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

[wizard-of-roz]

Sutter turned 1 year old yesterday! He's a real party animal!!

 

Happy Birthday, you party puppy!!!!!! So cute!!!!

[wizard-of-roz]

I just changed my upcoming cruise. Alaska has always been on my Bucket List.

 

Disney just released its summer 2017 dates a few days ago. I knew I couldn't afford it solo so had put it out there that I'd like to find someone to go with that was okay with a service dog in the cabin.

 

Well, one of my FB friends said she would go! Her husband has a hearing dog, so she's comfortable with service dogs. We've been friends on FB for a long time, and funnily enough had booked the same cruises several times. For various reasons we never did sail together.

 

With not being solo, it turns out I will be paying less for a 7 day, than I would have on the 4 day. Granted we are going inside, but it'll work. She also lives outside of Seattle so I could fly into there AND I have more than enough miles with Southwest to cover it. Win/win!

 

My friend Cari (who also comes on here occasionally) told me that really only needed the Rabies certificate. Did some research and that seems to be the case. Will think about getting a 7001 form just in case.

 

What paperwork have you gotten for those who have gone to Alaska? It sails out of Vancouver so Canada is in the mix.

 

Holly

 

Holly, great deal! It sounds wonderful. I have yet to do a Disney cruise. Timing and destination have not been in sync. One day!!!!! Someone told me that Disney stopped tooting "When You Wish Upon a Star" out of Seattle because homeowners were complaining of the noise!

Edited April 15, 2016 by wizard-of-roz

[wizard-of-roz]

DKD, I love all your pictures!

 

Happy Weekend EVERYONE!!!!

Edited April 15, 2016 by wizard-of-roz

[DUTRAVEL]

Sutter turned 1 year old yesterday! He's a real party animal!!

 

Happy Birthday Sutter!

[rangeley]

Sutter turned 1 year old yesterday! He's a real party animal!!

 

Happy Birthday Sutter!!

[rangeley]

I just changed my upcoming cruise. Alaska has always been on my Bucket List.

 

Disney just released its summer 2017 dates a few days ago. I knew I couldn't afford it solo so had put it out there that I'd like to find someone to go with that was okay with a service dog in the cabin.

 

Well, one of my FB friends said she would go! Her husband has a hearing dog, so she's comfortable with service dogs. We've been friends on FB for a long time, and funnily enough had booked the same cruises several times. For various reasons we never did sail together.

 

With not being solo, it turns out I will be paying less for a 7 day, than I would have on the 4 day. Granted we are going inside, but it'll work. She also lives outside of Seattle so I could fly into there AND I have more than enough miles with Southwest to cover it. Win/win!

 

My friend Cari (who also comes on here occasionally) told me that really only needed the Rabies certificate. Did some research and that seems to be the case. Will think about getting a 7001 form just in case.

 

What paperwork have you gotten for those who have gone to Alaska? It sails out of Vancouver so Canada is in the mix.

 

Holly

 

That's great Holly!! I always say I want to do Alaska but then I think of the flight and book another Caribbean cruise.

Edited April 15, 2016 by rangeley

[boobear'smom]

Hi! My husband and I are considering taking a cruise to the Western Mediterranean. I have a six lb. service dog. We plan to travel on HAL. (We travelled on HAL to Alaska--Service Dog loved it). I am having difficulty finding out whether or not Service Dogs are allowed on excursions in Europe. I am also having difficulty finding out what the accessibility laws are in Spain, France, Monaco, and Italy.(Are Service Dogs allowed in restaurants? Hotels? On public transportation? In museums?) And I'm having trouble figuring out how to get my Service Dog certified through ADI (which seems to be required for her to be considered a Service Dog in Europe). Is there anyone out there who has travelled with a Service Dog to Europe? Thank you so much

[Caribbean Chris]

Hi all, driving home from Ft. Lauderdale after our best cruise ever with Hearing Dog Raylene. Holland America's Zuiderdam staff, Officers and crew were wonderful.

 

All our paperwork was fine, never had to appear for any port official. Also, on arrival in Ft. Lauderdale, no one asked for any papers or even looked at her. (Not the case in Miami back in December where she was examined.)

