Kennels, 2 more for 2 Sep Labor Day

[travel-to-go]

Okay,

I have searched all posts back to mid 2005 on the subject of the QM2 Kennels.

I know there were both dogs and cats on our 3 Jan Panama trip. I also saw posts indicating somewhere around 150 British pounds for a small kennel- I assume this was for a six day crossing. This would equal about $300 USD at today's exchange rate. Any clues how to book this or what the four day rate would be? Or if they would even take a small (chihuahua, I think) dog on the 4 day Labor day? And do they require all of those onerous things for a non-crossing? (not disembarking in a different country?) such as the chip embedded and such?

 

I think we have two more booked for the Labor Day trip! YEA!!!

 

Marc and I went down to Vero Beach to see his father today. While eating dinner, his lovely wife, Jean, happened to have mentioned that she had sailed the QE2 on a crossing 4 years ago. It was, I think some sort of trip for the art museum which she founded in Vero Beach FL. She had mentioned wanting to sail the QM2, also, and something about seeing someithing for a 4 day. I said, "2 September? Labor Day? Four Days to Halifax Nova Scotia? We're booked on it!!!!!!!!!"

She mentioned that she and Mr. Warren (Marc's Dad) have never had a honeymoon (they got married December 2004- a week before our Christmas Westerdam cruise) I did not having my booking info with me, nor my brochure. It was at the hotel, but I happened to have the Cunard promo DVD with me, which we looked at. I called Cunard, they pulled up my booking, Said, "Oh, I am upgrading you again right now, to a B1!!!" I got all of the details and booked them immediately for a B1 next to us, amidships! (6140 and 6144- Can't get much more amidships! Right opposite the atrium insides!) 90 days out is in a few days, so they will need to make final payment (according to their booking, before the deposite is due!!! Trust Princess booking engine!) I got back to the hotel and pulled up the booking. I can find nowhere on the Cunard consumer site, nor in the Princess booking engine where one might find info on the kennels, even in the amenities.

 

So anyway, I think, though they are not cruise critics per se, they are with us, so add Dana Warren and Jean Armstrong-Warren to the roll call! I will be getting their final payment by Sunday!

 

Woohooo!!!

 

They will be doing early seating while we do late, but we will have four days, three of them at sea to hang out, and that way we can each also develop our own tablemate-friends, especially since we will be traveling with beautiful Maria (who had her second round of chemo today) Plenty of time to be together, yet plenty of time not tied to each other! Perfect!

 

I'm so psyched! (or is that psycho- I always get those two mixed up!)

 

Karie, who is psy-something!

 

P.S. I told the agent "oooh, Room 6045? That one is haunted!" He said, "so you don't want that one?" I said, "nah! I don't care!" But we got 6144 and 6140.

[Bramcruiser]

Congrats Karie for getting new additions to your cruise. I must know all the wrong people as everytime I bring up a cruise I get blank stares instead of enthusiasm for those who want to go. Oh well!

 

As for the kennels? Cunard is strangely quiet on that subject totally. Its really only through Cruise Critic that I even knew there were kennels on the QM2. Here the ship has a niche market all to itself and no advertising of it. Sounds like they are keeping it just for the sake of putting down outcries rather than really wanting to continue the program. Yet strangely, didn't they just expand the service this year? Someone must be using it! Hmmmm, I have two cats? I should ask them if they want to go on a Caribbean cruise in December?

[ocngypz]

Karie:

 

You book the kennels through Cunard reservations.

[quepaquete]

Karie,

 

You need to contact Cunard (or Princess reservations) and book the kennels. I emailed and requesting info and a lady called me in a few hours. I learned that you can take your dog or cat and you can visit them at the kennels but can't take them outside of the designated area. I was also informed that the designated area is not big enough for them to run.

 

My dogs need to run everyday so I prefer to leave them at a land kennel where they take them for walks twice a day and let them run in the yard for a short time everyday. My dogs are also on raw food diet and they are very good at keeping the food fresh for them. Sorry, I got our of the subjet for a moment. I just love my dogs so much and love to talk about them.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Jorge

[pb82]

Hi,

My wife and I and our cat recently returned from the 5/23-5/29 eastbound and 5/29-6/4 westbound crossings. The small kennel cost $300. each way,

but, because the kennels were at most half full, he had a double at no extra charge. If your pet isn't leaving the ship, the required formal documentation is essentially nil. We kept a blog of our voyage, it's *****.blogspot.com (guess what our cat's name is). Be happy to answer any questions you may have about the QM2 kennels.

