Cruising With A Service Dog....everything You Ever Wanted To Know!

[Caribbean Chris]

[quote name='DisneyKidsDad'][COLOR=Blue][SIZE=3][FONT=Comic Sans MS]Thanks Chris,
My wife just sent out the e-mail and got a confirmation that it will be shipped.
[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

You're welcome! As everybody on this forum thread knows, it's quite a big annual investment to take care of a service dog, so every little bit helps.

[tvaud]

[quote name='wizard-of-roz'][COLOR="Indigo"][B]I never saw it! I feel so stupid and "out of it" but I never got to enjoy it. I hear so many wonderful things about it and I never partook!!!![/B][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

Don't feel badly Roz. I wasn't into it until a year ago. Everyone else was watching it and I wanted to know what all of the buzz was about. My mother gave me the first three seasons on DVD, which I binge watched...and I was so hooked! Get the DVDs and start loving it like the rest of us.:D

Cindra

PS: I read that Julian Fellows is writing another show in the same time period...only in the US. Maybe it will follow Branson and Lady Rose to America. A sort of sequel?

[Alohatoo]

Hi. We just decided to take a cruise in 2 weeks on Celebrity Summit with my guide dog Regina. Does anyone know about the regulations for the islands of Barbedos, St. Lucia, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Antigua and St. Maarten. Thanks. Alohatoo. I have found this forum very helpful in the past.

[Caribbean Chris]

[quote name='Alohatoo']Hi. We just decided to take a cruise in 2 weeks on Celebrity Summit with my guide dog Regina. Does anyone know about the regulations for the islands of Barbedos, St. Lucia, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Antigua and St. Maarten. Thanks. Alohatoo. I have found this forum very helpful in the past.[/QUOTE]

We were on the sister ship, Celebrity Constellation, in December (our first cruise with a service dog.) All we needed to produce for San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Maareten was the standard USDA APHIS form 7001 you always need, (but I brought along the St. Maarten form in case anyone asked for it).

I have no personal knowledge of Barbados, St. Lucia or Antigua dog import regulations, but recall reading that in the past, some people reported blood titer requirements (you may not have time to have that done) and fees. Maybe someone with recent knowledge will chime in.

The mulch box was placed outdoors on Deck 4, all the way forward, starboard side. It was wet and windy but the ship did not permit any other location option.

I loved the Constellation, especially the "T-pool" with bubble jets and warm water. Have a wonderful cruise!

[Caribbean Chris]

Yesterday we went to the USDA Certified vet nearest us in Morehead City to get Raylene's APHIS 7001, and then sent it off to the state office in Raleigh for endorsement.

Makes it seem real now! She had her bath and nail trim Tuesday. I need to bag up feedings in ziplocks, pick some toys and the usual other paraphernalia to go with us, and pull out her suitcase.

Maybe I'd better think about my stuff soon, too. Almost time to do the going-on-a-cruise happy dance!!!

Are you ready yet, Roz?? You sail before we do. Edited April 2, 2015 by Caribbean Chris

[Caribbean Chris]

Alohatoo, here's a link - at the very bottom are links to click for the forms for St. Maarten, which you sign yourself. (I think Quam posted this for us - thanks, Quam!)

[URL="http://www.sxmvetclinic.com/exporting-importing.pml"]http://www.sxmvetclinic.com/exporting-importing.pml[/URL]

As said above, I brought it, but did not give it to Celebrity at check in, and no one ever asked for it when we arrived in port or went ashore. But can't hurt to have it.

[wizard-of-roz]

[quote name='Caribbean Chris']Yesterday we went to the USDA Certified vet nearest us in Morehead City to get Raylene's APHIS 7001, and then sent it off to the state office in Raleigh for endorsement.

Makes it seem real now! She had her bath and nail trim Tuesday. I need to bag up feedings in ziplocks, pick some toys and the usual other paraphernalia to go with us, and pull out her suitcase.

Maybe I'd better think about my stuff soon, too. Almost time to do the going-on-a-cruise happy dance!!!

Are you ready yet, Roz?? You sail before we do.[/QUOTE]

[COLOR="Indigo"][B]I leave on Monday for a 10 day onboard the Golden Princess. I also bring 2 bags of Virbac C.E.T Chews to keep his teeth and gums clean and 2 bags of Rice Cakes [he gets two, his favorite treat before he goes off to bed in the evening!]