 

HAL, true to their pre-cruise email, handled the Panama Canal transit permit for a fee of $41, including their port agent's $10 fee for handling the application and documentation. This permit was for the ports and Gatun Locks on the Caribbean side, and I don't know if it varies for a full transit or for the Pacific locks only. I have my official permit if anyone wants to see what it looks like!

 

The relief box was large -about 3X5 feet - and filled with sod, located forward on the port side of the Promenade Deck. There were two other dogs aboard. Nala was the magician's beautiful and talented 5 lb Pomeranian, who had a tray with a fake grass liner on the starboard side. Louie was a small chihuahua. We met his owner ashore in Panama and she said she had left him onboard rather than pay the fee.

 

This trip, Raylene used the box very willingly, so I rarely had to make repeat visits. Maybe she's become used to it after four cruises.

 

The dining room arrangement, as in the past on HAL, was ideal - a table for four set for two + dog, in a corner by a wall. We also found similar places for the Lido buffet for early breakfast, and found good places to tuck the dog in lounges.

 

As always, people were very friendly and curious, and Raylene was spoiled by lots of attention and petting! (And as always, there also were some clueless folks who ambushed her from the back without asking permission just as we were trying to sit at a table or even enter an elevator.)

 

All in all it was great, so relaxing. Will post some pics later. I saw the Alaska posts here recently - While on board, we booked a two-week Alaska cruise out of Seattle round trip for summer 2017!

[Caribbean Chris]

That's great Holly!! I always say I want to do Alaska but then I think of the flight and book another Caribbean cruise.

 

I've had those thoughts but booked anyway. :eek: I haven't flown yet with the dog anywhere, much less transcontinental. May have to try a shorter trip to get the hang of it.

 

The good news is that flights from Tampa to Seattle are about evenly divided into two legs, stopping in Chicago for about three hours westbound, and the same in Phoenix eastbound. So in theory, the dog would have two flights with a rest & potty stop halfway there.

 

The bad news is it would be a long day with no doggie breakfast. From what I've read, you don't feed the dog if you are flying in the morning? Just ice chips during the flights.

[Caribbean Chris]

Hi! My husband and I are considering taking a cruise to the Western Mediterranean. I have a six lb. service dog. We plan to travel on HAL. (We travelled on HAL to Alaska--Service Dog loved it). I am having difficulty finding out whether or not Service Dogs are allowed on excursions in Europe. I am also having difficulty finding out what the accessibility laws are in Spain' date=' France, Monaco, and Italy.(Are Service Dogs allowed in restaurants? Hotels? On public transportation? In museums?) And I'm having trouble figuring out how to get my Service Dog certified through ADI (which seems to be required for her to be considered a Service Dog in Europe). Is there anyone out there who has travelled with a Service Dog to Europe? Thank you so much [/color']

 

Looking forward also to hearing any input about this.

[wizard-of-roz]

Hi! My husband and I are considering taking a cruise to the Western Mediterranean. I have a six lb. service dog. We plan to travel on HAL. (We travelled on HAL to Alaska--Service Dog loved it). I am having difficulty finding out whether or not Service Dogs are allowed on excursions in Europe. I am also having difficulty finding out what the accessibility laws are in Spain' date=' France, Monaco, and Italy.(Are Service Dogs allowed in restaurants? Hotels? On public transportation? In museums?) And I'm having trouble figuring out how to get my Service Dog certified through ADI (which seems to be required for her to be considered a Service Dog in Europe). Is there anyone out there who has travelled with a Service Dog to Europe? Thank you so much [/color']

 

Welcome! We traveled with my Service Dog Brenda, in 2001 to Switzerland, Germany, Italy and France. We were supposed to go on to Israel and fly home out of London but we were having such a fabulous time in Switzerland and France that we skipped the rest of our trip.

 

First I made sure that my Vet was a USDA Accredited Aphis official Vet.. He endorsed all the forms needed. The forms are valid for 4 months.

1.Your dog MUST have a Microchip

2.Recent Rabies vaccination

3.Blood draw for testing at an approved Lab for rabies serology [again, this done by my Vet.]

4.EU Certificate issued by my Vet.

5. Tick and Echinococcus tapeworm treatments done 24-48 hours prior to check in and recorded on the EU Certificate.

 

Some of the above was for entering the UK only but really helped in entering every other country as well. And, it was in 2001.....some things may have changed but I doubt much!