Bon voyage to you all,

Paul

[travel-to-go]

Hi,

My wife and I and our cat recently returned from the 5/23-5/29 eastbound and 5/29-6/4 westbound crossings. The small kennel cost $300. each way,

but, because the kennels were at most half full, he had a double at no extra charge. If your pet isn't leaving the ship, the required formal documentation is essentially nil. We kept a blog of our voyage, it's *****.blogspot.com (guess what our cat's name is). Be happy to answer any questions you may have about the QM2 kennels.

Bon voyage to you all,

Paul

 

Paul and Michael,

 

Loved your blog.

Michael, your gown for the last formal night Eastbound was simply gorgeous! Sebastion is so calm. Our cats (3 all-black crazies) would probably stage a mutiny or take hostages! we would never trust them out in public!

 

Alas, Cunard tells me (though I don't know that I believe them, since there were at least a cat and a couple of dogs on our Jan Panama trip) that the kennels are only for use on the crossings. The dog in question (half the size of our cats! <G>) has wisely decided to stay at home for the four days. He will be in the loving hands of a relative of the couple- This is Marc's Dad and his lovely wife. When they first married last year, Marc's Dad hated "the little yapper" Now it is HIS dog! Takes him for several walks a day, talks baby talk to him, lets him sit on his lap and generally spoils the little guy!

 

Karie,

who thanks you for sharing Sebastion's trip with us- So nice of him to let y'all come along!

 

P.S. We live out in the countryside of Colchester, CT and we can sometimes see the Milky Way on dark clear nights. It is incredible. And two years ago in Key West I saw the green flash! We were on a sailboat and there were the usual clouds gathering on the horizon- a phenomena that was explained to me by our sailboat captain/pilot/weather aficionado host. We were all chatting amiably, not bothering to look due to the clouds. I was facing the Western Horizon. Suddenly, I exclaimed OHMIGOD! I SAW IT! I just happened to look just as the clouds parted ever so briefly. Everyone knew, and I wll always remember the moment of a lifetime!

 

This takes all of the romance out of it, but here is a scientific webpage on the Green Flash

http://www.isc.tamu.edu/~astro/research/sandiego.html

 

And another- See the Short Fat Guy's video! Amazing!

http://mintaka.sdsu.edu/GF/pictures.html

[pb82]

Karie,

Thanks for the kind words and the green flash links. I'll keep staring and hoping.

Paul

[eatsallinsects]

Hi,

My wife and I and our cat recently returned from the 5/23-5/29 eastbound and 5/29-6/4 westbound crossings. The small kennel cost $300. each way,

but, because the kennels were at most half full, he had a double at no extra charge. If your pet isn't leaving the ship, the required formal documentation is essentially nil. We kept a blog of our voyage, it's *****.blogspot.com (guess what our cat's name is). Be happy to answer any questions you may have about the QM2 kennels.

Bon voyage to you all,

Paul

------------------------------------------------

Paul, thank you for the link to Sebastian's "spot on the web".

His picture in his life jacket has been sent around the world (LOL)!

Edithe in Dallas TEXAS

[highcbob]

Hello all you pet-lovers, I just had a friend recently off QM2 who specifcally had the grill concierge pick up the phone and call the 'kennel keeper' about this very issue. The response was "we currently only allow use of the kennels on trans-Atlantics, we are still trying to work out the insurance issue".

Though I guess that does not explain the pets on the Panama trip as mentioned above.

[Pincus]

Okay,

I have searched all posts back to mid 2005 on the subject of the QM2 Kennels.

I know there were both dogs and cats on our 3 Jan Panama trip. I also saw posts indicating somewhere around 150 British pounds for a small kennel- I assume this was for a six day crossing. This would equal about $300 USD at today's exchange rate. Any clues how to book this or what the four day rate would be? Or if they would even take a small (chihuahua, I think) dog on the 4 day Labor day? And do they require all of those onerous things for a non-crossing? (not disembarking in a different country?) such as the chip embedded and such?

 

I think we have two more booked for the Labor Day trip! YEA!!!

 

Marc and I went down to Vero Beach to see his father today. While eating dinner, his lovely wife, Jean, happened to have mentioned that she had sailed the QE2 on a crossing 4 years ago. It was, I think some sort of trip for the art museum which she founded in Vero Beach FL. She had mentioned wanting to sail the QM2, also, and something about seeing someithing for a 4 day. I said, "2 September? Labor Day? Four Days to Halifax Nova Scotia? We're booked on it!!!!!!!!!"

