? travel with unrelated minor (age 18)

[loxley]

99.99999% of the people with that letter do not ever need to show it so I am not sure what experience you might have.

 

someone with a 5 year old will probably not need to show the letter but that does not mean its not needed and might be requested

 

you can 'geeze' all you want. its carnivals rules. its on the website so there is no excuse if they decide to enforce it.

 

If such a letter was REQUIRED, it would be required of everyone to get on the ship.

 

It would be REQUIRED if you debark, as in end, your cruise in Mexico or Canada.

 

But here is the official word on it.

 

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/268

[rhinomike]

99.99999% of the people with that letter do not ever need to show it so I am not sure what experience you might have.

 

someone with a 5 year old will probably not need to show the letter but that does not mean its not needed and might be requested

 

you can 'geeze' all you want. its carnivals rules. its on the website so there is no excuse if they decide to enforce it.

 

 

Remember. There are two sets of rules. Carnivals and customs. We were asked for our notarized letter from customs 1 time out of about 10 times traveling with my kids friends under 18.

 

It does happen. Carnival may not require it but US Customs does require it. They may not always ask for it but if they do you better have it. The agent told us if we didnt have it we could expect to be detained for at least 8 hours and possibly a fine.

 

If you travel with any minor that is not your child US Customs requires the notarized letter. I highly recommend having it.

Edited January 6, 2014 by rhinomike

[hftmrock]

Remember. There are two sets of rules. Carnivals and customs. We were asked for our notarized letter from customs 1 time out of about 10 times traveling with my kids friends under 18.

 

It does happen. Carnival may not require it but US Customs does require it. They may not always ask for it but if they do you better have it. The agent told us if we didnt have it we could expect to be detained for at least 8 hours and possibly a fine.

 

If you travel with any minor that is not your child US Customs requires the notarized letter. I highly recommend having it.

 

That is my thinking as well.. thanks

[Mysticks1]

Remember. There are two sets of rules. Carnivals and customs. We were asked for our notarized letter from customs 1 time out of about 10 times traveling with my kids friends under 18.

 

It does happen. Carnival may not require it but US Customs does require it. They may not always ask for it but if they do you better have it. The agent told us if we didnt have it we could expect to be detained for at least 8 hours and possibly a fine.

 

If you travel with any minor that is not your child US Customs requires the notarized letter. I highly recommend having it.

 

That is absolutely true for minors who are under the age of 18. The US Government determines them to be an adult at age 18 as shown in the link to the site posted previously.

Edited January 6, 2014 by Mysticks1

[hftmrock]

That is absolutely true for minors who are under the age of 18. The US Government determines them to be an adult at age 18 as shown in the link to the site posted previously.

 

the carnival site lists it under the 'Under 21' according to the verbage on the carnival site. (I posted previously)

[Mysticks1]

the carnival site lists it under the 'Under 21' according to the verbage on the carnival site. (I posted previously)

 

Have you had any experience with this other than quoting a website? You have still not answered that question. You just continue to quote the same paragraph.

Edited January 6, 2014 by Mysticks1

[hftmrock]

Have you had any experience with this other than quoting a website? You have still not answered that question. You just continue to quote the same paragraph.

 

 

nope ... no experience at all with this.

 

the only experience I have is reading the rules and regulations of any business I use and making my own decision to follow or not follow the rules or strongly worded advice from the company.

 

you can read the rules that alcohol (except wine) is not allowed to be brought on the ship. You can read here that millions of people bring rum runners successfully on the ship with no problem. You then go on the ship and yours gets taken away. why yours and no one else? who knows. you read cc and heard that you can break the rules if you are careful but there are times it doesnt work out.

 

the wording on Carnivals site about what you should do on a carnival ship is put on by Carnival. they say it for a reason. if you choose to ignore it you might be one of the millions who never needed it and its all good.... or then again, they might ask for it.

 

its up to the consumer to follow the advice documented from carnival. If you dont, you run a risk of not being able to board or have a significant delay. Will it happen... probably not but why risk it for 1 piece of paper (Free).

 

people risk not having a passport even though I believe Carnival recommends it. Will you need it?... chances are you wont. but Carnival or the ports will not want to hear that as the excuse if something happens and you do need it.

 

its up to you. I have not had personal experience with this but I do make the decision not to take that chance for a free piece of notarized paper if I do take someone that is not my child

[Mysticks1]

nope ... no experience at all with this.