 

We contacted: Liz Shickle Veterinary Officer - Animal Health - Heathrow Border Inspection Post - Live Animal - P-+44 (0) 208 759 7002 F- + 44 (0) 208 564-8939 Elizabeth.Shickle@animalhealth.gsi.gov.uk.

 

The Vet. Certificate for domestic dogs entering the European Community for non commercial movement from the DEFRA [Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] in the U.K. website. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ncie/iregs/animals/ee_cn_fe-cert-english.pdf.

 

I hope some of the above is helpful. Finding the perfect Vet to help us through the paperwork made everything so much easier. Brenda was much smaller than Horton. She literally curled up in a ball and laid at my feet in bulkhead seating [the seat located right behind the pilots or behind closets], there are no seats in front of you and much more leg room. It's where very tall people like to sit.

 

France was the best. There were doggie fountains everywhere and we were welcome in the hotels, shops and restaurants. Italy was good as well. Germany not so much. We showed her paperwork but the restaurants were a hit or miss on being welcoming as were the shops. We slept in Switzerland and drove through Germany and Italy. We also slept in France. France & Switzerland were wonderful towards Brenda and welcomed us wherever we went.

 

Bringing Brenda home through LAX was a bit challenging but her appropriate behavior and my staying calm and patient with TSA and Immigration helped a lot. You MUST give yourself lots of time.

 

The toughest place to bring Brenda was Hawaii and especially onboard a cruise ship, going into some of the ports was difficult because they require a blood draw on the dog within 48 hours of arrival, and by ship that would be impossible. All necessary paperwork was done before we left L.A. Once the officials examined how thorough everything was they made an exception and we were allowed to enter Waikiki and other ports.

 

It's a bit more work than traveling within the U.S. and the Caribbean but it's a lot of fun and really opens-up your world.

Edited April 18, 2016 by wizard-of-roz

[Caribbean Chris]

Great info, Roz! I'd really like to do a transatlantic again, now with Raylene.

[Krypti]

Darian and I have finally recovered from our Vegas convention trip. He did fantastic, especially considering how the deck was stacked against us. The Rio's convention center is a ridiculous distance away from anything else, and the hallway at one point is sloped. Darian and I both had to take it slow when we walked.

 

The convention had two golf carts that we caught a few times. He did really well riding in the middle seat, where he was braced from the front and the back. He didn't like riding on the back deck at all, and I had to brace him with an arm around his shoulders and one leg around his hips, but he didn't complain or shake.

 

He was excellent at not soliciting attention. There were three other service dogs there, and whenever he spotted them, he focused on them. He didn't bark, whine, or pull, though, so I count it as a win, considering that he was a pet for the first 8 1/2 years of his life and used to being able to say hi to other dogs. He loved going to panels where there were contests and raffles. Every time someone one, he'd perk up at the applause and cheering.

 

He was off his food, which surprised me. We've traveled before, and he's never had a problem eating. Now that we're home, though, he's back to eating like normal. And he didn't have a single accident at the hotel. He was even pretty quick about using the dog relief area, which was nice, soft grass.

 

Best of all, he did his job. Without him, I probably would have left the convention after the first day due to the crowds and the incredibly rude people with no concept of personal space. The only time he missed an incident was at dinner one night, when the drunk guy at the table behind me turned around and grabbed me. Neither of us was expecting that, so now I know that's something else to work on with the puppy.

 

Good and bad, the convention was a learning experience for both of us. I'm just glad to be home!

[wizard-of-roz]

Darian and I have finally recovered from our Vegas convention trip. He did fantastic, especially considering how the deck was stacked against us. The Rio's convention center is a ridiculous distance away from anything else, and the hallway at one point is sloped. Darian and I both had to take it slow when we walked.

 

The convention had two golf carts that we caught a few times. He did really well riding in the middle seat, where he was braced from the front and the back. He didn't like riding on the back deck at all, and I had to brace him with an arm around his shoulders and one leg around his hips, but he didn't complain or shake.

 

He was excellent at not soliciting attention. There were three other service dogs there, and whenever he spotted them, he focused on them. He didn't bark, whine, or pull, though, so I count it as a win, considering that he was a pet for the first 8 1/2 years of his life and used to being able to say hi to other dogs. He loved going to panels where there were contests and raffles. Every time someone one, he'd perk up at the applause and cheering.

