Uh-oh This Is Theee Most Urgent Question We've Asked

[raidernation]

Everyone has been great and we thought our cruise next week on the GLORY was all set with no problems. Well, not to bore my fellow board members but we have a problem. One of our cabins has a teen and he has never met his father. He's doing life in prison in another state and we just got his parental consent form. It took us 4 MONTHS to get the prison or whoever to get him to sign it. We got it today and it's not notorized. It is signed and his handwritting is along the top in the same color pen and crappy slanted writing. So, why didn't they notorize it when we gave directions or better yet. Is this along with his birth certificate(raised seal) with him reconized as his pateranal father good enough? Also, no they did not apply for passports, just going with proper info plus this paper. THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH FOR ANY AND ALL HELP.:D :)

[CruiseCentric]

I seriously doubt anyone will ask to see the form. His mom is going on the cruise, correct?

[raidernation]

Correct, and until we put this cruise together he had never cared to know who his dad is or was. Now his mother has a million questions being asked daily becouse his a-hole dad sent it to HIS attention and he got in the mail. So we shall have to wait and see. Thanks again for any and all replys.:)

[stephuney]

Wow ... I wish I could answer this question for you, but I honestly have no idea. I would imagine if the boy's mother is going, then there wont be anything to worry about - but I dont really know. I hope this all works out well.

[cherylatwork]

I am a divorced mother of two and on four cruises, I have never been asked for a letter of consent (even though I have always had one). You should be fine with what you have.

 

Cheryl

[Tripinbrums]

We have 3 kids so we had to book 1 in my sisters cabin. During embarkation no one asked my sister if the child was hers. They just asked to see the birth certificate. I was in line behind them just in case, but no one said anything. Especially if the mom is going you will not have issues. Have fun

[cruisecruisecruise1234567]

Everyone has been great and we thought our cruise next week on the GLORY was all set with no problems. Well, not to bore my fellow board members but we have a problem. One of our cabins has a teen and he has never met his father. He's doing life in prison in another state and we just got his parental consent form. It took us 4 MONTHS to get the prison or whoever to get him to sign it. We got it today and it's not notorized. It is signed and his handwritting is along the top in the same color pen and crappy slanted writing. So, why didn't they notorize it when we gave directions or better yet. Is this along with his birth certificate(raised seal) with him reconized as his pateranal father good enough? Also, no they did not apply for passports, just going with proper info plus this paper. THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH FOR ANY AND ALL HELP.:D :)

 

Could be trouble....read here,it even mentions cruise ships..... http://www.familytravelforum.com/articles/article/10545

[nybumpkin]

I've often posted on other threads on this topic that I'm a big advocate of having the letter, since my husband was asked for it several years ago when taking our oldest son to London and he didn't have it. Having said that, I think you'll probably be okay with what mom has even though it's not notarized. Even in my husband's case, he was able to travel without the letter once they inspected passports, itineraries, flight information and questioned son about why I wasn't traveling with them. One thought - if mom still has the envelope in which son received the form, bring that along - it should have the prison's return address. Somehow I think that if they ask for the letter and see where dad is, they're not going to give mom a hard time about the letter not being notarized.

[girlpirates]

do you not have full custody papers. i did this year one for such reasons and for the childs safety

[AZ ParrotHead]

If yout child's father is in prison and you have sole custody, then you need to carry the copy of the court order which gives you control of the kids. If you do not have this document, then I suggest calling Carnival IMMEDIATELY and explaining the situation. They can explain what you need and what other options you have.

[Lovely Cruise]

Everything is going to be alright! I have taken my daughter's friends twice -Never a word was mentioned about the noterized paper (that I jumped through hoops to get)!

[*Mach*]

Everyone has been great and we thought our cruise next week on the GLORY was all set with no problems. Well, not to bore my fellow board members but we have a problem. One of our cabins has a teen and he has never met his father. He's doing life in prison in another state and we just got his parental consent form. It took us 4 MONTHS to get the prison or whoever to get him to sign it. We got it today and it's not notorized. It is signed and his handwritting is along the top in the same color pen and crappy slanted writing. So, why didn't they notorize it when we gave directions or better yet. Is this along with his birth certificate(raised seal) with him reconized as his pateranal father good enough? Also, no they did not apply for passports, just going with proper info plus this paper. THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH FOR ANY AND ALL HELP.:D :)

 

Bless your heart for putting so much effort into this...

 

Considering all the odd things we've seen here and how easily folks have gotten by I suspect that you'll be just fine. The BC and a photo ID will most likely suffice.

 

That being said, bring along all the paper work that you folks have as a backup.

 

Please, try to enjoy your cruise and let us know what happens.

[CruisinKelly]

To get a document notorized with a prisoners signature, one would have to send an attorney (who was a notary) with the document to the prison to visit him personally. Prisoners have no access to a notary and receive mail directly, he signed the letter and mailed it back the only way he could. That being said, you should be fine with the letter. We took friends kids and we didn't get them notarized (and I am a notary), didn't even think about it and it was no problem.

Have a great time!

[im4clowns]

my sister is a single mother with no contact with the father of my nephew and only once on princess was it an issue. I believe they actually asked for documentation but we have never had a problem with Carnival and we just came off the liberty earlier this month.

[Lovely Cruise]

Correct, and until we put this cruise together he had never cared to know who his dad is or was. Now his mother has a million questions being asked daily becouse his a-hole dad sent it to HIS attention and he got in the mail. So we shall have to wait and see. Thanks again for any and all replys.:)

 

Darn it. What a difficult situation. I TRULY believe everything is going to be alright. Have a wondeful cruise. You deserve it!

