Do dogs and ferries go together?

[gotat5cali]

Hi

Joan and I are planning a tour round northern Germany and ending up in Copenhagen in the next few weeks. We shall be taking our Jack Russell Milly with us. I assumed that we would take the tunnel as usual when we travel to Europe but J has seen that there is a ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam that has “dog friendly” cabins. However, the crossing is about 16 hours and the dog is confined to the cabin, with all that might entail.

Has anyone else used this option with a dog? If so, how did you cope? I can envisage clearing up poo from a vinyl floor but the thought of managing wee on a surface that could be moving in all directions is quite daunting. Am I being too worried? I have taking into account the idea of starving Milly for 24 hours beforehand even though she seems able to conjure up inordinate numbers of poos on very little input.

Also, given that we live in B’ham I’m not convinced that there would be much saving in time doing it this way.

I would grateful for any thoughts.

Phillip R

 

[Martin]

If its the same as Brittany ferries then you can access a toilet and walking area for your dogs to do their business. I very much doubt the ferry company expects them to go to the loo in the cabin! Also it would take a very desperate dog to go to toilet inside?

 

[Zebedee]

We went on the Bilbao to Portsmouth ferry which is 24 hours. They did not have any pet friendly cabins left so he had to go in kennels. Normally on Brittany Ferries he stays in the Cali even for 12 hours without going to the loo. There was an outdoor area for walks but crossing the Bay of Biscay even in August was quite rough and he is only a small dog and was in danger of falling under the rails! He would have been far happier in a cabin with us for cuddles. Feed dry food for 48 hours before so not so many wees.

 

[MattBW]

We were worried about the ferry to denmark for that very reason and ended up booking the tunnel and deciding to drive. It's a similar time but we can stop and give them comfort breaks. I didnt like the idea of them in a kennel for 12+ hours on a boat for the first time.

I had no idea they had a place for them to poop etc outside of the kennels..

 

[Amarillo]

If its the same as Brittany ferries then you can access a toilet and walking area for your dogs to do their business. I very much doubt the ferry company expects them to go to the loo in the cabin! Also it would take a very desperate dog to go to toilet inside?

We took 10 hour ferry from Brindisi to Igoumenitsa. We left Meg in the van, but had we taken her with us, they had a poop deck.


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[gotat5cali]

Hi. Thanks for all the replies so far. I’m veering towards taking the tunnel but will do some more research about a possible dog-walking area.

Was that an intended pun Amarillo? It certainly gives a new perspective on life on board a Man-o-War in the days of sail!

 

[sidepod]

Why would you do this. ?
Amsterdam is about 4 hours from Calais.
Tunnel takes an hour (ish).
This leaves you 11 hours to drive to the tunnel from home?

16 hours on a Ferry I’d go berserk and kill someone. I certainly wouldn’t inflict it on my dog.

 

[Damon18]

We have had the same concerns with our 2 dogs on our bi-annual trip to Yorkshire.
Don't want to use the Tunnel (phobia), have looked at Zeebruge/Hull which avoids London & M25, M6 etc., but we're not happy about leaving dogs in a kennel for so long.
Have continued to use the Calais/Dover crossing on P&O with the dogs left in the vehicle.

 

[leightonjthomas]

We’ve used the Brittany Ferries dog-friendly cabins to and from Spain successfully a couple of times. For our last few trips to France, as we live only half an hour from Portsmouth, we travelled to Le Havre using an overnight dog-friendly cabin, and then back from Cherbourg using the 3-hour fast ferry when the dog has to remain in the van. However, our last homeward journey coincided with the heatwave and it was over 30 degrees in the hold. An air-conditioned cabin is fine, especially overnight when we’re all sleeping anyway, but I’ll never leave him in the van again on a ferry. Next year we’ve already booked a return to Le Havre including dog-friendly cabin both ways, because they get snapped up really early. The return crossing is 5 1/2 hours early evening which should be fine.

 

[Velma's Dad]

Have been pondering this ourselves but every ferry seems to have different dog regime so needs a lot of research. Some seem virtually dog-hostile.

Meanwhile, tunnel + a drive to wherever on the other side stays favourite for us. And very dog friendly with their nice doogie play zone (on Folkestone side anyway).

 

[leightonjthomas]

Have been pondering this ourselves but every ferry seems to have different dog regime so needs a lot of research. Some seem virtually dog-hostile.

Meanwhile, tunnel + a drive to wherever on the other side stays favourite for us. And very dog friendly with their nice doogie play zone (on Folkestone side anyway).

We’ve used the tunnel a few times and it has to be the best option for dogs but, as we live in Bognor Regis and often want to travel to the middle/western side of France or Northern Spain, it makes sense to use Portsmouth.

 

[Amarillo]

Was that an intended pun Amarillo? It certainly gives a new perspective on life on board a Man-o-War in the days of sail!

Yes and no. On the Brindisi to Igoumenitsa route with Grimaldi Lines dogs either stay in the car or you pay for a kennel. If you pay for a kennel you can visit your dog and exercise it on an open deck (mis)named the “poop” deck. The pun is Grimaldi’s, not, alas, mine.

We paid for an on-board kennel but decided at the last minute to leave Meg in the van for the overnight passage.



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[Julie and Archie]

Hi

Archie doesn’t respond well to being left in hold on ferry. We tend to use euro tunnel which he seems to enjoy. Definitely understands the routine. We have successfully used Britain’s ferries - but he does like to get out on poop deck often regardless of weather. On other hand - only wees and only if feeling comfortable seems reluctant to poo. I think his primary request is to be with the pack rather than on his own and he’s not bothered where this is. Bonus if he meets another dog