Royal Caribbean Passenger Smuggles Pet Cat Onboard Cruise Ship

Among the rules about what you are allowed to bring with you on a cruise ship, one is a no-brainer. With the exception of service animals, live animals and pets are on the not-to-bring list for Royal Caribbean and other cruise lines. However, that didn’t stop one passenger from sneaking his or her pet cat onboard the Ovation of the Seas. The animal had to be quarantined after its discovery and detained.

Passenger sneaks pet cat onboard Royal Caribbean ship

As noted by Royal Caribbean’s President and CEO Michael Bayley, a pet at was smuggled aboard the Ovation of the Seas. The car had to be immediately quarantined after its discovery and detailed. There was even talk of the cat being euthanized, but fortunately, there was a happy ending to the story.

According to a post he made on Facebook, where Bayley posted an image of the cat, the story went as follows:

Meet Ovie ! The cat smuggled onboard Ovation of the Seas by a guest ! We believe that it was in the guest’s sweatshirt and we assume he must have been sedated or something and he wouldn’t beep, since Ovie isn’t metal. When discovered the cat was not allowed off the ship in Australia or New Zealand by authorities and was supposed to be euthanized ! Our Guest service team stepped up to the plate and after several weeks and much back and forth safely brought Ovie halfway around the world to be adopted by one of the guest service team members in Miami. Ovie is now happily living in Miami.

How did the cat get onboard the ship?

The cat was discovered onboard an almost three-week Royal Caribbean cruise from Hawaii to Sydney, Australia. Meanwhile, the cat was discovered in a guest’s cabin, but the guest has not been identified. Moreover, there is no confirmation as to how the errant kitty managed to make it through security.

It was during a routine inspection by officials from New Zealand. The inspection was relatively routine as they looked for fruit or plants that were banned from being brought on board. However, they got a true surprise when they found a fluffy cat in the guest’s cabin. Later on, biosecurity experts were called on to investigate the incident. Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean International picked up the tab for the care of the errant cat.

It was fortunate that a new home was found for the cat, now named Ovie, in Miami, as otherwise, the animal was facing being euthanized. However, it isn’t unheard of for animals to be onboard cruise ships. It was earlier this year that Carnival Cruise Line had to clarify its policy on service dogs.

Readers, you have been warned. Don’t get tempted to sneak the family cat onboard when taking a cruise on Royal Caribbean or other cruise lines’ ships.