Minor Question

[alwaysmomof1]

We leave tomorrow for our cruise. My son is 15 and when I applied for our passport the lady took the noterized letter from his dad with his birth certificate. When we got our passports in the mail he got his birth certificate but not the noterized letter. Will I have a problem in Cozumel or Grand Cayman?

[yearnin4cruisin]

I've always been prepared to show a notorized letter from my ex regarding my children on cruises but have never been asked for one. Still, better safe than sorry. Any way you can get a basic letter from him? Even faxed is better than nothing if you need it.

[leadout_kv]

I believe that as long as you have everyone's passport you'll be fine. When we cruised last December '07 there were some ports that only asked for our Carnival cruise card (the actual name eludes me at the moment). BTW - my DD5 has her own passport.

 

If someone else wants to chime in to verify that would be great.

[jetskier]

I believe it is correct in that as long as you have the passport you are okay. Remember both parents had to give permission for your son to get one.

 

Dave

[yearnin4cruisin]

While that may be true, passports are good for 10 years and just because permission was given for this date, that doesn't mean another trip in the future would be approved. The cruiseline has no way of knowing if permission was given or not for this cruise or any other.

[UsernameNotTaken]

Technically you need "proof" of permission from the other parent to take a minor out of the country unless you have sole custody or are the only parent listed on the birth certificate. A notorized letter is accepted as proof.

 

I've always traveled with custody papers showing sole custody but in 10 years of traveling with my son, I've been verbally asked but never asked to produce documentation.

[DqALEX]

We leave tomorrow for our cruise. My son is 15 and when I applied for our passport the lady took the noterized letter from his dad with his birth certificate. When we got our passports in the mail he got his birth certificate but not the noterized letter. Will I have a problem in Cozumel or Grand Cayman?

I take my kids in the summer every year without my wife. They have only passports and I have Never had a problem

[Country_Gal]

My family has never had any problem with Carnival but several years ago on RCCL my sister and her three kids were held up for about 2 hours at embarkation because her husband was not with them and she did not have a letter from him. She had passports for all. She had to get a letter faxed from him, and they were happily married.

[arpie05]

While that may be true, passports are good for 10 years and just because permission was given for this date, that doesn't mean another trip in the future would be approved. The cruiseline has no way of knowing if permission was given or not for this cruise or any other.

 

Let's not forget that kids passports are only good for 5 years (age 16 and under, I believe).

 

I didn't have a problem on Carnival 3 years ago but this May when going to Alaska on NCL - the lady at the gangplank asked my son with a very hateful tone, "where's dad?" and I said, "At home" - very politely. Didn't even think about a letter since we have passport. She didn't stop us but I'm sure if we'd acted like like we doing something wrong - she might have given us a hard time.

 

We'll take a letter this time.

[bumbles]

It is law when traveling with minor children to Mexico that you need a notarized letter from the other parent saying it's OK to do so. It says it on both the Carnival website and on travel.state.gov. I don't know if they consistently check it, but it's better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it.