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Letter from other parent

lisanjosh

By lisanjosh,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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SandS204ever

SandS204ever

Posted
Posted

At what point is a letter no longer needed? I have had custady of my daughter for the last 3 years with mom having next to nothing to do with our lives.

 

I read something about getting her a passport needing permission as well, but I have the paper work for that and I was told if I have my judgment paperwork showing me as custodial parent I wont need a letter.

 

The whole point of the devorce was so I did not have to deal with her any longer lol. Now I need to get my child a permission slip to go on vacation :eek:

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nitro2448

nitro2448

Posted
Posted
At what point is a letter no longer needed? I have had custady of my daughter for the last 3 years with mom having next to nothing to do with our lives.

 

I read something about getting her a passport needing permission as well, but I have the paper work for that and I was told if I have my judgment paperwork showing me as custodial parent I wont need a letter.

 

The whole point of the devorce was so I did not have to deal with her any longer lol. Now I need to get my child a permission slip to go on vacation :eek:

 

I took my daughter and didn't have a note from my EX. How would they know you're marital situation anyway?

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Blueboss

Blueboss

Posted
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My sister had a similar situation with her ex. As long as the court documents say Joint Custody, you need permission from the other parent. She could not take her kids anywhere. Her ex would scream kidnapping anytime she wanted to leave the state. Now she has Sole Custody and took the kids on vacation. Her ex did his usual screaming, called the police, they looked at the court decree and told him that he no longer had any say as to how she raised the kids or where she went with them.

 

My advice in this situation is to carry a certified copy of your custody papers with you just in case anyone questions you. This works just fine in the state of Missouri and your state could be a little different. You might also consult a lawyer about it, some don't charge for the first consultation.

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mikesteg

mikesteg

Posted
Posted
I took my daughter and didn't have a note from my EX. How would they know you're marital situation anyway?

 

They don't, but having a child usually requires 2 adults. That's why the documentation may be required. If you don't have it, you don't cruise. (Or at least the child doesn't cruise.)

 

We took our niece, from my wife's side so she had a different last name from either of us. We had a letter, but nobody asked for it. Perhaps they didn't ask because we have/had an extended history of cruising Carnival... but I kind of doubt it.

 

It is rare that they ask, but if they do and you don't have documentation (and if you can't get it) then you are out the cost of the cruise. Sort of like winning a small lotto prize, but in reverse. :D

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nitro2448

nitro2448

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They don't, but having a child usually requires 2 adults. That's why the documentation may be required. If you don't have it, you don't cruise. (Or at least the child doesn't cruise.)

 

We took our niece, from my wife's side so she had a different last name from either of us. We had a letter, but nobody asked for it. Perhaps they didn't ask because we have/had an extended history of cruising Carnival... but I kind of doubt it.

 

It is rare that they ask, but if they do and you don't have documentation (and if you can't get it) then you are out the cost of the cruise. Sort of like winning a small lotto prize, but in reverse. :D

 

I guess anythings possible, I was remarried and of course my daughter has my last name, so no questions were asked. And my current wife has the same first name as my ex, at that time we had her birth certificate as well.

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ljcarbone

ljcarbone

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Thanks for posting this question- I was just thinking about it when getting our stuff together so I looked up Carnival's official policy and it states:

 

When traveling with a minor and both parents/legal guardians are not cruising, we strongly recommend bringing an original signed letter from the absent parent/legal guardian authorizing the minor to travel with you. This will expedite processing by the Department of Homeland Security. Please note that a notarized letter to this effect is required if debarking with children in Mexico.

 

Their strong recommendation was enough for me to get my ex to sign a letter today- no WAY I'm getting to the ship and then not being able to Board!!

 

HTH!

Linda

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serene56

serene56

Posted
Posted

sand- take your paperwork showing full custody with you. you may not be asked for them but keep them with yourmimportant papers.

 

we cruised with grand daughter who has my last name. when we were leaving gthe ship the guy at immigration asked her who we were and asked if we had papers. we did

 

paper does'not take up much room and its better to be safe then sorry

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nybumpkin

nybumpkin

Posted
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I took my daughter and didn't have a note from my EX. How would they know you're marital situation anyway?
Marital status doesn't matter. Some years ago DH took our oldest son on a trip to England, while I stayed home with the younger sons. We didn't know anything about the letter, so DH didn't have one - and was asked for it. The only thing that saved the trip for them was that the immigration folks took DS aside and questioned him about the trip and why I wasn't there. With that, and the round-trip plane tickets, they were allowed to travel.
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nitro2448

nitro2448

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Marital status doesn't matter. Some years ago DH took our oldest son on a trip to England, while I stayed home with the younger sons. We didn't know anything about the letter, so DH didn't have one - and was asked for it. The only thing that saved the trip for them was that the immigration folks took DS aside and questioned him about the trip and why I wasn't there. With that, and the round-trip plane tickets, they were allowed to travel.