 

Thank you for finally confirming that. The website gives a suggestion and not a requirement and myself and others have already confirmed that it wasn't required and my actual experience with that was just last week.

[hftmrock]

Thank you for finally confirming that. The website gives a suggestion and not a requirement and myself and others have already confirmed that it wasn't required and my actual experience with that was just last week.

 

 

yup... just like a passport. most people dont need it.... and then there are the few.

 

glad thats confirmed. Personally, I listen to strongly suggested advice from the place I am dealing with when its free. Its strongly suggested for a reason :rolleyes: ymmv

[Mysticks1]

yup... just like a passport. most people dont need it.... and then there are the few.

 

glad thats confirmed. Personally, I listen to strongly suggested advice from the place I am dealing with when its free. Its strongly suggested for a reason :rolleyes: ymmv

 

If it were required they would state that. So I go by what they require for boarding. :rolleyes:

[hftmrock]

If it were required they would state that. So I go by what they require for boarding. :rolleyes:

 

yup... I see that. You go with the bare minimum required while I look at the risk vs reward and plan with the bare minimum plus I review strongly recommended verbage to see what I should do.

 

passport, insurance... not required so I doubt you give it a second thought. I do think about these things and act accordingly.

 

:cool:

 

so as not to detract from this thread... I will stop... I think points are made on all sides for everyone to review. Happy New Year everyone

Edited January 6, 2014 by hftmrock

[Rena921]

Remember. There are two sets of rules. Carnivals and customs. We were asked for our notarized letter from customs 1 time out of about 10 times traveling with my kids friends under 18.

 

It does happen. Carnival may not require it but US Customs does require it. They may not always ask for it but if they do you better have it. The agent told us if we didnt have it we could expect to be detained for at least 8 hours and possibly a fine.

 

If you travel with any minor that is not your child US Customs requires the notarized letter. I highly recommend having it.

 

Ditto. We have never been asked, but you can guarantee that I always get one signed from the ex before every cruise for our kids under 18. Some people don't understand the difference between Customs and Carnival's requirements.

[Mysticks1]

yup... I see that. You go with the bare minimum required while I look at the risk vs reward and plan with the bare minimum plus I review strongly recommended verbage to see what I should do.

 

passport, insurance... not required so I doubt you give it a second thought. I do think about these things and act accordingly.

 

:cool:

 

I give everything much thought and correctly read what is required and act accordingly. We have passports and insurance and many other things because I think we need them but a letter with approval from parents to take an adult over 18 on a cruise is not a requirement and is not needed. You do what you want to do but don't try to tell others what they should do based upon your interpretation of something put on a website. My daughter is 19 and doesn't need my permission to go on a cruise. She just needs someone over 25 to be booked into the room and that is what she had last week when on the Fascination. Her friend is going with us in May and all I am going to do is make sure she has her birth certificate and photo ID to board and get a notarized letter from her parents giving POA for any medical needs. She doesn't need permission from her parents to go with us. This is my last post on this matter so don't bother re-posting the quote from the website again. :rolleyes::cool:

[hftmrock]

I give everything much thought and correctly read what is required and act accordingly. We have passports and insurance and many other things because I think we need them but a letter with approval from parents to take an adult over 18 on a cruise is not a requirement and is not needed. You do what you want to do but don't try to tell others what they should do based upon your interpretation of something put on a website. My daughter is 19 and doesn't need my permission to go on a cruise. She just needs someone over 25 to be booked into the room and that is what she had last week when on the Fascination. Her friend is going with us in May and all I am going to do is make sure she has her birth certificate and photo ID to board and get a notarized letter from her parents giving POA for any medical needs. She doesn't need permission from her parents to go with us. This is my last post on this matter so don't bother re-posting the quote from the website again. :rolleyes::cool:

 

 

bless your heart

[turning40withMickey]

OP here, I found your discussion and advice very helpful!

 

It was just like a family discussion with my brothers! :D

 

I have contacted a travel agent, who contacted Carnival directly while I was on the line. The friend needs to be booked with either my husband or I, can switch rooms once onboard. My own kids can be booked together. Nothing was said about a notarized letter, but she didn't ask specifically about it. (I hadn't read all the replies at that time).

 

;)Good advice about the Medical power of attorney.

