Anyone denied boarding for not having parental authorization?

[n6uqqq]

The reality is a woman could say I have no idea who the father is and what could they say back? 😉

[drgonzogoo]

We travel with fiance's daughter, and we all have diff last names. They have passports. We took her niece a few yrs ago, she has same last name as her, we took a parental letter and was never asked, she also had a passport. We are taking her nephew this year, same last name, and will probs take a letter, even though it may be redundant. 

If you have a passport for your child, you should be fine.

[TNcruising02]

Even though this isn't the same thing, I just booked a cruise on Royal and am taking my 17 year old grandson.  I do have to have a form notarized, but only one of his parents need to sign it. Royal has a consent form, but I couldn't find one for Carnival.

When I cruised on Disney in 2013, we took my youngest son and two of his friends.  All were 17.  I did have notes from the parents, but were never asked for them.

This is what Carnival states, and it looks like the letter doesn't have to be notarized:
Traveling with Minors
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. If there is no second parent with legal claims to the minor (due to sole custody, deceased, etc.) other relevant paperwork, such as a court decision, death certificate, birth certificate naming only one parent, would be useful to bring in place of a signed letter. This will expedite processing by the Department of Homeland Security.

[grandmarnnurse]

18 hours ago, lcantw3658 said:

Travelling in 2 weeks with friends. One of them is divorced and taking her 5 year old twins. I've told her she needs ex to give permission to take out of country but she does not want to attempt to get it from him. They are not on friendliest terms but they do share joint legal custody with 60/40 physical custody. 

Carnival website is actually pretty ambiguous and states that they "highly recommend" written notarized consent from other parent in order to avoid any customs issues. 

Do they absolutely need it or not? Will they be denied boarding without it? 

My daughter has been divorced for 10 years, and cruises frequently. Since the divorce, she has ALWAYS gotten a notarized consent to take their 4 children on cruises. There is no way that she would risk being denied boarding! And her relationship with her ex has not been amiable. One cruise, he waited until morning of their flight before handing over consent. Just a power move on his part. A real jerk, especially since he was the cause of the divorce (cheating for MONTHS after the birth of their twins). 

[sailawaybellaluna]

I would get the notarized paperwork for sure!

 

My experience is a bit different. I am NOT divorced, but I frequently cruise and fly internationally with my two children without their father/my husband (or he meets us at the destination). I also still have my maiden name, therefore different from our kids on passports.

 

I have been asked several times not only to prove I'm the mother, but also that I have permission to take our children internationally.

 

In terms of cruising, I had to provide the notarized letter in August in the port of Seattle, in June, 2016 in the port of Athens, Greece, and in November, 2013 in the port of Southampton, England. I've done lots of cruises in between times with no one asking for anything. But it's better to be safe than get denied. In these three instances I specifically asked the staff if I would have been denied boarding without the letter (plus birth certificates) and they said YES!

[Organized Chaos]

46 minutes ago, n6uqqq said:

The reality is a woman could say I have no idea who the father is and what could they say back? 😉

 

If they really wanted to be sticklers about it, they could ask for the birth cert. with only the mother's name to prove there isn't a father. That's one of the examples Carnival gives. Or she could take a few candidates with her on Maury Povich and maybe find out who the father is. 😁

 

37 minutes ago, TNcruising02 said:

Royal has a consent form, but I couldn't find one for Carnival.

 

I ended up doing a search and getting a generic one off the web, then altered it a bit to suit our needs. Whether it needed to be notarized or not, I had it done. I have a notary in the family, so that part was easy.

[jojo0356]

I have legal custody of my grandchildren and have taken them on two cruises. Only one of which did I have to show documentation for them by customs not Carnival personnel. I wouldn´t take the chance not worth the hassle.

[IDKaren]

It is customs you have to worry about..NOT the cruise ship,  Customs can get VERY nasty if they choose to! Even with a notarized letter from daughter and birth certificate they held us up for a very long time..third degreed my granddaughter and I really did not know if we would get back into USA. The airlines and cruise lines could have cared less. COVER your bases!

[Treyatl2006]

I took my neice and they didnt ask for it. I had it just incase but more than likely they wont ask for it. 

[lazydayz]

We have taken our granddaughters on more than 10 cruises. We were only asked for the letter once and it was at check-in at Port Canaveral.  The best practice is to have it, just in case. 