[cruisecruisecruise1234567]

Everyone has been great and we thought our cruise next week on the GLORY was all set with no problems. Well, not to bore my fellow board members but we have a problem. One of our cabins has a teen and he has never met his father. He's doing life in prison in another state and we just got his parental consent form. It took us 4 MONTHS to get the prison or whoever to get him to sign it. We got it today and it's not notorized. It is signed and his handwritting is along the top in the same color pen and crappy slanted writing. So, why didn't they notorize it when we gave directions or better yet. Is this along with his birth certificate(raised seal) with him reconized as his pateranal father good enough? Also, no they did not apply for passports, just going with proper info plus this paper. THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH FOR ANY AND ALL HELP.:D :)

 

Like many others stated,

>>>>you should be OK,

>>>>TRULY believe everything is going to be alright

>>>>you should be fine

>>>>seriously doubt anyone will ask to see the form

 

If they do ask or you have a problem,

You could be denied boarding

End up detained

Not be allowed to board a plane if flying

Charged with kidnapping

 

The rules state you need a notorized statement

 

To reduce the risk if you sail, be very careful when in port as if you miss the ship for any reason including medical,you could have a major problem with no passport or the correct paperwork.

 

Have good trip

[Name game]

Am I missing something here? My sister went on a cruise with my nephew and my mother (he was 7 at the time) and she never needed anything from the father. At least we didn't think she did and she certainly never had a letter of permission from the father.

[cruisecruisecruise1234567]

Am I missing something here? My sister went on a cruise with my nephew and my mother (he was 7 at the time) and she never needed anything from the father. At least we didn't think she did and she certainly never had a letter of permission from the father.

 

You are supposed to have a notarized statement from a childs parent who is not traveling outside of the country with them.Technically,your sister needed written permission from your nephews father to take the child out of the country.

This case is a little harder as the father is in prison,so if anything happened,the father would not really be able to help.The fine print is the mother could get major grief for not having it.Sort of like those states with a seatbelt law, if they see you not wearing it,they can't do anything,but if they pull you over for any other infraction and see that you are not wearing it you get a ticket.

[alphakitty]

If the mother has sole custody then no other paperwork is needed. Considering the father is in prison for life, I would think she does. Bring the divorce decree.

 

Sometimes, if you know someone who's a notary, they will notarized something for you without the other being present. I've done this before...technically it's not right, but many will do it. Might be worth a shot.

[shargurl]

I don't think you will have any problems! Go with what you have...

[DaytonCruiser]

This question comes up from time to time on this board and while I have seen lots of people jump through hoops to get the proper documentation. I have yet to hear that anyone actually had to show it to a Carnival rep.

 

Also, as a few have mentioned, pax have taken nieces, nephews and grandchildren onboard and they werent even asked to produce a letter(which is somewhat alarming)

 

To the OP...Just have your friend take all the info they have to be on the safe side.

[reneemor]

As long as one parent is present you are fine. I cruise with my kids without my husband all the time. I traveled with friends of my daughter. I had the notarized letter. I was never asked by anyone upon embarkation but disembarking was another story. After customs, upon leaving the FLL port I was asked for the letter. I couldn't find it. I opened all my luggages etc. After about 20 minutes of searching I did finally find the letter and was able to leave. You should not have this problem as long as one parent is present.

[terrib1964]

Raidernation...you have my email address already, so if I you any more questions...please let me know...

 

I have personal knowledge of this situation, and I WAS able to get a notarized letter from my loser ex (from prison here in Michigan, where apparently they DID have a notary, because all I did was ask his mom to get it from him, and she was able to). However...I was also told by FOC, Homeland Security, the cruiseline itself, and everyone else that I talked to...that my divorce papers would have been good enough because I am lucky enough to have full and sole legal and physical custody. But...I also know that I am one of the lucky ones. It is a very difficult thing to do to GET full custody unless the other parent is a serial killer (my lawyer's words)...which my ex is NOT...he just agreed that he was a loser, and signed off on custody. But, I'm a natural worrier, and like to err on the safe side, which is why I got the letter to begin with. It should be noted, though...that nobody ever asked for anything like that. The birth certificate and my presence were enough.

 

If your friend has full custody...they will be fine. If she does not...I agree with the previous poster that said to take the letter along (and if she still has the envelope...definitely bring that too), with his birth certificate. Chances are they won't even ask for it.

 

Going off the topic...I know that you live near me Raider...and if your friend does too, and ever wants advice...or even someone to talk to...I have been dealing with the questions and the accusations (I'm the bad guy because I won't let her see or talk to him) for 3 years. I'd be more than happy to help.

[Wennfred]

Every Prison here in California have Law Libraries, this is where they handle all legal issues. I believe the Civilian Free Staff worker there is a Notary. Heres the problem, inmates have to pay for the Notary and other legal services and I know that no inmate is going to pay for things like that unless it benefited them in any way. He either missed reading where it says a Notary is needed or the person sending the papers didn't include a Yellow Post-it stating it.

 

Believe me if this inmate needed to submit papers to the governor to get pardon and needed it to be Notarized, it would have been done in a heartbeat.

 

 

 

Fred

[lhaddon]

I have been on two cruises (Norwegian and Carnival) where my husband didn't go along. I never had a letter of consent. I just had the kids' birth certificates and nobody ever even asked for anything else.

 

I think you'll be fine.

 

Lora