Horton has his Vet check today and the Vet will fill out the forms. I'll make 3 copies of it along with the receipt from the Vet, which shows his Vet visit and is more proof of any vaccines he received, weight, condition, etc., etc. I'll give one set to the folks at check-in, one to the Purser's Desk and I'll give one to the Immigration Officers in Mexico. I keep the originals to carry on me when we go into Port and have them handy if anyone asks about my dog, either in Port or when I'm re-boarding the ship.

Princess used to tell me that they MUST put the box on Deck 7 Aft and I had [U]no other choice[/U]. I asked them to please call their supervisor and the Hotel Manager and I insisted that the box be put in a stairwell [it's inside, out of the elements and away from other passengers.] There's lots of room, still allowing any emergency personal to use the stairwells, if necessary. They did put-up a little fuss but soon, after much verbiage from me, set the box up exactly where I asked!!! Princess now knows where I like the box and only once [onboard the Star] did I have any trouble with it's placement. ;)

Sometimes, you have to remain calm, make a very valid point and tell them what you want. I'm expecting to have to do this onboard the Carnival Miracle, in June. I haven't been onboard a Carnival ship in years......we'll see!!![/B][/COLOR]

[thephantomsgirl]

Have wonderful cruises everyone! :)

[Kiddiecakes]

Hi Everyone! Questions! My daughter is 15 and just got her service dog in October. She desperately wants to go on a cruise and take Hoover. I can't seem to get an answer from anyone concerning leaving her service dog aboard when she goes to ports. We prefer not to take him off ship. Can you leave him in a crate in the cabin? I know you can't leave him alone in the room without a crate or can they keep him somewhere ?

[Quampapetet]

[quote name='Alohatoo']Hi. We just decided to take a cruise in 2 weeks on Celebrity Summit with my guide dog Regina. Does anyone know about the regulations for the islands of Barbedos, St. Lucia, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Antigua and St. Maarten. Thanks. Alohatoo. I have found this forum very helpful in the past.[/QUOTE]

Barbados won't permit the dog (they only accept dogs coming directly from the UK), I believe St. Lucia requires a rabies titer with a six-month wait after (and possibly the health certificate to be endorsed - I don't recall), PR and St. Thomas just need the health certificate, I don't know about Antigua since I haven't had that on an itinerary, and St. Maarten I guess needs the form someone posted the link to and the health certificate. Google to find out about Antigua dog import requirements.

Sounds like a nice itinerary! Have a blast!

[Quampapetet]

[quote name='Kiddiecakes']Hi Everyone! Questions! My daughter is 15 and just got her service dog in October. She desperately wants to go on a cruise and take Hoover. I can't seem to get an answer from anyone concerning leaving her service dog aboard when she goes to ports. We prefer not to take him off ship. Can you leave him in a crate in the cabin? I know you can't leave him alone in the room without a crate or can they keep him somewhere ?[/QUOTE]

No, someone must stay onboard with the dog, who cannot be left alone in the room. You wouldn't want your precious service dog left alone, anyway, and it would be a liability issue. So, your options are: (1) Take the dog off the ship so he can do his job, (2) Have someone in your party stay in the cabin with the dog, or (3) Don't bring the dog on the cruise. I always out for option 1, especially since I need my service dog at all times. Yes, some ports we can't get off due to the import regulations, but I know that in advance of booking, so don't have an issue with it. Yes, taking the dog off the ship requires advanced research, preparation, and possibly additional costs, but that's just par for the course when you need a service dog. (Note: If you take the dog, but don't plan for getting off at any ports, you still need to get an international health certificate because you need it for returning to the US at the end of the cruise.)

[fairbourne]

[quote name='Kiddiecakes']Hi Everyone! Questions! My daughter is 15 and just got her service dog in October. She desperately wants to go on a cruise and take Hoover. I can't seem to get an answer from anyone concerning leaving her service dog aboard when she goes to ports. We prefer not to take him off ship. Can you leave him in a crate in the cabin? I know you can't leave him alone in the room without a crate or can they keep him somewhere ?[/QUOTE]


Welcome to our thread Kiddiecakes :).

I don't have a service dog but am a puppy walker (raiser), and when I read your post about maybe leaving your Hoover alone while you went off the ship, my heart sank.

