Adult travelling with unrelated minor - will I need special authorisation?

[Stupot74]

We are a group of four (2 Adults & 2 Children 13yo & 10 yo) sailing in May 2024.

 

We are booked in 2 interconnecting staterooms, hence have 2 linked bookings. One adult and child is booked in one stateroom, and the other adult and child are booked in the other stateroom.

 

We intend for the adults to actually sleep in one stateroom and the children in the other.

 

One adult is neither related to, or a legal guardian of, either child.

 

Will this adult (me) need a signed and notarised Royal Caribbean Group 'Letter of Permission' to be able to board the ship with the child nominated in the booking?

 

Thankyou!

 

Edit: Will Celebrity consider the child booked with me in my stateroom as travelling separately from their parent, considering that the staterooms are adjoining and connected?

Edited December 23, 2023 by Stupot74
Additional question

[Georgia_Peaches]

When we sent our child on a cruise with a step sister and family, we sent along a letter of consent to travel along with an authorization letter for treatment in the event of a medical emergency. Both docs were signed and notarized. There were no issues. This was on an RCl cruise. 

Edited December 23, 2023 by Georgia_Peaches

[Stupot74]

4 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

When we sent our child on a cruise with a step sister and family, we sent along a letter of consent to travel along with an authorization letter for treatment in the event of a medical emergency. Both docs were signed and notarized. There were no issues. This was on an RCl cruise. 

Thankyou.

 

My situation is slightly different, in that a legal parent will be present in our group - however just not booked in the same stateroom as one of the children.

Edited December 23, 2023 by Stupot74

[Georgia_Peaches]

4 minutes ago, Stupot74 said:

Thankyou.

 

My situation is slightly different, in that a legal parent will be present in our group - however just not booked in the same stateroom as one of the children.

That shouldn’t be a problem. As long as there is a legal adult booked in A room with a minor, their requirement has been met. In my daughter’s case she was booked into a room with her stepsister’s stepdad. Her stepsister was booked into a room with her mother. Once on board, mom and stepdad took one room stepsister and my daughter took the adjoining room. Adult relationship to the minors were never asked for/about. 

[Stupot74]

51 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

That shouldn’t be a problem. As long as there is a legal adult booked in A room with a minor, their requirement has been met. In my daughter’s case she was booked into a room with her stepsister’s stepdad. Her stepsister was booked into a room with her mother. Once on board, mom and stepdad took one room stepsister and my daughter took the adjoining room. Adult relationship to the minors were never asked for/about. 

I suppose my question boils down to: Does the other legal adult (ie person over 18 / 21 but not a parent or guardian) booked in the room with the other minor, require the 'Letter of Permission' form.

 

Sorry if I'm labouring this point....

 

I have emailed Celebrity with this question - no reply as yet.

Edited December 23, 2023 by Stupot74

[jelayne]

2 hours ago, Stupot74 said:

I suppose my question boils down to: Does the other legal adult (ie person over 18 / 21 but not a parent or guardian) booked in the room with the other minor, require the 'Letter of Permission' form.

 

Sorry if I'm labouring this point....

 

I have emailed Celebrity with this question - no reply as yet.

Unless there is a reason getting a letter would be difficult, I would just get the notarized letter just in case.  I would not feel comfortable with an answer from a customer service rep or from a social media sight. 

[Stupot74]

3 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Unless there is a reason getting a letter would be difficult, I would just get the notarized letter just in case.  I would not feel comfortable with an answer from a customer service rep or from a social media sight. 

Ok story time.......

 

We had originally booked just a single stateroom.

 

However I was never comfy with the 4 of us sharing a room, so I upgraded us to 2 interconnecting rooms. The girls know, but if possible I want this to remain a surprise for my partner when we get on the ship.

 

My problem is that my partner is the legal parent and I am not, and I would need her to sign the paperwork. And that will cause inevitable questions and probably give the game away.

 

Perhaps I should frame it as "Please sign this form......this will just give me permission to do things with the girls on the ship without you having to be there......."

[Cruise a holic]

I suggest that you get a notorized letter from the minors parents allowing you to travel with the child.  I even brought a note when traveling with our grandchild.  Nobody asked to see it- but we had it.

[hcat]

6 hours ago, jelayne said:

Unless there is a reason getting a letter would be difficult, I would just get the notarized letter just in case.  I would not feel comfortable with an answer from a customer service rep or from a social media sight. 

as usual, good advice!

perhaps  add a clause authorizing consent for any needed med treatment or meds..check with atty!

Edited December 23, 2023 by hcat

[billc23]

6 hours ago, Stupot74 said:

Ok story time.......

 

We had originally booked just a single stateroom.

 

However I was never comfy with the 4 of us sharing a room, so I upgraded us to 2 interconnecting rooms. The girls know, but if possible I want this to remain a surprise for my partner when we get on the ship.