 

That may be but marital status does matter, in my case they were none the wiser. What if you were widowed ? Kinda hard to get a letter written then. I'm not saying its not better safe than sorry, by all means get a letter if you can. Anyway this matter is null and void to me, my daughter is 22 now.

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uksimonusa

uksimonusa

Posted
Posted
That may be but marital status does matter, in my case they were none the wiser. What if you were widowed ? Kinda hard to get a letter written then. I'm not saying its not better safe than sorry, by all means get a letter if you can. Anyway this matter is null and void to me, my daughter is 22 now.

 

A widow(er) may be asked to show the death certificate of the deceased parent, this happened to my SIL when we cruised with her and my nephew.

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tmllvr

tmllvr

Posted
Posted

From what I have read as long as your ports do not include Mexico the letter does not need to be notorized. My DH traveled to the States from Canada las summer and did not need the letter to go over. Actually he has always laughed at me when I asked him to write me one before going cross border shopping.

He missed the bus on the way back and needed to purchase new tickets. They would not sell him tickets without a letter from me. Whick I had sent, just in case. He doesn't laugh anymore when I ask for the letter..

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nitro2448

nitro2448

Posted
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A widow(er) may be asked to show the death certificate of the deceased parent, this happened to my SIL when we cruised with her and my nephew.

 

Lol, ok I don't think that would be the case but I'll take you're word for it, I would not carry that around with me.

( Thanks everyone for the quick responses. I contacted Carnival and even though they said it really wasn't necessary with Grandkids, I will have the parents sign the paperwork..... just in case. Thanks again... Dan) that's one other one I found, Carnival says they don't even need it for grand kids. I'm not sure what everyone else is seeing I guess, the form from the above link is a consent form, but that's for someone other than the child's parents, such as giving permission for a friend to take their child on a vacation. It has a place for both parents to sign. But, once again, I'm not saying don't take a form.

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Crazy4Koko

Crazy4Koko

Posted
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I think that if your daughter is using a birth certificate for identification, then it could be an issue if both parents are listed...

 

I know that when I leave my mother in charge of my girls at home.. I also authorize her to act on our behalf for medical issues requiring immediate decisions...

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twindaddy

twindaddy

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Posted
At what point is a letter no longer needed? I have had custady of my daughter for the last 3 years with mom having next to nothing to do with our lives.

 

I read something about getting her a passport needing permission as well, but I have the paper work for that and I was told if I have my judgment paperwork showing me as custodial parent I wont need a letter.

 

The whole point of the devorce was so I did not have to deal with her any longer lol. Now I need to get my child a permission slip to go on vacation :eek:

 

Yes, you do, because you have a twig and berries and not a v-jay jay. You notice how every story of documentation being asked for in this thread is when the dad has the child? Yep, that is the world we live in. Dads alone with children are suspects.

 

This is a sore spot for me, as a dad who is VERY involved with my girls life, because I had week days off for many years so I could do lots of activities with them., and my wife works long odd hours, so I am the activity dad. I am actually siting at their gymnastics class right now....

 

I have been denied entrance to moms groups as a dad, told it would make women "uncomfortable" to have a dad around during playgroups. The playgroup I am in now actually had to have a vote to let me in! FFS!

 

I kind of let it go now, well I guess not since I am posting this post, but I realize that in this world men are guilty till proven innocent. My wife cruised a few weeks ago on Disney with our girls, no one said a thing. Hopefully one day I can do the same, a daddy daughter cruise, I am fully ready to have a black bag put over my head while my girls are interrogated in another room. Ok, maybe not that, but I will have letters signed up the wazoo!

 

I have followed several threads like this on several boards, and it seems the most often times when documents are needed is when the dad has the kids, or the kids have a different last name than whomever is traveling with them. I would travel with every document you have showing you have sole custody, or get ready to not cruise!

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lisanjosh

lisanjosh

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Yeah I understand, mine was to. I'm just so glad to be past those days. Lol, well best of luck to you, hope it all works out for you.

 

Thanks!! I'll get him to sign it somehow. He IS 4 months behind in child support after all.,,..lol

 

 

Lisa and Josh

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