Dogs on Santander ferry - advice

R and J McDonough replied on 16/05/2017 06:37

Posted on 16/05/2017 06:37

Any advice please! Our medium sized dog is used to cross channel ferries travelling in our campervan. In June we will be taking her on the 24hour Plymouth Santander ferry where dogs stay in on board kennels for the first time. All advice about what the kennels are actually like and how to make the crossing less stressful for her gratefully received. Thanks Ruth (and Jem)

Mr Fat replied on 22/05/2017 15:55

Posted on 22/05/2017 15:55

We took our 2 border terriers on the Cap Finistere to Bilbao last year in the kennels. This year we booked up very early and managed to get a pet friendly cabin. Dont know if the kennels are the same on all ships, but the small kennels are very narrow. We booked a large and put them in together, which was good. They are stainless steel, with the small kennels on top of the row of large kennels. There is a deck where you can walk them, and sit out if the weather is nice. One of mine was reluctant to pee or poo on the deck. The other one was ok. We always take our own bottled water and you need a bed and water and feed bowls. Some of the dogs bark a bit, so can be a bit noisy, but hopefully they will all settle down. You can visit them at any time, apart from overnight. 

 

When you get on the ferry you leave the dog in the vehicle, until the announcement to collect your dogs. Then you are all escorted down to the car deck to bring the dogs up in the lift to the kennels or pet friendly cabins. Dogs must be muzzled during the transfer. It all seemed very well organised. Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip. We are in Spain at the moment (another week to go) and it is lovely.

near Malvern Hills Club Campsite Member photo by Andrew Cole

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