Permission form needed if one parent takes child on a cruise?

[LMaxwell]

Yes, better safe than sorry. Be more prepared than necessary. Agreed.

[loxley]

My point exactly. Look how much easier life got in a hurry when you produced the notarized letter they asked for.

 

I'm just saying having everything you COULD be asked for, in order, ready to go, will make a heck of a lot simpler instead of kicking carpet in the terminal!

 

What if it's a single father and the baby is too young to speak? What if it's this? What if it's that? What if...if you have the letter life is easy.

 

 

That was for FLYING to mexico where we would be debarking the plane and staying a week. Totally different thing.

 

Plus like I said, it was my boyfriend who signed that letter, not my son's father so yeah, I had a letter that proved squat. I simply told my son if asked, David was his father. Never even asked.

[topofE]

Yes, better safe than sorry. Be more prepared than necessary. Agreed.

 

My real pet peeve about this and why I'm even commenting is because every so often someone says they can't get a letter for whatever reason and fear mongerers come out of the woodwork with stories of "someone I know" who couldn't board. It's simply not true. Take your vacation. Enjoy it. If you have the paperwork, great. If not, write one up while you're waiting in line to check in. Or just don't look like a kidnapper and you'll be fine.

[LMaxwell]

That was for FLYING to mexico where we would be debarking the plane and staying a week. Totally different thing.

 

Plus like I said, it was my boyfriend who signed that letter, not my son's father so yeah, I had a letter that proved squat. I simply told my son if asked, David was his father. Never even asked.

Yes, different instance. Different circumstance. My only point was that when you had in hand what they asked for your life got a lot easier and you could board the plane. It's the government; who said it had to make perfect sense?

[LMaxwell]

My real pet peeve about this and why I'm even commenting is because every so often someone says they can't get a letter for whatever reason and fear mongerers come out of the woodwork with stories of "someone I know" who couldn't board. It's simply not true. Take your vacation. Enjoy it. If you have the paperwork, great. If not, write one up while you're waiting in line to check in. Or just don't look like a kidnapper and you'll be fine.

 

The US Customs Link is there. The gov't felt the need to spell it out for a reason. I haven't made a single claim about someones fathers brothers nieces neighbor. I simply posted a link on the U.S. govt position on the matter.

 

When the time comes for me to travel with child; if my spouse isn't there, I'll have the letter so that I'm not arguing with a customs agent in a terminal and can enjoy my vacation sooner and with less hassles.

As the responsible decision making adult take the info and do what you feel best, but don't tell others it absolutely never happens and to basically ignore it. That's misleading at best. And if we all knew what kidnappers "looked like" we could ensure all kids were safe!

[topofE]

The US Customs Link is there. The gov't felt the need to spell it out for a reason. I haven't made a single claim about someones fathers brothers nieces neighbor. I simply posted a link on the U.S. govt position on the matter.

 

When the time comes for me to travel with child; if my spouse isn't there, I'll have the letter so that I'm not arguing with a customs agent in a terminal and can enjoy my vacation sooner and with less hassles.

As the responsible decision making adult take the info and do what you feel best, but don't tell others it absolutely never happens and to basically ignore it. That's misleading at best. And if we all knew what kidnappers "looked like" we could ensure all kids were safe!

 

Not to beat the dead horse here...but I'm NOT saying to ignore it. I'm saying its NOT required. If you don't ignore it and read it exactly as it is written, you don't need a letter and it doesnt need to be notarized.

[loxley]

My real pet peeve about this and why I'm even commenting is because every so often someone says they can't get a letter for whatever reason and fear mongerers come out of the woodwork with stories of "someone I know" who couldn't board. It's simply not true. Take your vacation. Enjoy it. If you have the paperwork, great. If not, write one up while you're waiting in line to check in. Or just don't look like a kidnapper and you'll be fine.

 

 

Taken directly from carnival's website:

 

From Carnival FAQs:

 

All Guest Traveling to Mexico

To debark for more than 24 hours in Mexico, guests must have obtained a Mexican Tourist Card from either a travel agent or a Mexican consulate prior to their departure.

If you are traveling with minor children without both parents/legal guardians and plan on terminating your cruise in Mexico; please Click Here for important information.

 

When minors (18 and under) are NOT traveling with a relative, we strongly recommend bringing an original signed letter from the absent parent/legal guardian authorizing the minor to travel. 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.

[earthchild618]

I am the single mother of a child who I adopted at birth as a single woman and he is a different race than I am. I am bringing our passport cards (though they are not needed), a certified copy of the adoption decree, and his birth certificate listing me as his only parent. My relationship to him has NEVER been questioned. I am bringing the paperwork so that on the off chance we are questioned, there is no stress or worry. Once on the ship, it all goes into the safe. It is no trouble and it saves me tons of worrying. Really not a big deal......

[CruiseFan3035]

Here is the form we use when traveling with my daughter's BFF. I have it notorized just in case.

 

Tam

 

 

**

We are taking my daughters boyfriend with us in July. Should I be safe and have this filled out by his parents?

