Has anyone taken their pets on the QM2
 

After hearing horror stories about their pets dying in cargo; i'm wondering if anyone has taken their pets over on the QM2 (6 days crosing the atlantic) and if so; what has your experience been. I have a Pug and only 2 airlines will take snub nosed dogs; Continental flying out of Newark into Heathrow or Gatwick is more than 7 hours of being in a kennell and cargo. I'm just so afraid of anything aweful happening. What is worse 6 days at sea or 9 hours traveling?

Re: Has anyone taken their pets on the QM2
 

I would check out this post and find other posts by Calle, she did this, but it's going back a little while.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...&highlight=QM2

Re: Has anyone taken their pets on the QM2
 

Hi Sharlene
Yes, I did this in 2005 and if I ever had to transport my pets across the pond again it would be the same way.
My dog that is really close to me didnt really like being apart from me at night but its no worse than him not liking it when I go to work.
They are really good about letting you visit your pets any time. It does give you a listing of visiting times, but we were pretty much able to visit anytime. They have a section of deck closed off for walkies, and the room they stay in in good sized with big kennels. Right adjacant to that room is another room for just spending time with them or walking them when the weather is bad. The dogs did have to get used to going toilet inside on pee pads, but they managed. They provide towels but I would recommmend picking up some pee pads as they are made for this. They provide food, asking you if there is a special diet they need, and if not they use good brands of pet food (Iams).
The cook from the deck spoiled mine though with her turkey burgers as she misses her own when on board. The pet watcher was a bloke named Robinson who is brilliant. I went in many times to see him already walking mine and sometimes holding my Abby. I think Abby wanted to just stay with him and become a sea dog.
The cat did fine also. She had a large kennel with plenty of room. It contained a litter box on one side and on the other a bed and her food and water dishes. She had loads of room to walk around and was completely normal after the experience.
When you look on the website for Cunard the prices seem steep, but after calling them on the phone they really lowered the price as it was one way, and also they gave us a quad cabin for me, hubby, and son and daughter. The price for pets is lower than the price to fly them and you will never have to worry that they are in the hold where you cant go to them and check up on them.
Not to mention that the cruise itself was absolutely brilliant. Its very posh and the food and entertainment are fantastic. They really spoiled us. The kids (teenagers), loved it and want to do it again. They have special planned activities for kids of all ages.
The cabins are really nice and on the telly you can watch a big range as its sattelite or you can track where you are in the ocean. I loved this as I could see how close I was getting to home. There is always so much to do that it passes too quickly.
Hope this helps. ;)
Calle

Re: Has anyone taken their pets on the QM2
 

Oh, forgot to add...we left from Florida also and rented a van to take to NY so the pets would have room and be comfy. We found a pet friendly hotel for the night and the next morning had the flea, tick, and tapeworm treatment. We then boarded a few hours later and we were able to take the pets to the kennels ourselves and get them settled in. There is a brilliant vet close to the docks who is Irish and he has transported his own dogs so is very familiar with the whole pet passport thing. I can look for the papers and find his name and number if you would like me to. Any other questions...just ask! :)
( I somehow cant get my smilies to work :()

Re: Has anyone taken their pets on the QM2
 

we are booked next yr on the QM2 with our two cats. check out http://www.cruisecritic.com/ and read about petowners who have taken the transatlantic crossing with their pets. i used to work for BA and have seen the horror on the animals faces when they arrive at their destination ..those that survive that is :unsure:

Re: Has anyone taken their pets on the QM2
 

Calle, thanks so much for the great advice. I feel so much better after reading this. I was going to rent a car as well to drive to NY. Cunard did say they have a vet that can do the tick treatment before going on the boat. If you have the names of the vet & hotel that would be great!!! This site is amazing.

Re: Has anyone taken their pets on the QM2
 

Thanks for that! Some of us can't sail back you know and are worried enough as it is!:(

Re: Has anyone taken their pets on the QM2
 

yeah cheers:frown: we all really needed to know that,more for me to worry about
now when my dog goes thanks alot:(

Re: Has anyone taken their pets on the QM2
 

Suzy has flown with BA three times and they were wonderful every time. She came out the other end in fine shape. I think you tend to hear about the horror stories a lot more, even though they don't happen very often. I'm sure your dog will be fine. :thumbup:

Re: Has anyone taken their pets on the QM2
 

all the more reason for you to question again and again your chosen carrier. lots of peeps are not as concerned as you both appear to be and don't take enough care when shipping pets...animal breeders spring to mind :mad:

Re: Has anyone taken their pets on the QM2
 

I'm relieved to be flying with Virgin. Whenever I've flown with them before, they've gone above and beyond the call of duty to make sure I was happy, so if they do that for people, I'm confident they'll show the same level of care for animals. Plus, TaraC's account of how well her pets were looked after made me feel better, too. :)

Re: Has anyone taken their pets on the QM2
 

Hi Sharlene
Happy to help. The vet I used was: Secaucus Animal hospital
1250 Paterson PLank rd.
Secaucus, NJ
Tel; 201-867-4795


the hotel was: Red Roof Inn
Secaucus Meadowlands
15 Meadowlands Parkway
Tel;201-319-1000
They have no pet fee and are out of mainstream NY, so quieter and good area for walkies. you just go through the Lincoln tunnel to get to docks for QM2. My husband dropped off me, kids and pets at the docks, then went to turn in rental van. He had a taxi waiting to transport him back to the docks.
The vets office is only a short distance from the hotel, so it was easy to get to. We had an appointment booked in advance first thing in the morning. They knew it was for treatment for pet passport. They were great. The QM2 was scheduled for boarding at 1:00, so it was just all good timing. Do allow for traffic to the dock as it can be backed up easily, and do allow good amount of time for the taxi back to the docks.
If I can help with anything else, just please ask.:)

Re: Has anyone taken their pets on the QM2
 

The QM2 now docks in Brooklyn.

Re: Has anyone taken their pets on the QM2
 

I came across this with Continental Airlines. They seem to allow you to take your cats on board with you if they're small enough.

http://www.continental.com/web/en-US...s/default.aspx

Re: Has anyone taken their pets on the QM2
 

If you want to take a pet into the UK they must be carried in the hold of the plane...they are not allowed to be carried in the cabin. You can fly to other countries with a small pet in the cabin ie France...but not the UK.