Transport pets via sea passage?

Hi there,

My husband and I are emigrating to the UK next spring with our 2 golden retreivers and 2 tomcats.  I've been looking over the forum and am astounded at how expensive it is to transport a dog by air ($1500 ++!! per dog!) Has anyone gone by sea before?  What are those crazy fees for, anyway? Crossing on the Queen Mary 2 almost seems a bargain, as they don't seem to charge extra for the animals, but what I'm wondering is if we would get hit with fees in Southhampton.  Anyone know?

Thanks!

The Queen Mary does charge for animals. I believe it's $300 per pet, though when I called to enquire about my large dog and cat, they quoted me $900 because they claimed my dog would need 2 kennels. (That may have just been a mistake, I'm not sure.)

Other people have done the QM2 route, though, including one woman who went a couple of weeks ago, I think, so they'll probably chime in.

(Keep in mind that bookings on the QM2 go well in advance - when I called they didn't have anything available for about 9-10 months out. Also, booking for people is a lot more expensive than airfare. When I priced it I found it was cheaper just to get a plane ticket for my pets and myself.)

Good luck!

just arrived in southhampton on nov 8th via QM2.......yes they charge 300 per animal and that is for the normal size kennel.......500 per animal for the larger kennel.........they do tend to stay booked up a year in advance but ppl do cancel and i would suggest to just keep in constant touch with them for availability.......you are given 5 visits per day.....they do not offer transatlantic during the winter months......cost depends upon what time of year you plan on traveling.....my cost was roughly 2100 for two dogs and a balcony suite........free food......free food ......free food.......lol......you do have to pay to eat in the todd english, for soft drinks, and cocktails........although the ships activities were not appealing to me some find it very entertaining......the ship is beautiful, food is fantastic, service immpecible, and kennel service was awesome.......kennel ppl are handled first so thats a nice thing..........immigration is on the ship so on your trip over that is handled before arrival.......defra comes right to the kennels and is a super fast process.........im not fond of ships but i have not one negative thing to say about the QM2 and if i had to do it again for the sake of my dogs i would........they truly had a great time...........if you want to see pics etc let me know and ill add you to my fbook.

Also, booking for people is a lot more expensive than airfare. When I priced it I found it was cheaper just to get a plane ticket for my pets and myself.

Another consideration - can't you stuff your cabin with luggage? Luggage on aircraft is expensive whether cargo or passenger.

Andy

Another consideration - can't you stuff your cabin with luggage? Luggage on aircraft is expensive whether cargo or passenger.

Andy

Yeah, I think so. I only flew over with 2 suitcases, so luggage wasn't a concern for me. (I used moving as an excuse to get rid of a TON of stuff!)

yep i forgot about that part.....sorry........i had 18 pieces of luggage along with a doggie stroller and a stanley pull along tool box..........you can bring as much as you like as long as it fits in your room.......there are porters to assist upon arrival and departure......it was a bit stressful for one person to handle but a couple of my new friends on the ship helped me out along with 4 porters.......to me it was worth the stress

I am so glad this thread is here!  Steffunny, is there any way I can 'friend' you on facebook?  My husband and I are starting the process of moving back and we plan to travel by sea (5 pets + huge fear of flight), and if you don't mind, I'd really love to ask you a couple of questions.

Molly

I posted in another thread and realize this is old, but new info regarding pets I received from Cunard this afternoon (this is regarding shipping my cat overseas from NYC to Southampton):


"The only availability I have in 2012 for an Eastbound crossing is on November 27.  Your cat would need 2 kennels, one for the litterbox.  The cost for that would be $1000.00 USD."

I respond that (in not these exact words) but that sounds insane--I thought it was $300 per cat and $500 per dog, in some cases 2 kennels for huge dogs:

"Yes, that is out of date.  The cats have always required 2 kennels but until recently we were not charging for the litterbox.  The price has recently gone up and the upper kennels are now $500 each, and we are charging for the litterbox now.  The lower kennels are $700. 

Warm Regards,
Michele Kaul
Cunard Line
Queen Mary 2 Kennels"

wow they really went up in price......honestly i was very surprised at how inexpensive it was to bring my two babies over......i know its alot of money but if youre bringing lots of stuff over with you then it may be worth it......shipping is a fortune as im sure you already know........for me it didnt matter how much......i could not place my doggies into cargo on a plane.......if i had to do it again......i would......no matter what the cost........but can i suggest something to you......a girl i met on the ship called at the last minute to see if they had availability......she got her room for half the price and someone had cancelled their kennel.....so she came out very well.....only thing is you gotta be ready to go.....she called about a week before departure......so maybe thats something you can consider doing

wow they really went up in price......honestly i was very surprised at how inexpensive it was to bring my two babies over......i know its alot of money but if youre bringing lots of stuff over with you then it may be worth it......shipping is a fortune as im sure you already know........for me it didnt matter how much......i could not place my doggies into cargo on a plane.......if i had to do it again......i would......no matter what the cost........but can i suggest something to you......a girl i met on the ship called at the last minute to see if they had availability......she got her room for half the price and someone had cancelled their kennel.....so she came out very well.....only thing is you gotta be ready to go.....she called about a week before departure......so maybe thats something you can consider doing

I think my only option at this point is to fly my cat via Icelandair to Heathrow, then do the QM2 at another time to bring all of my luggage over, or find my cat a temporary home, and do the QM2 first.  I'm sorry but paying $150 on the airplane vs. $1,000 on the ship is just no question. Plus there's no guarantee--what am I to do, book a cruise a year in advance before I'm even married, let alone have the visas, (right now the cheapest would be about $2700 for an inside stateroom + 1,000 for the cat, in NOVEMBER (I'm moving in March if all goes according to plan).

Praying for a last minute cancellation seems to be really pushing it...I have enough on my plate as it is.

Can you please let me know how your experience with Iceland air goes.  We too are considering them.  Do you know if they said there would be any fees at animal reception?   Or does the $150 cover everything?  I've read about possible fees when you arrive from others.

Can you please let me know how your experience with Iceland air goes.  We too are considering them.  Do you know if they said there would be any fees at animal reception?   Or does the $150 cover everything?  I've read about possible fees when you arrive from others.

I've traveled on Icelandair maybe a dozen times (they are an excellent airline, one of the best I've flown), but never with an animal, so I couldn't tell you for sure.

Here is their page regarding pets:

http://www.icelandair.us/information/special-assistance/travelling-with-pets/

Note: "The passenger must provide their own pet crate. The charge for pet transport is the excess baggage charge applicable to the destination."

Info on excess baggage fees:

http://www.icelandair.us/information/baggage-information/excess-baggage/

It would probably be best to call their reservations department to get more detail--since there are so many regulations and countries they probably decided to leave all that info off the website since it's so confusing.