MSC Cruises requires a notarized consent letter, drafted by you, whenever a child sails without both parents or legal guardians on board. There is no official MSC minor consent form to download for this purpose; you write the letter, have the non-traveling parent (or, if a non-parent is escorting the child, a parent or legal guardian) sign it in front of a notary, and present it at check-in.1MSC Cruises. FAQ – Children and Teens
What the Letter Must Say
The rules are stricter when the traveling adult is not the child’s parent or legal guardian. In that case the notarized letter has to do three things: name the specific adult taking the child on the cruise, state that this adult accepts full responsibility for the child, and grant the adult authority to approve medical treatment if the child needs care at sea or in a foreign port.1MSC Cruises. FAQ – Children and Teens
When one parent is traveling with the child and the other is staying home, the letter is simpler: it needs to state the absent parent’s permission for the child to sail. It still has to be notarized.1MSC Cruises. FAQ – Children and Teens
Whichever situation applies, build the letter around these elements:
- The child’s full legal name and date of birth, matching the passport or birth certificate exactly.
- The full legal name of the adult who will be present at embarkation.
- The ship name, departure date, and itinerary, so the authorization is tied to one specific voyage.
- A clear consent statement from the non-traveling parent or guardian.
- For non-parent escorts, an explicit acceptance of responsibility and grant of medical authority.
- The signature of the consenting parent or guardian, signed in the physical presence of a notary.
Keep the wording plain and specific. A letter naming a particular ship and sail date is easier for a port agent to accept than an open-ended authorization covering “any travel.”
When You Need One and When You Don’t
MSC treats anyone under 21 as a minor on any voyage that touches a U.S. port. On itineraries with no U.S. port at all, the threshold drops to 18.1MSC Cruises. FAQ – Children and Teens The consent rules below apply whenever the traveler falls under the relevant age.
If one parent is traveling with the child, MSC still requires a notarized letter of permission from the parent who is staying behind. If a grandparent, aunt, older sibling, family friend, or group leader is escorting the child, the fuller letter described above is required, and a copy of it must be presented at check-in.1MSC Cruises. FAQ – Children and Teens
Last names that don’t match add a separate requirement, not a substitute one. When the traveling parent’s last name differs from the child’s, bring an original or certified copy of a marriage license, divorce decree, government-issued name change document, or official adoption paper explaining the difference.1MSC Cruises. FAQ – Children and Teens The consent letter is still required on top of that.
Sole Custody or a Deceased Parent
MSC’s published guidance does not list specific documents that excuse a parent from getting the other parent’s signature. If you have sole legal custody or the other parent has died, bring the strongest proof you have — a custody decree granting you sole authority to travel with the child, or a certified death certificate — and contact MSC’s customer service line before your sail date to confirm what the terminal will accept. Port agents have the final say at the pier.
Getting the Letter Notarized
A plain signature will not do. MSC requires the letter to be signed in front of a notary, who witnesses the signing and applies an official seal.1MSC Cruises. FAQ – Children and Teens Notary fees vary by state, typically running $5 to $15 per signature. Banks, UPS stores, and shipping centers commonly offer walk-in notary services. Some states allow remote online notarization when the non-traveling parent cannot appear in person; check your state’s rules before assuming a video session will be accepted.
Start early. The night-before scramble is where most families run into trouble, especially when the consenting parent lives in a different city or state.
What to Bring With the Letter
The consent letter travels with the child’s identity documents. For U.S. citizens under 16 on a closed-loop cruise (one that departs and returns to the same U.S. port), acceptable proof of citizenship is an original or certified copy of a birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or a Certificate of Naturalization. Baptismal records, hospital-issued certificates, voter registration cards, and Social Security cards are not accepted.2U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Do I Need a Passport to Go on a Cruise? Citizens 16 and older need proof of citizenship plus a government-issued photo ID.
For any voyage that does not return to its departure port, or that visits countries requiring a passport for entry, every traveler including the child needs a valid passport. MSC’s travel documents page lists the specifics by itinerary.3MSC Cruises. Travel Documents and Visas Individual destination countries may also impose their own entry permits or consent-letter rules, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection advises checking directly with the embassy or consulate of each port of call.4U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Children Traveling to Another Country Without Their Parents
If names differ across any of these documents, a birth certificate that lists both the parent’s legal name and the child’s name can bridge the gap, provided those names match the passports or IDs being presented.
At the Pier
Carry the notarized letter, the child’s ID documents, and any name-mismatch paperwork in your carry-on, not in checked luggage. Port agents review everything before issuing a cruise card and may ask questions about the relationship between the adult and child, especially when last names don’t match or the escort is not a parent. Check-in and boarding close two hours before the ship departs, and MSC assigns each passenger a specific check-in window printed on the cruise ticket; arriving after your window can result in denied embarkation on its own.5MSC Cruises. Cruise Embarkation Tips
If the documents are missing or incomplete, the child will be denied boarding.1MSC Cruises. FAQ – Children and Teens MSC’s booking terms state that no refund or compensation is issued when a passenger is denied boarding for failure to provide required travel documents.6MSC Cruises. Standard Booking Terms and Conditions There is no grace period and no onboard fix. The terminal is the last checkpoint.