Cruising with a child: Your vacation can fail due to travel authorization

2023-10-10 07:14:37

Cruise travel authorization

Which is why a cruise with a child can easily fail

Sometimes a cruise with children ends before they embark. More and more shipping companies require a travel authorization for the little ones in order to avoid problems with custody. Holidaymakers should familiarize themselves with the rules of the respective provider in good time.

As of: 07:14 a.m. | Reading time: 4 minutes

Mother with child on a cruise: Travel authorization is particularly important for adults who are traveling alone with minors

Quelle: Getty Images/Isabel Pavia

No travel authorization for the children? Then the cruise may be over before it even begins. Single parents, divorced people and those living separately are particularly at risk. But a travel authorization is also necessary if a single parent travels alone with a child or grandparents take the grandchildren on a long trip.

Shipping companies are increasingly demanding proof that minors are not traveling abroad together with adults without authorization. This is intended to prevent kidnappings or child abductions. This is most likely to be checked when boarding a cruise if the child’s last name differs from that of the accompanying adults or if an adult shows up at the port for check-in alone with a child.

Even if the shipping companies rarely check in practice, a corresponding regulation can often be found in the travel conditions. If the shipping company checks and you don’t have the necessary evidence ready, the cruise will be over before it begins. The same applies to more and more travel destinations. However, cruise lines have particularly specific, formal requirements and their own forms, which is why it is particularly important to take a look at the travel conditions here.

However, the information on this topic is often hidden on the shipping companies’ websites. Advice from a travel agent experienced in cruises or calling the cruise line hotline is an easier way to get the information you need.

What is necessary for children on a cruise

The same applies to everyone: Anyone who goes on a cruise with children should be able to prove sole custody or the consent of all parents or guardians. And even the birth parents should be able to conclusively prove that the children are really their own.

If the circumstances are not clear, a travel authorization is necessary. This is a written declaration of consent from the legal guardian or legal guardian that allows the minor child to travel abroad accompanied by a specific adult. More precisely: It allows the person to take the child with them on a trip abroad or on a cruise. And if you’re traveling with other people’s children, you even need them within the country.

More tips for cruisers:

For cruises, it is sometimes sufficient to fill out a form provided by the shipping company in German and English, which the legal guardians sign. However, copies of the passports or identity cards and proof of custody of the legal guardians who are not traveling with you must also be presented, possibly even a birth certificate of the child.

The entry of the legal guardian in the child’s passport can also serve as appropriate proof. In Germany, such an entry has been available on request since 2021 for newly issued passports.

The power of attorney is also useful with the doctor

In some situations, however, certification of the travel authorization is also required, for example if there is a country on the cruise ship’s route that has stricter requirements, such as Canada with particularly strict laws on this subject.

US shipping companies only consider children and young people under the age of 18 to be underage for travel authorization, while alcohol consumption on board is usually limited to those aged 21 and over. On the other hand, people under 21 are often not allowed on board without an older person accompanying them.