Stena Line is to create 70 new pet-friendly cabins across its Irish Sea routes this year and a new dog-friendly lounge is days from opening on their shorter Belfast and Cairnryan route.
Work is continuing on a new lounge dedicated to dog owners which set in the modest former gaming room onboard the company's Stena Superfast service. Dogs will be permitted in crates in the lounge from May. No pet cabins are available on the popular Cairnryan - Belfast route and pets are not permitted in Stena Superfast Suites.
However on longer routes, Stena's pet-friendly cabins are available and the numbers are now to increase:
- Cherbourg - Rosslare: Stena Vision and Stena Horizon
- Liverpool - Belfast: Stena Edda and Stena Embla
- Holyhead - Dublin: Stena Adventurer and Stena Estrid
- Fishguard - Rosslare: Stena Europe
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Dogs moving to and from cabins must be on non-retractable lead according to Stena's and dogs will be allowed to remain in the cabins alone however the company states that if a pet struggles with being alone, travellers should remain in the cabin.
The pet cabins are adapted two or four berth standard cabins with en suite facilities, vinyl-flooring, water bottles and pee pads for pets.
A spokesperson said: "If you need to leave the cabin, you should only do so for a very short period of time. If your pet cannot self-soothe, please do not leave them alone for any amount of time as they may become noisy, damage the cabin or disturb other guests."
On Stena Adventurer from Holyhead to Dublin, and on Stena Europe from Fishguard to Rosslare, pets must remain in their cabins for the duration of the crossing. All pet owners must clean up after their pets both in the cabins and on the decks.
Pets travelling on Stena Edda and Stena Embla from Liverpool to Belfast, Stena Embla, Stena Estrid from Holyhead to Dublin, Stena Horizon from Cherbourg to Rosslare and Stena Vision from Cherbourg to Rosslare, pets can get fresh air, exercise and toilet breaks in a dedicated area on the outside deck.
Stena allows for pets to remain in the vehicle on all routes with the exception of Stena Vision on our Rosslare to Cherbourg route. On our longer crossings, whilst pets can remain in your vehicle, due to the length of the crossings and that certain breeds of dogs are more sensitive to heat/poor air circulation in vehicles, they recommend booking a pet-friendly cabin or a pet kennel.
Here are the dog friendly cabin rules :
- Dogs must be on a non-retractable lead in a public area
- A maximum of two pets per booking permitted in each cabin
- Additional pets must be placed in kennels (if available) or left in your vehicle on vessels where doing so is permitted.
- Passenger must provide beds, bowls and poop bags
- Pet cabins must be pre-booked
- When exiting vehicle to go to a cabin, pets must either be in a carrying case (length 91cm x height 62cm x width 56cm) or on a non-retractable lead
- It is strictly forbidden for owners to shower their pets in the pet cabins
- Pets must be up to date on all vaccinations and flea prevention medication
- Any damage done to cabin furniture or bedding will be charged directly to the traveller
A spokesperson for Dog Lovers NI, a group campaigning for a more dog friendly Northern Ireland, said: "We very much welcome the announcement of these new cabins and Stena's commitment to the ongoing development of pet friendly travel.
"On the Belfast - Cairnryan route the addition of a pet friendly lounge is also very welcome. However we are still asking for responsible dog owners to be allowed to have their pets alongside them without the need to be crated for the duration of the journey.
"We would ask that as dog owners will be the only people using that allocated space, that they would instead required to have dogs on leads and under control, and crates for those who wish to bring them.
"From our research, we feel this would enhance the experience for the people travelling, for the dogs and also we believe it would increase the market considerably.
"We thank Stena for listening to us as customers and their commitment to the ongoing development of pet friendly travel and their willingness to keep tweaking until it's fair and sensible for all.
"So we are grateful that they can see a way forward and we feel they're working towards a good situation for valued customers who want to travel safely and without distress or the risk of dogs remaining alone in a car alone."
Stena Line Travel Commercial Manager Irish Sea, Orla Noonan, said: "Requests for pet-friendly cabins and pet lounges are some of the most frequent we receive from our customers.
"We recognise pets are considered family members to many of our passengers and we wanted to really enhance our customer experience and become the best choice for pet travel.
"Our new policy has been carefully considered and we sought advice from experts in pet welfare, pet behaviour and pet health."
Research carried out in the UK by Stena Line showed 95% of 1,000 dog owners said their dog's needs are important to them when planning a holiday, with 17% saying they will not travel at all without their pet. Almost three quarters - 73% - admit to missing their dogs while they are on holiday.
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