 

My problem is that my partner is the legal parent and I am not, and I would need her to sign the paperwork. And that will cause inevitable questions and probably give the game away.

 

Perhaps I should frame it as "Please sign this form......this will just give me permission to do things with the girls on the ship without you having to be there......."

I agree with getting the letter ahead of time. However, depending on the value of the surprise factor, you could have booked 3 in room A and you as a solo in room B, or you and a friend (who would be a no show) in room B, depending on the cost of the solo supplement. Yes, it would be a more costly - 20% to 30% - but you would not 'give the game away'. Not sure if you would be able to alter the booking now. 

[Lena11033]

I'd recommend a letter (regardless of rooms) - my cousin traveled from Scotland to Canada with her son and was stopped and held until they could get ahold of the boy's father back in Scotland. 

[wrk2cruise]

While I generally agree the notary letter is a good idea I do believe the who is sleeping in which cabin is a non issue here.   Celebrity would all the 2 adults to be booked in 1 cabin with the 2 minors in the other since they are connecting.   The issue about parental permission should be mute since the parent is boarding with the minors.

 

Let's remember here 1 of the adults is the parent of the minor.

Edited December 23, 2023 by wrk2cruise

[rotoal]

18 hours ago, Stupot74 said:

We are a group of four (2 Adults & 2 Children 13yo & 10 yo) sailing in May 2024.

 

We are booked in 2 interconnecting staterooms, hence have 2 linked bookings. One adult and child is booked in one stateroom, and the other adult and child are booked in the other stateroom.

 

We intend for the adults to actually sleep in one stateroom and the children in the other.

 

One adult is neither related to, or a legal guardian of, either child.

 

Will this adult (me) need a signed and notarised Royal Caribbean Group 'Letter of Permission' to be able to board the ship with the child nominated in the booking?

 

Thankyou!

 

Edit: Will Celebrity consider the child booked with me in my stateroom as travelling separately from their parent, considering that the staterooms are adjoining and connected?

I think that the the parent or legal guardian (if there is a second parent) who is not traveling will need to sign the letter of permission.   

 

[kitty9]

We took our Goddaughter on a cruise, along with her biological father, but we needed to get a letter of permission from the biological mother (who has custody).  We were told that since a couple of ports have custodial issues, they need permission from the non-traveling parent proving that the one parent wasn’t going to take their daughter and leave the US.  

[prmssk]

There is absolutely no need for a legal parent sailing on the same cruise with their minor child to sign a letter regardless of which room anyone is sleeping in.  Sleeping arrangements have nothing to do with a letter of permission.

 

The only reason a letter might be necessary is when a legal parent is NOT traveling on the cruise with their minor child.  

 

When only one parent is traveling with the minor child, it is possible (although probably not common) that someone would ask for a letter of permission from the non-traveling parent.

[hcat]

1 hour ago, prmssk said:

There is absolutely no need for a legal parent sailing on the same cruise with their minor child to sign a letter regardless of which room anyone is sleeping in.  Sleeping arrangements have nothing to do with a letter of permission.

 

The only reason a letter might be necessary is when a legal parent is NOT traveling on the cruise with their minor child.  

 

When only one parent is traveling with the minor child, it is possible (although probably not common) that someone would ask for a letter of permission from the non-traveling parent.

is the custodial  parent of each child going on the cruise..  i believe that's the issue but has become confused

[prmssk]

32 minutes ago, hcat said:

is the custodial  parent of each child going on the cruise..  i believe that's the issue but has become confused

I understood that one custodial parent is going on the cruise (just officially booked in a different but adjoining cabin).  But I agree there is some confusion on that.

[Mark_K]

23 hours ago, Stupot74 said:

We are a group of four (2 Adults & 2 Children 13yo & 10 yo) sailing in May 2024.

 

We are booked in 2 interconnecting staterooms, hence have 2 linked bookings. One adult and child is booked in one stateroom, and the other adult and child are booked in the other stateroom.

 

We intend for the adults to actually sleep in one stateroom and the children in the other.

 

One adult is neither related to, or a legal guardian of, either child.

 

Will this adult (me) need a signed and notarised Royal Caribbean Group 'Letter of Permission' to be able to board the ship with the child nominated in the booking?

 

Thankyou!

 

Edit: Will Celebrity consider the child booked with me in my stateroom as travelling separately from their parent, considering that the staterooms are adjoining and connected?

If you have connecting cabins, and a parent of both children  is sailing, there’s no reason you could not have booked the adults in one cabin and the two children in the other. This would also make it simpler to deal with alcohol beverage packages.

 

in any case, if it’s possible, the parent sailing should get documentation of the non-sailing parent’s permission for the children to go.

