separation.

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There are a few people (mostly men its seems) in that situation who come into the Town Hall where I work . They are clearing providing companionship and emotional support to these men. Most are small dogs whose presence you might not even notice but one sweet older gentleman has a very large dog over which he really has no control! The dog jumps on people, barks like crazy and gets loose because his owner isn't strong enough to hang onto the lease sometimes. I feel badly for him because he is clearly lonely but the dog is a maniac! He would be a nightmare on a cruise ship.

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I can see those who are determined to bring Fido on the ship, will now get the certificate that says Fido is a service animal. I'm sure there will be those who state the dog alerts to low or high blood sugar etc. I don't believe this is going to do much, but it's a start.

 

A few cruises ago there was a woman who had her Fifi in a baby carriage, dressed to the nines including sun glasses. She wheeled the dog all over, had people pet the dog etc. She had the baby carriage at the end of the table in the dining room and she fed the dog from her plate with her fork and she ate from the plate and fork.

 

She then claimed, when asked by a passenger, (not me) that the dog alerted her husband when his blood sugar was low/high. The problem was Fifi was never with the husband, only with the wife. I don't think the new regs are going to stop this, but I can hope it will. I do know that dogs can alert to blood sugar, but this was just a bunch of malarkey!

 

I believe this is the same woman I saw on Carnival, and she told the crew and other passengers that it was the best money she ever spent buying emotional support papers off the internet, it was cheaper than boarding her dog. It's because of people like her it's ruining it for people who have real physical and emotional problems. It's about time people are wising up to the rule breakers, it's to bad it'w going to hurt the people who really do have a reason for them.

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My issue is that they are forced to stand in the seats between the backs and your knees....what if they take a *****. Are they paper trained?

 

Can you imagine.....

 

Not that I would want to be seated near a miniature horse, but to ask are they "paper trained" they are. In fact they must housebroken in order to be considered an ADA service animal. Mini horses are 24" to 34" at the shoulder and between 70 and 100 lbs. If you note the pdf however, " whether the facility can accommodate the miniature horse’s type, size, and weight; and (4) whether the miniature horse’s presence will not compromise legitimate safety requirements necessary for safe operation of the facility". https://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

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As long as doctors will write up letters for the "fakers" this problem won't end no matter how much government is involved.

 

 

 

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Doctor's also need to be responsible for writing those notes. If doctor's would be accountable for the notes they wrote there might be less.

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Doctor's also need to be responsible for writing those notes. If doctor's would be accountable for the notes they wrote there might be less.

 

 

 

The same doctors that write the letters for every able bodied person to get a handicap hang tag are writing the letters for Emotional Support Animals.

 

 

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The same doctors that write the letters for every able bodied person to get a handicap hang tag are writing the letters for Emotional Support Animals.

 

 

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Yep, I have had to not go into a store because no handicapped or close parking and I can't walk far and couldn't get my scooter out. Yah, for getting a new wheelchair on Monday that is lighter than my scooter and I can manage from any distance in.

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Yep, I have had to not go into a store because no handicapped or close parking and I can't walk far and couldn't get my scooter out. Yah, for getting a new wheelchair on Monday that is lighter than my scooter and I can manage from any distance in.

 

 

 

That is what I meant. People who really need something (handicapped parking, Service Animals) can’t use them because of all the fakers taking advantage of the system.

 

 

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I think if someone's ESA has an accident (ie defecates) on board, they and the dog should be put off the ship at the next port and have to fly themselves and Little Fluffy home at their own expense. RCI lawyers can add this to the Cruise Contract.

 

People who booked before July 30, 2018 can still bring their Emotional Support Animal onboard. So there will still be issues.

 

Just a minute! I can't bring booze on board and it will never poop, pee,bark, growl, howl, or contaminate food and dining areas, and will never bite anyone, carries nothing contagious, doesn't require rabies shots, doesn't eat poop or lick it's *** after pooping, but I CAN bring on my "emotional support animal which does all these things and endangers everyone even more than a norovirus outbreak! Does that make sense?

Can anyone tell me what is wrong with this picture??? :rolleyes:

It sure is nice to know that there is an end to this madness!

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Can anyone tell me what is wrong with this picture??? :rolleyes:

 

Well for one, I can see the picture, so would you please post it again.

 

Also, I'm all for not allowing drunks on board. I have had to deal with two and didn't feel comfortable with either one.

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That is what I meant. People who really need something (handicapped parking, Service Animals) can’t use them because of all the fakers taking advantage of the system.

 

 

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Seriously , How do you know they are fakers ? A lot of disabilities are not obvious . I have serious COPD and I get looks when I park with a disability card .

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Seriously , How do you know they are fakers ? A lot of disabilities are not obvious . I have serious COPD and I get looks when I park with a disability card .

 

I too, have an "invisible" disability. I have been confronted by other people yelling at me, that I can't park there because I'm not "disabled"....I tell them it's none of their business and move on...leave me alone...

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Seriously , How do you know they are fakers ? A lot of disabilities are not obvious . I have serious COPD and I get looks when I park with a disability card .

 

There are a ton of disabilities that are not obvious and we can't judge. But, I know you have experienced it also, there seems to be an big increase in disability placards and plates and some are probably not needed. Only the doctor and the person know if it is really needed.

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I too, have an "invisible" disability. I have been confronted by other people yelling at me, that I can't park there because I'm not "disabled"....I tell them it's none of their business and move on...leave me alone...

 

My response to those: Oh, are you a licensed MD doing freelance diagnoses here in the Walmart parking lot?

If so, I'd like to get your opinion on my hemorrhroid problem. You see, it's a real pain in my ***and you seem to be an expert in that area. Would you like to take a look? :evilsmile:

Seriously though, your best alternative is to keep on moving and just ignore them. Confrontations are never good and you NEVER teach anyone anything.

Ban wheelchairs and scooters? I guess that would include baby carriages carrying dogs too. They also block the halls, are unnecessary and there are too many dogs being fed from the DR tables causing excess obesity! That dog needs exercise!

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Glad to hear that emotional support dog will no longer be allowed. This don't work, charge them full fare and see how many want to take their pets. Costing me over $300 to leave mine in a pet lodge, while cruising. :cool::cool::cool:

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My issue is that they are forced to stand in the seats between the backs and your knees....what if they take a *****. Are they paper trained?

 

Can you imagine.....

 

Apart from the bulkhead area (they are excluded from the exit rows), I don't see how this is manageable--the average miniature horse's girth is between 16 and 22 inches. At roughly 34 inches tall, I can't see what the person who owns him is supposed to do with his own legs. There is only 32-33 inches as measured from the end of the armrest (per southwest) to the back of the seat in front of you. I don't believe the animal is allowed to infringe upon the legroom of the person sitting next to his owners seat or be allowed to block the aisle.

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For me anyway, it’s more about the self-righteousness of people trying to scam the system. I’m a HUGE dog lover (and have a loveable pug). But I abide by the rules and I suck it up and pay a fortune to board him when I’m going on vacation. It’s just something I have to account for when I budget for a trip. It annoys me that others don’t want to leave/pay to board their animal so they make up a justification.

 

I’m really happy to see this change from royal!

I agree totally. I would love to be able to take our toy poodle on the cruises with us. We pay hundreds of dollars to have her go on "vacation" (boarding). In this day and age. There are dog boarding facilities that treat the dogs like royalty. They get their play time (most of the day) with other dogs that have similar dispositions.

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