There are too many things that could happen - think go wrong - that leaving Hoover on board by himself would never be an option! Quam has given you very good advice.

Hope you get to cruise with your daughter and Hoover, however, it might just take a bit more planning. I know when we've taken Aruba away, it does take a lot of planning, and that's just to an hotel in the same country!

But you've come to the right place here as there are many great folk on this thread who have done lots of cruises and can give you lots of advice. :)

[fairbourne]

Dear Horton Jeffrey

My mum tells me you are soon to be off on another cruising adventure with your Mom and your little family peeps.

I so loved my hotel adventure and I hope you have as much fun as I did! I wonder if the nice people on your floating hotel will send you doggy canapés like my ice-cream treat? LOL! ;)

I'm sure your Mom will have lots of treats for you - she's sounds just like my Mum and makes sure everyone is well looked after! In fact my Mum says your Mom and her could be sisters! With their big blonde hair! And they both love cruising ..... And us black dogs!!!

I've been in trouble this morning Horty, I so forgot myself I pinched my Mum's specs off the kitchen worktop and hid them in my hoosie, only thing was I soemhow, I don't know how it happened HOrty, I chewed one of the lenses out of its frame - oh boy was I "cruising for a bruising"! :eek:

Anyway when mum came down, I ran into my hoosie trying to sit on the specs and hide them under Piggy, but of course Mum saw me and I'm sure she wondered why I'd run into my hoosie as I normally am so excited to see her and jump up on her (I get another telling off for that too!), and run to the back door with Max and Poppy! Oh oh, I got quite a telling off for stealing when mum found them! I didn't want to tell her I could have stolen and eaten a box of cheese scones that she'd left out, by mistake, right by the specs!

You see we are working on leaving me in my hoosie at bedtime, but not locked in - it took me a few days to work out that the door was pushed too and not locked! Sneaky peeps! Anyway, I don't come out as I love to sleep and my hoosie is so comfy and snug and lots of room for me to move around. I come out when Max gets up and that's usually when we hear Mum moving around upstairs. We've already been out with Dad before he goes to work, buts that way to early to get up as Mum says, so we all go back to bed! :D

HORTY, have a wonderful, wonderful cruise with your fabulous Mom and your family.

Lots of love and puppy kisses from Aruba

I LUVS YA HORTY! XXX

PS - I'm going to go give my Mum a big lick - I think she'll forgive me and if I throw in some of that cute eye contact too with a "poor little sad puppy" me look, she'll melt - sucker!!! LOL!

[Kiddiecakes]

Thanks for the replies! No, if we had our way, Hoovy would go EVERYWHERE with us. We have never left him. The reason why we were contemplating leaving him in the room, crated and locked is because we are new to this service dog thing. If I don't do something correctly and this dog gets put in quarantine or something, I have no idea what we would do. Our daughter has been chronically ill for four years now and frankly we are burned completely out. We just finished a three different hospital visit in a week and a half. Life is way too serious right now and it will take every penny we have to go on the cruise. We went on a cruise in 2013 and we got to spend time together and laugh and see things we have never seen. She just got a pacemaker in Jan in her stomach and this time, she might be able to do some stuff with water that she couldn't do last time. Hoover wouldn't be able to participate in that. I don't mind not participating but I don't want to stay in a cabin with him and miss out on a moment with her. She doesn't even want to think of leaving him here so I don't know what to do. I am just trying to find some sort of compromise that works for all of us. By the way her dog is an 85 pound German Shepard. We would never put Hoovy at risk to be stolen. We discussed getting a lock for the crate, hiring somebody to stay with him(not sure how that would work unless I brought someone along). I tried to get answers on what I would need from different ports and that was just a mess. If she can take him on the ports, we will gladly bring him but I need someone that really knows what they are doing to help me because I am way overwhelmed. I also contacted cruise line about how to order grass and still no word from them. Not to mention, the stories we have heard about dogs entering ports and horrible issues happened. Hoovy has become her life line and I would do anything to keep them both safe. My mom says if it is this much stress, don't go, but in all honesty this is the only way I get a break and can relax too. Kate asked for this so we want to make it happen so any advice, is soo greatly appreciated!

[thephantomsgirl]

I'm torn between the "do I take the dog off in a port or crate him?" I'd definitely not want to take him off in some ports where there are the loose dogs running around problem. His safety is my top concern.