 

 

Me 😃

[hftmrock]

**

We are taking my daughters boyfriend with us in July. Should I be safe and have this filled out by his parents?

 

 

Me

 

if he is under 18.. yes.

[CruiseFan3035]

if he is under 18.. yes.

 

 

Good to know. Thanks for the info!!

 

Happy Cruising 🚢

 

 

Me 😃

[hftmrock]

And if the father is just some loser that walked out when the child was little?? Yeah---"johnny--where is your dad? " "hmm, no idea, never met him"--sorry you cant cruise.

 

My friend has two children where she was artificially inseminated to have them. Should she have to carry around the sperm donors profile to prove something? I mean, really, what are people supposed to do?

 

Like I said above, even taking some random guy to a notary to sign some paper wouldn't mean squat--unless you also had to bring a birth certificate to the notary to show who you each are when you sign this form.

 

I would like to see an ACTUAL story of someone being denied boarding-not just a friend of a friend of a cousin of an ex.

 

 

First, I never said anything about being denied boarding.

 

Secondly -

 

And if the father is just some loser that walked out when the child was little??

 

You should have papers for full custody.

 

My friend has two children where she was artificially inseminated to have them. Should she have to carry around the sperm donors profile to prove something?

 

The birth certificate would be blank under father I assume. that would be enough in my opinion

Is it mandatory - Everything points to it not being mandatory

 

is it a good idea since they recommend it and sometimes ask for it - absolutely

[kurukthemal]

Here is the form we use when traveling with my daughter's BFF. I have it notorized just in case.

 

Tam

 

I read the document and noticed that it says "sole custody." Would this still be necessary if you have joint custody? Thanks!

[hftmrock]

I read the document and noticed that it says "sole custody." Would this still be necessary if you have joint custody? Thanks!

 

yes. more so in my mind. if you have joint custody, they need to know that the spouse is aware and is ok with it. many times with joint custody, there are rules about taking a child out of the country without the knowledge of the other spouse.

 

google around and you can find a generic form

Edited June 18, 2014 by hftmrock

[kay1864]

Like I said above, even taking some random guy to a notary to sign some paper wouldn't mean squat--unless you also had to bring a birth certificate to the notary to show who you each are when you sign this form.

Notaries require ID from the person signing; usually a driver's license suffices.

 

I would like to see an ACTUAL story of someone being denied boarding-not just a friend of a friend of a cousin of an ex.

I talked to the parents myself. If the mom had not been able to reach her ex-husband back in Ohio by cell phone, and had he not been able to find a bank open until 2pm on a Saturday....RCL would not have allowed their teenage son to sail with them.

 

The amazing thing is that RCL didn't email them a reminder before the cruise, but rather relied on "it's on page 17 of your terms and conditions". Lousy customer service.

[Katmarha]

I had an issue when I took my niece. They required the letters from her parents, their ID and her ID....guess what we forgot!!??? Her ID!!! At the last minute we had it faxed to the port and she was allowed entrance. It was a very dramatic day. My lesson - double/triple check your docs.

[bingomamma19]

First, I never said anything about being denied boarding.

 

Secondly -

 

And if the father is just some loser that walked out when the child was little??

 

You should have papers for full custody.

 

My friend has two children where she was artificially inseminated to have them. Should she have to carry around the sperm donors profile to prove something?

 

The birth certificate would be blank under father I assume. that would be enough in my opinion

 

 

Is it mandatory - Everything points to it not being mandatory

 

is it a good idea since they recommend it and sometimes ask for it - absolutely

 

No, you would not have papers for full custody in many instances if the dad walked out---why would you be in court if there is no issue for visititation? IF the dad walks out, you dont have to do anything in the courts.

 

For my friend, You do not have to travel with birth certificates--if you have a passport or a passport card. You use your birth certificate to apply for those, so then you dont need them afterwards.

 

This is all nonsense as you can see the paper means nothing- --one of the previous posters said she just had her boyfriend (not childs father) sign a piece of paper. That is exactly what I am saying--the paper means nothing.

[bingomamma19]

My point exactly. Look how much easier life got in a hurry when you produced the notarized letter they asked for.

 

I'm just saying having everything you COULD be asked for, in order, ready to go, will make a heck of a lot simpler instead of kicking carpet in the terminal!

 

What if it's a single father and the baby is too young to speak? What if it's this? What if it's that? What if...if you have the letter life is easy.

 

 

But the letter was a LIE...so that is my point. This can not be a protocol that is taken seriously to stop parental kidnapping. And since thousands of people travel every week on cruises--many many single parents or married parents leaving a spouse at home. You would definately hear ONE story about someone being denied boarding by not having a letter.

 

The lady above was flying to Mexico--which is a little different--but again the letter produced was a lie--so that is not exactly an effective procedure. But cruises are not the same as flying directly into mexico, so dont even need the fake letter.

