A woman moved her dog from New York to London on a cruise because it was cheaper and less stressful than flying

• Joyce Chan and her dog Charlie relocated from New York to London in May.
• Chan took a cruise to the UK so that Charlie didn’t have to ride in the cargo section of a plane.
• The experience also saved Chan money and gave her a vacation in the middle of a move.

Most pet parents have heard horror stories about the stress of dogs flying in the cargo section of a plane.

Joyce Chan certainly had, so she wasn’t thrilled at the idea of putting her dog, Charlie, through that when they moved from the US to the UK in May.

Luckily, Chan found an alternative: a luxury cruise.

Joyce Chan and her dog Charlie were ready for a new adventure in May 2025.

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.”

Then, Chan discovered she could take Charlie to the UK via a cruise.

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.

Plus, sailing on the Queen Mary 2 was cheaper than flying for Chan and Charlie.

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.

Securing a space for Charlie on board was the hardest part of the cruise experience for Chan.

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.

Charlie had to visit the vet for some preparation ahead of the cruise.

“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.

Chan and Charlie got priority boarding.

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.

Charlie spent the cruise in the dogs-only section of the ship.

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.

There were even designated areas for the dogs to go to the bathroom that felt like home.

A closed-off deck was attached to the kennel, where the dogs could go to the bathroom and spend time outside with their owners.

The area featured a fire hydrant and a lamppost so that it would feel familiar to the dogs as a bathroom.

Dog owners got to visit their pets for several chunks of the day.

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 Charlie adjusted to the cruise pretty quickly.

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.”

Chan thought it was interesting that Charlie seemed to be able to tell he wasn’t near land.

Chan said Charlie was sniffing at the sides of the ship. As they approached the UK, he and the other dogs seemed excited when they saw birds and could smell land again.

Some dogs get seasick when they travel on cruises, and Chan told Business Insider she came prepared with medicine in case that happened to Charlie. However, she said he felt fine on board.

Chan also loved that the cruise ensured she and Charlie weren’t jetlagged.

Although Charlie could have adjusted to a new timezone if he had been on a plane, Chan said the cruise made it so jetlag wasn’t a concern.

“They move the clock forward just one hour each day, so the adjustment is really gradual and makes it much easier to settle into the new time zone,” she said.

Chan found the gradual changes helpful for getting Charlie on his UK feeding and bathroom schedule.

Chan and her boyfriend also treated the cruise as a vacation.

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.

Chan said she recommends the cruise to other dog owners moving internationally.

After the cruise docked at Southampton, Chan, her partner, and Charlie took an Uber to a train station, a two-hour train to London, and finally arrived at their new home. Chan said Charlie was thrilled when they got off the boat.

“We took him to find the closest patch of grass, and he just started rolling around in it. He was so happy,” she said.

Looking back, Chan thinks the cruise was the best option for Charlie to get to the UK compared to flying commercially.

“There’s just so much that’s out of your control in that process,” she said of flying. “For this, I feel like you’re really there with your pet every step of the way, and it’s also an enjoyable experience.”

“I would recommend it for other pet owners, but I feel like it’s also very subjective with every pet and their personality,” she added. “I think if they know their pet well enough that this could be something they could do, I definitely would recommend it.”

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