QUEEN MARY 2

I emailed the kennels email address and explained that I had been previously quoted an amount but was hearing the possibility of having to pay for two kennels for my cat and litter box, and got this reply:

Thank you for your email below.  Charges for cats in the kennels are per cat, not per cage.  We do require additional space in order to accommodate the need for a litterbox, however the charge is per cat.  Currently the rate is $300 USD or approximately 188 pounds sterling.

Please let me know if I may be of further assistance.

Hope that helps!

well i had no idea that they had to fly in cargo.......so thats definately out of the question.

steff

Steffunny, it's a separate section of cargo that is actually served with the same air pressurisation and temperature control as the the cabin where the humans travel.

It is a widely believed myth that animals travelling in "cargo" are actually thrown in with the suitcases, left to freeze and gag for air in the high altitudes!!

Nothing could be further from the truth. Trust me.

It turns out that the animal section of the plane's hold is a different compartment completely dedicated to the safety of live cargo.

The airlines take their live animals very, very seriously. As mentioned, the compartment is fed with the cabin air, pressurized and climate controlled just like our part of the plane. It is also kept dark, apparently. So that animals can stay calmer. NO sedatives are allowed but most animals seem to do just fine.


My very shy, nervous cat who doesn't let me disappear to the bathroom for more than one minute without coming to find me,  went through a ten hour flight and was perfectly fine. The staff at the animal reception centre even said he had been exceptionally sweet and affectionate to deal with after his journey. After about an hour being home, he was his usuall self, playing and happy.

They deal with the plane flight pretty well it would seem. The pet hold section is dark and comfortable and any physically healthy animal will come to no harm. Its also a quicker time to be separated from you and caged up for an arduous journey than if you take an ocean trip.

Eidt, well my reply field keeps jumping about and I can't type -- any typos are down to some tech difficulty.

I emailed the kennels email address and explained that I had been previously quoted an amount but was hearing the possibility of having to pay for two kennels for my cat and litter box, and got this reply:

Hope that helps!

How very strange.  I wonder if the person I spoke to was smoking some strange drugs, or what...he did keep calling the kennel personnel, though, so I would have thought that the numbers/data he was giving me was accurate.

I may still look into it, but really, I'd rather travel sooner than July, and I'm not that wild about my pets spending almost an entire week in a kennel (even if they can have "play breaks") as opposed to just 24 hours (worst case) and then being able to start back to "normal" life.

Being able to haul all my stuff at no extra cost would be nice, though at this point my goal is just to not bring anything with me.  ;-)  I'm attempting to pare my book collection down to one small (3ft x 3ft) bookcase, and then clothes, and some electronics (laptop, camera, etc), and that's it.  So hopefully shipping that won't be too bad.

How very strange.  I wonder if the person I spoke to was smoking some strange drugs, or what...he did keep calling the kennel personnel, though, so I would have thought that the numbers/data he was giving me was accurate.

I may still look into it, but really, I'd rather travel sooner than July, and I'm not that wild about my pets spending almost an entire week in a kennel (even if they can have "play breaks") as opposed to just 24 hours (worst case) and then being able to start back to "normal" life.

Being able to haul all my stuff at no extra cost would be nice, though at this point my goal is just to not bring anything with me.  ;-)  I'm attempting to pare my book collection down to one small (3ft x 3ft) bookcase, and then clothes, and some electronics (laptop, camera, etc), and that's it.  So hopefully shipping that won't be too bad.

I hear you on all that.  I just can't decide, but I have plenty of time since Tim and I haven't yet worked out when things are happening and I haven't even gotten Will's microchip yet.

I'd love to scale my stuff down, but the long and short of it is that I simply can't because I have a lot of expensive craft tools I wouldn't want to abandon. 

I'd love to scale my stuff down, but the long and short of it is that I simply can't because I have a lot of expensive craft tools I wouldn't want to abandon.  

Yeah, thankfully my expensive hobby is my horse, and he would cost such an insane amount (basically 2x what I paid for him 6 months ago) to ship over, that there's no way it'll happen.  (Which is a bummer, since he's a sweetheart, but it will make things much simpler to not own a horse for a while.)  Likewise with my truck and trailer, so all 3 will get sold and hopefully help fund the move itself.

Yeah, thankfully my expensive hobby is my horse, and he would cost such an insane amount (basically 2x what I paid for him 6 months ago) to ship over, that there's no way it'll happen.  (Which is a bummer, since he's a sweetheart, but it will make things much simpler to not own a horse for a while.)  Likewise with my truck and trailer, so all 3 will get sold and hopefully help fund the move itself.

Yikes! I don't want to think about how expensive moving a Horse would be! 

Yikes! I don't want to think about how expensive moving a Horse would be! 

In the neighborhood of $10-12k, when all is said and done.  (Actually, probably a bit more because you have to ship them to MD and then NY for quarantine/shipping.)  On the plus side, at least their quarantine is only 30 days.    (They do charge a 37% tax on both the value of the horse and the cost of the shipping, though, I think, which seems extra-ridiculous.)

i have been communicated with the queen mary folks........they have been very considerate and helpful...................my two chihuahuas can share an upper kennel which is 300.00...........yes there are set visitation times but if you need additional visits you can arrange such...............they receive all sorts of lovely gifts etc.......i was told that 2009 is booked up and nothing available until april 2010........they also do not cruise in the winter months for its too icy and dangerous.......i think my boyfriend will fly over to the us and we shall take the boat back over as a vacation.

as for flying i do appreciate you reassuring me that it is safe for my pets but honestly i think my older dog will give himself a heart attack from the stress.........i cannot leave him at the vets office when he has procedures........i take him immediately from the surgery table and i have to hold him until his meds have worn off.........okay so i know its all my fault as i love him so much and ive spoiled him terribly........i have created a chihuahua monster.......lol........my younger one is not as bad and she could probably manage the flight a-ok.

thank god i dont have a spoiled horse.....i could never afford to ship him over.....lol.
...as i gather more info i will surely share..........thanks everyone.

thought you guys might find this one interesting...........i got a quote from a pet mover here in us..............4000.00......and yes that can increase..........that is from airport to airport.........not door to door.........whew..........dont think i can afford that one.

I honestly think the high fee is because of going through an agency.  Just give a few airlines a call to ask them what their fees are. You don't need a fancy pet moving company.

Yeah, the quote for shipping my cat and dog (in about as large a kennel as is sold, thanks to him being super long/lanky...silly pup!) was about $2,000 (plus another £280 on the UK side, so probably $2,500 total).  And that's for a 13lb. cat and a 65lb. dog, so I would think for 2 <10lb. dogs it'd be a lot closer to $1,000.  (If my dog could fit in a smaller kennel airfare would be ~$1,600 for the pair of them.)

I'm not using an agency because from what I can tell, all they do is mail paperwork back and forth for you, and (possibly?) drop your animals off at the airport.  I can lick a stamp (except not, because they're all stickers these days ), and either I or my parents will manage to get my boys on a plane for far less than $2,000+.

its crazy the prices they charge......i agree i can lick my own stamp.........ive made my decision and its the queen mary for me and my babies.........its all a bit frustrating

At least you'll be traveling in high style!

Sorry to jump in, but I spoke with Cunard, and it seems the only availability they have for kennels is next year (2010)!  Has anyone else tried and successfully booked *recently?

jump in anytime..........yep thats what they told me too