I have always loved to travel and I have always loved dogs. When we love our dogs deeply, it can really interfere with our traveling. I know we all make sacrifices to accommodate our dogs, with no regrets. There are not a lot of dog friendly ways to travel abroad. The only one I have found (besides a far from ideal stress-filled airplane trip) is taking your dog aboard the Queen Mary 2. Extravagant? Yes. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Yes. While my blog is starting with my trip across the Atlantic aboard the Queen Mary 2, it began long before with careful planning. I searched and searched for alternative ways to get across the ocean, but found no other way besides the airplane. I even looked into hiring a private jet to avoid having to put Hunter in cargo! It's possible, for about $20,000! Hunter and I actually lived in Prague for three years (five years ago) and that time we did do the airplane thing. It was okay when we went, he was 7, but still super stressful. It was not so good on the return. He was completely dehydrated. I told him never again. The good news is that while planning this trip the good folks at Cunard told me they are planning on expanding their kennel operations. I'm not sure when or exactly what that means, but they sure need to. It's really difficult to get a kennel spot. You need to reserve a year in advanced or pay to put yourself on waiting lists and keep calling. My calls paid off and I found myself embarking to England on January 3.
|
|
| Here is the QM2 at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. It was an impressive sight! After all the planning I was finally excited to experience the trip of a lifetime. I had been so concerned about Hunter that I didn't even think about what was in store for me. More to come on that. Below are some pictures of life in the kennel. I will post more details about the preparation needed for the trip afterwards. |
 |
| I think I spent more focused time with my dog than I admittedly ever have! It was great! This is the outdoor deck area. |
|
All the dogs got plenty of fresh air and we did too! I'm sure much more than the other guests aboard. Even though it was January, they spent a lot of time outside. We all just bundled up.
This is the indoor play area and yes, those are party decorations for Hunter. He turned 13 on January 6. The room was also used by the cats for a short time during each day. At that time the doggies had to be out on the deck. They never really minded, though once it was too cold so we sat inside in the kennel room.
Most of the dogs didn't use the chairs...but my dog, of course, needs his armrest…aka headrest. |
 |
This is the kennel room. There were 4 cats and 6 dogs. There are 12 kennels total. Cats require two upper kennels so they have room for the litter box. Large dogs take two lower kennels and small dogs, of course, just one. The cost of two lower kennels was $700 each! I do love my dog!
| I'm sure you're all wondering where the dogs did their business. Right here on the deck. The first day they were unsure of where to go, even with all our encouragement. But once the first one went, they all figured it out. Of course, there were a few mishaps in the indoor area, but Andy was always right there to clean up everything. |
Here I am inside Hunter's kennel with him…it was very nice and very spacious. He could have probably gotten away with one kennel, but I'm glad he had the space. It is advisable to have your dog kennel trained so that they are comfortable at night in the kennel and during nap time during the day.
|
|
It was a great feeling to see Hunter eat on the first night. Sometimes he doesn't eat when he's stressed while traveling. The kennel man, Andy, brought fresh chicken, burger or salmon and rice up everyday to help encourage the dogs to eat and to give them first class service! Andy made sure he knew everyone's special requests and fed the dogs and cats according to the owner's requests.
 |
|
Was hard to say goodnight the first night, but the ship rocked me asleep in my cabin like I was in a comfy hammock.
The beds are divine! |
Next time I will post about all the preparation it took to get on the ship and off to England!
|