[CatlinSTJ]

We have had the letter every time and have never been asked for it even once and my two oldest have a different last name. Last year, just to see what they would do, if anything, we sent my then 16 year old daughter a bit ahead of us leaving/reboarding the ship in port - no one blinked an eye. We have not sailed with the girls when they were under 16 and their dad did not need to sign for them to get their passports at that age, so I don't know if that made any difference. We don't anticipate any questions this trip either, but the letter is signed, notarized, and packed with our other travel docs just to be safe.

 

 

Next cruise: Carnival Breeze June 2014

[loxley]

Notaries require ID from the person signing; usually a driver's license suffices.

 

I talked to the parents myself. If the mom had not been able to reach her ex-husband back in Ohio by cell phone, and had he not been able to find a bank open until 2pm on a Saturday....RCL would not have allowed their teenage son to sail with them.

 

The amazing thing is that RCL didn't email them a reminder before the cruise, but rather relied on "it's on page 17 of your terms and conditions". Lousy customer service.

 

That was on RCL. We are discussing proceedures with Carnival here.

 

A cruise line can impliment any requirement they want to, including making a passport mandatory to board.

 

There is only a suggestion from carnival not a requirement. (for the letter and a passport)

 

I still cannot figure out why they are asking for such a letter when you RETURN from the cruise as the USA has NO requirement of such a letter and you have already been to mexico and have returned to the USA where you are free to take anyone anywhere.

[bingomamma19]

Notaries require ID from the person signing; usually a driver's license suffices.

 

I talked to the parents myself. If the mom had not been able to reach her ex-husband back in Ohio by cell phone, and had he not been able to find a bank open until 2pm on a Saturday....RCL would not have allowed their teenage son to sail with them.

 

The amazing thing is that RCL didn't email them a reminder before the cruise, but rather relied on "it's on page 17 of your terms and conditions". Lousy customer service.

 

 

This doesn't sound like a real story--especially with a teenager---if RCL were wanting to avoid a parental kidnapping--why would they pick on a parent of a teenager? And I can guarantee there were hundreds of other single parents or married people (leaving a spouse at home) that were traveling with kids and no letter. Honestly I have never heard one parent ever bring a letter, nor have I ever been asked myself.

 

Actually, even if I was traveling with my daughters father--what would prove either of us were her parents? We have passport cards--those do not identify the relationship at all. It just says who is on the picture.

 

Again, I just think people are running around spreading rumors of horror stories---this does not happen. It would be boarderline harassment since it is obviously not enforced by anyone--so you are the person picked out for a letter--are you black, Mexican, Chinese--is your child mixed (I am a white mother with one black child (adult now and two white children). What is the guideline---the 2 "adults" traveling with a child are assumed to be the kids parents while the single parent may be kidnapping them?

 

It all becomes nonsense.

 

No letter for me--try and ask for one

[ParadiseTattoo]

I had my ex-wife sign a notarized letter of consent to allow me to take my DD on RCCL. It was a huge hassle dealing with her. At first she didn't want to sign it, but I finally got it just a couple of days ago. RCCL website says you don't really need one, but I wanted to be safe. No one wants to get turned away at the port. The form I made was very detailed and outlined the dates and duration of the trip, cruise line, ports to be visited, cabin assignment, emergency protocol and a few other details.

 

We cruise on 6/21/14 so I will post my experience with boarding and customs when we return.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[gee-gee]

Here is the form we use when traveling with my daughter's BFF. I have it notorized just in case.

 

Tam

 

Thanks for posting this. I was looking for one.

 

 

Ronnie

[babyher]

This doesn't sound like a real story--especially with a teenager---if RCL were wanting to avoid a parental kidnapping--why would they pick on a parent of a teenager? And I can guarantee there were hundreds of other single parents or married people (leaving a spouse at home) that were traveling with kids and no letter. Honestly I have never heard one parent ever bring a letter, nor have I ever been asked myself.

 

Actually, even if I was traveling with my daughters father--what would prove either of us were her parents? We have passport cards--those do not identify the relationship at all. It just says who is on the picture.

 

Again, I just think people are running around spreading rumors of horror stories---this does not happen. It would be boarderline harassment since it is obviously not enforced by anyone--so you are the person picked out for a letter--are you black, Mexican, Chinese--is your child mixed (I am a white mother with one black child (adult now and two white children). What is the guideline---the 2 "adults" traveling with a child are assumed to be the kids parents while the single parent may be kidnapping them?

 

It all becomes nonsense.

 

No letter for me--try and ask for one

 

 

 

Sounds like you don't need a letter..If anyone stops you you will have plenty of "cards' to play.

[hftmrock]

Sounds like you don't need a letter..If anyone stops you you will have plenty of "cards' to play.

 

you certainly dont have to have one... but I would definately not want to piss off a customs agent by playing your 'cards'. they have higher cards and could keep you for many hours in lieu of security and I doubt there would be a single thing you could do.

 

one group I would not mess with is customs agents. Just my opinion.

 

People have been asked for a letter. that IS a fact. As far as I have heard here custom agents have questioned and believed most, if not all people that have posted here. I would rather have the letter. its really not that hard to get or provide proof of the situation instead of 'playing cards' with the agents