[Stupot74]

11 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

While I generally agree the notary letter is a good idea I do believe the who is sleeping in which cabin is a non issue here.   Celebrity would all the 2 adults to be booked in 1 cabin with the 2 minors in the other since they are connecting.   The issue about parental permission should be mute since the parent is boarding with the minors.

 

Let's remember here 1 of the adults is the parent of the minor.

This is from Celebrity's Terms & Conditions.....

 

Guests who do not meet the age requirement will not be assigned to a stateroom unless accompanied in the same stateroom by an adult meeting the age requirement. This age limit will be waived for children sailing with their parents or guardians in connecting staterooms. A guest’s age is established as their age upon the first day of sailing.

 

Connecting staterooms are counted as different staterooms for this policy, except for minors sailing with their parents or legal guardians in adjacent staterooms. Adjacent staterooms are staterooms that are physically directly next door or directly across the hall – the doors to the staterooms have to be in the same hallway as one another.

......

Adults who are not the parent or legal guardian of any minor aged 17 or under travelling with them are required to present the minor’s valid passport and applicable visa (or for domestic Australian sailings a certified copy of minor’s birth certificate) and 1 original legally affirmed or notarised letter signed by at least one of the minor’s parents/legal guardians along with 1 copy of the legally affirmed or notarised letter. The letter must authorise the travelling adult to take the minor on the specified cruise and must authorise the travelling adult to supervise the minor, sign applicable sports waivers and permit any medical treatment that must be administered to the minor which in the opinion of the treating doctor needs to be carried out without delay.

 

My question is: Am I still required to carry a permission letter as specified by the third paragraph, despite the provisions of the first two paragraphs?

 

[Stupot74]

3 minutes ago, Mark_K said:

If you have connecting cabins, and a parent of both children  is sailing, there’s no reason you could not have booked the adults in one cabin and the two children in the other. This would also make it simpler to deal with alcohol beverage packages.

 

in any case, if it’s possible, the parent sailing should get documentation of the non-sailing parent’s permission for the children to go.

The Celebrity website does not allow me to book a stateroom with no adults in it, whether or not the staterooms are connected.

Edited December 24, 2023 by Stupot74

[Mark_K]

Just now, Stupot74 said:

The Celebrity website does not allow me to book a stateroom with no adults in it.

This is one of several things that can’t be dealt with online.

[Stupot74]

37 minutes ago, prmssk said:

I understood that one custodial parent is going on the cruise (just officially booked in a different but adjoining cabin).  But I agree there is some confusion on that.

This is correct.

In one stateroom is booked a custodial parent and one child, and in an adjoining stateroom is booked a non-custodial adult (me) and the other child.

We plan for one adult and one child to actually swap once we are on board, so that the adults and children will sleep in separate staterooms. I'm not so worried about the permissibility of that.

My main concern is about getting on the ship in the first place. In the Celebrity booking system we have two separate bookings. An agent at the embarkation port may look at the booking for my stateroom, see that the child and I have different surnames, and ask for a 'Letter of Permission'.

[prmssk]

1 hour ago, Stupot74 said:

My question is: Am I still required to carry a permission letter as specified by the third paragraph, despite the provisions of the first two paragraphs?

No, because I assume you will not be the one presenting the child's passport (or required documents) at check-in.  The parent of the child will be with you.  The parent of the child should be the one to check in the child.

 

The only letter of permission that might be needed is from the non-traveling parent for the traveling parent to have ready if asked by a custom/port agent.

[crazyank]

6 hours ago, prmssk said:

When only one parent is traveling with the minor child, it is possible (although probably not common) that someone would ask for a letter of permission from the non-traveling parent.

 

2 hours ago, prmssk said:

The only letter of permission that might be needed is from the non-traveling parent for the traveling parent to have ready if asked by a custom/port agent.

Neither of these statements is true. It is VERY common for the cruise line to ask for a notarized letter from the non-traveling parent. We took our daughter and grandson on a recent cruise,  his father could not go and the letter was the first thing we were asked to produce.  Also, it is usually the cruise line that asks for the letter, not customs or port agent.

Edited December 24, 2023 by crazyank

[prmssk]

9 hours ago, crazyank said:

 

Neither of these statements is true. It is VERY common for the cruise line to ask for a notarized letter from the non-traveling parent. We took our daughter and grandson on a recent cruise,  his father could not go and the letter was the first thing we were asked to produce.  Also, it is usually the cruise line that asks for the letter, not customs or port agent.

Who asks to see it if not the port agent at check-in?  Do they wait until you board the ship?  

 

Otherwise, you are just disagreeing with the frequency of how often they ask for it. Regardless of how frequently it happens, it is smart to have that letter because all it takes is the one time you are traveling to be the time they require it.