Traveling with Children that are not yours? New Royal Policy - Consent Form MUST be NOTARIZED

[Rusty_lock]

1 hour ago, techteach said:

I’ve sent an email to my TA regarding all of this and asked her to contact RC.

 

1 - Do have to use the RC form or can we use a letter of our making? (We used our own last year)

2 - Does the accompanying adult need to have the signature authorized also or is just the parents notorized signature that is required? (Doesn’t make sense to require accompanying adult sig)

3 - Are passports required or is a birth certificate sufficient as it has been in the past?

I'll be interested in the answer to #3. 

[leisuretraveler223]

On 7/21/2023 at 8:59 PM, Ferry_Watcher said:

Adults traveling with a minor must present an original, notarized letter signed by the child's parents when their parent is absent.

Why on earth would anyone travel anywhere with a minor child not theirs WITHOUT a notarized letter from the parent or guardian?

 

It's sad that cruise lines need to MAKE people do things that common sense once would have made obvious.

[techteach]

I think the RC website is pretty clear regarding a letter and birth cert. or passport. What is unclear is if the accompanying adult signature needs to be notorized. I would guess the form was created with no thought to that detail. I would also bet the form was created to make things easier for us as well as the people having to check all of this at security. Rather than looking for all of the important information on my home created letter the security person can quickly look at a form and ensure all of the blanks are filled in.

 

 

[SPacificbound]

20 hours ago, bayportkat said:

I am cruising out of Bayonne in a few weeks with my 10 year old son for a B2B, but my husband is staying home and joining us for the second week, along with my other 2 children. Would I need any documentation for this? We all have passports and the same last names. Never would have occurred to me to even think about this until I saw this post. Just want to be sure I have correct documentation. 

You should have a notarized letter from your husband giving you permission to take your son out of the country. Your husband should have a notarized letter from you giving him permission to take the other two children OOTC.

[ONECRUISER]

On 7/23/2023 at 3:38 PM, UnregisteredUser said:

Not always so obvious thesedays...

I have a friend that is 55 and have a 4 year old son. A female coworker of mine that is 39 just became a grandma, her son is 22..

True though 39 as Grand Parent far off. My SGT in ARMY he became Grand Father at 32, now that's a Wow! 

[bayportkat]

3 minutes ago, SPacificbound said:

You should have a notarized letter from your husband giving you permission to take your son out of the country. Your husband should have a notarized letter from you giving him permission to take the other two children OOTC.

Thanks- the other two children are adults (over 18), so we only need the one letter but thanks for thinking of that- as I didn't think of needing the letter for the 10 year old!!

[SPacificbound]

1 minute ago, bayportkat said:

Thanks- the other two children are adults (over 18), so we only need the one letter but thanks for thinking of that- as I didn't think of needing the letter for the 10 year old!!

Okay, so yes only the one. Have a great trip!

[LittleJoefromKokomo]

8 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

True though 39 as Grand Parent far off. My SGT in ARMY he became Grand Father at 32, now that's a Wow! 

Yes, that is a big WOW!

Not to sound sexist here but one part of me wants to say Well done SGT! 😂😂

[BridgeMates]

11 hours ago, bayportkat said:

Thanks- the other two children are adults (over 18), so we only need the one letter but thanks for thinking of that- as I didn't think of needing the letter for the 10 year old!!

 

So, is 18 the cutoff for requiring parental documentation?  I can't seem to find any official information on this.

Thanks!

[d9704011]

7 minutes ago, BridgeMates said:

 

So, is 18 the cutoff for requiring parental documentation?  I can't seem to find any official information on this.

Thanks!

The consent form is for children 17 and under.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/gbr/en/faq/questions/what-if-i-am-traveling-with-a-minor-and-i-am-not-their-parent-or-legal-guardian

minor-traveling-without-parent-or-guardian-form.pdf

Edited July 26, 2023 by d9704011

[BridgeMates]

1 minute ago, d9704011 said:

The consent form is for children 17 and under.

Thank You for the quick response.

Where do I find the RCI official form?

[d9704011]

1 minute ago, BridgeMates said:

Thank You for the quick response.

Where do I find the RCI official form?

See my edited post.  Try

https://www.google.com/search?q=royal+caribbean+consent+form&oq=royal+caribbean+consent+form&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCTEwNzE4ajBqN6gCALACAA&client=tablet-android-samsung-nf-rev1&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

[orville99]

Have not seen this question asked in this thread: Is this a unique requirement for Seattle because of the Alaskan itineraries? We just got off of a Mariner cruise with our grandson, and this was definitely not a requirement when we boarded - they just needed to see the birth certificate and notarized consent letter. We had his passport, but they never asked for it.

[BridgeMates]

1 hour ago, d9704011 said:

See my edited post.  Try

https://www.google.com/search?q=royal+caribbean+consent+form&oq=royal+caribbean+consent+form&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCTEwNzE4ajBqN6gCALACAA&client=tablet-android-samsung-nf-rev1&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

I got the RCI form.  Thank you again.  Very helpful.  