[Galatz]

19 hours ago, jessykaw said:

I can’t imagine the cruise line asking your relationship status. 

 

*Cruise line rep* - “Are you a single parent”? “Are you a divorced parent”? “Are you married, but traveling without your spouse”?

 

 

Relationship status is meaningless. Its US law to avoid kidnapping or one parent leaving the country without telling the other parent. Even if married couples travel separately you are required to get a notarized letter from your spouse.

 

A father traveling with his kids and new wife is a lot less likely to be questioned than a mother with a new name from the kids.

[dallasdan]

I have taken my SIL and her daughter on several cruises and customs never asked for any paperwork.  I have also taken my own kids friends in which I had a signed letter from the parents and was never asked for the paperwork.  I understand the OP's issue, in that there are several ex spouses out there that wouldn't sign any paperwork out of spite toward the other parent.  They don't think about the ruined vacation for the kids.  Also, my nieces dad hasn't been apart of her life and she doesn't want anything to do with him.  He would be one of those dads that wouldn't sign the paper.  Not to make this a debate about bad ex parents, but why should he get to decide if his daughter goes on vacation when he doesn't even see her.  

[Gamecock_Cruiser]

Worst case, they ask for it and boarding is denied.... best case, they don't and you are "smooth sailing".

 

That is like asking can you speed while driving and will you get pulled... sure you can speed and you odds are to likely of getting pulled, but expect a ticket if you are caught...

[dallasdan]

I don't think she will have any issues boarding the ship.  The issue may arise at customs when reentering the US.  You get the wrong customs agent.

[Organized Chaos]

2 hours ago, Gamecock_Cruiser said:

Worst case, they ask for it and boarding is denied.... best case, they don't and you are "smooth sailing".

 

As has been said many times in this thread, it's not the cruise line and boarding a person needs to worry about. It's not for the cruise line, it's for customs upon return. So it may be smooth sailing during the cruise, but the return could be ugly if customs asks for the letter and the person doesn't have it. I don't care how good the cruise was, it'd be ruined if I was charged with or accused of kidnapping upon return.

 

I can understand the hesitation of some if an ex is involved who might cause a stink, but if it's a child's friend or if there won't be push-back from the ex, why risk it? It's easy to print a letter and have it signed, and it's better than the alternative if they ask for it. If they want it and you don't have it, it's not as simple as a speeding ticket.

[Husky61]

On 1/19/2020 at 9:06 PM, IDKaren said:

It is customs you have to worry about. and I really did not know if we would get back into USA.

U.S. citizens cannot be denied entry to the U.S. for any reason, including for refusing to produce passwords, provide device access, or submit electronic devices for a search. But they can delay you.😞

[Elaine5715]

My parents' divorce agreement required court approval to take the kids out of the state even though all our relatives lived out of state.   Each court appearance to get permission cost money and he used it to ask for a reduction in child support. It was a d**k move since my father knew my mom always wanted to travel.  Never underestimate the vindictiveness in a divorce 

[Elaine5715]

On 1/19/2020 at 1:03 PM, n6uqqq said:

The reality is a woman could say I have no idea who the father is and what could they say back? 😉

They can just deny boarding.

[purplekisses]

I have cruise with Carnival 20 times with various children, my kids, nieces, grandkids etc.  I have had signed parent consent for my grandson but no one else.  I have never been asked for.  The only thing my grandson was ever asked, is who I am?  Then they tell what a nice grandma he has for taking him.

[topofE]

My kid is about to turn platinum, has always cruised without dad, never had a letter.  Never been asked for a letter.  At customs they ask her, "Is this your mom? DId you have fun?" and that is it.  There is a lot of fear mongering here, and a good bit of bad information as well.  You cannot be denied reentry to the US for starters.  Unless you are specifically waging war against the US or engaging in espionage, you cannot be denied reentry to the US.  Taking your own child out of the country is NOT kidnapping and a noncustodial father raising a stink at the port could find themselves in much more trouble than the mother for making false claims, filing false reports, etc.  If mom is not violating a court order, and is not denying the visitation of the child then it would be about impossible to even make a kidnapping claim.  That being said, if she wants the peace of mind have her get the letter.  But it isn't my ex husbands business what I do with my money, how we spend it, and what we do as long as it isn't violating his parental rights of visitation.  