I was trying to do a search on the Panama Canal cruises and see what people did. My ports will be Cozumel (have no problem staying on board as I've been there many times), Cartagena, Puerto Vallata, and Caol San Lucas.

I have heard there is a loose dog problem in Cabo. I contacted a tour operator in Cartagena and she had no problem with a service dog.

But I heard a horror story from a SD friend who had another SD friend take a dog off in a foreign port and the dog contracted some weird bug and had to be retired as a SD.

At least I have over a year to really research this but would like to hear from others. If it's safe I'll take him off in port, otherwise he's my responsibility and I'll stay on board.

[fairbourne]

[quote name='Kiddiecakes']Thanks for the replies! No, if we had our way, Hoovy would go EVERYWHERE with us. We have never left him. The reason why we were contemplating leaving him in the room, crated and locked is because we are new to this service dog thing. If I don't do something correctly and this dog gets put in quarantine or something, I have no idea what we would do. Our daughter has been chronically ill for four years now and frankly we are burned completely out. We just finished a three different hospital visit in a week and a half. Life is way too serious right now and it will take every penny we have to go on the cruise. We went on a cruise in 2013 and we got to spend time together and laugh and see things we have never seen. She just got a pacemaker in Jan in her stomach and this time, she might be able to do some stuff with water that she couldn't do last time. Hoover wouldn't be able to participate in that. I don't mind not participating but I don't want to stay in a cabin with him and miss out on a moment with her. She doesn't even want to think of leaving him here so I don't know what to do. I am just trying to find some sort of compromise that works for all of us. By the way her dog is an 85 pound German Shepard. We would never put Hoovy at risk to be stolen. We discussed getting a lock for the crate, hiring somebody to stay with him(not sure how that would work unless I brought someone along). I tried to get answers on what I would need from different ports and that was just a mess. If she can take him on the ports, we will gladly bring him but I need someone that really knows what they are doing to help me because I am way overwhelmed. I also contacted cruise line about how to order grass and still no word from them. Not to mention, the stories we have heard about dogs entering ports and horrible issues happened. Hoovy has become her life line and I would do anything to keep them both safe. My mom says if it is this much stress, don't go, but in all honesty this is the only way I get a break and can relax too. Kate asked for this so we want to make it happen so any advice, is soo greatly appreciated![/QUOTE]

Well it sounds like you definitely need a break with a cruise! :)

You have come to the right place, others will be along to reassure you and give you great advice on taking Hoover with you and enjoying everything that you want to with your daughter.

It is a worry doing the right thing, but don't worry we will all help you as much as we can. :)

I know Her Majesty Aunty Roz, the doyenne of this thread, is off on a cruise on Monday, and she's probably busy packing right now ..... But DisneyKidsDad and CarribeanChris and TVAud, have all cruised recently with their SDs, and if they're not off for Easter, I'm sure they will be along soon. If you listed the ports you plan to visit on your cruise, then that would be a help for the correct advice you need, or they can point you in the right direction (website) and they might even be able to suggest tour operators who would be best suited for your needs.

Maybe your Mom, "Grannie" can come along and help? ;):).

Don't worry, we've all been "new" to this at one point!

[wizard-of-roz]

[quote name='fairbourne']Welcome to our thread Kiddiecakes :).

I don't have a service dog but am a puppy walker (raiser), and when I read your post about maybe leaving your Hoover alone while you went off the ship, my heart sank.

There are too many things that could happen - think go wrong - that leaving Hoover on board by himself would never be an option! Quam has given you very good advice.

Hope you get to cruise with your daughter and Hoover, however, it might just take a bit more planning. I know when we've taken Aruba away, it does take a lot of planning, and that's just to an hotel in the same country!

But you've come to the right place here as there are many great folk on this thread who have done lots of cruises and can give you lots of advice. :)[/QUOTE]

[COLOR="Indigo"][B]I second, third, fourth and fifth what you said. First, Kiddiecakes, Hoover is part of your family......would you leave a family member in a crate by himself? What if the ship caught fire or if Hoover had a panic attack, all by himself with no one to save him, or cuddle him. :(

Please NEVER, NEVER, NEVER travel with Hoover and then leave him alone in a crate, in a strange place.

Welcome aboard with us........We, on this board who walk or wheel with our precious dogs will ALWAYS be here to help and assist you.[/B][/COLOR]

[wizard-of-roz]

[quote name='fairbourne']Dear Horton Jeffrey

My mum tells me you are soon to be off on another cruising adventure with your Mom and your little family peeps.

