Dog Aboard!
 

Hi there! I am travelling round trip (June and October) on the QE2 and my dog is coming along. Has anyone travelled onboard with a pet? Please share your experience! THANKS!

I believe your dog has to remain in the onboard kennel area, am I correct? Also wondering what made you decide to bring your dog. Are your spending time in the UK or US (don't know where you're starting your journey) before your return leg on the QE2? I love traveling with my dogs but they would hate me if they had to spend 12 days in a kennel.

Thanks Patty for your response! We are moving to Paris for 3 months and we weren't willing to leave our "daughter" behind. She will not like being in the kennel, but we didn't want to put her in the cago hold of a jumbo jet, so we took the more appealing option for getting her safely to France. What do you think?

Ah, I see. Given the other option of an airline cargo hold, the QE2 kennel does sound better. Did you check into the regulations for transitting thru the UK? I'm assuming she'll have to be allowed entry into the UK first upon arrival before proceeding to France? I know they have the Pet Travel Scheme now which allows animals from certain countries to enter without quarantine, but the list of pre-trip requirements/conditions is extensive and the entire procedure needs to begin something like 6 months before travel
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quar...uscanpubfs.pdf

Also do you know if the QE2 is one of their 'approved routes'?

Or is there some other way to bypass all of this?

Meola...

There's poster on the Cunard board at Cruise Critic who took her dog to France last summer on the QE2, and she had many threads going on about rules & regulations, etc. I suggest you go over there and check the old threads or do a search for her posts. Think her user name is Katyany. If you can't find them just post on the board yourself asking for the info and you'll get lots of replies.

We are using a pet transport company. They come aboard the ship in Southampton, take the dog to the ferry for us and basically it is as if the dog was never in the UK. It's sort of like a temporary quarantine...we had to get a transport license, etc. It has been a tedious planning process, believe me! Not to mention the expense...oh, the things we do for the pets we love!

That's great! I didn't know that kind of service existed. So it's like your dog never touches UK soil. Please post and let us know how she fared on the trip.

Meola==

Can you list the transport company as I have friends who want to do the same thing...
Thanks!

Andy,
It is SUCH an involved process. It took us 6 months to get it all in order and we had many bumps along the way. I would love to help your friends, now that I am an expert on all this! My husband and I are the first American citizens to do this under the new regulations! We did research and at times knew more than the Frech Consulate! They are confused as the rules change daily, it seems! Please have your friends e-mail me at [email protected].....I will be glad to assist them in any way I can!!!