Child has passport - is birth certificate also required?

[Vacation Kathy]

Does a teenage child with a passport who is sailing with both parents (same last names) also need to bring a birth certificate? I can't find birth certificate!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Does a teenage child with a passport who is sailing with both parents (same last names) also need to bring a birth certificate? I can't find birth certificate!

Nope. Passport trumps all ID.

Birth certificate is only necessary if there's no passport.

 

[Vacation Kathy]

Nope. Passport trumps all ID.

Birth certificate is only necessary if there's no passport.

But do we have to have a way to prove she is our daughter?

 

[lanejudy]

But do we have to have a way to prove she is our daughter?

Nope.

Parental presence is not a requirement for cruising. Some children cruise with grandparents, aunts/uncles, or unrelated friends. The adult in the stateroom is responsible for any minors booked into that stateroom regardless of relationship.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[mtchurchmonica]

I guess you have your answer

Nope.

Parental presence is not a requirement for cruising. Some children cruise with grandparents, aunts/uncles, or unrelated friends. The adult in the stateroom is responsible for any minors booked into that stateroom regardless of relationship.

Enjoy your cruise!

Good point. You don't need to prove parentage since it's not necessary to be the minor's parent in order to cruise with him.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Nope.

Parental presence is not a requirement for cruising. Some children cruise with grandparents, aunts/uncles, or unrelated friends. The adult in the stateroom is responsible for any minors booked into that stateroom regardless of relationship.

Enjoy your cruise!

I guess you have your answer



Good point. You don't need to prove parentage since it's not necessary to be the minor's parent in order to cruise with him.

DCL does have a minor authorization form for minors which are traveling without either of their parents, i.e. going with grandparents, other relatives, or friend's parents. I had one for my niece who went with us, but was never even asked for it. But if I didn't have it, that would have guaranteed they would ask for it.

But you do not have to prove you are the parents of the child and a birth certificate is not needed if your child has a passport.

 

[bumbershoot]

Even if you have the same names as the parents that are on the BC, you still might not be her parents. Maybe you just have the same names.

The three of us have different last names, DS doesn't look anything like DH to a stranger (close friends can see the resemblance), for a long time DS called me by my name (it actually bugged me at first when he started calling me by my title instead of name)....but we've still never had any problem going on a cruise. No one has done a DNA test yet.

 

[jerseygal]

Sailed when youngest DS was 16. Only brought passport. Too much risk losing birth certificate, which is unnecessary if you have passport for child. ENJOY your cruise!

 

[diznymom]

We all have passports. We have been on 3 cruises w/ DS who is 16 now. Never had any problems or questions. We glide through customs and boardings like ice on glass.

 

[VFL]

We just got off the Fantasy 9/26 and only used passports for DD (10) and DS (7). No issues whatsoever.

 

[over50visits]

You're fine. On your cruise, a person needs either a Passport or a Birth Certificate (or actually a few other documents qualify).

No such thing as one having "precedence" over another. You either have a qualifying ID or not, and sounds like you all have one. None are "better" than any others as far as getting onboard, and you don't need more than one.

 

[Mommb]

My kids have passports, and I have never needed to show a birth certificate when boarding a cruise. Just as a precaution, I do travel with photocopies of their birth certificates and all of our passports. I know these have no legal value, but figure they may be of limited help if we should lose a passport or somehow need to verify identity.

Although it is not required for teens under 18 to show any proof of identity when reboarding the ship in ports, my tall son did start carrying a state ID card when he was 15 to show when boarding a plane and in case he needed proof of age in ports.

 

[austinwildflower]

Nope.

Parental presence is not a requirement for cruising. Some children cruise with grandparents, aunts/uncles, or unrelated friends. The adult in the stateroom is responsible for any minors booked into that stateroom regardless of relationship.

Enjoy your cruise!

Parent presence or approval IS required for cruising. If both parents are there, have the same last name as their child, and they all have passports, there should be no problem, but if you have a different last name from your child, you should call DCL to make sure there are no special requirements, such as a birth certificate documenting parentage (you can always get a replacement if you can't find the original, just be sure to do this well in advance).

Also, if you are a single/separated parent or traveling without spouse for any reason, you MUST have a NOTARIZED letter from the other parent, giving permission to take the child out of the country. If the other parent is dead, you must bring a death certificate. If you have sole custody, you must bring a copy of the legal custody order. This is all to prevent international child abduction.

The notarized letter is also required for other relatives, such as grandparents, who travel with children without the parents also cruising. It is also required for families who bring a child's friend along. For more details, check with DCL. I felt it important to share this as I'm a single mom gathering documentation for my son's and my DCL cruise, & would hate for a misinformed person to be left at the dock due to lack of proper papers.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Parent presence or approval IS required for cruising. If both parents are there, have the same last name as their child, and they all have passports, there should be no problem, but if you have a different last name from your child, you should call DCL to make sure there are no special requirements, such as a birth certificate documenting parentage (you can always get a replacement if you can't find the original, just be sure to do this well in advance).