I so loved my hotel adventure and I hope you have as much fun as I did! I wonder if the nice people on your floating hotel will send you doggy canapés like my ice-cream treat? LOL! ;)

I'm sure your Mom will have lots of treats for you - she's sounds just like my Mum and makes sure everyone is well looked after! In fact my Mum says your Mom and her could be sisters! With their big blonde hair! And they both love cruising ..... And us black dogs!!!

I've been in trouble this morning Horty, I so forgot myself I pinched my Mum's specs off the kitchen worktop and hid them in my hoosie, only thing was I soemhow, I don't know how it happened HOrty, I chewed one of the lenses out of its frame - oh boy was I "cruising for a bruising"! :eek:

Anyway when mum came down, I ran into my hoosie trying to sit on the specs and hide them under Piggy, but of course Mum saw me and I'm sure she wondered why I'd run into my hoosie as I normally am so excited to see her and jump up on her (I get another telling off for that too!), and run to the back door with Max and Poppy! Oh oh, I got quite a telling off for stealing when mum found them! I didn't want to tell her I could have stolen and eaten a box of cheese scones that she'd left out, by mistake, right by the specs!

You see we are working on leaving me in my hoosie at bedtime, but not locked in - it took me a few days to work out that the door was pushed too and not locked! Sneaky peeps! Anyway, I don't come out as I love to sleep and my hoosie is so comfy and snug and lots of room for me to move around. I come out when Max gets up and that's usually when we hear Mum moving around upstairs. We've already been out with Dad before he goes to work, buts that way to early to get up as Mum says, so we all go back to bed! :D

HORTY, have a wonderful, wonderful cruise with your fabulous Mom and your family.

Lots of love and puppy kisses from Aruba

I LUVS YA HORTY! XXX

PS - I'm going to go give my Mum a big lick - I think she'll forgive me and if I throw in some of that cute eye contact too with a "poor little sad puppy" me look, she'll melt - sucker!!! LOL![/QUOTE]

[COLOR="Indigo"][B]Aruba,
Holy crap, what were you thinking? You weren't!!!! Aruba, they're only going to buy, "I'm just a puppy" for so long and then you've got to "shape-up!"

Did your Mum yell at you?........I just laugh inside when Roz yells......but, I put my tail way down, next to my butt and hang my ears as low as my chin and move my eyes down in a frowny-kind-of-way, just to make her think I really care! Humans are such suckers for this!!!!

Aruba, stop embarrassing me, will ya!!! But, don't worry the humans [you and me got real lucky with ours] will ALWAYS love us no matter what!:rolleyes:

I'm watching Roz pack my stuff for our big cruise on Monday [she didn't forget my chews and rice cakes, yippee!] We've been shopping, after work, every night......she's got to get some new earrings tonight! I actually like the shopping thing, I get lots of Ohhhh's and Awwwww's from strangers. And, people who beg Roz to let them touch me! Humans really like Service Dogs!!!! Unless, they're afraid and then they run into walls to get away from me......What the heck?:o

Lot's of people ask her about the name on my vest that says Canine Companions for Independence, she's tells them about it and it takes forever. That's where I met one of my most favorite people in the whole world, his name was Ken, he trained me......we'll, he didn't give-up on me so I could meet my forever Mom, Roz! I'm grateful that he trusted I would get over my puppy stuff, eventually [NEWS FLASH! I'm still acting like a puppy and I'm almost 6!]

Aruba, I'll miss you and my other cyber friends for the 10 days I'm cruising.....but, I'll write you when I get home! I wish I could bark at you on the cell phone but Roz says it would have "roaming" charges......Who cares! I love to roam!

Please be a good girl......your Mum loves you so much and she expects that you'll use good judgment.......good thinking on that cheese thing!!!

