Alaska - Cruise Day 7 - Doggone it, he's a liar!

Ask any seasoned cruiser about the subject of traveling with a service animal and there's usually two different kinds of reactions. One is a look of surprise that you can even cruise with a service animal and then comes the ultimate question of "but where do they go the bathroom on board?" The other is unfortunately a recollection of bad onboard sightings where a cruiser who couldn't bear to leave behind little Muffy brings them onboard under the claim of being a service dog. A true service dog is not being pushed by the cruiser around the ship in a tiny stroller or joining their humans to dine at the table. While I'm the first to advocate for the use as well of an animal classified as emotional support, it needs to be a trained animal with proper documentation. I know you can do and get most everything on the Internet these days but please keep in mind the comfort of your pet as well. Sure snuggling with the cats I've had over the years have made me feel emotionally calmer when I've gotten anxious or upset but they would not have been happy being dragged out of the house to travel on a cruise ship. A truly trained service animal is a working animal when they are helping their human and can make a great difference when it comes to enabling those with disabilities travel the world.

Over the past few years, many airlines and cruise lines have gotten stricter about traveling with animals. At the very least requiring extra documentation weeks ahead of your plans to travel. There's also separate rules depending on the country you plan to visit that also include spending extra time with authorities when you arrive in a port so make sure you do your research. A simple google search took me to tons of blogs and websites where people share their experiences traveling with service animals as well as the exact policies of the travel providers. For a great onboard explanation, check out Molly Burke's "I Took My Guide Dog on a Cruise Ship For a Week!" video where she talks about the extra procedures and shows what the experience is like. Also includes a great interview with Captain Kate McCue! Check out her Instagram and also perhaps the most famous hairless cat on the seven seas, her cabin mate Bug Naked. If you do choose to check them out, please share that I sent you. Plus you can also check out my Twitter and Instagram pages while you're there!

During one of the formal nights of this Alaska cruise, we were hanging out in one of the lounges when a man walked by not only dressed up for formal night but matched his outfit to the tiny dress his white fluffy dog was wearing. At first glance, you'd think oh someone didn't want to leave Poopsie at home as this was definitely not a service dog. This last sea day we learned that the man and his dog was actually an onboard entertainer. Jeff Peterson and his trained dog Indy travel around, including several cruise ships, performing a comedic magic show. Indy also has her own Facebook page if you're interested in hearing about life from her point of view.

After enjoying the show, Indy held a meet and greet in one of the lounges. You could pose for pictures with her and unlike most cruise ship staged photos, Jeff was happy to take one for you with your own camera. It was funny how shocked he was when a couple passengers asked to take a photo of him with Indy as well as have him take one of them. 

Each time someone stepped up for a photo, Jeff (pictured with Indy below) would cue her to stand on her hind legs.

I wasn't sure if we were allowed to touch Indy hence the stiff pose. You know I would have snuggled her for an hour if I could. 

Our evening entertainment this last day was topped off by a funny cruise staff hosted show called The Liar's Club. If you've never seen this show, we've seen it on several different lines, the premise is that one person hosts a panel of 3 other cruise staff members. Obscure words are presented and the cruise staff on the panel give you each a different definition for the word in hopes that you'll believe them. The audience participates by turning in their team number's paper slips to the person they believe is telling the truth. It's great fun to see when the real definition is revealed and how many people believed the wrong ones. We have seen a few of the words repeated over the years but that just makes it funnier when you hear the other off the wall definitions.

Test your friends to see if they know what these words mean!

Hope you enjoyed the Alaska side of my adventures on this trip. This cruise itinerary ended the next morning in Vancouver, British Columbia as our one non US port as required by law. Stay tuned for our day exploring this western province of Canada with a private tour.