Also, if you are a single/separated parent or traveling without spouse for any reason, you MUST have a NOTARIZED letter from the other parent, giving permission to take the child out of the country. If the other parent is dead, you must bring a death certificate. If you have sole custody, you must bring a copy of the legal custody order. This is all to prevent international child abduction.

The notarized letter is also required for other relatives, such as grandparents, who travel with children without the parents also cruising. It is also required for families who bring a child's friend along. For more details, check with DCL. I felt it important to share this as I'm a single mom gathering documentation for my son's and my DCL cruise, & would hate for a misinformed person to be left at the dock due to lack of proper papers.

Some of this isn't quite accurate. It's not a problem if the parents don't have the same last name as the child. There is no additional documentation needed. Bumbershoot's post above speaks to this. Also, I have a different last name than my daughter. No one batted an eye when we boarded our cruise.

As a single parent, you do not have to have a notarized letter from the other parent, or other documentation establishing sole custody, if you are a US citizen cruising from a US port. US Customs and Border Protection does recommend it, and I always recommend it, but it is not required. Some countries do require it. Canada is one that requires documentation when a single parent is transporting a child across their borders.

DCL does have a minor authorization form if a child is traveling without their parents, i.e. with grandparents, a friend's parents, etc. It does not have to be notorized. Again, it is recommended by US Customs and Border Protection that a child traveling without their own parents have a letter from both parents granting permission for travel, but it is not strictly required.

Having notarized letters is good practice, but it is not required.

 

[party-of-five]

We just traveled with our 4 kids - passport only was sufficient for air and cruise.

 

[austinwildflower]

From the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website:

"Due to the increasing incidents of child abductions in disputed custody cases and as possible victims of child pornography, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) strongly recommends that unless the child is accompanied by both parents, the adult have a note from the child's other parent (or, in the case of a child traveling with grandparents, uncles or aunts, sisters or brothers, friends, or in groups*, a note signed by both parents) stating "I acknowledge that my wife/husband/etc. is traveling out of the country with my son/daughter/group. He/She/They has/have my permission to do so."

While CBP may not ask to see this documentation, if we do ask, and you do not have it, you may be detained until the circumstances of the child traveling without both parents can be fully assessed. If there is no second parent with legal claims to the child (deceased, sole custody, etc.) any other relevant paperwork, such as a court decision, birth certificate naming only one parent, death certificate, etc., would be useful."

 

[Maggie'sMom]

From the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website:

"Due to the increasing incidents of child abductions in disputed custody cases and as possible victims of child pornography, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) strongly recommends that unless the child is accompanied by both parents, the adult have a note from the child's other parent (or, in the case of a child traveling with grandparents, uncles or aunts, sisters or brothers, friends, or in groups*, a note signed by both parents) stating "I acknowledge that my wife/husband/etc. is traveling out of the country with my son/daughter/group. He/She/They has/have my permission to do so."

While CBP may not ask to see this documentation, if we do ask, and you do not have it, you may be detained until the circumstances of the child traveling without both parents can be fully assessed. If there is no second parent with legal claims to the child (deceased, sole custody, etc.) any other relevant paperwork, such as a court decision, birth certificate naming only one parent, death certificate, etc., would be useful."

Yes, this is the exact language I have read and quoted in many, many threads on the matter. CBP recommends, not requires. As such, I always recommend that single parents have a notarized letter when traveling, but I also note that it is NOT a requirement.

 

[TXDCLfan]

Parent presence or approval IS required for cruising. If both parents are there, have the same last name as their child, and they all have passports, there should be no problem, but if you have a different last name from your child, you should call DCL to make sure there are no special requirements, such as a birth certificate documenting parentage (you can always get a replacement if you can't find the original, just be sure to do this well in advance).

Also, if you are a single/separated parent or traveling without spouse for any reason, you MUST have a NOTARIZED letter from the other parent, giving permission to take the child out of the country. If the other parent is dead, you must bring a death certificate. If you have sole custody, you must bring a copy of the legal custody order. This is all to prevent international child abduction.

The notarized letter is also required for other relatives, such as grandparents, who travel with children without the parents also cruising. It is also required for families who bring a child's friend along. For more details, check with DCL. I felt it important to share this as I'm a single mom gathering documentation for my son's and my DCL cruise, & would hate for a misinformed person to be left at the dock due to lack of proper papers.

The areas in bold are NOT correct

 

[cdoc29]

We used a passport for our kids age 18 months and 4. Because my wife’s passport is still under her maiden name we had to book the cruise with her maiden name. No one ever questioned us on parentage, Disney didn’t ask us to prove parentage and neither did customs when returning to the US. What you will have to fill out is a permission form to allow children under 18 to disembark on their own or with other people in your party not in your stateroom to leave the ship with them. i.e. the grandparents in the next cabin want to take the kids on excursion without you will need to be listed on the permission form.