She mentioned that she and Mr. Warren (Marc's Dad) have never had a honeymoon (they got married December 2004- a week before our Christmas Westerdam cruise) I did not having my booking info with me, nor my brochure. It was at the hotel, but I happened to have the Cunard promo DVD with me, which we looked at. I called Cunard, they pulled up my booking, Said, "Oh, I am upgrading you again right now, to a B1!!!" I got all of the details and booked them immediately for a B1 next to us, amidships! (6140 and 6144- Can't get much more amidships! Right opposite the atrium insides!) 90 days out is in a few days, so they will need to make final payment (according to their booking, before the deposite is due!!! Trust Princess booking engine!) I got back to the hotel and pulled up the booking. I can find nowhere on the Cunard consumer site, nor in the Princess booking engine where one might find info on the kennels, even in the amenities.

 

So anyway, I think, though they are not cruise critics per se, they are with us, so add Dana Warren and Jean Armstrong-Warren to the roll call! I will be getting their final payment by Sunday!

 

Woohooo!!!

 

They will be doing early seating while we do late, but we will have four days, three of them at sea to hang out, and that way we can each also develop our own tablemate-friends, especially since we will be traveling with beautiful Maria (who had her second round of chemo today) Plenty of time to be together, yet plenty of time not tied to each other! Perfect!

 

I'm so psyched! (or is that psycho- I always get those two mixed up!)

 

Karie, who is psy-something!

 

P.S. I told the agent "oooh, Room 6045? That one is haunted!" He said, "so you don't want that one?" I said, "nah! I don't care!" But we got 6144 and 6140.

 

Karie,

 

this is such a lovely happening, that I had to congratulate you. What a nice thing for your in-laws.

 

We do not have pets, but one of our favorite places on the QM2 for our first crossing last fall was the kennels. We visited someone's English Bulldog daily and nicknamed him Churchill. He was a hoot!

 

We hope to book amother crossing soon, so I am curious about upgrades. You mentioned an upgrade above, can you tell me your experience with them.

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

Pincus

[Pincus]

Hi,

My wife and I and our cat recently returned from the 5/23-5/29 eastbound and 5/29-6/4 westbound crossings. The small kennel cost $300. each way,

but, because the kennels were at most half full, he had a double at no extra charge. If your pet isn't leaving the ship, the required formal documentation is essentially nil. We kept a blog of our voyage, it's *****.blogspot.com (guess what our cat's name is). Be happy to answer any questions you may have about the QM2 kennels.

Bon voyage to you all,

Paul

 

 

Paul, this blog is great. Seeing Sebastian's life vest is a first for me.

 

We do not have pets, because we travel a lot, but use our friends pets for "rent a pet service."

 

Thanks for posting.

 

Pincus

[travel-to-go]

Karie,

 

this is such a lovely happening, that I had to congratulate you. What a nice thing for your in-laws.

 

We do not have pets, but one of our favorite places on the QM2 for our first crossing last fall was the kennels. We visited someone's English Bulldog daily and nicknamed him Churchill. He was a hoot!

 

We hope to book amother crossing soon, so I am curious about upgrades. You mentioned an upgrade above, can you tell me your experience with them.

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

Pincus

 

Thank you, Pincus. They don't know that I have identified them to Cunard as honeymooners! Hoepfully, they will be pleased!

 

As for the upgrades, (and I use that term loosely, as we had a lovely cabin picked out on 8 deck- obstructed view, but not too obstructed as it was one of the small life boats you could actually see over, in front of the balcony) to a hull hole balcony on 6 deck. However, it is the North Atlantic, even though it is September, and only for four days, so if we find it absolutely unbearable, it will be at small cost and we'll know better next time!

 

I firmly believe the upgrades happened because this trip was simply not selling well. They ended up doing a promo in which everything up to a B1 was the same price. Since it is easier to sell some lower cabins, especially obstructed view, as most people find those to be better cabins than hull hole, and we would be occupying a "coveted" Obstructed, they "upgraded" us to hull hole to resell that more easily sold cabin.

