Traveling with a Minor (my child's friend)

[kateg]

We will be cruising in May and both of my kids are bringing a friend.  My son's friend is 19-so I assume a passport and drivers license is all he needs to bring (and covid test etc.).  But my daughter's friend is 17.  I have the RCI form that gives her permission to travel with us and do activities on board the ship.  I plan to get a notarized travel letter for the airport -just in case.  Is there any other document/s I need?  Will the 17 yo be allowed off/on the ship -specifically in Aruba/Curacao.  I've never had anyone in a port ask me if the kids following me around are mine  haha...but I want to make 100% sure we have everything we need.

 

Thanks so much for any advice or experience.  I can call RCI (and I will) but it seems that customer service reps have varying degrees of knowledge sometimes...

[Grandma Dazzles]

2 hours ago, kateg said:

We will be cruising in May and both of my kids are bringing a friend.  My son's friend is 19-so I assume a passport and drivers license is all he needs to bring (and covid test etc.).  But my daughter's friend is 17.  I have the RCI form that gives her permission to travel with us and do activities on board the ship.  I plan to get a notarized travel letter for the airport -just in case.  Is there any other document/s I need?  Will the 17 yo be allowed off/on the ship -specifically in Aruba/Curacao.  I've never had anyone in a port ask me if the kids following me around are mine  haha...but I want to make 100% sure we have everything we need.

 

Thanks so much for any advice or experience.  I can call RCI (and I will) but it seems that customer service reps have varying degrees of knowledge sometimes...

You need the permission of both parents to take the child out of the country.  Need a passport, or certified original birth certificate and picture ID. It’s also a good idea to have something in writing giving you permission to allow medical treatment. Would also suggest that you make sure child has medical insurance coverage. A listing of any allergies, medications, shots is good to have. You never know when emergencies or accidents can happen. 

[Merion_Mom]

No one in port is going to ask if the children are yours.

[brillohead]

Don't need written permission from BOTH parents if the child has a passport.  

Also, I can speak from experience, that when I cruised TWICE with an unrelated child who had a passport, even though I had a signed/notarized letter from her mother, nobody EVER asked to see it.  We just checked in like she was my child, and nobody said a word.  

Getting off the ship is no problem -- all you need is to be with the minor.  When they bing off the ship, it will deny them unless they're with "an adult".  They don't care WHO the adult is, just needs to be an adult.  

When I traveled with my 18yo son and his 16yo girlfriend, the notarized letter gave both me and my son permission to travel with her.  The kids were getting off in San Juan, but I was staying on the ship (been there, done that, don't need to tour San Juan again).  At first security wouldn't let my son off the ship with his GF, so he went back to the room and got the notarized letter out of the safe. 

Security kept trying to tell my son that *I* needed to be with them to leave, and my son held his ground and stated that the form from the GF's mother gave HIM permission to be in charge of the GF, and they needed to allow him to leave the ship with her.  He held his ground and explained it step by step -- he was a legal adult, he had legal paperwork giving him "temporary guardianship" over the 16yo, and they were going to get off the ship together without me... and eventually they let them go.  If necessary, my kid could have called me to come down and intervene (and I would have raised holy heck, because he was in the right), but he was able to resolve it on his own.

With that being said, even though I've done it and never been asked for the paperwork, I would still always have the paperwork in my possession.  It just wasn't as big of a deal as one would believe.  

 

[cruiserjt]

We did this with daughter's friend - had everything notarized and was never asked for it. I would have definitely needed these docs if she had any problems or was ill.  Not a big deal, I kept them with her passport - not that teenage girls are not responsible for their own passports!!

[DCPIV]

16 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

No one in port is going to ask if the children are yours.

 

Until they do or something happens, and then you darn well better be prepared. 

[Ferry_Watcher]

17 hours ago, brillohead said:

Security kept trying to tell my son that *I* needed to be with them to leave, and my son held his ground and stated that the form from the GF's mother gave HIM permission to be in charge of the GF, and they needed to allow him to leave the ship with her.  He held his ground and explained it step by step -- he was a legal adult, he had legal paperwork giving him "temporary guardianship" over the 16yo, and they were going to get off the ship together without me... and eventually they let them go.  If necessary, my kid could have called me to come down and intervene (and I would have raised holy heck, because he was in the right), but he was able to resolve it on his own.

I think that the ship's security crew member was being responsible for keeping the safety of the young 16 yr old girl in the forefront.  I actually think the crew member should be praised.   

[brillohead]

6 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

I think that the ship's security crew member was being responsible for keeping the safety of the young 16 yr old girl in the forefront.  I actually think the crew member should be praised.   

For the initial attempt to leave the ship, sure, I wasn't bothered by that.  (Although my son got off on both Coco Cay and Labadee as a minor by going along other people with a "grownup" in the group, without ever having to produce any paperwork at all.  If they were really looking out for the safety of a minor, why don't they require paperwork for every minor?)