I'll ALWAYS love you ♥,
Pawlightly,
Horton Jeffrey[/B][/COLOR] Edited April 3, 2015 by wizard-of-roz

[wizard-of-roz]

[quote name='Kiddiecakes']Thanks for the replies! No, if we had our way, Hoovy would go EVERYWHERE with us. We have never left him. The reason why we were contemplating leaving him in the room, crated and locked is because we are new to this service dog thing. If I don't do something correctly and this dog gets put in quarantine or something, I have no idea what we would do. Our daughter has been chronically ill for four years now and frankly we are burned completely out. We just finished a three different hospital visit in a week and a half. Life is way too serious right now and it will take every penny we have to go on the cruise. We went on a cruise in 2013 and we got to spend time together and laugh and see things we have never seen. She just got a pacemaker in Jan in her stomach and this time, she might be able to do some stuff with water that she couldn't do last time. Hoover wouldn't be able to participate in that. I don't mind not participating but I don't want to stay in a cabin with him and miss out on a moment with her. She doesn't even want to think of leaving him here so I don't know what to do. I am just trying to find some sort of compromise that works for all of us. By the way her dog is an 85 pound German Shepard. We would never put Hoovy at risk to be stolen. We discussed getting a lock for the crate, hiring somebody to stay with him(not sure how that would work unless I brought someone along). I tried to get answers on what I would need from different ports and that was just a mess. If she can take him on the ports, we will gladly bring him but I need someone that really knows what they are doing to help me because I am way overwhelmed. I also contacted cruise line about how to order grass and still no word from them. Not to mention, the stories we have heard about dogs entering ports and horrible issues happened. Hoovy has become her life line and I would do anything to keep them both safe. My mom says if it is this much stress, don't go, but in all honesty this is the only way I get a break and can relax too. Kate asked for this so we want to make it happen so any advice, is soo greatly appreciated![/QUOTE]

[COLOR="Indigo"][B]Okay, now I hear where you're coming from. First, NO ONE is going to take your dog away from you! He is a trained Service Dog, he knows how to behave and it's up to you to maintain his behavior in public.

Even if something is wrong with his paperwork, the authorities don't want your dog......they'll just ask you to stay onboard the ship. If you make it onboard a cruise ship but not in the port, you'll be fine!

If he's not assisting your daughter than someone is walking or sitting with him, while the other person is assisting your daughter. You have become the most innovative "tag-team" in the world.

Soon, it will become a dance in how Hoovy and your daughter will be taken care of. You'll have it down to a science before too long.

Don't expect a response from the ship when it comes to the "grass" thing. Most of the ships are using a mulch-like substance, sod or paper pellets and Hoovy will be fine with it. I always suggest that you teach your dog to go potty on every kind of substance there is, just so whatever the ship uses is no big deal when they're faced with it. I also made a potty box for Brenda and Horton to practice on before we cruised and that made it so much easier, as well.

What cruise line are you going on?

I think you've picked a great way to travel with your child and her dog. You just have to remember that traveling [no matter how or where] with your dog takes planning and forethought!

Hoover is a big dog so when you go to a lounge or the theatre you will have to plan on where he'll lay down. It will be a darkened environment and Hoovy will blend into the carpet and no one is expecting to see a dog on the floor......plan ahead. Make sure that he's placed against a wall, in front of you, at an end seat, etc., etc. So that he's not tripped over or stepped on!

Hoovy will soon learn to trust your decisions because your thoughtful and ALWAYS make sure that he's safe!!!

When you're going to the dining room, make sure that there's room for him. Get a table against a wall, or poll and don't place him under a table with strangers [who will forget he's there] and will kick or step on him. Watch out for people in wheel chairs who will wheel over his tail or legs. Always, place him safely and first!

If you think ahead and give yourselves plenty of time to go from one venue to another onboard a cruise, you'll have a wonderful time.

Remember, that the decks that get the most sun are also decks that get HOT FLOORS. Think about his paws and don't let them get burnt! The same goes for walking him on asphalt and hot sand!

Think where and how you're going to travel with Hoover, with his safety first and your travels will be filled with joy and not heartache!

I know it sounds like a lot but I said, it becomes a dance a ballet of sorts and you're going to love every minute of it with Hoover and your daughter! ♥[/B][/COLOR]

[Caribbean Chris]

[quote name='Quampapetet']Barbados won't permit the dog (they only accept dogs coming directly from the UK)....
![/QUOTE]

For Alohatoo -

I stumbled across something today that says Barbados has very recently revised their requirements:

"As of 1st January 2015 the rules governing the importation of dogs and cats into Barbados have changed to allow pets to enter the island from all countries."

