Traveling with child (not ours)

[pieshops]

We are taking a friend of my daughters with us on the Breakaway to Bermuda in October (she will be 16).

 

I have been told that she will need her original birth certificate and government picture id.

 

She has her birth certificate but NJ only issues drivers permits with no picture.

 

Has anyone done this? any suggestions.

 

We all have passports but the friend does not want to spend the money on a passport when they will never use it again

[Jane Don]

We are taking a friend of my daughters with us on the Breakaway to Bermuda in October (she will be 16).

 

I have been told that she will need her original birth certificate and government picture id.

 

She has her birth certificate but NJ only issues drivers permits with no picture.

 

Has anyone done this? any suggestions.

 

We all have passports but the friend does not want to spend the money on a passport when they will never use it again

 

If it were me, I would say, "No passport, no trip." What if the boat has a mechanical problem and you have to fly home from a foreign port? Any number of things can happen that would be a bad situation for someone with a kid who is not their own. If you have the means, you could offer to pay the passport fee. Doing that could possibly change the child's life for the better.

 

If you are comfortable with it, I would have them get a non-driver ID at least. I would also get legal and medical power of attorney for the duration of the vacation in the event of medical or legal issues. The other parents don't sound like the type to jump on a plane and come to the rescue on short notice.

 

$24 bucks http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Licenses/NonDriverID.htm

[aussie cruzer]

Not sure about the ID...but we had to take this form with us to the port for a child traveling under different name.

 

http://www.pdf.ncl.eu/ParentGuardianConsent.pdf

[xriva]

We all have passports but the friend does not want to spend the money on a passport when they will never use it again

 

 

Never use it again? Never take another cruise? Never go to Cancun for Spring Break? Never go to Europe after graduation? Never do foreign travel at all? I find this hard to believe. It's not like a passport is only good for a year.

 

Having just had one of my team at work try to get a new passport for an emergency business trip, I can say it's much easier and cheaper to renew than start from scratch.

Edited August 14, 2015 by xriva

[LrgPizza]

Are you sure her parents are in favor of this trip? Yes, they need to get her a photo ID, since they aren't willing to get her a passport.

[chrisc71]

I would get a notarized letter giving you permission to take the child out of the country.

[rvsullivan]

A notarized letter is not going to help. They need the form referenced above signed by both parents and including a copy of each of their DL.

[RMLincoln]

We took 3 grandkids on a cruise to Alaska - in and out of Vancouver. This is what we learned:

 

--A 16 yr old will get a 10 year passport, not the 5 year juvenile passport. Get the passport. Period.

The child will need a raised-seal birth certificate to get the passport - the "original" birth certificate might not be the appropriate type... make sure it is a state issued birth certificate, not a hospital certificate.

--She will need a government issued picture id. Period. She will need these at the piers to re-board the ship.

--YOU will need to have a form signed by BOTH the child's parents which (in our case on HAL) needed to be notarized. Our grandkids parents were separated so we needed a letter from each parent, all notarized. We HAD to show these letters to customs agents both coming and going and they told us they were very glad that we had our paperwork in order.

 

We also carried a letter signed by the custodial parent about permission to have our grandchildren under our medical supervision for the appropriate dates, in case of an emergency event. And it listed their medical conditions and medications along with their primary care physician's name and contact information, along with the parent's name and contact information.

 

Taking responsibility for someone else's minor child is very serious, especially abroad. There is a heightened awareness of child abductions at board crossings.

 

We had a fabulous time with our grandkids but we had rules too. And we would never have let them either go on shore or stay onboard without at least one of us.

 

Rule #1 was "you are not to go into ANYONE's cabin without one of us with you." NO EXCEPTIONS. It's like going into a stranger's house.

 

Because they were not our children we had to be extra cautious. The extra caution and extra level of responsibility begins with the paperwork.

Edited August 14, 2015 by RMLincoln

[conandrob240]

You don't need a notarized anything for an NCL trip ( although we always bring that as an extra precaution). You need to complete the form linked to earlier with a signature and copy of photo ID from both parents.

 

I agree on no passport, no trip. I would not take a chance travel in out of the country without a passport especially with someone else's kid.

Edited August 15, 2015 by conandrob240

[CanadaJulie]

We took 3 grandkids on a cruise to Alaska - in and out of Vancouver. This is what we learned:

 

 

--YOU will need to have a form signed by BOTH the child's parents which (in our case on HAL) needed to be notarized. We HAD to show these letters to customs agents both coming and going and they told us they were very glad that we had our paperwork in order.

 

Canada is very serious about this kind of paperwork but other countries might not be. Funny thing, I am divorced and Canada Customs requires an permission letter from my ex when I travel alone with my daughter. I can leave Canada and go pretty much anywhere and no one asks for the letter - except when we return after our trip, land at the airport where I work and Canada customs ask me for my permission letter. I want to say "well, I don't have a letter because I was going to kidnap her but she's too much trouble so I'm bringing her back". Somehow I doubt the customs agents would see the humour in this...

[conandrob240]

Yes, I am aware of how strict Canada's laws are. However, OP is American, from NJ. So, only the form signed by both parents, not notarized, plus a copy of parental ID is needed to travel on the NCL ship.

[pieshops]

thank you all for the information.

[danp]

there is a form on NCL web site that you should have the family fill out and give you permission in case of an emergency.