 

The second upgrade was when I called, excited, that evening. I told them I was a travel agent, but did not have my booking number handy, as we hadn't expected to be booking someone else that evening, since we were only visiting Marc's Dad and his wife! They quickly found my booking, and the res agent said, First, let me upgrade you right now! If this cruise counts (it appears that the rules say it doesn't, but I'm not sure) this would be our Platinum cruise.(the level which we are in Cunard World Club) We did four cruises in the 90's with Cunard, then the January cruise, and now this. Our next HAL cruise will be a Medallion cruise also, so it was hard to make the decision to do QM2 in January instead of waiting til February for the Noordam Inaugural, but we had a marvelous time, met some wonderful people, and have always loved Cunard. Our last HAL cruise, I really felt they had taken a severe nose dive from what we were used to, and we were in a deluxe verandah Suite (concierge class, thought HAL doesn't call it that) I felt they had made some managment changes that were detrimental to the superior service we had come to expect.

 

Anyway, that's my upgrade story. A well selling cruise, you might get upgraded if they felt they had a better chance of selling that grade of cabin that you were in, and a poor selling cruise, similar thinking is at hand. Trust me, no line does it from the goodness of their hearts! Of course, it may not have hurt me that they knew I was a travel agent, That would be based on the assumption that if I had a good experience on Cunard, I might be more likely to sell it to my clients over another line. Truthfully, I don't do this for a living, and I do not push it on people. Very few of my everyday acquaintances even know that I am a travel agent. I am a cellular (phone) technician in my REAL job! Those who do know, usually aren't going to go Cunard. Either they want the cheapest thing they can get, or want the party atmosphere, or the "adventure" ships. But I would recommend Cunard to almost anyone except the real young party-animal types who don't want to dresh for dinner.

 

Karie,

Who wishes you luck in your quests!

 

P.S. I love your naming of the bulldog Churchill! It seems apprpriate, and so endearing! I hope he didn't smoke cigars, though! <LOL>

[Anteeta]

Okay,

 

I think we have two more booked for the Labor Day trip! YEA!!!

 

She mentioned that she and Mr. Warren (Marc's Dad) have never had a honeymoon (they got married December 2004- a week before our Christmas Westerdam cruise) I did not having my booking info with me, nor my brochure. It was at the hotel, but I happened to have the Cunard promo DVD with me, which we looked at.

 

 

 

Karie, who is psy-something!

 

quote]

 

 

Karie, who is probably psychedelic, I cannot believe that you travel with a Cunard promo DVD about your person!! What other mysteries are within your bags I wonder?

 

And just to let you know that this thread has caused a huge stir in our house. We were discussing the kennels issue and recalled seeing a dog on daily walkabout on the QE2 when we travelled last. Howard, our 9 month old terrier cross heard the discussion and is now insisting that he comes on our QE2 America/Caribbean cruise later this year. He says he's never sailed before and particularly wants to go to Mexico to buy a hat (yes he's crass). He says staying with my mother for a month is not an option and I've even heard mutterings about animal cruelty. He's currently sulking.

[Pincus]

Karie, thanks for the thoughtful/helpful answer on upgrades.

 

Most telling line: Trust me, no line does it from the goodness of their hearts!

 

Enjoy!

 

Pincus

[travel-to-go]

Okay,

 

I think we have two more booked for the Labor Day trip! YEA!!!

 

She mentioned that she and Mr. Warren (Marc's Dad) have never had a honeymoon (they got married December 2004- a week before our Christmas Westerdam cruise) I did not having my booking info with me, nor my brochure. It was at the hotel, but I happened to have the Cunard promo DVD with me, which we looked at.

 

 

 

Karie, who is psy-something!

 

quote]

 

 

Karie, who is probably psychedelic, I cannot believe that you travel with a Cunard promo DVD about your person!! What other mysteries are within your bags I wonder?

 

And just to let you know that this thread has caused a huge stir in our house. We were discussing the kennels issue and recalled seeing a dog on daily walkabout on the QE2 when we travelled last. Howard, our 9 month old terrier cross heard the discussion and is now insisting that he comes on our QE2 America/Caribbean cruise later this year. He says he's never sailed before and particularly wants to go to Mexico to buy a hat (yes he's crass). He says staying with my mother for a month is not an option and I've even heard mutterings about animal cruelty. He's currently sulking.

 

 

Careful, now!

He might insist on taking a swim in "the big pond"

And you would be amazed at what I carry in these bags. They often wonder that at work, too! I'm not telling! <G>

 

Karie,

who has secrets she cannot divulge! <G> Like what all the #(&( she carries is for! (gotta be prepared, you now! Never know when they might need a kitchen sink, and guess who will be the HERO!))