Taking our granddaughter off the ship in a Caribbean port

[atmss123]

We are cruising the Caribbean with our son, daughter in law and 1 year old granddaughter.  If as grandparents we wish to take her for a stroll in a port and her parents decide to stay on board, will we be able to do this or will we need some form of written documentation from her parents?  Many thanks for any responses

[1Virgo]

48 minutes ago, atmss123 said:

We are cruising the Caribbean with our son, daughter in law and 1 year old granddaughter.  If as grandparents we wish to take her for a stroll in a port and her parents decide to stay on board, will we be able to do this or will we need some form of written documentation from her parents?  Many thanks for any responses

 

to be on the safe side, I would carry a letter of permission and a copy of her birth certificate.  May seem like too much for some, but better to be prepared especially   if she started to cry and calling for mommy or daddy.     

have a great cruise.   Nice to give her parents a quiet time

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, atmss123 said:

We are cruising the Caribbean with our son, daughter in law and 1 year old granddaughter.  If as grandparents we wish to take her for a stroll in a port and her parents decide to stay on board, will we be able to do this or will we need some form of written documentation from her parents?  Many thanks for any responses

 

You should definitely have a notarized letter of consent. I would definitely look into the requirements for each of the Caribbean countries that you are visiting.

Edited November 2, 2023 by mahdnc

[dcbiker97]

I would also check in with Guest Relations to see if they need to input a special code in their system to allow it. They could code their card to only work with the parents. Have no idea if that's the case, but good to do that before you leave the first time. 

[cruisestitch]

The Caribbean is a big place with many different countries. Without knowing which countries you are interested in, it’s pretty hard to give you any kind of definitive answer so the general question to discuss it with the staff on board is a good start.

[sparks1093]

In most ports you would likely be fine. The folks on the ship won't care and it's doubtful the screeners allowing you back into the port would care either. Come to think of it we took our surrogate granddaughter on a cruise, had all of the documentation and left it in the safe on the ship. Didn't even think of taking it with us, but it isn't a bad idea to have it with you.

[Ashland]

We have done this many times (RCI) with our grandkids in not only the Caribbean but also in Alaska and had no problems doing so. Usually the parents are on an excursion.

[Starlight Durban Cruising]

Usually if the reservations are connected in the system then they can see all the "connections" - you would usually notice that with dinner reservations where connected bookings would all be seated at the same table. Avoids complaints from people who say "we are one booking and don't want to sit with other people...". 

 

You said that the child is your son's child so if they got her a passport then she should have the same last name on that document as you do on yours; that match to your last name might make it easier to swipe and go from the ship with the ship's boarding card. When my son was younger I would always just carry his passport when we went through places that might ask for ID - Lets just say I was quite "gray" for my age LOL. So it avoided the "Is he yours looks of scepticism in airports and port control points".

 

Anyway, it may be that they allow you to get off with the grandchild with no problems, but I agree with the others to check with the cruise line and have some paperwork with you. If it gets complex then your son may just need to walk down to the gangway with you, show his card, and 3 go off and he goes back to spend time with his wife.