Foster Children on a Cruise

We recently been blessed with a 2 year old boy in our home right before the holidays. We have a family cruise planned for April and DSS has given us permission to take him with us. They are currently working on getting a document from the judge that states he can travel with us and detailed itinerary. We already have a copy of his birth certificate. Once we get the document from the court we plan to bring Carnival in the picture. My question is there something else we will need that we should be working on at this time? He was placed in our home unexpectedly and my wife and I both work and we have a 4 year old so it has been scramble to get us all adjusted etc. I know we have over 3 months before the cruise but I like to have all my duck in a row way before I have to. I forgot to mention we are from NC

THAnks

Beautiful story, wish I had the answer!!!! God Bless you two!!

My travel agent had two foster children and planned a cruise. He was able to get permission for one of the kids, via the courts, but he had huge problems with the second child. The first child's parents were incarcerated so they had absolutely no say in the matter. But with the second child, they had to make efforts to contact the biological father---he apparently had no idea he had a child, but was listed on the birth certificate. It was a huge hassle, but on the day before the cruise, the courts cleared the child for travel. All they needed were the birth certificates, the letter from DFS and the court orders.

Have a great cruise. You deserve it.

We're a foster family too (hihi!)

Glad to see the court gave you permission (we actually cancelled a cruise when our daughter came to us as a foster). From a flight perspective, the birth certificate and note from DSS was sufficient.

However... since its not TSA at the docks and you're at the whim of whomever the security company is... for your own peace of mind, I'd get permission from the cruise line - in writing.

You can also write the state dept (I did this ,as we are post finalization, but still don't have DD's new birth certificate) and get an email from THEM stating their requirements

good luck!!!

The court order will be absolutely necessary, as you're normally not allowed to travel outside the country without an affidavit of permission from both biological parents. Enjoy your vacation, and parenthood!

Thank you all for your wonderful replies!

We recently been blessed with a 2 year old boy in our home right before the holidays. We have a family cruise planned for April and DSS has given us permission to take him with us. They are currently working on getting a document from the judge that states he can travel with us and detailed itinerary. We already have a copy of his birth certificate. Once we get the document from the court we plan to bring Carnival in the picture. My question is there something else we will need that we should be working on at this time? He was placed in our home unexpectedly and my wife and I both work and we have a 4 year old so it has been scramble to get us all adjusted etc. I know we have over 3 months before the cruise but I like to have all my duck in a row way before I have to. I forgot to mention we are from NC

THAnks

Congratulations on your placement.. is this your first foster child? I am a foster mom and have also adopted 2 children out of foster care. We have been cruising since they were 2 and 3 yrs old..

Ok, here's what I had to do.. I let my kids social worker know about the trip, then she had to schedule a special court date to make the formal request to the judge. I had to provide the court with my itinerary and all travel plans. Once he ok'd the vacation, he put it in writing, so i could take it with me. As long as its a closed-loop cruise (starts and ends at same US port), then you just need their birth certificate. MAKE SURE the name on the BC matches what the courts have on their paperwork.. My son had "baby boy" on his bc, and my daughter had a different last name on hers, so I had to get a separate letter from social services stating that "this child aka" belongs with "this birth certificate"..make sense?

I also got a couple "direct" phone numbers that the port could call just in case there were any problems at check in.. Get to the port early for check in so there is enough time in case you need anything additional faxed, etc..

Another thing.. if the child will use the childrens camp, make sure you check off on the paperwork that they may NOT post any pictures of your child in their marketing.. it is against the law to post pics of foster children in public..

I wish I had known all of this before my first cruise with the kids, i had to scramble like CRAZY and even call customs to figure it all out..

Good luck and if there is anything else you need to know, feel free to ask, as i may know and just forgot to put it..

HAVE FUN!! :D

Tracy

Congratulations on your placement.. is this your first foster child? I am a foster mom and have also adopted 2 children out of foster care. We have been cruising since they were 2 and 3 yrs old..

