Assistance dogs

Carriage of an assistance dog is subject to the conditions set by DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs). Please refer to the DEFRA website for the most up-to-date information. As the DEFRA requirements are different from other forms of travel, it is essential owners understand the conditions that the dog must travel under.

The information provided is taken from the Government guidance. To view more information on this and for the most up to date information, please CLICK HERE.

Due to national regulations in certain ports, guests with assistance dogs may be required to remain on board. If you intend to travel with an assistance dog, please notify us in advance and at least 48 hours prior to departure.

All assistance dogs are carried free of charge.

Once your booking has been made and your paperwork has been checked, all DEFRA conditions have been met and you have completed and signed P&O Cruises terms and conditions, we will send you a confirmation letter. This letter confirms your assistance dog has been given permission to travel and the letter must be produced at check-in. Failure to produce this letter may result in your assistance dog being denied boarding. We would also advise all owners to carry their dog's identification card, or similar, with them at all times in case local authorities require proof.

If we do not receive a completed and signed copy of P&O Cruises terms and conditions, we regret we are unable to allow your dog to travel. 

To return to the UK, your assistance dog is required to undertake tapeworm treatment 24-120 hours (1-5 days) prior to arrival in Southampton. This treatment will need to be carried out by an authorised veterinarian in a port of call that meets the above timescales. Owners are responsible for locating a vet and ensuring the correct treatment has been carried out and the pet's passport is updated correctly.

It is the responsibility of the owner to research the itinerary in full. On occasion, ports of call may be missed, replaced or cancelled for reasons beyond P&O Cruises’ control. We would therefore advise you to check your itinerary carefully to ensure the tapeworm treatment can be offered in more than one port and within DEFRA's timing guidelines to re-enter the UK.

Please note that if your last port falls on a weekend or bank holiday, or the tapeworm treatment cannot be administered within DEFRA guidelines at the penultimate port of call, we suggest planning for the treatment to be carried out prior to the last call if possible. Should your chosen itinerary be of 3 or 4 nights in duration, the tapeworm treatment can be carried out on the morning of embarkation by an authorised veterinarian and your dog is able to disembark at EU ports of call.

Treatment during the voyage is not needed if the ship calls only at ports in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Finland, the Republic of Ireland, Norway, or Malta. 

If the tapeworm treatment is not carried out, or the documentation is incorrect, your dog may be placed into quarantine on your return to Southampton.

We currently do not offer the service of a vet on board any of our ships, and the ships’ doctors are unable to assist should your dog be taken ill on board. Therefore, it is imperative that you consult your vet for advice prior to your cruise to ensure your dog is fit to travel. It may be a good idea to talk to your vet regarding motion sickness.

From 1st August 2024, the CDC updated guidance and requirements regarding dog travel to the US, the CDC has issued regulations to control the entry of dogs into the United States from other countries. These rules apply to all dogs, including puppies, service animals, and dogs that left the United States and are returning. They also apply whether you are a U.S. citizen, legal U.S. resident, or foreign national.

Please use the link below to determine what rules apply to your dog based on the dates of travel and where your dog is traveling from.

Bringing a Dog into the United States | Bringing an Animal into U.S. | Importation | CDC

Your dog must always wear its harness when not in the cabin. Due to the nature of cruising, we are unable to provide a safe off-leash area for assistance dogs.

Please ensure that you bring a suitable supply of all dry dog food, food and water bowls, plus any applicable blankets and bedding. Dogs can only be fed in the cabin and under no circumstance should your dog be fed food or treats in any public area.

We do allow assistance dogs into our buffet restaurants; however, your dog must remain at the table. Should you be travelling alone, our crew will be happy to assist you with your food selection and carrying this back to your table.

The ship will provide a wooden 4ft x 4ft box that will be filled with wood shavings (sawdust) as standard. We recommend that you select a cabin that is close to the area where the spending area is located. On arrival, your cabin steward will show you where it is. Please note that litter boxes cannot be placed on cabin balconies or inside the cabin itself. 

Assistance Dog spending areas

We ask owners to clean up after their dog. Our ship’s crew will advise you once you are on board where to dispose of your dog's waste. The box will be emptied and replenished by our crew every day.

Once you have presented your confirmation letter to our check-in staff, a member of the ship's crew will check your assistance dog’s paperwork. Providing this is satisfactory, you will then be escorted through security to board the ship. Your cabin steward will lead you to the relief area and arrange for your dog's food to be stored, if necessary.

An assistance dog owner is not required to travel with a companion provided they are able to undertake day-to-day tasks independently. Our ship’s crew are unable to assist with any day-to-day personal care tasks, including movement around the ship. Should it become apparent that during the cruise you are not managing independently, we reserve the right to refuse future travel unless you are accompanied by a carer or travelling companion who can provide this assistance for you.

If you plan to go ashore at ports of call with your assistance dog, you will need to research in advance the local government regulations for each country you are visiting.

It is the responsibility of the owner to research each country's individual regulations, including re-entry to the UK, to be able to go ashore with their assistance dog. P&O Cruises cannot be held responsible if your dog is denied entry upon disembarkation in Southampton for not following DEFRA regulations.

Port authorities have and may exercise their right to deny an assistance animal landing at any given port.  This is outside of any cruise companies’ control, and if this happens the handler would need to stay onboard to look after the assistance dog.

If travelling to Mexico, dogs must have had an ecto-parasite and endo-parasite treatment applied no more than 15 days prior to arrival to port. This information should be included in the health certificate.

Assistance dogs are welcome in all areas of the ship except for:

• Designated children’s areas
• Swimming pools
• The ‘beach’ area surrounding the pool (where water may flow freely in and out of the pool)
• Whirlpools
• Crew areas (unless the spending area is located here and only with assistance)
• Galley visits

Owners are required, when using the buffet area, to leave their dog at the table for health and safety reasons. Our staff will assist you with your food selection and carrying this back to your table.

Your assistance dog must always remain with you.

We currently do not offer the service of a vet on board any of our ships, and the ships’ doctors are unable to assist should your dog be taken ill on board. Therefore, it is imperative that you consult your vet for advice prior to your cruise to ensure your dog is fit to travel. It may also be a good idea to talk to your vet about motion sickness. Please also advise your vet of your planned holiday dates and carry their contact details with you.

Our ships are only permitted to carry assistance dogs on itineraries that start and finish in Southampton and we are therefore unable to accept an assistance dog on a Caribbean or Mediterranean fly-cruise.

You may bring your assistance dog on a full world cruise provided that your embarkation and disembarkation point is in Southampton, you have researched which countries fall within the DEFRA guidelines, and you have checked the various countries’ individual regulations. If you are booked on an exotic fly-cruise sector of the full World Cruise, we are unable to allow your dog on board.