[nagdu] Cruise Ports of Call, (Was: NAGDU digest ...)

[craig.borne at dot.gov]

Check out www.cruisecritic.com.  The website has a section called
"Special Interest Cruising" where a large thread on cruising with
disabilities and/or cruising with a guide dog" is available.

This website was helpful to me when taking a cruise last year.  Many
knowledgeable folks on this forum that have "been there; done that."

Craig Borne
NHTSA/DOT
(202) 493-0627 
craig.borne at dot.gov
 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Brent Reynolds
Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 2009 10:52 AM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Cruise Ports of Call, (Was: NAGDU digest ...)

Well, a subject line with a title like, "NAGDU digest, vol. 51...." is
not
going to give anybody an idea as to the subject being discussed.

OK, the original post is not clear at all except that you think you
might
have some problems or questions regarding some ports of call on a cruise
you
plan to take in the near future.

St Maarten is the Dutch portion of one of the islands you mentioned.
St.
Martin is the French portion of the same island.  Any laws regarding
guide
dogs, and allowable access for guide dogs to public places and
accommodations would be those of the controlling countries.  In the case
of
St. Maarten, those would be Dutch laws and European Union regulations.

St. Thomas is part of the United States Virgin Islands, so relevant
local
laws and American laws would apply there.

Nassau is in the Bahamas, which is an independent country who's laws and
regulations would pertain there.  The British Commonwealth makes no laws
regarding anything in member countries.  It is not the same type of
organization as the European Union.

If you are going on a cruise, the chances are that you won't be spending
much time at all on shore in any of the ports of call, and where you go
might be dictated by the particular cruise.  It's not like you're going
to
be staying there for several days and travelling all over the island.

It would help a great deal if you gave some indication as to what
problems
you think you are having with the three places you mentioned.

Cruise ships often cater to people who bring their pets onboard, so they
often have kennels and people on staff who might even be charged with
the
task of looking after kenneled dogs on the ship up to a certain point.
As
has been pointed out, you could arrange to leave your dog home, wither
with
friends, or boarding it at some doggie resort.

You could take the dog on the cruise and arrange to board it in the
ship's
kennels while you go ashore at the ports of call, if the cruise line has
such facilities.

You could take the dog with you everywhere and deal with whatever you
get
regarding access limitations or restrictions imposed by the cruise line,
the
tour directors, the proprietors of the various onshore establishments
you'll
visit, and/or any local authorities that might get involved.

Most of these three- or four-day cruises, or one-week cruises are so
canned,
that all you do when you go ashore is visit a duty-free or luxury goods
shop
selected under contract by the cruise line, maybe eat in a restaurant
where
you might or might not get a little bit of the local culture tossed in
on
the side, and maybe get a quickie tour of some landmark.  This might be
a
usual suspect place like the ruins of some colonial fort, some
government
building, or a place where you hike up a hill and get a
picture-postcard-type view from a high vantage point.  The list of
attractions you can choose will depend on the cruise, the port of call,
and
how much time you actually get ashore.  That could range from a mere
couple
of hours to half a day, or maybe an afternoon and part of an evening.

Some people, even if they are not dealing with dog issues, elect to skip
the
canned and supervised onshore excursions in favor of enjoying the
amenities
of the ship, which, depending on your interests, you might find more
enjoyable anyway.



Brent Reynolds, Atlanta, GA  USA
Email: burddawg at bellsouth.net  Phone: 1-404-814-0768


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