1 Parent, 2 kids & Documentation

I know this has been a topic of many conversations but as per Carnival it states this:

Traveling with a Minor

When traveling with a minor where one parent or both parents (or legal guardians) are not cruising, we strongly recommend bringing an original signed letter from the absent parent(s) (or legal guardians) authorizing the minor to travel with you. This will expedite processing by the Department of Homeland Security.

I JUST realized it does not say it needs to be notarized or witnessed. I don't know if this is a recent change or did I miss this when researching about it last time.

Anyone on here travel w/ minors and 1 parents and were not allowed to board? I asked awhile back but thought with new folks on here they may have an experience to share.

I doubt you'll find anyone on this board who was denied boarding. The nature of these boards is that they're made up of people who do research/ gather information before sailing, so wouldn't show up without the paperwork. There have been instances referred to here, but never someone it actually happened to - at least since I've been reading these boards.

I would never rely on what it says on a cruise line's website when it comes to something like documentation - the tickets often even say that it is up to the passenger to have the required documentation to board. The officials are not going to care what it said on the website.

Best,

Mia

Thank you Mia!!

Rules keep changing. Mexico and Canada require that the letter of consent be presented and I WOULD definitely get it notarized. Some cruise lines (like Princess) also require that if a parent is traveling alone with kids- that everyone in the party has a passport, not just a birth certificate. Also, if your children have different last names than you- bring along their birth certificates to show that you are their parent.

So to recap:

Passports for everyone

Birth certificates if you have a different last name than your children

Notarized letter of consent from parent.

I always bring them and HAVE been asked for them. It depends on how savvy the check-in person is.

My boss and his DD, boss's wife (of three months) and her two kids -- cruise out of Texas in January(ish) of this year.

Boss's DD is 19YO. BW's son is 20YO other is 17YO (turning 18 during the cruise). I'm not certain of the cruise line, but they were at checkin pretty early and were asked for permission papers for the 17YO. BW had red flags all over the place -- having just changed her name with the marrage so all of her paper work was brand spanking new and the reservations were made 6 months early with her maiden name and then switched pre-cruise so they would match her new ID. So it is not surprising that they scrutinized the whole party BW did not have permission papers for her 6'5" 230lb linebacker son. Fortunately she had a good relationship with her ex and fortunately he works in a bank and was able to get the paperwork to BW and it was cleared up so they could board (after over three hours waiting in the terminal). The paperwork was notarized but obviously the raised seal did not fax well :D -- but it could be seen on the fax and autheticated with the notary. Now whether any or all of that may have been necessary had the other situations not been there . . . :confused:

But boss should have known better. When he took his two daughters on a cruise five or so years ago. He had problems boarding - just him and the girls, and DDs are foreign adoptions, with different last names (they retained their original names so that they did not "lose" their identity). So a white middle-aged dude (and rather sketchy looking at that ;)) with a 14YO Hmong girl and a 16YO Korean girl. Like I told him afterwards, I'm really kind of glad that the border official questioned him -- 'cause that is really an odd situation. But he had BC's and adoption stuff and, for good measure, they questioned each girl separately.

So no "denied boarding" stories, but close enough to serve as a warning that it may be better to be over prepared!

I cruise often with my son and very rarely get a notarized letter. My most recent trip on the Allure I did get a notarized letter because I didn't want to take any chances on being denied boarding (expensive cruise)! No one asked a thing checking in or at customs at the end of the cruise. This cruise went to Mexico, too. My son has a passport and also has my last name.

I am cruising with just my daughter next month without her dad. We all have the same last name. Does anyone have a stock letter or wording they use for their notarized letter? I checked the gov website but found nothing about what a letter from the parent not going should say and RCL says just follow what the us gov tells you to write, so not sure of wording on what I should type up to have notarized. Thanks

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

Years ago, I took my kids to Mexico with me (flying) without their dad. I have the same last name as one but not the other.

My ex wrote a letter along the lines of:

My ex-wife NAME has my permission to travel with our children, NAME and NAME to Mexico on <date> via <flight info> until <date> via <flight info>.

If there are any questions, please contact me at <contact info>

NAME

(notarized)

The Mexican immigration wanted to see the letter and checked to see if it was notarized, which they required. The kids each had passports.

If I were writing one for a cruise, I'd include the itinerary.

Best of luck to you.

I may have posted this already, but I recently took a land vacation to the U.K. with my DD and one of her friends. At immigration at Heathrow, I was asked for my husband's death certificate and for the notarized permission to travel letter, signed by my daughter's friend's parents.

I chatted with the agent who told me that yes, they would deny entry into the UK without this documentation. Better safe than sorry. I always bring everything.

I have not had any issues with a cruise (as it will be my kids first cruise in October this year) but had had a problem travelling to France.

We were travelling by coach, myself, my partner of 5 years and my kids aged 6 and 7 at the time. The kids have their fathers surname, I have reverted to my maiden name and my partner (though we are now married under my maiden name) had not changed the passport from the old name. So we were a group of 4, travelling under 3 different surnames and the kids did not match either of us!

We did not have any letters or birth certificates (it was our first holiday abroad and just getting on the coach on time was an accomplishment) so the French Police were obviously cautious.

We were allowed entry, but I guess it could have gone either way!

We, the undersigned, FATHER's NAMe and MOTHER's NAME, do herby approve for our daughter, NAME ON PASSPORT, whose birthday is ______, and our son, NAME ON PASSPORT, whose birthday is ________, permission to travel with their mother, INSERT MOM's NAME, whose birthday is _______, to DESTINATION on DATE, for a land vacation that also includes a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s SHIP NAME, cruising from EMBARK DATE through DEBARK DATE, before returning to Houston, Texas on FLIGHT DATE. Their father, INSERT DAD's NAME, will not be present for this trip.

In the event that I cannot be reached for input in an emergency situation, I grant MOTHER's NAME, permission to make any and all medical decisions for our children. Should she be incapacitated, GRANDFATHER's NAMEand GRANDMOTHER's NAME have our permission to make any and all medical decisions for our children should both parents not be able to make those decisions in a timely medical manner.

Thanks for the info and the shell letter of what has been used!

Great letter form!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk