RCCL paperwork for kids/parents with different last names

[LauriefromLondon]

Hi everyone,

 

In the RCCL fine print about paperwork, it says that if parents and kids have different last names, documentation is required to link them. (ie you have to prove that your kids are your kids) This is way up there on the list of dumb rules I have heard of in my life, because I could totally kidnap my nephew, who has my same last name and they would not know or care if he was my son or not, but my own kids, who have thier dad's last name, are a top concern for RCCL?? Anyway, ranting aside, has anyone had a problem boarding RCCL with their differently last-named kids? They are all my biological kids, I just never took DH's name when we got married. My TA was told by RCCL that it "shouldn't" be a problem, but that is not going to help me if we get there and they are difficult about it. Wondering if I should go ahead and get their long form birth certificates at a cost of $100 ($35 each) or if I don't need to bother. (all have passports, but passports don't say who your parents are)

 

Thanks!

[Nebr.cruiser]

Wow, $35 for a birth certificate? Do you have their regular, certified birth certificates (raised seal)? I've never heard the term 'long form birth certificate'.

 

Is your husband going along, and is he the biological father? If he's not going along, I would for sure get a nortarized permission form for each child; the form can be downloaded from RCI and then all you need to do is fill it out and have it notaized.

 

We cruised with grandkids this winter and we absolutely would not have gotten on the cruise without the notarized letters, but yours is a different scenario. You probably won't have a problem, since you are the parent, but it's not worth risking a cruise on.

 

I don't know if you can get a straight, for sure answer from RCI, but I'd sure try.

[LauriefromLondon]

I have passports and original birth certificates for all 3 kids, but neither document states who their parents are. Yes DH is coming and he is their biological father.

It may work differently here in Canada. There is a regular birth certificate (little card) and then a long form one which has more info like parents' names and who knows what else.

Actually starting at the end of this year, Canadian parents will have to present the long form birth certificate to get passports for their kids (renewals will be exempt) so it will be a hot topic I am sure. For now though, I don't "need" them unless RCCL wants to be a pain. We have travelled lots of times and places with the kids before and never had any such issue.

I think I will call RCCL myself and see if I can get a straight answer.

[beachchick]

Actually, it is not RCI being "a pain" or "dumb." RCI is simply complying with the immigration laws of many countries, including Canada, that have child abduction laws in place requiring adults to prove that they have the legal authority to take children from one country to another. Mexico is notoriously strict about this and in some (probably rare, but I don't know) cases, people have been denied boarding for a cruise because they do not have the documentation needed. It doesn't matter if they say, "We won't get off the ship in Mexico" because the country will not accept that as an exception. It's much like having a passport even if only one cruise port requires passports. A passenger could say, "I will remain on the ship at the port in X country." However, the country will not allow the ship to dock unless all passengers have passports (or whatever the required item might be such as a visa).

 

People often do not realize that these laws apply even when the parents are married, everyone has the same surname, and one parent is traveling with the children while the other stays home. The port agents have no way of knowing that the parents are married and that the other parent approves of the international travel. Unfortunately, parental child abductions have resulted in tragedy for everyone involved. That's why some countries have stepped up enforcement of their laws or enacted new laws to help prevent such situations.

 

Yes, members here have reported problems with similar situations. It's not common and some members will write things like, "I've been on 20 cruises and have never been questioned, so you'll be fine." Nonsense. On their 21st cruise, they could just as easily be required to provide documentation. In your case, birth certificates are an absolute must. $35 each?:eek: You might very well never be asked to show them, but you very well could be. I'm a bit surprised that short form Canadian birth certificates don't at least list the child's parents. That's a rather important part of the information.

 

In any case, the port and immigration officials can ask for proof and can deny boarding if you can't provide it. Keep in mind that getting a straight answer from RCI is immaterial in many ways. For one thing, RCI and other cruise lines state that it is the passenger's responsibility to have all documentation that might be required for their cruise. If you don't, the cruise line considers it your problem. It won't matter one whit what the RCI representative says if you are at the port and an immigration or boarding agent says, "You must provide proof that you are these children's parents/guardians or that you have permission from all parents/guardians for this travel." Considering your surname differences, you're far more likely to be required to prove your relationship than if your names were the same. You're quite right that you would be less likely to be questioned if you were cruising with your nephew, assuming that he has a passport and that your husband had the same last name as your nephew. Otherwise, the issue is the same: Who is this second adult with a different surname, is he the parent/guardian, and does he have permission to travel with this minor?

 

I know it's a hassle, but IMO it's not a situation where you should hope for the best and not fuss with the birth certificates. Besides, once you have them, you'll have them for all future cruises and other international travel.

 

beachchick

[LauriefromLondon]

Thanks beachchick, that's probably what I needed to hear. It stinks, but it is what it is.

[Nebr.cruiser]

Sorry, Laurie, I missed that you were from Canada. Now I understand the difference in birth certificate terms.

 

It is kind of ridiculus, as I'm sure very few people (if any) would use a cruise as a way to kidnap a child, but you are better safe than sorry. It is tough to have to shell out $35 to prove your own kids are really yours!

[6rugrats]

What beachchick said! As always, an excellent and informative post about this often debated issue.

 

OP - you do have another option. Skip paying for the BC. Sign a notarized Permission to Travel letter allowing your husband to take the children out-of-the country. Have him present that if anyone questions the different names on the passport. Cheaper by far.

[LauriefromLondon]

I ordered the long form birth certificates this morning. As beachchick says, I may need them for other trips in the future, or who knows what other reason. It's quick to get them right now, so might as well just cough up and then I will have them.

 

Perhaps I should offer to show them my c-section scars?? :eek: LMAO. Although that still wouldn't prove that the scars were from these kids... LOL.;)

[B_Mc]

I had no problem having a different last name than DS but DH was with us...

[crusinmama06]

Wait, are we saying now, that when a married woman doesn't take her husband's name and her husband is traveling with her, then she needs to prove that "both parents" are giving permission for the kids to travel outside the country?

 

Even when the husband/father is on the cruise?

 

Oh geesh, I didn't consider that one.

[RCCL Fan]

The short form birth certificate is much more common. We have them now in Louisiana. I went to get a new certificate last year. They're now tiny little cards, with minimal info. You pay more for the longer ones we're used to. I don't remember the price difference. But I think they both had raised seals.

[LauriefromLondon]

Yes Michele, you've got it right. You have to prove that your kids are your kids, apprently only if you have different last names. Although given that kids are abducted by non-custodial parents all the time, I would not be shocked if they asked even for same last name parents to prove that the kids are theirs.

[cantw8togo]

Yes, I'm one of those parents who has a different last name than the rest of the family, (although our 2 DS's have my last name as their second middle name.) The only time that I have had to produce a long form BC when crossing the border was when I and my youngest were travelling without my DH to go back home to Canada. Of course, I had a notarized letter with his signature and the immigration officer scrutinized everything thoughly.

 

Perhaps we have been naive or lucky, or perhaps the fact that the kids have my surname as part of their name is the reason why we haven't had any problems crossing borders or boarding cruise ships, including on RCI while travelling with just passports.

 

If there was truly any doubt of the kids lineage without any paperwork, the authorities would interview everyone separately and make sure that the stories line up. If there was still any doubt, then you would be denied boarding.

 

To the OP, as you will soon find out when you receive your long form bc's, the certificate is an exact copy, in your handwriting, of the birth certificate form that you filled out when your child was born. In our case, it was in my DH's poor penmanship and mispelled handwriting. Had we known that it would be in our handwriting, I would filled out the form, although I was kind of preoccupied at the time!

[Wilda]

They may ask you at check-in...they asked us on our last cruise in December. My 10 year old grandson was travelling with his mom and his grandparents and all our our last names were different from his. The woman checking us in asked him directly "do you know these people" and "who is this woman" pointing to his mom. We had notarized authorization from his dad (same last name) and a passport but she still asked.

 

IMO you cannot have enough documentation when traveling with a minor that has a differnent last name than everyone else in the party:)

[ata1976]

Me and DS just came off the Elation last week and I had the notarized travel statement signed by DH since he wasn't with us. When i had it with me, No one asked for it when we boarded the ship or got off and on the ship in the ports. The only time I was asked for it was from immigration at the Mobile cruise port coming back into the US.:rolleyes: of course that was the only time I didn't have it within easy access. I had packed it in my luggage so I could have dug it out if necessary. Instead the immigration officer just asked DS, who is 5, if I was his mom and if I had kidnapped him. :D

[ilovetexas]

When I took my step-daughter on RCCL I took a notarized letter from my husband (her father) stating that it was okay. Lots of details about the flight and cruise and that I was allowed to have her in foreign ports, sign authorizations and waivers, and seek medical care for her.

 

I'm traveling with my step-son next and I am doing the same drill with him. Their mother can't be bothered to engage in their lives, much less authorize travel. I can't imagine how much fun it's going to be trying to get passports for them. :mad:

 

When we took our first cruise (we were all together, DH and kids) the customs agent just asked "are these your parents?". I was just waiting for one of them to say NO! ;)

[LauriefromLondon]

I did get the long form birth certificates so that we were fully prepared, but the RCCL check in staff didn't bat an eye at our different names. Oh well, it could easily have gone the other way, plus now we have that extra piece of documentation just in case we ever need it again in the future.

[Jonah315]

We have travelled on Carnival, Disney and RCI and though my wife kept her maiden name there was never an issue. She could take the kids on and off without me, sign them in to the kids program, out of the kids programs without issue. I would simply say if one parent is travelling with the kids and not the other parent, get a notarized permission form. Most lawyers will notarize for free (I am one and I do). I get that done even if my wife is just traveling to visit her parents in another province. When I took my 7 year old daughter to NYC for a father/daughter trip, I was asked to produce the letter by airline officials and customs officials, even though both of my daughter and I are pre-screened as Nexus holders. Again, international abductions are a huge issue.

 

If both parents travelling, then I can not imagine it will ever be a problem.

 

Bob

[Jenner9]

I have a different type of situation. My husband and I are the legal guardians to my cousin. We have full custody of him and have the guardianship paperwork to prove it. Will I need anything more than just the guardianship paperwork? I believe in there it says we can make all decisions including travel decisions.

[inluv4life]

We are traveling with a similar situation: I am divorced with two children from my previous marriage and now remarried with new last name. I am the primary residential parent. The 4 of us leave from Port Canaveral in less than 2 weeks on an RCL ship. So my last name and my childrens' are different. Upon booking I was told that I needed to bring documentation to bridge the change from my old name(that which is on the childrens birth certificates) to my new name, So I was told to bring these items:

Our passports with up do date names for all parties

Birth Certficates for me and both children

My marriage certificate

 

However, I have had a past experience with RCL where the RCL booking agent and the port agents checking us in had very different definitions of the identification policies. However, I read and printed the RCL requirements on the website for parent and minors with different last names. And it does not mention the notarized letter unless I am not the guardian. I will be taking that copy with me to the port agent. But I'm almost tempted to go ahead and get the notarized letter from my ex, just in case.

When I cruised with HAL several years ago, however, I was told that I needed the notarized letter. And with that cruise I still had the same last name as my children! We were just cruising without their father. Go figure!

[LauriefromLondon]

In our case, both birth parents were travelling with our children, but I just didn't change my name when we got married, so I have a different last name than my kids. RCL's website is pretty clear that they require documentation to prove which children belong to which parents in cases where last names differ. They never asked us, but I have heard that they do sometimes ask and I thought it was worth not having to worry about it so we got all of the documents in line.

 

It's different if you are travelling with only one custodial parent, then I would bring the notarized letter. They may not ask for it, but it would sure stink to be denied boarding over such a little thing.

[Bad_Seed]

I have a different surname to my children (because I didn't change my name when I got married) and have travelled the world extensively with them, two cruises (RCCL and P & O) and border and passport control in about 8 different countries (including the US which is very strict) and never had a problem.