Traveling with minor - not my child

[mek]

On 5/22/2019 at 2:00 PM, Shaded Lady said:

 

Carnival's site does not indicate the letter needs to be notarized. 

But why wouldn't you do that?  That makes it a legal document and in case of an emergency, that is certainly what I would want to have in my possession.

[chocolate melting cake]

We;ve taken our granddaughters twice----each time we asked our son and daughter-in-law to sign and notarize this paper. We were never asked to produce it -- but next year we'll have them do it again. If you're going to err, to it on the side of caution!

 

 

[lennythenose]

On 5/22/2019 at 11:03 PM, IDKaren said:

he still gave us a hard time because it wasn’t a RAISED notary stamp. 

I don’t doubt this but find it interesting. I was a notary here in Texas got several years (until last year) and never had a raised stamp to use. Just plain ole ink stamper. 

[lennythenose]

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Edited May 31, 2019 by lennythenose

[lennythenose]

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Edited May 31, 2019 by lennythenose

[lennythenose]

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Edited May 31, 2019 by lennythenose

[Organized Chaos]

On 5/22/2019 at 12:56 PM, Shaded Lady said:

It does not need to be notarized, which is what my friend was asking.

 

I could've swore Carnival's FAQ's used to say "notarized letter." We took our son's friend last year and that was the reason I added a place for the notary to sign the letter I made. I just checked the DHS site and they don't say notarized either. I wonder if Carnival changed their FAQ's to match DHS. Or maybe I'm just imagining it was there. Whatever the case, if we ever had to do it again, I'd still have it notarized just to make it official. Cross my T's and dot my I's.

 

3 hours ago, lennythenose said:

I don’t doubt this but find it interesting. I was a notary here in Texas got several years (until last year) and never had a raised stamp to use. Just plain ole ink stamper. 

 

As I mentioned above, we took our son's friend last year and I had our travel letter notarized. I have a notary in the family and they don't have a raised seal either, just the stamp.

[Shaded Lady]

4 hours ago, mek said:

But why wouldn't you do that?  That makes it a legal document and in case of an emergency, that is certainly what I would want to have in my possession.

Ummm, because Carnival's site says I don't need to?

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2544/~/minor-guest-policy

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.

[Shaded Lady]

13 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

I could've swore Carnival's FAQ's used to say "notarized letter." We took our son's friend last year and that was the reason I added a place for the notary to sign the letter I made. I just checked the DHS site and they don't say notarized either. I wonder if Carnival changed their FAQ's to match DHS. Or maybe I'm just imagining it was there. Whatever the case, if we ever had to do it again, I'd still have it notarized just to make it official. Cross my T's and dot my I's.

 

As I mentioned above, we took our son's friend last year and I had our travel letter notarized. I have a notary in the family and they don't have a raised seal either, just the stamp.

In spite of my pique at MEK and even though it probably is not ABSOLUTELY required, I'd probably follow your advice and get the letter notarized, just in case. My luck, I'd get that one butthole at DHS who would insist it needed to be!

[IDKaren]

27 minutes ago, Shaded Lady said:

In spite of my pique at MEK and even though it probably is not ABSOLUTELY required, I'd probably follow your advice and get the letter notarized, just in case. My luck, I'd get that one butthole at DHS who would insist it needed to be!

Yes and I got that one butthole who gave us a bad time that he didn’t like the stamp..that ANYONE could make up a stamp😠..when I got home and looked at their own site it said nothing about a notorized letter! He even third degrees my 9 year old gdaughter if we were REALLY her grandparents! Cover ALL bases!!!

[ray98]

I was asked for the letter several times by Customs.  Carnival may have lower standards but as above, it absolutely needs to be notarized or it is really worthless.

[evandbob]

I took a minor nephew on a few cruises, Carnival never asked for a letter, but on our returns, U.S. Customs did.

Edited June 1, 2019 by evandbob

[Organized Chaos]

17 hours ago, IDKaren said:

He even third degrees my 9 year old gdaughter if we were REALLY her grandparents! Cover ALL bases!!!

 

Interrogating children? Sounds like he was transferred over from the TSA. 😁

 

6 hours ago, evandbob said:

I took a minor nephew on a few cruises, Carnival never asked for a letter, but on our returns, U.S. Customs did.

 

I think in a majority of cases when people do have to show it, it’s not so much Carnival asking than it is CBP. 

 

I was kind of hoping they’d ask us last year for our son’s friend. I wanted to say, he’s not ours but we didn’t like him, so we’re returning him. Knowing my luck, we would’ve gotten a guy without a sense of humor.

[sparks1093]

14 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

Interrogating children? Sounds like he was transferred over from the TSA. 😁

 

 

I think in a majority of cases when people do have to show it, it’s not so much Carnival asking than it is CBP. 

 

I was kind of hoping they’d ask us last year for our son’s friend. I wanted to say, he’s not ours but we didn’t like him, so we’re returning him. Knowing my luck, we would’ve gotten a guy without a sense of humor.

Yes, CBP officers do question kids and they don't allow the adult traveling with the child to provide the answers. Child trafficking is a real issue and while I doubt that anyone doing that is going to be on a closed loop cruise that is the reason for all of the letters, etc. that people bring.