 

He was off his food, which surprised me. We've traveled before, and he's never had a problem eating. Now that we're home, though, he's back to eating like normal. And he didn't have a single accident at the hotel. He was even pretty quick about using the dog relief area, which was nice, soft grass.

 

Best of all, he did his job. Without him, I probably would have left the convention after the first day due to the crowds and the incredibly rude people with no concept of personal space. The only time he missed an incident was at dinner one night, when the drunk guy at the table behind me turned around and grabbed me. Neither of us was expecting that, so now I know that's something else to work on with the puppy.

 

Good and bad, the convention was a learning experience for both of us. I'm just glad to be home!

 

Good job Darian.

[boobear'smom]

Thank you so much for this information! It is very helpful!

 

Just one more question: Is Brenda ADI certified? My service dog was trained locally and currently does not have ADI certification. Having some trouble figuring out how to get her ADI certified. (No one around for miles and miles that can administer the test.)

 

Happy travels to you and Brenda!

[wizard-of-roz]

Thank you so much for this information! It is very helpful!

 

Just one more question: Is Brenda ADI certified? My service dog was trained locally and currently does not have ADI certification. Having some trouble figuring out how to get her ADI certified. (No one around for miles and miles that can administer the test.)

 

Happy travels to you and Brenda!

 

Thank you for your kind words. Brenda was my first Service Dog. She worked with me for over 10 years and passed away in 2014 at the age of 14.

 

My Successor Service Dog' date=' Horton, has been with me since 2012. He's a remarkable boy. He's twice as big as Brenda with a personality to go with his size.

 

He'll be on his 10th cruise in November.

 

Yes, Brenda was ADI Certified and so is Horton. Both my dogs come from Canine Companions for Independence. They breed, raise, train and graduate their own dogs. They don't train dogs from the outside but they may have more information on ADI Certification and testing for you. National Headquarters are in Santa Rosa, CA. 707-901-4300 or 1-800-572-BARK.[/b']

[boobear'smom]

Thank you so much for the phone numbers. I did e-mail but did not get much help.

 

And happy travels to you and Horton!

[wizard-of-roz]

Thank you so much for the phone numbers. I did e-mail but did not get much help.

 

And happy travels to you and Horton!

 

Thank you. Horton goes to work with me every day and where I am' date=' he is!!!!

 

Don't give up. ADI is a wonderful org. And, I'm sure you'll get all the information that you need from them.[/b']

[DUTRAVEL]

Hi all, driving home from Ft. Lauderdale after our best cruise ever with Hearing Dog Raylene. Holland America's Zuiderdam staff, Officers and crew were wonderful.

 

 

Hi Chris - welcome back! Great to hear that HAL treated you and Raylene so well. It sounds like your cruise was wonderful.

 

I would like to see the Panama permit if you can attach it. You mentioned before you left that Costa Rica required a three-page form. I am attaching the form that I have (at least I think I am!) - can you tell me if it is the same one that you were referring to?

 

A couple of questions. How is the smoking on HAL? I know that they allow smoking on the balconies and in more areas than some of the other cruise lines. Also, did you have to treat Raylene for endoparasites (other than with the Heartgard)?

 

Thanks, Dianne

Costar Rica - Aphis Form - cs_pets_cats_dogs (2).pdf

[DUTRAVEL]

Darian and I have finally recovered from our Vegas convention trip. He did fantastic, especially considering how the deck was stacked against us. The Rio's convention center is a ridiculous distance away from anything else, and the hallway at one point is sloped. Darian and I both had to take it slow when we walked.

 

Glad that you are back and your trip went to so well. Vegas can be a little overwhelming with all of the crowds.

 

Dianne

[DUTRAVEL]

Welcome! We traveled with my Service Dog Brenda, in 2001 to Switzerland, Germany, Italy and France. We were supposed to go on to Israel and fly home out of London but we were having such a fabulous time in Switzerland and France that we skipped the rest of our trip.

 

 

Thanks for all of the good info Roz. I have just recently started doing research for a trip to Europe. That's great to know about France, their laws seem to refer to "guide dogs," its good to know that service dogs are covered too.

 

Dianne

[wizard-of-roz]

Thanks for all of the good info Roz. I have just recently started doing research for a trip to Europe. That's great to know about France, their laws seem to refer to "guide dogs," its good to know that service dogs are covered too.

