Chan, a 24-year-old graphic designer, and Charlie, her 7-year-old golden retriever, lived in New York together for four years.
They loved their life there, but Chan had been in a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend for a while when 2025 rolled around, and she was ready to relocate to London to be with him full-time.
Charlie was, of course, going to come with Chan to start their new life in the UK, but Chan told Business Insider she wasn’t thrilled about the idea of taking him on a plane to get there.
“When we initially looked at how to transport Charlie to London, we were looking at several options,” she said. “I think the most obvious one was looking into flying him.”
However, because Charlie is a large dog, he can’t fit under a seat on a commercial plane and would have to journey in a crate in the cargo area.
“You hear stories here and there about bad experiences with dogs flying in cargo,” Chan said. “I’m glad for dogs that have a good experience, but if there was another option where we didn’t have to do that, we were definitely more excited to do that instead.”
The Queen Mary 2 is a Cunard luxury cruise that offers seven-day journeys from New York to Southampton, United Kingdom. In addition to its suites, the ship features a kennel that can accommodate up to 24 pets per journey, according to the cruise line’s website.
Although the dogs that ride on board sleep in kennels, they can get exercise and play during the day with the kennel masters and spend time with their owners.
Chan was immediately interested in the cruise, as it seemed like the best option for herself and Charlie. Her dog wouldn’t have to ride in cargo, and Chan and her boyfriend would get to have fun on a cruise for a week.
Additionally, the Queen Mary 2 has no luggage limit, so Chan could bring as much as she wanted, a big perk for someone moving halfway across the world.
For their May 2025 journey, Chan’s ticket on the Queen Mary 2 cost $1,399 before taxes and fees. Reserving one kennel spot costs $1,000, but because Charlie is large, he needed two, bringing the cost for his space on board to $2,000.
The total cost for Charlie and Chan to sail on the cruise, including taxes and fees, was $3,477.35. While that sum is pricey, Chan said when she looked into flights, it would have cost around $3,600 for her and Charlie to fly to London.
Not only was the flat rate for a flight pricier, Chan also told Business Insider she wouldn’t have been able to bring as much luggage with her, so she would have spent more money shipping her belongings to the UK. The cruise seemed like a no-brainer.
Chan’s boyfriend sailed with her and Charlie, bringing the total cost for all three of them to $4,954.70. Still, that price felt worth it to Chan and her partner because they got a vacation out of the experience rather than just one stressful flight.
Because there are only 24 spots for dogs on the Queen Mary 2 — sometimes even fewer if large dogs who require multiple kennels are on board — securing space for a pet on the cruise can be daunting.
“Everything about the cruise is great, but I think what was so frustrating was that these cruises get booked out like one and a half or two years in advance,” Chan said.
Chan booked their journey on the Queen Mary 2 in October 2023, and they could only secure the space after being on the waitlist for multiple cruises for several months. Chan also had to call the cruise line the day tickets became available to make the journey happen.
“I recommend it, but if you don’t have the luxury of time to book something so far out, then it probably wouldn’t even be possible to get on the cruise,” she said.
“Two weeks before we departed, we went to the vet, and they did a health check-up on him,” Chan said. During the visit, Charlie received an updated rabies vaccine, and the vet then issued Charlie a health certificate that he would need to present at customs when boarding the cruise.
The form was approved before the ship’s departure, and Charlie had to go back to the vet the day before the cruise left to get an additional tapeworm treatment.
“They take the approved health certificate and update that with the tapeworm treatment, which is an oral pill that he took,” Chan said.
Since Chan and her partner were traveling with a dog, they got priority boarding, which Chan told Business Insider was a big perk of the trip.
“We had priority, which was really nice because the line was so long,” Chan said. “And then we went to this area where they checked our paperwork. For me and my partner, they checked our passports, and then for Charlie, it was just looking at that health certificate approved with the tapeworm treatment and his rabies vaccination.”
After boarding, Charlie was set in terms of paperwork. He didn’t have to go through customs again at the end of the cruise like he would have if he had traveled by plane.
The Queen Mary 2’s kennel masters, Oliver Cruz and John, met Chan, her partner, and Charlie and escorted the trio to Charlie’s home for the journey.
“He had a lot of space to walk around and sleep,” Chan said of Charlie’s double kennel. “They provided blankets and a water bowl in each of the kennels, but we have our own portable bed, so we used that, and I think it helped him so that he would be more at ease.”
“We could also bring their toys, and then they got these complimentary toppers on their food, which were really cute,” she added. Chan said Charlie liked the salmon topper so much that she had to start giving it to him at home after the cruise.
The dogs were also given Queen Mary 2-branded robes, which many of them wore throughout the journey when it was cold on deck.
Chan said she wished she had brought more of Charlie’s toys on the ship so he could have had more enrichment activities during the cruise.
Chan said owners could visit their pets from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., 3 to 6 p.m., and 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., spending time with them in an indoor lounge or outdoor deck space.
During the trip, Charlie made friends with other dogs, and Chan and her partner became friendly with fellow dog owners. Chan said it was comforting to know Charlie was in good hands even when they weren’t with him.
“He got so comfortable with the kennel masters and our new routine, and I think that was important, having some sort of routine day to day, which he really enjoyed,” Chan said.
Chan said it was a little emotional to leave Charlie at the kennel after boarding, as Charlie didn’t understand that Chan and her partner would be leaving him there but returning quickly for visits.
“I did hear him cry, and I was like, ‘OK, we just gotta go. The more we stand here, the harder it’s going to be,'” Chan said.
Luckily, Charlie wasn’t sad for long.
“The second time that we came back, he was so happy and so excited to see us,” Chan said. “And then honestly, after that first night, I think he already got into the routine and understood that this was going to be home for the next couple of days, and he was fine.”
During their visits, Chan said she and Charlie just enjoyed sitting together, “enjoying the wind and kind of just doing nothing but just being in each other’s presence.”
Although they were on the cruise to move, Chan said she and her partner felt refreshed. Not only did she save money moving Charlie and some of her luggage — she brought six suitcases — through the cruise, but she could also relax.
“We had a routine on the cruise where we would go to certain activities,” Chan said. “We would play table tennis every morning, and then in the afternoon, we would go to the dance classes. We would try out the restaurants, and we just kept eating. We had a really great time.”
They also didn’t pay for internet while on the cruise, and they loved doing a weeklong detox during what was otherwise a pretty stressful time. The relaxation the cruise offered was a huge part of its appeal over flying.