How to Fill Out and Notarize the Royal Caribbean Minor Consent Form

If a passenger age 17 or younger is sailing on Royal Caribbean without a parent or legal guardian, the accompanying adult has to present the Royal Caribbean minor consent form, notarized, at check-in. The full title on the PDF is “Consent for Minor (0–17) Child to Travel Without Parent/Legal Guardian.” It authorizes the named adult to supervise the child, sign onboard activity waivers, and approve medical treatment during the voyage. You download it from Royal Caribbean’s website, fill it out, and take it to a notary before your sail date.¹

When the Form Is Required

Royal Caribbean requires the notarized form any time a minor boards without their legal guardian.² That covers the obvious cases and several that people sometimes assume are exempt. A grandparent taking a grandchild needs it. So does an aunt or uncle, a family friend, a stepparent who has not legally adopted the child, or a group leader traveling with minors from a school, sports team, or church.

The form is also required when only one parent sails with the child. The non-traveling parent isn’t at the terminal to confirm the trip has their blessing, and their signed and notarized consent stands in for that. Divorced parents with shared custody are in the same position: whichever parent is not on the ship needs to sign.

Where to Download It

Royal Caribbean hosts the PDF on its own site. The travel documents page links to it under the section on cruising with kids that aren’t yours, and the file itself lives on Royal Caribbean’s resources page.²¹ Print it, fill it in, and take it to a notary well before departure. Leaving it to the last day gives you no cushion if a notary is booked up or if a signature has to come from another city.

Filling Out Each Field

The form is a single page, but every blank matters. One missing field can turn into a problem at the pier. Here is what you’ll be asked to provide:¹

Full legal name of each parent or legal guardian authorizing the trip.
The child’s full legal name exactly as it appears on their passport or birth certificate, plus date of birth in MM/DD/YYYY format. More than one child can be listed on the same form.
Passport number and issuing country for the child, if applicable.
Ship name (for example, “Wonder of the Seas”) and sail date.
Reservation ID from your Royal Caribbean booking confirmation.
Full legal name of the accompanying adult. That adult must be 21 or older for cruises departing from most ports, or 18 or older for cruises departing from Europe, Asia, South America, New Zealand, or Australia.
Passport number and issuing country for the accompanying adult, if applicable.
Expected date of return, which is the day the cruise ends.
Address and phone number where the non-traveling parent or guardian can be reached during the voyage.

What the Signature Authorizes

By signing, the parent or guardian gives the accompanying adult two specific powers. The adult can consent to routine or emergency medical treatment if a qualified medical professional recommends it during the cruise, including emergency procedures when there isn’t time to call a parent first. The adult can also sign onboard activity waivers so the child can use attractions like the rock-climbing wall, the FlowRider surf simulator, water sports, and ice skating.¹

Who Signs

Both the parent or guardian and the accompanying adult sign the form. If two parents share custody, both should sign. Signatures cannot be done at the kitchen table and dropped in the mail. They have to be executed in front of a notary public, solicitor, commissioner for oaths, or justice of the peace, who then applies an official seal.¹

Getting It Notarized

Notarization is the step people most often stumble on. The notary confirms the identity of each signer, watches them sign, and stamps the document with an official seal. Without that seal, the form has no legal weight at the terminal.

Notary fees across the U.S. typically run from about $2 to $20 per signature, with most people paying somewhere around $10 to $15. Many banks, UPS stores, and shipping centers offer notary services during business hours. Some mobile notaries will come to your home for an added trip fee. If the parents live in different cities, each can visit a separate notary, though it’s worth confirming with Royal Caribbean whether the form accommodates split notarization or whether both signatures need to appear on the same notarized copy.

Plan on getting this done at least a couple of weeks before your sailing date. If one parent lives overseas or is otherwise hard to reach, collecting a notarized signature can take much longer than you expect.

When Only One Parent Signs

If only one parent has legal custody, bring a copy of the court custody order to the terminal. If a parent is deceased, carry a certified copy of the death certificate to explain why only one signature appears on the consent form. Royal Caribbean’s published materials don’t spell these situations out in detail, but pier agents reviewing the form will want to understand why a second parent’s signature is missing, and having the paperwork on hand keeps check-in moving.

What to Bring on Boarding Day

The consent form handles permission. You still need to prove the child’s identity separately. Gather everything into one folder before you leave for the terminal:

The original notarized consent form. Pier agents will scrutinize this most closely.
The minor’s passport or original state-certified birth certificate. Hospital-issued birth certificates with baby footprints are not accepted, and neither are photocopies or digital images. A child 16 or older using a birth certificate also needs a valid government-issued photo ID.³⁴
The accompanying adult’s identification, matching the name on the consent form exactly.
A custody order or death certificate, if either applies.
The reservation confirmation showing the booking ID that matches the form.

Royal Caribbean strongly recommends a passport for every guest, and all passports must be valid for at least six months after the cruise ends.² Make photocopies or clear photos of every document and store them separately from the originals. Local authorities at some ports may ask to see travel authorization when the child goes ashore, so keep copies within reach throughout the trip.

Mistakes That Delay Boarding

Most problems with this form come down to a handful of preventable errors. The name on the form doesn’t match the name on the child’s passport or birth certificate, usually because someone used a nickname or shortened form. The reservation ID is wrong or left blank. The form was signed but never notarized. Or the accompanying adult listed on the form isn’t the person actually traveling, because plans changed after the notary appointment.

If you catch an error after notarization, you need a fresh form and a new notary visit. You can’t correct a notarized document with a pen. If the accompanying adult changes, the whole form has to be redone with the new adult’s information, because the authorization is specific to the person named. Five extra minutes checking every field against the booking confirmation and the child’s ID, before you head to the notary, is worth the effort.

1
Royal Caribbean International. Consent for Minor (0-17) Child to Travel Without Parent/Legal Guardian
2
Royal Caribbean Cruises. Travel Documents and Requirements
3
Royal Caribbean. What Travel Documents Are Required to Board
4
Royal Caribbean. Can I Cruise With a Birth Certificate as My Identification