Ok, here's what I had to do.. I let my kids social worker know about the trip, then she had to schedule a special court date to make the formal request to the judge. I had to provide the court with my itinerary and all travel plans. Once he ok'd the vacation, he put it in writing, so i could take it with me. As long as its a closed-loop cruise (starts and ends at same US port), then you just need their birth certificate. MAKE SURE the name on the BC matches what the courts have on their paperwork.. My son had "baby boy" on his bc, and my daughter had a different last name on hers, so I had to get a separate letter from social services stating that "this child aka" belongs with "this birth certificate"..make sense?

I also got a couple "direct" phone numbers that the port could call just in case there were any problems at check in.. Get to the port early for check in so there is enough time in case you need anything additional faxed, etc..

Another thing.. if the child will use the childrens camp, make sure you check off on the paperwork that they may NOT post any pictures of your child in their marketing.. it is against the law to post pics of foster children in public..

I wish I had known all of this before my first cruise with the kids, i had to scramble like CRAZY and even call customs to figure it all out..

Good luck and if there is anything else you need to know, feel free to ask, as i may know and just forgot to put it..

HAVE FUN!! :D

Tracy

This is our first foster child. We adopted our daughter but she did not spend time in foster care so this is all new to us. Thank you bunches for the advice it is greatly appreciated

Did you find out anything yet? We also are foster parents in NC contemplating a cruise in April, awaiting the Social Workers reply.

So happy to see that you have opened your home and taking a child to see the world. I use to be a social worker and have such a great appreciation for people like you. I hope this is your best cruise ever.

Did you find out anything yet? We also are foster parents in NC contemplating a cruise in April, awaiting the Social Workers reply.

Yes we got approval and we received our certified letter from the court. DSS is getting us a new copy of his birth certificate and I have spoken with CCL and all is a go. It turned out uneventful but knowing me I will be a little nervous until our family is on the ship.

I do want to add that we just concluded a very stressful TPR and from my understanding our approval was based on that.

Good Luck to you and have a wonderful cruise!!

So happy to see that you have opened your home and taking a child to see the world. I use to be a social worker and have such a great appreciation for people like you. I hope this is your best cruise ever.

Thank You!

He has truly been a blessing to our home!

We're a foster family too (hihi!)

 

Glad to see the court gave you permission (we actually cancelled a cruise when our daughter came to us as a foster). From a flight perspective, the birth certificate and note from DSS was sufficient.

 

However... since its not TSA at the docks and you're at the whim of whomever the security company is... for your own peace of mind, I'd get permission from the cruise line - in writing.

 

You can also write the state dept (I did this ,as we are post finalization, but still don't have DD's new birth certificate) and get an email from THEM stating their requirements

 

good luck!!!

wcurry66 How did you contact the state dept.? What other documents for your DD are you bringing? We just finalized the adoption of our son on Thursday and I'm sure there is no way well be able to get his new birth certificate and a new passport by march.

wcurry66 How did you contact the state dept.? What other documents for your DD are you bringing? We just finalized the adoption of our son on Thursday and I'm sure there is no way well be able to get his new birth certificate and a new passport by march.

I went to https://help.cbp.gov/app/ask/session/L2F2LzEvc2lkL0pqbkQ0b2tr

and posted a question. I got a quick email reply.

As for passport, you'd be surprised! Right now the non-expedited passports are taking 6 weeks. You can get one quicker by paying extra

good luck

It's not just the pass port, it's getting a new birth certificate that worries me. It took 4 months to get a new birth certificate when we adopted first son.

Thanks for the link, every bit helps.

Only 45 more days! Yippee

It took a LONG time to get the new birth certificates here in California.. I just went ahead and waited to book a cruise until I got it, the people at the cruise lines really don't have any idea how all this adoption stuff works, and they really offer little leniency unfortunately.. Call your post-adoption worker and see what they say you should do..

I got the passport using the original birth certificate and the certificate of adoption. I've given up hope of getting the new birth certificate :D

It's not just the pass port, it's getting a new birth certificate that worries me. It took 4 months to get a new birth certificate when we adopted first son.

 

Thanks for the link, every bit helps.