 

Dianne

 

We rented a car and picked it up at our hotel in Zurich [actually, they brought it to us.] We were supposed to get a medium size car and got a Peugeut [sp] station wagon. I refused to pay the full price because of their mistake and they only charged me for an economy car. Some economy car. We had so much room in this thing, we could have used it for a camper and slept in it!!!!

 

There were dogs eating at the tables, sitting in the chairs, at the restaurants [off the dishes, I might add] and, you had to be very careful where you stepped so to miss stepping on the dog pooh. We couldn't believe how relaxed they were with health laws. And, the other patrons didn't seem to mind at all. We had more dogs barking and nipping at Brenda, we had to be very careful to avoid them.

[Caribbean Chris]

Hi Chris - welcome back! Great to hear that HAL treated you and Raylene so well. It sounds like your cruise was wonderful.

 

I would like to see the Panama permit if you can attach it. You mentioned before you left that Costa Rica required a three-page form. I am attaching the form that I have (at least I think I am!) - can you tell me if it is the same one that you were referring to?

 

A couple of questions. How is the smoking on HAL? I know that they allow smoking on the balconies and in more areas than some of the other cruise lines. Also, did you have to treat Raylene for endoparasites (other than with the Heartgard)?

 

Thanks, Dianne

 

I think that's the same Costa Rica form my USDA Vet filled out. I'll double-check. We did not have to treat for ecto or endo parasites other than her every-month K9 Advantix2 and her Heartguard, but the vet had to state ecto would be done on a specific date and time just before departure, 48 hrs I think. We listed the chemical components of those treatments (easy to copy & paste off their product web pages) on this form and also on 7001. The regional USDA initialed and countersigned both forms plus similar one for Aruba.

 

Email me at stcroixchris at gmail.com, and I'll gladly email back that Panama transit form. (Also to anyone else here who wants to see it.)

 

Yes, HAL has that darned balcony smoking, and sure enough a guy next door was often out there smoking. Not too bad though. They have altered their casino policy for the better to allow smoking by players only, not people hanging out there (it used to be much heavier and waft in to other public spaces). The only other places are tables at one side of outdoor pool seating, so we moved once when we were downwind of a cigar smoker. For me, that was outweighed by all the good treatment we received.

Edited April 18, 2016 by Caribbean Chris

[Caribbean Chris]

I would like to see the Panama permit if you can attach it. You mentioned before you left that Costa Rica required a three-page form. I am attaching the form that I have (at least I think I am!) - can you tell me if it is the same one that you were referring to?

Thanks, Dianne

 

Hi, Diane - I checked, and yes - your Costa Rica form is the same as the one my vet filled out. It was endorsed by our regional office in Gainesville, Fla., with lots of embossed seals by the Certificate Number at the top of all three pages, and also at the USDA endorser's signature on the lower right of page three.

 

Note - Costa Rica is the only country we've been to so far that wanted the original form, so I took it down to the front desk the day before, and it was returned to me later. (I always give the ship photocopies and let them know I have the originals if needed.)

 

The internal parasite treatment was her usual heartworm treatment and the external was her usual monthly flea & tick treatment, as noted before, with the active ingredients in the last column. No other ecto or endo parasite treatment was needed.

 

(Disregard what I said yesterday about treatment 48 hours before departure - that was Aruba's requirement. Costa Rica, as the form says, was between 30 and 10 days before exportation. So many ports, so many different rules!)

 

Email me about Panama.

[Caribbean Chris]

...

I would like to see the Panama permit if you can attach it. You mentioned before you left that Costa Rica required a three-page form. I am attaching the form that I have (at least I think I am!) - can you tell me if it is the same one that you were referring to?...

Thanks, Dianne

 

I noticed something interesting...this form for Costa Rica is now on the USDA iRegs for Animal Export website, but wasn't there when I was getting the dog's paperwork together a few months ago for our cruise. Neither was the one for Aruba. (My vet did find both, though.)

 

Lesson I've learned - to keep checking on your ports' forms and requirements, up until you go for the 7001 exam, because things seem to keep changing.

 

(Sorry to keep posting all this boring paperwork stuff, guys, but it's fresh in my mind, and maybe will be useful to somebody.)

Edited April 19, 2016 by Caribbean Chris