Help please..Seattle check-in with children and ONE parent

[bonship]

We are headed to Alaska in 3 weeks RT from Seattle with kids and grand kids to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary.  My divorced daughter was told, adamantly, by a Princess agent yesterday that her three small children needed passports to get on ship .  Our Princess TA said they only needed birth certificates.  One of the reasons we chose Seattle RT was because our six grand kids would not need to get passports.    Does anyone have experience with this situation at check-in?   thanks in advance.

 

Edited June 26, 2019 by bonship
punctuation

[Steelers36]

20 minutes ago, bonship said:

We are headed to Alaska in 3 weeks RT from Seattle with kids and grand kids to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary.  My divorced daughter was told, adamantly, by a Princess agent yesterday that her three small children needed passports to get on ship .  Our Princess TA said they only needed birth certificates.  One of the reasons we chose Seattle RT was because our six grand kids would not need to get passports.    Does anyone have experience with this situation at check-in?   thanks in advance.

 

Look here -  https://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/pre_cruise/prepare.jsp - under Travel Document Requirements.  

 

Although US and Canadian passport holders are not currently required to sail with a passport on most domestic itineraries (including Alaska, Bermuda, Canada, Caribbean, Hawaii, and Mexico), Princess highly recommends they are carried.

If your cruise requires international air travel, including flights between the US and Canada, the Caribbean, Bermuda or Mexico, you will be required to present a valid passport when departing from or returning to the US by air. Even if your cruise does not involve air travel outside the US, should you be required to unexpectedly depart a vessel prior to the end of the sailing, a passport would be required to re-enter the US by air.  As such, Princess Cruises continues to strongly recommend that all guests are in possession of a valid passport.

 

(Princess bolding - not mine) 

 

I am not going to paste all of the text in here as it is extensive and you should read it for yourself.  I encourage you to utilize Princess's website as there is a lot of pre-cruise useful information.  I hope your do reference it and you will find text that addresses the precise situation for your daughter (single adult with minors).

 

Edited June 26, 2019 by steelers36

[indygirl99]

PASSPORT REQUIREMENT WHEN MINORS TRAVEL WITH ONE ADULT ON VOYAGES GOVERNED BY THE U.S. WESTERN HEMISPHERE TRAVEL INITIATIVE (includes travel within BERMUDA, CANADA, CARIBBEAN, HAWAII, MEXICO, UNITED STATES) When minors are traveling with only one adult 21 years of age or older, Princess requires that all guests must be in possession of a valid passport. We have implemented this requirement because we want to ensure that your party remains together should an emergency arise that requires one or more in your party to be disembarked in a non-U.S. port. We cannot guarantee that all members of your party will be allowed to disembark with just a WHTI-compliant document or birth certificate. Failure to present a valid passport for all guests traveling together will result in denial of boarding without refund of the cruise or cruisetour fare.

US citizens traveling on U.S. roundtrip or “closed-loop” voyages may also travel with an original certified birth certificate presented together with a valid government-issued photo identification. These voyages include:
 

• Alaska roundtrip from San Francisco or Seattle (roundtrip Seattle cruisetours excluded)
• Canada/New England roundtrip from New York
• Caribbean roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale^, New York or Houston
• Hawaii roundtrip from Los Angeles and San Francisco
• Mexico roundtrip from Los Angeles or San Francisco

 

This is from the FAQ section of the Princess website.

If the 3 small children have a birth certificate AND a valid government issued photo id then you are okay. If they do not have a valid government issued id then the do indeed need a passport.

 

We had passports for our 3 and 6 year old granddaughters and still was asked for a notarized letter from the non present parent that it was okay for the kids to travel/cruise. This was roundtrip Seattle. We were made aware of this by the kids dad when he gave us the letter or we would not have been able to take them on the cruise with us. This was last August.

Edited June 26, 2019 by indygirl99
spelling

[voljeep]

oops ... deleted - very detailed answer above 

Edited June 26, 2019 by voljeep

[Haboob]

17 minutes ago, bonship said:

We are headed to Alaska in 3 weeks RT from Seattle with kids and grand kids to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary.  My divorced daughter was told, adamantly, by a Princess agent yesterday that her three small children needed passports to get on ship .  Our Princess TA said they only needed birth certificates.  One of the reasons we chose Seattle RT was because our six grand kids would not need to get passports.    Does anyone have experience with this situation at check-in?   thanks in advance.