 

Only 45 more days! Yippee

I just wanted to post to give our experience from Canada. I am a foster parent in Canada to 2 wonderful sons. I have had them since birth and they are now 5 & 8 yrs old. I took a cruise November 09 and took my foster sons. I had to get extra information for their passports which made it tough. I had court documents that stated that the parents get visitation with the elder child but our experience showed that they only saw him til he was 1.5 yrs then both incarcerated then lost touch and I was questioned if I needed their signature for the passport. I was in the office for 2 hours trying to get it organized. The social worker for the other son did all the foot work and we got his passport back quickly. I needed letters from the case workers allowing me to take them out of the country. I did all that work and didnt get questioned at all. I am glad we did have alll the documentation done and didnt get any trouble. I am also happy that the social worker for the younger son paid for his cruise fare and flights!! That sure took a cut off how much we had to pay. It was an experience of a lifetime and now as a single parent they want me to take them on another cruise. I am considering it in the fall. I love my foster children and am so glad that this was an experience that they otherwise would have never gotten a chance to do had they not been taken from their families. Unfortunately both families have history of repeat incarceration.

I just wanted to post to give our experience from Canada. I am a foster parent in Canada to 2 wonderful sons. I have had them since birth and they are now 5 & 8 yrs old. I took a cruise November 09 and took my foster sons. I had to get extra information for their passports which made it tough. I had court documents that stated that the parents get visitation with the elder child but our experience showed that they only saw him til he was 1.5 yrs then both incarcerated then lost touch and I was questioned if I needed their signature for the passport. I was in the office for 2 hours trying to get it organized. The social worker for the other son did all the foot work and we got his passport back quickly. I needed letters from the case workers allowing me to take them out of the country. I did all that work and didnt get questioned at all. I am glad we did have alll the documentation done and didnt get any trouble. I am also happy that the social worker for the younger son paid for his cruise fare and flights!! That sure took a cut off how much we had to pay. It was an experience of a lifetime and now as a single parent they want me to take them on another cruise. I am considering it in the fall. I love my foster children and am so glad that this was an experience that they otherwise would have never gotten a chance to do had they not been taken from their families. Unfortunately both families have history of repeat incarceration.

Glad everything worked out well. You are a wonderful foster parent. I am curious about why haven't YOUR sons bilogical parents rights been revoked after 5 & 8 years. It amazes me how long children can end up in foster care vs a permanent situation.

Glad everything worked out well. You are a wonderful foster parent. I am curious about why haven't YOUR sons bilogical parents rights been revoked after 5 & 8 years. It amazes me how long children can end up in foster care vs a permanent situation.

I was thinking the exact same thing, I know some cases drag on, but I hate to think for 8 years.

CruiserNC, have a fabulous trip with your growing family. (That was the theme of our adoption celebration- "Our Family Tree is Growing", I've joked that when we adopt again our invites are just going to say "We're at it again, We've added another branch ;)!)

We are foster parents as well and adopted both of our children last year. We will be taking our oldest, he's two, on his first cruise in May.

I'm not sure if there is any relevance to this...but what about insurance coverage? Does your insurance cover the child or is it a separate coverage that you need to carry with you in case of mishaps/accidents?

I'm not sure if there is any relevance to this...but what about insurance coverage? Does your insurance cover the child or is it a separate coverage that you need to carry with you in case of mishaps/accidents?

That is a great question! We presented this to his DSS worker yesterday and she stated that while in the U.S. he is covered by his medicaid but out of the country we are expected to do whatever it takes to get his needs met(who wouldn't). We are currently researching travel insurance.

I was thinking the exact same thing, I know some cases drag on, but I hate to think for 8 years.

 

CruiserNC, have a fabulous trip with your growing family. (That was the theme of our adoption celebration- "Our Family Tree is Growing", I've joked that when we adopt again our invites are just going to say "We're at it again, We've added another branch ;)!)

 

We are foster parents as well and adopted both of our children last year. We will be taking our oldest, he's two, on his first cruise in May.

You and your family have a fabulous trip as well! Keep adding those branches their are golden branches laying everywhere!

We just got our son's new passport with his new name. :D But just to be safe, we are still going to bring all his documentation. (Original Passport, New Passport and the adoption degree). 21 days to go!!!

Thanks for all the advice.

That's super news. We have been to Europe and South America many times over the last 10 years, and I always bring a copy of DD's adoption decree. Never had to use it once, but will continue to bring it. belt and suspenders, you know.

DD is on her third passport, and I always need it to renew.

Bon Voyage,

Liz