[techteach]

According to my Seattle TA:

 

1 - The RC form is not required, but a notorized letter with all of the information as outlined on their website is required. (See my post #53)

2 - Passport is not required. Birth Certificate will work. If the child has a school id with picture bring it along.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

1 hour ago, techteach said:

According to my Seattle TA:

 

1 - The RC form is not required, but a notorized letter with all of the information as outlined on their website is required. (See my post #53)

2 - Passport is not required. Birth Certificate will work. If the child has a school id with picture bring it along.

Regarding the second point... according to the letter in post #5... "All children regardless of age require a passport book valid for at least 6 months after your sailing ends."  That's pretty plain.  

[techteach]

@S.A.M.J.R. I see the letter and reference to passport. Perhaps if you are traveling to a country other than Canada a passport is required. I have not received the letter and we cruise on Aug. 28. 

[S.A.M.J.R.]

28 minutes ago, techteach said:

@S.A.M.J.R. I see the letter and reference to passport. Perhaps if you are traveling to a country other than Canada a passport is required. I have not received the letter and we cruise on Aug. 28. 

If it was me and my child had a passport, I'd bring it. 

 

If they didn't have a passport, I would get in contact with someone from Royal Caribbean and get it in writing that a BC is enough and a passport isn't required. Yes, I would use the excuse "I saw a letter on the internet that says a passport is required for all children."  If it's not, they should have no problem sending you a letter saying such. 

 

If they wouldn't do that, I would be extremely nervous until after checkin.  

[techteach]

Just heard from my TA. She is looking into it more. But, she believes because we are on a closed loop U.S. to U.S. we don’t need the passport. When she gets back to me I’ll post her response.

[Rusty_lock]

1 hour ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Regarding the second point... according to the letter in post #5... "All children regardless of age require a passport book valid for at least 6 months after your sailing ends."  That's pretty plain.  

 

1 hour ago, techteach said:

@S.A.M.J.R. I see the letter and reference to passport. Perhaps if you are traveling to a country other than Canada a passport is required. I have not received the letter and we cruise on Aug. 28. 

They allow you to check in with a BC and ID so I'm sure that will be fine.

 

[S.A.M.J.R.]

12 minutes ago, Rusty_lock said:

 

They allow you to check in with a BC and ID so I'm sure that will be fine.

 

If the letter posted on page 1 is an indication, what's happened in the past doesn't mean it will happen in the future.  The letter isn't ambiguous at all, no "recommend" or "suggest".  They use pretty plain language.   

 

Personally, I don't think it's fair to change passport requirements without notifying passengers at least six months in advance, but *IF* Royal wants to enforce that letter, they can.  I think it's funny that people are concerned about getting a notary to sign off on the signature, but requiring passports is going to be ignored. 

[Rusty_lock]

12 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

If the letter posted on page 1 is an indication, what's happened in the past doesn't mean it will happen in the future.  The letter isn't ambiguous at all, no "recommend" or "suggest".  They use pretty plain language.   

 

Personally, I don't think it's fair to change passport requirements without notifying passengers at least six months in advance, but *IF* Royal wants to enforce that letter, they can.  I think it's funny that people are concerned about getting a notary to sign off on the signature, but requiring passports is going to be ignored. 

My suspicion is that, in typical Royal fashion, their communication is poor and their intention was not to add passports to the requirement and no longer accept BC with ID but just confirm that 6 months prior to expiry was still the requirement along with the notarized letter, which has always been a requirement.  Again, this is just my opinion as is almost everything written on this thread. 😉 

[S.A.M.J.R.]

Just now, Rusty_lock said:

My suspicion is that, in typical Royal fashion, their communication is poor and their intention was not to add passports to the requirement and no longer accept BC with ID but just confirm that 6 months prior to expiry was still the requirement along with the notarized letter, which has always been a requirement.  Again, this is just my opinion as is almost everything written on this thread. 😉 

VERY possible, if not probable.  Personally, I wouldn't want to make the trip with an assumption though, which is why I suggested contacting Royal to get clarification.  

 

Also, the 6 month expiry on the passport has NOT been a requirement. 

[techteach]

I have asked for a letter stating a passport is not required for a minor to travel a closed U.S. to U.S. route to Alaska. I have also informed my TA I will want a full refund if a passport is required as it was not required at the time of booking, their website states it is not required in my case, and I have not been notified that it IS required.

[ONECRUISER]

Reminds me issues had over Decade ago. Was taking Repo Open Circuit Cruise Boston to Florida. Traveled out of Country before but that was for Military, Cruises, Canada and Mexico and never had Passport, but had a Enhanced DL. At Check in multiple people said I would not be Cruising today. Was sitting with Group others that only had Reg DL. They didn't Board, I did