[Elaine5715]

26 minutes ago, topofE said:

My kid is about to turn platinum, has always cruised without dad, never had a letter.  Never been asked for a letter.  At customs they ask her, "Is this your mom? DId you have fun?" and that is it.  There is a lot of fear mongering here, and a good bit of bad information as well.  You cannot be denied reentry to the US for starters.  Unless you are specifically waging war against the US or engaging in espionage, you cannot be denied reentry to the US.  Taking your own child out of the country is NOT kidnapping and a noncustodial father raising a stink at the port could find themselves in much more trouble than the mother for making false claims, filing false reports, etc.  If mom is not violating a court order, and is not denying the visitation of the child then it would be about impossible to even make a kidnapping claim.  That being said, if she wants the peace of mind have her get the letter.  But it isn't my ex husbands business what I do with my money, how we spend it, and what we do as long as it isn't violating his parental rights of visitation.  

It would not be a false claim unless the divorce agreement allowed travel outside the US without consent.  If the agreement does not address travel, the other parent can raise a legitimate stink.  Parental kidnapping isn't rare and just because someone is on a cruise doesn't always make them without bad intent.  

[Organized Chaos]

25 minutes ago, topofE said:

My kid is about to turn platinum, has always cruised without dad, never had a letter.  Never been asked for a letter.  At customs they ask her, "Is this your mom? DId you have fun?" and that is it.  There is a lot of fear mongering here, and a good bit of bad information as well.  You cannot be denied reentry to the US for starters.  Unless you are specifically waging war against the US or engaging in espionage, you cannot be denied reentry to the US.  Taking your own child out of the country is NOT kidnapping and a noncustodial father raising a stink at the port could find themselves in much more trouble than the mother for making false claims, filing false reports, etc.  If mom is not violating a court order, and is not denying the visitation of the child then it would be about impossible to even make a kidnapping claim.  That being said, if she wants the peace of mind have her get the letter.  But it isn't my ex husbands business what I do with my money, how we spend it, and what we do as long as it isn't violating his parental rights of visitation.  

 

Talk about bad information. First, I don't believe there is any fear mongering happening here. A vast majority of posts in favor of having a letter simply say, in so many words, that it's better to be safe than sorry. That's not fear mongering, that's just good advice. Carnival themselves recommends the letter. Are they fear mongering? Also, no one has claimed someone would be denied entry. One person said they (specifically them) "did not know if we would get back into USA." That person was speaking of their own personal fears, not claiming that people would be denied entry. Everyone has said, at worst, you'd be stopped and questioned or maybe detained. You're exaggerating what's being said in this thread and have blown it way out of proportions.

 

A parent can most certainly be charged with kidnapping their own child. Not just if traveling out of the country, but traveling out of state or locally. If that parent doesn't have the legal authority to take the child, they can be charged. You say it's none of the ex's business. If they have legal parental rights to the child, then it most certainly is their business.

 

When it's all said and done, what a majority of people have said here is, take the letter as a safety net. Many of us have made the point that, in all likelihood, they won't ask for it. But there are enough times that they do ask that you might as well take it. CBP may not ask for it most of the time, but the fact that they do ask for it at least some of the time is good enough reason to be prepared. It's irresponsible advice to tell someone otherwise.

[KansasBeachLover]

Cruising with RCL when I took my 17 year old son and his 17 year old friend, I had to have statement signed by both of his friend's parents and notarized and I was asked for it at the port.  But that was RCL.  I never traveled with a minor on Carnival.

[TonyinMD]

Cruised with my kids on 6 occasions in a small blended family.

 

My wife and I have had signed authorization letters each time...none notarized though.

 

I was never asked to produce the letters by either the people at security during check in or Customs when getting off the ship.  In fact,  the last cruise was the only one where anybody even bothered asking the kids questions...Security when checking in simply asked my kids what their birthdays were and the names of their parents...Customs just asked the names of their parents.

 

Others obviously though have had different experiences.

[webzila]

On 1/19/2020 at 12:03 PM, n6uqqq said:

The reality is a woman could say I have no idea who the father is and what could they say back? 😉

 

Or say the father is dead. Who will sign this document then?