But once presented with the paperwork that gave my son and me BOTH permission to make decisions for the 16yo, it shouldn't have been an issue anymore.  That was the part that bothered me a bit.  If they had needed to call me down to handle it, I would have had words with the security supervisor about it, but that wasn't necessary, as my son advocated for himself in a mature manner and was eventually allowed off.

[OSUZorba]

5 hours ago, brillohead said:

For the initial attempt to leave the ship, sure, I wasn't bothered by that.  (Although my son got off on both Coco Cay and Labadee as a minor by going along other people with a "grownup" in the group, without ever having to produce any paperwork at all.  If they were really looking out for the safety of a minor, why don't they require paperwork for every minor?)

But once presented with the paperwork that gave my son and me BOTH permission to make decisions for the 16yo, it shouldn't have been an issue anymore.  That was the part that bothered me a bit.  If they had needed to call me down to handle it, I would have had words with the security supervisor about it, but that wasn't necessary, as my son advocated for himself in a mature manner and was eventually allowed off.

It's a little nuts that they basically allow any adult to take a kid off the ship. I assumed it had to be someone within the party.

 

OP: Make sure you get a medical power of attorney. I've read too many horror stories there.

[brillohead]

2 hours ago, OSUZorba said:

It's a little nuts that they basically allow any adult to take a kid off the ship. I assumed it had to be someone within the party.

I thought it was a bit of overkill for a teenager at Coco Cay or Labadee.... if he has run of the ship, how is that any different than having run of the private island?  And it's not about knowing where he is, b/c he could get BACK ON the ship alone without a guardian. 

[nonnie&dgd]

I went on the Harmony last November with my granddaughter. They asked for the form. Luckily I had it.

 

[S.A.M.J.R.]

On 3/11/2022 at 8:44 PM, kateg said:

We will be cruising in May and both of my kids are bringing a friend.  My son's friend is 19-so I assume a passport and drivers license is all he needs to bring (and covid test etc.).  But my daughter's friend is 17.  I have the RCI form that gives her permission to travel with us and do activities on board the ship.  I plan to get a notarized travel letter for the airport -just in case.  Is there any other document/s I need?  Will the 17 yo be allowed off/on the ship -specifically in Aruba/Curacao.  I've never had anyone in a port ask me if the kids following me around are mine  haha...but I want to make 100% sure we have everything we need.

 

Thanks so much for any advice or experience.  I can call RCI (and I will) but it seems that customer service reps have varying degrees of knowledge sometimes...

For anyone else needing it, here's the form.

 

RCI minor-traveling-without-parent-or-guardian-form.pdf

Edited March 13, 2022 by S.A.M.J.R.

[mjkacmom]

I think a letter to make medical decisions is important, I’ve written them for my kids and they were needed. Most health insurance will not be able to be used outside the US, so hopefully the 17 year old has trip insurance (which usually just reimburses the costs, so hopefully the teen has a credit card).

[OSUZorba]

8 hours ago, brillohead said:

I thought it was a bit of overkill for a teenager at Coco Cay or Labadee.... if he has run of the ship, how is that any different than having run of the private island?  And it's not about knowing where he is, b/c he could get BACK ON the ship alone without a guardian. 

Yeah, I agree on the private islands.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

5 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

I think a letter to make medical decisions is important, I’ve written them for my kids and they were needed. Most health insurance will not be able to be used outside the US, so hopefully the 17 year old has trip insurance (which usually just reimburses the costs, so hopefully the teen has a credit card).

I read somewhere on the internet (so it must be true) that the "permission to treat" letters aren't worth the paper they're printed on.  Supposedly a treating doctor/facility will still do what they can to contact the actual guardians before treating (unless of course it's life threatening).  

[topnole]

6 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

I think a letter to make medical decisions is important, I’ve written them for my kids and they were needed. Most health insurance will not be able to be used outside the US, so hopefully the 17 year old has trip insurance (which usually just reimburses the costs, so hopefully the teen has a credit card).

Most health insurance can’t be used

outside the US?   Are you sure about that?  I have zero idea on the break down, but my has always covered me anywhere.  Sure, it is out of network, but I don’t suddenly become uninsured just because I am in the Caribbean.  

[Grandma Dazzles]

1 hour ago, topnole said:

Most health insurance can’t be used

outside the US?   Are you sure about that?  I have zero idea on the break down, but my has always covered me anywhere.  Sure, it is out of network, but I don’t suddenly become uninsured just because I am in the Caribbean.  

Very few US health insurance policies cover you out of the country, including Medicare. Some Medicare Advantage plans may offer emergency/minimum coverage. You might want to read your policy. If it’s through your employer and just regular health insurance it is doubtful that you would have coverage.