The world’s only cruise liner company to welcome pets on board has revealed the lengths it goes to to keep four-legged passengers – and their owners – happy on the high seas.
Channel 4’s Inside the World’s Most Luxurious…Cruises, which airs on Monday, explores how historic cruise liner brand Cunard goes the extra mile for its furriest guests.
During its 180 years of seafaring, the company has regularly cared for animals that come aboard.
Modern regulations are much stricter over pets at sea than they once were, ensuring no other cruise company currently offers the service, but Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 is happy to have much loved animals aboard on some of its transatlantic sailings.
The show gives viewers a glimpse inside the dedicated quarters that pets are housed in while they make the seven-day passage from Southampton to New York.
A kennelmaster named Oliver, effectively a pet butler, is charged with looking after the canine companions who board.
Dogs are taken for regular strolls on deck and, in the kitchen, the ship’s team of chefs create pet menus that include the finest ingredients. One clip shows Oliver letting the pets out for their morning walk.
He shouts: ‘Alright, Team Kennels, let’s go!’ before owners and their dogs begin clocking up the miles walking around the ship’s exterior areas.
Pawsome passengers: One of the 14 dogs on board a Cunard liner that features in a new episode of Channel 4’s Inside the World’s Most Luxurious…
The Queen Mary 2 liner can typically take up to 24 dogs per sailing, with 14 onboard the cruise being filmed.
One satisfied customer, who has a US accent and is holding a fluffy white pooch, praises Oliver, saying: ‘The kennelmaster is amazing, he really takes care of Molly and the other dogs while we’re all going around on the cruise.’
Another passenger, accompanied by her dog, who appeared to be barking in approval of her comments, tells the show: ‘They’ve been enjoying themselves on the boat, they love it.
‘The care from Oliver is second-to-none, unbelievable, we’re so pleased.’
Narrated by Tracy-Ann Oberman, the programme then heads into the kitchen, where chefs in pristine whites and hats are preparing the pet food.
One of the highly skilled cooks, head chef Catalin, says: ‘We have to take care of our guests from the animal kingdom. All the best for them, if they require salmon, if they require filet steak or any other food, it can be prepared on board.
Catalin is then seen prepping some handmade doggie biscuits, which carry the Cunard crest on them.
‘They’re wheat and gluten free, for our pets’ he glows proudly at the trays of treats the kitchen has produced.’
What’s the recipe? He tells the camera crew: ‘Rice powder, a little bit of carob powder, cinnamon, vanilla essence and water’.
The biscuits then go in the oven on 180 degrees for ten minutes.
The episode meets the Cunard staff charged with taking care of four-legged passengers, including kennelmaster Oliver, left, and head chef Catalin, right
Oliver describes the pets he looks after as ‘Team Kennels’ and helps passengers take their dogs for regular walks on deck
One passenger praises the care of her dog Molly during the cruise, saying The kennelmaster is amazing
Those on board enjoy refined catering, with everything from homemade doggie treats to salmon and filet steak served up
Catalin adds: ‘Because dogs are very loving animals, we have to give them heart shaped cookies.
‘Like everything we do, every single detail matters – so we brand the cookies.’
Unlike most cruise companies, Cunard has a long history of sailing pets around the world, with an elephant, raccoon and monkey all listed as previous passengers.
The company once reported that a sparrow from Southampton ‘hitched a lift across the Atlantic’ and made it all the way to New York.
Other pet stories documented in Cunard’s history include the four-legged pal of Mrs Earl Hoover of Chicago; she brought her pedigree, Chow Choonam Brilliantine, aboard the company’s Aquitania liner in 1925.
The pampered pet would enjoy lunches of raw eggs by his owner’s side.
The Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson famously also travelled with Cunard on round-the-world voyages with their beloved dogs.
When the Duke commented that it was a shame there was no lamppost on board for the dogs to relieve themselves on, one was installed swiftly.
The episode is part of the latest Inside the World’s Most Luxurious…series, which unveils ‘the artistry, service and attention-to-detail’ of high-end lives, including superyachts, multi-million-pound motorhomes, and space travel.
