A very disappointed dog owner on the Queen Mary 2

I received a review about the Kennels on the Queen Mary 2 and it’s not what I expected to hear, see what the reviews sais below:

Overall we had a great time on the QM2, however, the situation with the kennels really spoiled the holiday. I would like to share that with you so you can help other dog owners.

As mentioned the communication with Cunard Kennels before the trip was not helpful at all. And they were also quite rude with using just one-line emails.

But the kennel situation on the ship was extremely disappointing:

– Boarding took a very long time as we had to wait to be escorted on board with one of only two kennel masters.

– The kennel area was awful, 24 steel cages housed in a small room which also had the dog-poo sewer in it. You can imagine how bad that smelt. And this is where the dogs spent most of their time.

– The dog food I requested was not there. This happened to nearly every dog owner. It caused quite a big issue for the dogs with sensitive stomachs. Luckily my dog was OK.

– The kennel masters did nothing with the dogs. It was my responsibility to visit the kennels 5-6 times a day to make sure my dog has some time out of the steel cage, had a walk and could go to the toilet. My assumption (given the high cost of the kennel) was that the kennel masters would walk the dogs at least a little bit, but no they did nothing! So this really destroyed my holiday as I had to be at the kennels so often and could no have a sleep-in, could no go to pre-dinner drinks, could not go to all the activities that I wanted to, etc.

– The area for the dogs was simply not large enough, so in the morning people were literally walking on dog pee and poo because of the lack of space. There were 21 dogs on board my sailing, so you can imagine that them all going to the toilet on a small deck area was extremely unpleasant.

– The kennel visiting hours ended too early in the evening, therefore with the time-change sailing across the Atlantic, the dogs were locked in their cages for 13 hours overnight. Most of the dogs soiled themselves every night because 13 hours is simply too long to hold on.

– The QM2 dog coats given to the dogs were cheap quality and ill-fitting.

– The outdoor area had no cover at all, so when the weather was bad you just had to take your dog out in the wet.

– On NY arrival day, all owners were instructed to meet in the kennels, however, the indoor area was not big enough so some of us were stuck outside in the rain for 30 minutes or more.

The majority of dog owners were extremely unhappy with the situation but there was nothing we could do about it. I do not mind admitting that I actually cried after the seeing the kennel area after the first night, as there was dog pee, poo and vomit everywhere. It would have been more kind to fly my dog as at least the flight would have only been 12 hours and then done with.

Cunard needs to employ more kennel masters (two is NOT enough), and they must enlarge the kennel area to comfortably accommodate the dogs and owners. How can I share this feedback with someone at Cunard that will make a difference (not the kennel people)?

Additionally, the Vegan food we were offered was a bit of a joke. For example, one night my salad was a handful of rocket leaves with some canned chickpeas on top. Some meals were better, but it is clear that as non-meat-eaters we were really in the minority.

I would actually like to do this cruise again, but definitely without my dog.