 

Because of the PVSA, you're going to stop in Canada.  They get a vote, too, and one of the things they are strict on is permission for non-guardians to be traveling with children.  Check with a Canadian consulate whether they currently require the permission to be notarized.

 

As for "TA says no / Agent says yes"?  It's really luck of the draw on who is standing at the bottom of the boarding gangway on that day.

[Steelers36]

Just now, voljeep said:

Just curious - what does ONE parent have to do with birth certificates or a passport

Princess is concerned if the party is split then there could be minors unaccompanied, so they up the required documentation when a single adult is bring minors on a cruise.  Check the URL link to the FAQ section and you can read it.  Also in Post #3.

[fishywood]

27 minutes ago, bonship said:

My divorced daughter was told, adamantly, by a Princess agent yesterday that her three small children needed passports to get on ship .    

Did your daughter make it clear that she is not the only responsible adult relative in the party? If she was the only one then passports would be required. Just be sure you all check in together and there should not be a problem.

 

3 minutes ago, voljeep said:

Just curious - what does ONE parent have to do with birth certificates or a passport

See the FAQ excerpt posted by indygirl99 above. (She beat me to it this time 😁)

Edited June 26, 2019 by fishywood

[voljeep]

1 minute ago, steelers36 said:

Princess is concerned if the party is split then there could be minors unaccompanied, so they up the required documentation when a single adult is bring minors on a cruise.  Check the URL link to the FAQ section and you can read it.  Also in Post #3.

yep ...

[Colo Cruiser]

1 minute ago, fishywood said:

Did your daughter make it clear that she is not the only responsible adult relative in the party? If she was the only one then passports would be required. Just be sure you all check in together and there should not be a problem.

 

See the FAQ excerpt posted by indygirl99 above. (She beat me to it this time 😁)

Does not matter, the father is not with them.

[Steelers36]

1 minute ago, fishywood said:

Did your daughter make it clear that she is not the only responsible adult relative in the party? If she was the only one then passports would be required. Just be sure you all check in together and there should not be a problem/

 

 

😁

I do not have personal experience, but I am thinking at this late date (no chance to get gov't id if don't have it already), she may have an "out" with Princess as the family group in other cabins includes additional adults and perhaps this would be acceptable.  In case of a split situation, there are other adults involved.  The thing is, it makes sense to have the necessary ID in order to take a flight and then you are good for the ship as well.

 

[karatemom2]

Time is of the essence here - if you want to be absolutely sure then get the kids passports ASAP through an expedited process and make sure you have a letter of permission from the other custodial parent. You do not want to mess around with unknown scenarios in this situation. Because of the questions raised here due to the fact that only one parent is accompanying the children and the very valid point that at the very least you would need a valid birth certificate AND government issued ID - why take any chances? Get going right away and get those passports rushed, whatever the cost. It certainly is worth the peace of mind and not chancing being denied boarding.

[Steelers36]

3 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Does not matter, the father is not with them.

Yahbut.. that aspect relates to a permission/acknowledgement letter that the other parent is aware of and okay with the trip.  I think we do not know if a grandparent could not work as an alternate adult in terms of Princess requirements. 

Edited June 26, 2019 by steelers36

[Colo Cruiser]

5 minutes ago, Haboob said:

Because of the PVSA, you're going to stop in Canada.  They get a vote, too, and one of the things they are strict on is permission for non-guardians to be traveling with children.  Check with a Canadian consulate whether they currently require the permission to be notarized.

 

As for "TA says no / Agent says yes"?  It's really luck of the draw on who is standing at the bottom of the boarding gangway on that day.

Not just Canada.......even closed loop US cruises.

It would be best to take a notarized permission letter regardless as well as the required passport.

 

 

• Alaska roundtrip from San Francisco or Seattle (roundtrip Seattle cruisetours excluded)
• Canada/New England roundtrip from New York
• Caribbean roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale^, New York or Houston
• Hawaii roundtrip from Los Angeles and San Francisco
• Mexico roundtrip from Los Angeles or San Francisco

[fishywood]

1 minute ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Does not matter, the father is not with them.

That would be solved by mom bringing proof of sole custody, or a notarized letter from the father with permission to take them out of the country. Passport otherwise not necessary unless there is only one adult in the entire party. Reason for the requirements cited above is that if the sole person responsible for the children has to be medically evacuated the kids can immediately be put on a flight home to another relative.