 

Bless you crus.n.carebear for taking groups of high school seniors!

[n6uqqq]

Actually the paragraph you quoted does not say that it is "required", it states strongly recommend. It is only "required" if you are debarking in Mexico.

 

"When traveling with a minor and both parents/legal guardians are not cruising, we strongly recommend bringing an original signed letter from the absent parent/legal guardian authorizing the minor to travel with you. This will expedite processing by the Department of Homeland Security. Please note that a notarized letter to this effect is required if debarking with children in Mexico.

 

To the OP I would recommend getting a notarized statement from the parents giving you a medical power of attorney in case it is needed.

 

Actually since the child traveling is 18 medical power of attorney would be granted by the child since they are 18. Once 18 I do not believe the parents have that authority to delegate because the child is an adult in the eyes of the law.

[momof4boys]

We have traveled each time with an unrelated 18 year old (friends of several of my boys came with us at different times) and no letter from a parent was ever needed.

 

Only those under the age of 18 needed a letter. (Which we had on a couple of occasions for friends.) For the under 18 yo, we also had a medical authorization letter from a parent. For those over 18 (adults) we did not need a medical authorization because they could authorize their own treatment if needed.

[k2excursion]

Actually since the child traveling is 18 medical power of attorney would be granted by the child since they are 18. Once 18 I do not believe the parents have that authority to delegate because the child is an adult in the eyes of the law.

 

Yep. You beat me to it. A parent cannot give medical power of attorney to their 18-year old child. A notarized letter to this effect from the parent would be worthless if serious treatment decisions were needed to be made. The 18-year old would have to be the one to give this power in the notarized letter to the people he/she is traveling with. This would only really apply if the 18-year old were needing serious treatment and they are not in a state of mind to give consent for it. The unrelated people they are traveling with cannot give consent based on a form signed by the parent. It would need to be signed by the 18-year old.

 

I did have to laugh at some of the arguing going on here as well. We do read too much into things at times, especially since Carnival is not entirely clear on so many things in their writings. In a legal sense, a parent cannot give consent for an 18-year old to travel with others. I work in a treatment facility that treats minors up to and sometimes passed their 18th birthday. On the day they turn 18, they must sign themselves back into the program, as the parents consent is legally meaningless at that point. If they don't sign themselves back in, we must discharge them immediately, as we would have no legal consent to treat them. If Carnival wanted to require a consent form for the purposes of boarding, I guess they could, but there are no writings to this effect in Carnival's rules (not for 18-20 year olds), and countless experiences & communications make it clear that it is not required.

Edited January 7, 2014 by k2excursion

[Mysticks1]

I sent this question to carnival via email and this is the answer that I received.

 

Thank you for contacting us. We appreciate the opportunity to be of assistance.

 

Twenty one is the legal age for international travel since that is the age when a person can authorize medical treatment. Guests under 21 should sail with a parent (biological or adoptive) or court appointed guardian.

 

 

 

If one is not sailing with them then they must sail with an adult 25 or older. We strongly recommend a notarized medical release from the parent or guardian authorizing the 25 year old to make medical decisions, including surgery, on behalf of the guest under twenty one.

 

 

Please let us know if we may be of further assistance. Thank you for choosing Carnival Cruise Lines.

[turning40withMickey]

I sent this question to carnival via email and this is the answer that I received.

 

Thank you for contacting us. We appreciate the opportunity to be of assistance.

 

Twenty one is the legal age for international travel since that is the age when a person can authorize medical treatment. Guests under 21 should sail with a parent (biological or adoptive) or court appointed guardian.

 

 

 

If one is not sailing with them then they must sail with an adult 25 or older. We strongly recommend a notarized medical release from the parent or guardian authorizing the 25 year old to make medical decisions, including surgery, on behalf of the guest under twenty one.

 

 

Please let us know if we may be of further assistance. Thank you for choosing Carnival Cruise Lines.

 

Awe, thanks for submitting the question directly!

My travel agent sent me a release form. :)

[hftmrock]

I sent this question to carnival via email and this is the answer that I received.

 

.

 

Did you ask the OP's question because they didnt definatively answer that? If you did, I still say that since carnivals definition of adult is 21. you would need a letter if you are traveling without 1 or both of your parents. (not just solely about medical treatment)

 

thanks for asking the question to carnival. at least they were very clear about the medical doc for someone under 21