The Cat
 

Will someone please give me personal experiences on The Cat? Would we be better off driving to ST John's and taking that ferry? Cat is super expensive and we will be bringing 2 dogs along. Will they be safe?Is there any reason to take the cat other than the time cut off our drive?

We took the Cat (with our car) last year on our honeymoon to NS. While it was a pleasant experience, I don't know if it was worth the exorbitant fare. Next time we would drive it--if time isn't really an issue for you, that's what I would do.

Robyn

i was debating the same thing this year but going in the reverse direction. i've decided on the sainte john/digby ferry instead. cost wise, i don't think the savings were that great ($100) but departure times - the cat didn't work well. also, from the pictures, it doesn't look like there is an outdoor deck. if i'm taking a ferry, i like to be able to go outside. p.s. if you experience sea sickness i've heard this referred to as the "vomit commit".

ltt:

There is actually an outdoor deck on the Vomit Comet! I am definitely prone to motion sickness but did fine with Dramamine, though I conked out for most of the ride!

The obvious question is will the dogs like the cat?

Are dogs allowed on the cat? Where would they go to the bathroom? My husband gets seasick, but did fine on the Cat. There is a deck, but it was very windy. On the way back one of the engines had gone down which made the return trip very very long. It was very bumpy also (not a problem on the way over) and you couldn't walk anywhere without grabbing for something to hold onto or you would go flying. I can't imagine our dog liking the cat.

I am so glad to find out that people on this thread have great senses of humor. But just for a minute, could we please be a bit serious? My dogs are very important to me.They are 2-year-old cocker boys- Miles and Levy. Their choices on the CAT would be to stay in our car unattended and that makes me worry that the car would get too warm for them, or to go with " the attendants" in a kennel down in " the hold", which really scares me. Otherwise, we add 500 miles onto the trip by using all land. What to do?????

I hope somone responds to Maribeth's question, I have the same concern. Maribeth, what about keeping the car windows open, hopefully it would be cool out on the water? Why does the prospect of your dogs going "down with the attendants in the hold in a kennel" worry you? Should I be worried? I don't even know if my 100lb Bernese Moutnain Dog would fit in a kennel.

Has someone listening ever brought a dog on the CAT? How did that go?

Sorry, didn't mean to be flippant-- just wanted to let you know that I WAS serious about everything I said. Those things actually did happen. I also would feel very uncomfortable leaving my dog in the car--sorry not sure what the kennel situation is. And, although it doesn't happen all the time, we were stuck waiting for the Cat to return to pick us up and then it took at least twice as long for the trip back because it was bumpy and we were going very slow without all the engines working. In fact they called some people to their cars and we heard that a couple of cars had some minor damage (don't know if that is true, but I did hear them call the license numbers). 500 miles is a long way, but if it were me I would definitely drive it (because of the dogs).

Since you aren't getting any more answers, I thought I'd add another thought. We didn't take our car, so I don't know what the situation is, but I'm sure they are packed as close together as possible. My dh said that he would probably just spend most of the time in the car with the dog. We didn't use the casinos and the views are mostly leaving and coming in each port. He said he probably would be just as comfortable in the car.

This is a trip we do most years and have varied our approach. We have travelled the Cat twice now without a dog, but I would not take our new puppy on it without checking that you would actually be permitted to visit/stay with your dogs. I am pretty sure we will be driving next year when we will have the dog..its rather a pretty drive, BTW.