GUIDE DOG & BLIND TRAVEL
Dimensions in Travel is experienced and eager to meet the needs of those who are experiencing vision loss. Please contact us to assist you and your guide dog with any of your individual air, cruise or tour plans. We have been the travel agency for Guide Dogs for the Blind since 1991. We arrange the flights for their adult students attending training classes at their San Rafael, California and Boring, Oregon campuses and then home with their new guide dogs.
We also organize group cruises for guide dog users and blind travelers. Generally there is room for up to 25 guide dogs on each cruise. Friends and family are most welcome too. 
Our Dimensions in Travel cruise group experts Andi Cercos, Gale Staley and Irene Swift talk with each guide dog user prior to sailing so we get familiar your needs. We are not staffed to provide personal assistance but we do always send one or two escorts on our group cruises to make sure everything runs smoothly. We arrange for special check-in at the pier, orientation tours, pet life jackets, private safety drill, private hosted reception, dog relieving area, dog play areas, sighted guiding (with advance notice) for shore excursions, and front row seating in the theatre. Braille dining room and room service menus can be arranged upon request. We are grateful, as always, to veterinarian Dr. Greg Herndon, who often volunteers to come on many of our cruises with his family.
We are very pleased with our developing partnership with Mind's Eye Travel, our new tour operator partner for those experiencing vision loss.
Join us on our May 22 - June 1, 2010 cruise aboard the Sea Princess as she sails on a 10-day roundtrip cruise from San Francisco to Alaska's Inside Passage. This is the perfect cruise for anyone who have never cruised before and for experienced cruisers too. Alaska always has something new to offer. Come hear the crack of shifting glaciers, the splash of breeching whales, and the roar of a steam train. You can walk on a glacier, raft a river, savor high tea in Victoria, ride a dog sled, listen for whales, play bingo with Braille cards and make new friends. You may also join a 4-night (May 18-22) pre-cruise Sensory Tour of San Francisco and the Napa Valley Wine Country which includes accommodations, breakfasts, Alcatraz Island visit, historic walking tour, cable car ride and Ghirardelli chocolate sampling. Travel to Napa and Sonoma for fabulous wine and olive oil tastings, then return to San Francisco in time for your Alaska cruise.
You deserve a tropical treat! Don’t miss the ONLY opportunity in 2010 to sail to Mexico roundtrip from San Francisco. Join us on a 10-night/11-day warm weather cruise September 29-October 9, 2010 aboard the Sea Princess, which begins with a sailaway under the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge. In addition to four leisurely sea days, we’ll visit Catalina Island, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas and San Diego. You may swim with dolphins, hand make tortillas, learn salsa dancing or kayak. Or don’t even go ashore in Mexico - stay onboard and fully enjoy all the amenities offered by this floating resort.
Treat your guide dog, friends and family to a 7-day fall foliage cruise October 9-16, 2010 sailing roundtrip from New York City aboard the Caribbean Princess. You may wish to spend some extra time exploring exciting New York City before or after your cruise. Ports of call are Newport (Rhode Island), Boston, Bar Harbor & Acadia National Park, St. John and Halifax. Visit exciting New York City, ride the rapids on the Bay of Fundy, walk the Boston Freedom Trail, explore a lighthouse, eat lobster and visit Mother Goose's grave.We are also offering a 3-night pre-cruise stay (October 6-9) in the Big Apple on our Glamorous New York City Tour for those experiencing vision loss. It includes midtown accommodations, breakfasts, and private tours of the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island; the Sea, Air & Space Museum; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Visit New Zealand’s South Island on a 7-night private-coach adventure tour from Christchurch to Queenstown. Tour departs either November 13 or 20, 2010 and February 12, 2011. Experience the stunning beauty and variety of the South Island, where alpine glaciers co-exist with coastal rain forests. We will be with sighted New Zealand guides for the full week, traveling by private coach along the length of the island, from lovely Christchurch to awe-inspiring Mt. Cook and ending in the resort city of Queenstown, New Zealand’s Aspen.
In the past...
ALASKA 2009, 2008 and 2007
We've sailed three times now to Alaska sailed roundtrip from San Francisco. One family surprised their guide dog-using dad by joining him on the cruise - what a grand reunion! Along with four relaxing days at sea, we visited Sitka, Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria. A highlight of our 1/2 day cruise up Tracy Arm Fjord is always the noisy calving glacier and all of the floating mini-iceburgs that gently nudge our ship. One of our group members won the shipwide talent show (and a standing ovation) for her fabulous rendition of "Endless Love". While their dogs were being watched by the cruise director, two of our group braved a helicopter flight in Juneau to a mush dog camp and went dog sledding. What a ride!
2007 CANADA/NEW ENGLAND CRUISE
We had a great time sailing roundtrip from New York on the new Crown Princess. Ports of call were Halifax, St. John, Bar Harbor, Boston, and Newport. Our group members loved the excitement of New York City, riding the rapids on the Bay of Fundy, walking the Boston Freedom Trail, exploring lighthouses, shopping, playing bingo, eating lobster and visiting Mother Goose's grave. We were pleased to host instructors from Guide Dog Foundation and Guiding Eyes for the Blind for lunch aboard ship in New York City so they could see how accessibly and graciously Princess takes care of our dogs and blind cruisers.
2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005 GUIDE DOG CRUISES TO MEXICO - OLE!
All of our guide dog cruise to Mexico have been great successes! Guide dog teams, cane users, and wonderful family and friends have joined us on 10 or 11-day Princess or NCL cruises to Mexico roundtrip from San Francisco. We have visited Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas, La Paz and Topolobampo (gateway to the Cooper Canyon) along with relaxing days at sea. The crew was so well-trained and welcoming since they miss their own pets! Our Mexico cruise memories are an amazing jumble of dog kisses, snorkeling and kayaking for the first time, swimming with dolphins (dogs watch poolside), handicraft marketplaces, tequila tastings, bicycle cab rides, the swinging bridge of Puerto Vallarta, cruise director Gavin's laugh, and listening to Rod sing Elvis on karaoke nights.
2004 - OUR FIRST GUIDE DOG CRUISE TO ALASKA
Guide dog users, cane users, their families, friends and 21 guide dogs had a fabulous time on a 10-night cruise to Alaska in 2004. World Trade Center Survivor Michael Hingson, who is blind, delivered four fascinating lectures through the Princess ScholarShip@Sea program. Michael's presentations provided indepth insight to 1500+ passengers on what it is like to be blind in a sighted world and the powerful relationship between guide dog users and their dogs. We offered a Juno demonstration for sighted people simulating a blind person walking with their dog.
LOVE AT SEA FOR GUIDE DOG USERS!
We're delighted that two guide dog users Kelly and Shannon, who met on our Disneyland 2003 trip became engaged on our 2008 guide dog cruise to Mexico! Two guide dog users who first cruised with us on our Alaska 2004 cruise tied the knot on a Princess Mediterranean cruise in July 2005. Deborah and Dennis were married at sea by the Captain of the Grand Princess as they sailed through the Greek Isles. Guide dogs Atlee and Rosemary were so proud! Congratulations to all!