Did You Ever See A Dog On A Cruiseship?

GottaCruz · April 12, 2012

On our Liberty of the Seas cruise, last month, we thought we were seeing things when we noticed a woman

holding an adorable dog on her lap in the cafe. The dog, I must say, was dressed to the nines, fancy pearl collar and an outfit that had lace and ribbons. When she left , we asked the people sitting next to us if they had ever seen a dog on a ship , and, like us, they had only seen service dogs for the blind. ( I think Wayne and I really needed confirmation that we weren't hallucinating ). The next night, the woman and the dog came in again to the cafe and I asked her if she always travels with the dog and she told us that she always takes the dog on her cruises. We were amazed since we have been on many, many cruises over the years and never saw a dog, other than service dogs.

Has anyone else ever seen this? Is this a new thing- allowing dogs to cruise???

KeithnRita · April 12, 2012

Cheryl, we have been on a cruise with a blind lady and her service dog. The dog was very popular with all the passengers. What I understand service dogs are allowed for other medical reasons, some which are not apparent. Depending on the task they are trained for they can be small. Maybe hers was a service dog?

coloradocruisers · April 12, 2012

Maybe a new way to boost revenues?

coloradocruisers · April 12, 2012

Spoke too soon. Keith and Rita must be right. This is what I found on RCIs website:

Animals Services

Royal Caribbean International welcomes service dogs on all ships.* Please note we do not accept pets

GottaCruz · April 12, 2012

This was definitely not a service dog. The woman carried him around. She was accompanied by a friend of hers and both were good on their feet, which is why we were so surprised. The woman told us that the dog is her "baby" and she won't travel without her. We were trying to figure out what kind of service this tiny little dog could be providing but couldn't come up with anything. Do you think she just had the right connections or what?On the other hand, maybe we're wrong and it was a service dog but what kind of service???

KeithnRita · April 12, 2012

Cheryl, "Google" service animals and you will find there is a wide range of unnoticeable disabilities that qualify you to travel with the animal. You can even have your own pet certified to travel with you.

GottaCruz · April 12, 2012

Really? I will definitely check that out.

scalise12 · April 12, 2012

YOU ARE NOT SEEING THINGS, THE NEW PHASE ON CRUISE SHIPS, DOG OWNER'S ARE CALLING THIS TREND (COMFORT DOG). WE SAW TWO ON OUR TRIP TO TAHITI AND AGAIN OUR CRUISE THIS PAST DECEMBER.2011

I ASKED THE PURSER FROM OUR LAST CRUISE, HOW ARE THE DOG'S ALLOWED, THE PASSENGER HAS A NOTE FROM THEIR DOCTOR, THAT THE DOG RELAXES THE PERSON WHILE THEY ARE OUT TRAVELING.

THE PASSENGER IS CLAIMING A MEDICAL PROBLEM!

WILL LET YOU KNOW ON OUR CRUISE THIS COMING WEEKEND, WITH PICTURES.

GottaCruz · April 12, 2012

Just googled service dog. Who knows? People do have disabilities that others do not see. Having seen this woman several times , we do know that she wasn't blind or deaf, since we spoke to her. Maybe she was a "comfort dog" , which I didn't know about. Thanks, I learned something today. :thumbup:

jacketwatch · April 13, 2012

Just googled service dog. Who knows? People do have disabilities that others do not see. Having seen this woman several times , we do know that she wasn't blind or deaf, since we spoke to her. Maybe she was a "comfort dog" , which I didn't know about. Thanks, I learned something today.

Actually in the ICU I work in we had a pt. who had a disease involving the nerves leading to her diphragmatic muscles which caused her to wear a pneumatic vest to make her breathe and yes she had a service dog at bedside in the ICU. its against the law to ban them.