Where do dogs go to the bathroom on cruise ships?

Cruise lines reassure guests that service dogs have special training when it comes to when and where to relieve themselves, so other passengers don't need to worry about where they step. Passengers with service dogs can request the ship to provide doggy “relief boxes” filled with mulch in a service area.



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Drug dogs are used at some cruise ports, but not all. They are most commonly seen at ports in the US, Mexico, the Caribbean and Australia, but in Europe and Asia, they don't tend to be used very often. Typically sniffer dogs don't tend to go near passengers though, they are more used for luggage.

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Carnival Cruise Line is one of the cruise lines that frequently uses narcotics-sniffing dogs to identify passengers trying to sneak drugs onto their cruise ship. The dogs are mentioned in the cruise line's policy, including potential searches at foreign ports.

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Which Ships Offer Pet-Friendly Cruises? When it comes to pet-friendly cruises, there's only one ship: Cunard's Queen Mary 2 (QM2). On certain transatlantic sailings between New York and Southampton, and vice versa, you can bring your dog or cat. That doesn't mean your pet will be able to snuggle with you in your cabin.

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The plumbing generally operates on a vacuum system when you flush rather than on pure gravity, since waste might have to travel through lateral pipes and even upward rather than just down to reach its destination.

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Vacuum suction lines zip toilets' contents to marine sanitation farms, which siphon out the water, treat it until it's drinkable, then pump it into the ocean. Helpful aerobic bacteria digest the remaining sludge in storage tanks until it's all offloaded ashore, about once a month.

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You might be a big fan of bottled water and refuse to drink tap water, but a cruise ship's water is MUCH better than tap water. They have high-tech filtration systems that allow the water coming out of your bathroom sink to be clean and more than pure enough to drink.

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Cruise ships in general don't allow any kind of pets. That's mainly because there's so much red tape involved that Cunard only offers a kennel on one of its three ships. Even at that, pets are only allowed on QM2's trans-Atlantic crossings, explained Robert Roughton, Cunard's specialist in kennel operations.

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Guests may also bring non-alcoholic beverages as carry-on items on boarding day. Non-alcoholic beverages may not exceed 12 standard (17 oz.) cans, bottles or cartons per stateroom.

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Passengers must pass through an airport-style detector and they will have a digital photo taken. Most cruise lines employ former police or military personnel to process boarding checks, and scent dogs may be present to check for drugs, which are among many items prohibited on board.

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Pets are accepted on all Transatlantic crossings, except the first and last crossings of the year. Availability is limited, so plan to book your cruise well in advance. The cost of transportation will be given to you at the time you make your own booking but will likely range between $800 and $1,000 USD.

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When towel animals appear in your cabin, you are welcome to keep them around throughout the cruise, but it can be helpful to the cabin steward if you gently disassemble any you don't need to keep.

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Cunard's Queen Mary 2 is the only cruise line to date that permits dogs and cats (sorry reptile, pot-bellied pig, and hedgehog lovers, your time hasn't quite arrived) to travel on their transatlantic sail between New York and Southampton.

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The only commercial ship that travels to Europe from the continental United States is the Queen Mary 2. As this type of travel is in much demand, reservations are normally made over a year in advance. Your pet will travel in a kennel supervised by a full time pet attendant.

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And while some other items in the video also seem fairly obvious, two things that are flushable at home can't be flushed on cruise ships -- wipes and non-cruise-ship toilet paper.

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Shipboard potable water (drinking, bathing, whirlpools, etc.) either comes from a shoreside water treatment plant or is generated on board from seawater via Reverse Osmosis systems or Evaporators. Swimming pool water is typically seawater.

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