The new information and details can be found in an official Barbados document posted on the USDA APHIS website: [url]http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wps/portal/aphis/home/[/url]

Click on Imports and Exports (menu at left), then continue to click - Exporting animals FROM the United States, Animals or Animal Products, IREGs for Animal Export, and then find the dropdown menu of countries.

[wizard-of-roz]

[quote name='Caribbean Chris']For Alohatoo -

I stumbled across something today that says Barbados has very recently revised their requirements:

"As of 1st January 2015 the rules governing the importation of dogs and cats into Barbados have changed to allow pets to enter the island from all countries."

The new information and details can be found in an official Barbados document posted on the USDA APHIS website: [url]http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wps/portal/aphis/home/[/url]

Click on Imports and Exports (menu at left), then continue to click - Exporting animals FROM the United States, Animals or Animal Products, IREGs for Animal Export, and then find the dropdown menu of countries.[/QUOTE]

[COLOR="Indigo"][B]Thank you Chris, this is very helpful for those who want to travel to Barbados. Been there, done that and really don't care to do it again.[/B][/COLOR]

[thephantomsgirl]

And thank you Roz, for the advice you've given Kiddiecakes is helpful to all!

[dobiemom]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"][COLOR="Indigo"]Hi all. I've been SO busy but I still lurk to take a little break. Have to get my doggie fix. ;) I leave for a work conference in DC on Monday. Tomorrow I need to go to work for a couple hours, then grocery shopping for DH, and church for evening service. Sunday I'll be at church all day (7am - 7pm, with a 3 hour break) and I still have to pack! :eek:

But I wanted to be sure I wished Roz and Horton a [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[URL=http://www.dazzlejunction.com/generators/glitter-text/][IMG]http://www.dazzlejunction.com/glitter-text/2014/dec/dj547d59c3e4719.gif[/IMG][/URL]

[tvaud]

[quote name='Caribbean Chris']For Alohatoo -



I stumbled across something today that says Barbados has very recently revised their requirements:



"As of 1st January 2015 the rules governing the importation of dogs and cats into Barbados have changed to allow pets to enter the island from all countries."



The new information and details can be found in an official Barbados document posted on the USDA APHIS website: [url]http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wps/portal/aphis/home/[/url]



Click on Imports and Exports (menu at left), then continue to click - Exporting animals FROM the United States, Animals or Animal Products, IREGs for Animal Export, and then find the dropdown menu of countries.[/QUOTE]


Oh, I'm glad I read through to the end, as I was going to post about this. Barbados is on our upcoming itinerary, so after reading this rule change, I was a little relieved. So far, the only port I've come across that won't let dogs on girl sure is St. Vincent...although I thought I read for another port that the dog would be allowed but would have to be kept within your house or hotel room for two weeks. Ha...Ha...Ha. Fat chance! I have to print out all of the pages and study them to get every detail though. At least two of our ports will be charging us a fee for examining the dog prior to entry. Gee, and I thought the last cruise was tough! Can't wait to talk this one over with my vet...

Why can't this be an easier process?

Cindra

[tvaud]

[quote name='thephantomsgirl']I'm torn between the "do I take the dog off in a port or crate him?" I'd definitely not want to take him off in some ports where there are the loose dogs running around problem. His safety is my top concern.

I was trying to do a search on the Panama Canal cruises and see what people did. My ports will be Cozumel (have no problem staying on board as I've been there many times), Cartagena, Puerto Vallata, and Caol San Lucas.

I have heard there is a loose dog problem in Cabo. I contacted a tour operator in Cartagena and she had no problem with a service dog.

But I heard a horror story from a SD friend who had another SD friend take a dog off in a foreign port and the dog contracted some weird bug and had to be retired as a SD.

At least I have over a year to really research this but would like to hear from others. If it's safe I'll take him off in port, otherwise he's my responsibility and I'll stay on board.[/QUOTE]


We took Pedro into Cartagena with us in February. We had no problem going anywhere with him. Our tour even provided a bowl of water for him. We didn't encounter any stray dogs there. He was never in any danger. Only once did we see another dog, and that was a police dog at the port shopping area. Lots of grass there. Pedro loved it. We did have to pay $30 in cash to the Colombian vet that had to check him. He came on with the other officials to clear the ship for customs. An officer on the ship was in charge of handling Pedro's paperwork, dealing with the port officials and informing us of what we were to expect.

Talk to your vet also. They should be able to help you with the details.

Cindra