[Colo Cruiser]

Just now, steelers36 said:

Yahbut.. that aspect relates to a permission/acknowledgement letter that the other parent is aware of and okay with the trip 

Right but that's not what FW stated.

He referred to "she is not the only responsible adult relative in the party"?

[Colo Cruiser]

4 minutes ago, fishywood said:

That would be solved by mom bringing proof of sole custody, or a notarized letter from the father with permission to take them out of the country. Passport otherwise not necessary unless there is only one adult in the entire party. Reason for the requirements cited above is that if the sole person responsible for the children has to be medically evacuated the kids can immediately be put on a flight home to another relative.

That does not negate the fact they need the passport for the child.

Not another adult but both parents are not there.

We have dealt with this several times with grand kids.

We have this issue on an upcoming Princess cruise where there are 3 adults and only one parent because one is working. Passport required as well as us bringing a notarized letter.

[Steelers36]

I think the main lesson here is to listen to the provider of transport (Princess) and not a TA who isn't necessarily expert on every cruiseline or country requirements (although you might think they would have such knowledge).  I am sure the best TA's are, but the lesson is to be more self-reliant and check with the cruiseline.  Princess is very detailed on this topic - to their credit. 

 

My 5 cent advice would be to travel with sufficient id that you can fly home if necessary from outside the home country. 

 

[shanecindy21403]

I just got off the CB closed loop out of Fort Lauderdale it was myself and my 2 minor grand daughters. I had to have their passports and a notarized letter. I actually asked at check in if I could've used just birth certificates and notarized letter and was told no longer allowed with minors.

[fishywood]

5 minutes ago, shanecindy21403 said:

I just got off the CB closed loop out of Fort Lauderdale it was myself and my 2 minor grand daughters. I had to have their passports and a notarized letter. I actually asked at check in if I could've used just birth certificates and notarized letter and was told no longer allowed with minors.

Odd because both the FAQs and the Passage Contract state that minor children are required to have passports rather than the usual WHTI-compatible alternatives only if they are travelling with just one responsible adult. Two or more, birth certificates should still be fine per Princess' own official policy.

[Jezabel2924]

If cost is the issue, a passport card for $30 works for Canadian ports.  That's what my niece got for her kids on our last cruise.

[phred119s]

I agree to try to obtain passports. When we renewed our daughter’s last year it was 17 days appointment to in hand. This was not expedited. My mom just renewed hers and it took less than 3 weeks. 

 

Earlier this month I drove into Canada and I was asked at the border where my daughter’s father was. I did have him write a note just in case I was asked as he was in Europe at the same time. 

 

Personally, I wouldn’t risk it (without passports and a note) with the inconsistency of the information you have been given. 

[Colo Cruiser]

56 minutes ago, Jezabel2924 said:

If cost is the issue, a passport card for $30 works for Canadian ports.  That's what my niece got for her kids on our last cruise.

However it will not work to check in for the cruise.

 

[Jezabel2924]

27 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

However it will not work to check in for the cruise.

 

 

 

We had 6 family members use it in March to board for our family cruise.  3 were children.  We were told it is equivalent to a passport for travel only to North American countries only and is valid for flights.  

 

Here is what I found:

 

You can cruise with just a passport card. But… ... Although US and Canadian passport holders are not currently required to sail with a passport on most domestic itineraries (includingAlaska, Bermuda, Canada, Caribbean, Hawaii, and Mexico and Panama Canal), Princess Cruises highly recommends they are carried.Jan 28, 2019

[Pierlesscruisers]

51 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

However it will not work to check in for the cruise.

 

 

That is not correct. You can use a passport card to check in for a cruise. It is scanned in just like a passport is. I've checked in many passengers who had passport cards.

 

Tom

[Colo Cruiser]

19 minutes ago, Jezabel2924 said:

 

 

We had 6 family members use it in March to board for our family cruise.  3 were children.  We were told it is equivalent to a passport for travel only to North American countries only and is valid for flights.  

 

Here is what I found:

 

You can cruise with just a passport card. But… ... Although US and Canadian passport holders are not currently required to sail with a passport on most domestic itineraries (includingAlaska, Bermuda, Canada, Caribbean, Hawaii, and Mexico and Panama Canal), Princess Cruises highly recommends they are carried.Jan 28, 2019

How many of the children with you were traveling without one of their parents?