Can one parent travel with their child on a cruise?

[xeriod]

Taking my grand daughter and her Mom on a cruise that just goes to Ensanada , Do we need anything in writing from the Dad ? They are married and he can't go as he will be working. Thanks

[ReRe71]

1 minute ago, xeriod said:

Taking my grand daughter and her Mom on a cruise that just goes to Ensanada , Do we need anything in writing from the Dad ? They are married and he can't go as he will be working. Thanks

As long as they both have the same last name they should be good. I've done it many times with no issues. 

[ShillyShally]

34 minutes ago, xeriod said:

Taking my grand daughter and her Mom on a cruise that just goes to Ensanada , Do we need anything in writing from the Dad ? They are married and he can't go as he will be working. Thanks

It's worth bringing something in writing and notarized where he acknowledges and signs that he is aware of the travel.  They may never ask but if they did it can get sticky quickly!

[Ashland]

We brought everything that could possibly be asked for...no one did...but we were prepared.

[Cutigerlady]

Recently, RCL has been asking for this form: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/countries/GBR/pdf/faqs/questions/minor-traveling-without-parent-or-guardian-form.pdf

 

It must be notarized.  

[Charles4515]

2 minutes ago, Cutigerlady said:

Recently, RCL has been asking for this form: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/countries/GBR/pdf/faqs/questions/minor-traveling-without-parent-or-guardian-form.pdf

 

It must be notarized.  

Isn't this form for when there is no parent traveling? 

[crzndeb]

14 minutes ago, Cutigerlady said:

Recently, RCL has been asking for this form: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/countries/GBR/pdf/faqs/questions/minor-traveling-without-parent-or-guardian-form.pdf

 

It must be notarized.  

That’s without a parent…the child’s mother is also going.

[Tatka]

11 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Isn't this form for when there is no parent traveling? 

Exactly. One parent can travel with a child. Especially if child has passport. (Passport can only be received if both parents agree)

[fsjosh]

I'd have one and have it include permission for medical care. I agree you'll never need it. But if something changes you'll wish you did. 

[mets07]

We cruised on Oasis from Cape Liberty with our son and 3 of his children. His wife could not come as she was home with their one month old child. Nothing extra was required or requested. He had their passports. Bring those if you have them or birth certificates. 

 

Happy cruising.

[iscruisingdunzo]

1 hour ago, Cutigerlady said:

Recently, RCL has been asking for this form: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/countries/GBR/pdf/faqs/questions/minor-traveling-without-parent-or-guardian-form.pdf

 

It must be notarized.  

The parent is traveling with their child. There would be no reason for that. 

[TravelinTess]

I cruise alone with my kids on Royal and have never had a issue- they just verify passports. I do however always travel with a notarized letter signed by my ex that states he knows I am traveling out of the country. I just Googled to find a template that looked official. I did have to present it at Heathrow 2 years ago. The letter is more for flying, but its better to be prepared. Enjoy your cruise!

[chfenton]

2 hours ago, fsjosh said:

I'd have one and have it include permission for medical care. I agree you'll never need it. But if something changes you'll wish you did. 

You would not need permission for medical care if the mom is there!  That's like saying the ER wouldn't work on your child if dad were still at work and only mom brought the child in?

Edited October 25, 2023 by chfenton
typo

[fsjosh]

22 hours ago, chfenton said:

You would not need permission for medical care if the mom is there!  That's like saying the ER wouldn't work on your child if dad were still at work and only mom brought the child in?

Man people really must think getting a piece of paper notarized is pure hell to want to risk it. These things aren't for normal circumstances. It's for those occurrences that you don't think of. 

[SRF]

Better to have and not need than to need and not have.

 

Most banks will notarize for free.  Not a difficult thing to do.

[xeriod]

Thanks for all the replies. The Grand daughter is 5, and using just her birth certificate. We are sailing out of San Pedro, Calif to one Mexico port on a 3 nighter. Sounds like we will not need anything signed from the Dad , but in an abundance of caution I think we will have him sign that RCL form .

[Jussabitconfused]

It can happen. I was once traveling on a Royal Caribbean cruise to Canada with my then 13-year-old daughter who was dancing on the ship with the "Stars at Sea" program. We got to the port, and they would not let us on. We had to get a notarized letter from her father allowing us to board. Luckily, we had enough time for him to get it for us and made the cruise. I would not take the chance because you never know. It happened to me.

[joeyancho]

Not exactly the topic here but.....I took my grandson on a cruise.   His mom and I got notarized form letter.  They didn't even look at it.  Didnt ask for it. My oldest daughter,  who is an immigration lawyer,  was astonished.   She said that was the one thing that they should have really checked.  I guess this is put in place to prevent human trafficking.   This was the port in Los Angeles.  

[AlwaysNeedSun]

My son and I have different last names. The last cruise, his father didn’t go. I brought his birth certificate and passport. As long as my name was on his birth certificate it was fine. 

[SRF]

20 hours ago, joeyancho said:

Not exactly the topic here but.....I took my grandson on a cruise.   His mom and I got notarized form letter.  They didn't even look at it.  Didnt ask for it. My oldest daughter,  who is an immigration lawyer,  was astonished.   She said that was the one thing that they should have really checked.  I guess this is put in place to prevent human trafficking.   This was the port in Los Angeles.  

 

Trafficking would be a bit obvious when they failed to make the ship at a port.   It is not like the ship is a one way trip

 

[fsjosh]

On 11/5/2023 at 8:35 AM, SRF said:

 

Trafficking would be a bit obvious when they failed to make the ship at a port.   It is not like the ship is a one way trip

 

 

At that point it's too late to do anything about it though. They wouldn't exactly give a forwarding address in that case. 

 

I think it's more about one parent not having the other paren't consent to take the child out of the country and then something happening. The other parent has a legal case against Royal at that point.