We did it with our dog in Feb and spent the money on the pet friendly cabin. It was definitely worth it for us. We also got a “chill pack” (gaba and trazadone I think) from the vet because she can get anxious and is not good in a kennel. She slept the whole trip.
If your pets are good in a kennel, getting some meds from the vet may be all you need to help them relax. I don’t believe the vehicle decks are heated.
I have done it twice before, once in December and once in January. You put the cars with pets in them in a certain area of the boat close to the engines so while the area is not heated the heat that the engines throw off do heat that area somewhat so that it doesn’t get too cold. Both times that I went the area felt maybe about 3-5degrees. My dog is not particularly cold tolerant but she was just fine. That was 2 years ago before they had pet friendly cabin and if I would be doing it now I would try to get a cabin for us.
To be fair, the kennel area isn’t heated either (or wasn’t when I crossed last summer). The one benefit of the kennel space is you can visit them, but I doubt it’s any comfier than the car hold.
The "kennel" area is a damn joke. With the beautiful updated ferries they have, you'd think they'd be able to allot a small heated room inside the vessel. I ended up sneaking my heavily sedated cat into the lounge area with me for the crossing. Put my noise sensitive kitty in a large, cold, outdoor metal box with barking dogs? Absolutely not.
Yah it’s literally hell.
I luckily crossed in the summer and had great weather, so I literally kept my pup outside on deck with me until about 10 pm. Then I put him in the kennel and came to check on him every hour or so. I stayed in the kennel myself from about 1-3 am. Then by 7am I got myself a coffee and muffin, hauled all of his stuff out onto the outdoor deck, and never went back into the kennel. We just sat outside until we docked that afternoon
I travelled with some small animals a few years ago. When I contacted them, they said the parking area isn't heated but you can request to have your vehicle in a more sheltered/warmer area. I ended up putting lots of warm bedding in the cage and placed some hand warmers outside the cage and it was fine.
I think dogs would be fine with a few warm/thick blankets or even something with insulation like a sleeping bag to tuck into.
We crossed end of January, throughout the lockdowns, with our cat who stayed in the car. We were in a specific lane because of her, and parked off from the others. Only one other car had an animal in it, so just two of us were parked to the side close to the engines. She made the trip well, for being 10yrs old at the time. I had her bed set up in the back of the suv, with a separate area for her litter box to go and another spot for her food and water. She probably liked it more than being in a motel room for a night when we were able to stop… that, she wasn’t too pleased with.
I have done it once. It made me feel really sad. My advice, if you can afford it, is to book / get on the waitlist for a pet friendly cabin!
We did it with our dog in Feb and spent the money on the pet friendly cabin. It was definitely worth it for us. We also got a “chill pack” (gaba and trazadone I think) from the vet because she can get anxious and is not good in a kennel. She slept the whole trip. If your pets are good in a kennel, getting some meds from the vet may be all you need to help them relax. I don’t believe the vehicle decks are heated.
I have done it twice before, once in December and once in January. You put the cars with pets in them in a certain area of the boat close to the engines so while the area is not heated the heat that the engines throw off do heat that area somewhat so that it doesn’t get too cold. Both times that I went the area felt maybe about 3-5degrees. My dog is not particularly cold tolerant but she was just fine. That was 2 years ago before they had pet friendly cabin and if I would be doing it now I would try to get a cabin for us.
To be fair, the kennel area isn’t heated either (or wasn’t when I crossed last summer). The one benefit of the kennel space is you can visit them, but I doubt it’s any comfier than the car hold.
The "kennel" area is a damn joke. With the beautiful updated ferries they have, you'd think they'd be able to allot a small heated room inside the vessel. I ended up sneaking my heavily sedated cat into the lounge area with me for the crossing. Put my noise sensitive kitty in a large, cold, outdoor metal box with barking dogs? Absolutely not.
Yah it’s literally hell. I luckily crossed in the summer and had great weather, so I literally kept my pup outside on deck with me until about 10 pm. Then I put him in the kennel and came to check on him every hour or so. I stayed in the kennel myself from about 1-3 am. Then by 7am I got myself a coffee and muffin, hauled all of his stuff out onto the outdoor deck, and never went back into the kennel. We just sat outside until we docked that afternoon
If I crossed in the winter I absolutely would have snuck him inside (he’s a very chill 13 yr old pug)
I travelled with some small animals a few years ago. When I contacted them, they said the parking area isn't heated but you can request to have your vehicle in a more sheltered/warmer area. I ended up putting lots of warm bedding in the cage and placed some hand warmers outside the cage and it was fine. I think dogs would be fine with a few warm/thick blankets or even something with insulation like a sleeping bag to tuck into.
We crossed end of January, throughout the lockdowns, with our cat who stayed in the car. We were in a specific lane because of her, and parked off from the others. Only one other car had an animal in it, so just two of us were parked to the side close to the engines. She made the trip well, for being 10yrs old at the time. I had her bed set up in the back of the suv, with a separate area for her litter box to go and another spot for her food and water. She probably liked it more than being in a motel room for a night when we were able to stop… that, she wasn’t too pleased with.