Parental Consent letter - is it required?

[kona_wahine]

I just took my granddaughter on the Spirit out of Seattle, different last names. I took notarized letter from her mom. No one asked to see it. If there had been a medical emergency I would have been glad to have it. 

[mondello]

14 hours ago, klfrodo said:

Would be interesting to hear what Ferry_Watcher has to say about this subject since they actually work the check-in lines albeit at the Seattle terminal.

 

Anybody know how to tag a board member to catch their attention?

@Ferry_Watcher

Edited July 13, 2022 by mondello

[Ferry_Watcher]

On 7/12/2022 at 9:01 AM, klfrodo said:

Would be interesting to hear what Ferry_Watcher has to say about this subject since they actually work the check-in lines albeit at the Seattle terminal.

 

Anybody know how to tag a board member to catch their attention?

Certainly having a signed letter from the parents would be wise to have, but as other posters have noted, it isn't always asked to be shown.  Grandparents, divorced parents, parents with different last names embark on cruises with kids all the time without any problem.  I think there have been a few times that I have asked the child who they were traveling with.  If the child smiles and says 'grandpa' then it satisfies any question I had.  If a check-in agent had a concern, a supervisor would become involved, and if there was a really serious concern, then security would be notified.  But generally speaking, it's an everyday occurrence.  It's different from the example of traveling (driving) across the Canadian border, as that could be a child custody interference situation.  A 7 day round trip cruise to Alaska has everyone who boarded the ship,  disembarking seven days later. 

 

Personally I have never seen anyone denied boarding  for not having a letter.  I would think if there was a question, pier management would be calling the parent to verify, and maybe have a email acknowledgement, or a permission letter electronically sent to the pier.

[bguppies]

12 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

  It's different from the example of traveling (driving) across the Canadian border, as that could be a child custody interference situation.  A 7 day round trip cruise to Alaska has everyone who boarded the ship,  disembarking seven days later. 

 

Not really.

A parent who lost custody of a child, cruising would be a fantastic way to smuggle a child out of the country to the Bahamas, or Mexico, or Belize, etc.

Just get off the ship with the kid in whatever country you want to relocate to and nobody checks info on the other side.

The ship will have to report it to authorities when they don't return to the ship. But they'll have a head start to starting a new life circumventing customs in the US.

[wemjam]

One other thought on this matter to think about.  We always got the letter because I wanted to make sure I was meeting all the legal requirements set forth by customs, etc. just in case.  But the other reason was because my husband's ex could be a bit of a pill for sure.  I would never have expected her to do it, but I always had it in the back of my mind that if we did leave out of the country with the kids and she wanted to create a stink, she could really make his life a mess if she contacted the authorities and said he was absconding with the kids.

 

Like I said I would like to believe she would never do that, but through the years of dealing with her wack-a-doodle nature, there was always this nagging better safe than sorry feeling for sure.

 

So anyone that has a tumultuous relationship with their ex, something else to take into consideration.  Better to have their signature in case they get a bug up their backside.

[sanmarcosman]

Only if you want your kid back 😉 

[klfrodo]

17 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

Certainly having a signed letter from the parents would be wise to have, but as other posters have noted, it isn't always asked to be shown.  Grandparents, divorced parents, parents with different last names embark on cruises with kids all the time without any problem.  I think there have been a few times that I have asked the child who they were traveling with.  If the child smiles and says 'grandpa' then it satisfies any question I had.  If a check-in agent had a concern, a supervisor would become involved, and if there was a really serious concern, then security would be notified.  But generally speaking, it's an everyday occurrence.  It's different from the example of traveling (driving) across the Canadian border, as that could be a child custody interference situation.  A 7 day round trip cruise to Alaska has everyone who boarded the ship,  disembarking seven days later. 

 

Personally I have never seen anyone denied boarding  for not having a letter.  I would think if there was a question, pier management would be calling the parent to verify, and maybe have a email acknowledgement, or a permission letter electronically sent to the pier.

Thanks for weighing in on this.

 

I was hoping to hear that there was some sort of training that goes on behind the scenes that people in your position receive that might help in picking up body language or such for possible human trafficking. I have read that flight attendants receive such training. Or maybe, unbeknownst to us, there are security features in the background that we don't see to help minimize this opportunity. If not, it's a broken link and a wide open portal.

[Lane Hog]

Here's why I place little faith in the notarized letter "requirement"...  it's window dressing and only the appearance of officialness...

For $25 or less, you too can own a notary stamp and stamp things to make them look officially official:  https://www.amazon.com/s?k=notary+stamp

 

For legal matters where the people reviewing the document can validate the notary's legitimacy, it's a great option.  Someone at a check-in desk or even a Customs counter won't know if it's legit or not.

Edited July 14, 2022 by Lane Hog

[klfrodo]

2 hours ago, Lane Hog said:

Here's why I place little faith in the notarized letter "requirement"...  it's window dressing and only the appearance of officialness...

Valid concern. However, I'm going to assume that you're not pro human trafficking. Therefore, what would be your acceptable suggestion?

Speed limit signs don't stop people from speeding either but it's a deterrent. TSA doesn't stop all things getting thru either, but it's a deterrent. At least police monitor speeds and even they don't catch everyone. TSA has profilers monitoring for suspicious activity at airports and even they miss things occasionally.

Why wouldn't someone want an additional deterrent in place to stop child abduction, or human trafficking at cruise ports.

Notarized letter requirements could be 1 additional layer to the security. I would also like to see at least 1 or 2 of the port security team be trained in profiling for human traffickers.

[Lane Hog]

 

On 7/14/2022 at 6:29 PM, klfrodo said:

Why wouldn't someone want an additional deterrent in place to stop child abduction, or human trafficking at cruise ports.

 

Frankly, because deterrents only keep the honest people honest.  The people engaging in abduction or trafficking are going to find a way to bypass the system with their own official looking pretend documents that will probably pass scrutiny from the folks who wouldn't know any better.

 

On 7/14/2022 at 6:29 PM, klfrodo said:

I would also like to see at least 1 or 2 of the port security team be trained in profiling for human traffickers.

You'd be better off letting CBP do that.  They're already trained.  Right now they play no official role in the boarding process, but that's not to say they can't be watchful observers for body language and patterns i.e. the traffickers won't be the first on -- they'll show up towards the end hoping the agents and security are in a rush to get everyone thru and less likely to pay attention to details...  It's the same reason the drug cartel mules don't show up when the border checkpoint is empty.  They show up when there are two hour waits...

 

[sanger727]

While human trafficking is a concern. When dealing with kids traveling with a single parent, custody concerns are much bigger issue. People who say that they didn't think they needed permission to take their child on "vacation" are missing that it's really to take the child out of the country. Definitely better to have a not need than need and not have. There are many parents with contentious divorces and child custody issues.