Found this in a group, what’s your take? How would you handle it?

[MonkeySeeMonkeyDo]

I'm not sure why SD's mother outranks her father. Depending on the legal situation it could be that he can't really override her decision, but otherwise I don't get it.

When cruising you need a letter from the parent not going that says they give permission for the kid to go.

If mom refuses to sign off on it then they are a bit stuck.

I have never been asked for such a letter and I have taken my son I had with my ex-husband many times and even taken his friends along with none of his parents on board. I understand the letter may be good to have-but I have never been asked for such a letter.

This is Carnival’s official response about it:

Traveling with Minors
When traveling with a minor where one parent or both parents or legal guardians are not cruising, we strongly recommend bringing an original signed letter from the absent parent(s) or legal guardians authorizing the minor to travel with you. If there is no second parent with legal claims to the minor (due to sole custody, deceased, etc.) other relevant paperwork, such as a court decision, death certificate, birth certificate naming only one parent, would be useful to bring in place of a signed letter. This will expedite processing by the Department of Homeland Security.






For us we decided not to go that route since we knew she wouldn’t sign off and id be upset if we tried to board and they told us no because we didn’t have those notes.

[Anonymous 6]

3 is cheaper than 5, we would have a great time.

[Anonymous 7]

He would have a choice. Leave her with her mother and go on the the trip with us or I'll go with my kids and he'll be served with divorce papers when I get back
I would not be with a man who will let his 12 year old control our lives.

[Anonymous 7]

My take won't be popular but it's honest. There are reasons not to marry a man with an ex and children. This is one of them. They guy either puts the ex and kids ahead of everyone or forgets them and concentrates solely on the shiny new wife and her kids. Next, it would not occur to me to pull kids out of school for a week to go on a cruise of all things. I can see taking a day off to recharge or whatever but a week long cruise during the school year is ridiculous and unnecessary. Lastly, we have the whine from wife #2 about how hubby doesn't support her and she's so picked on. We have no idea what this woman's relationship is like with her husband's daughter but from this I'd say it's not good. There is likely a long and unpleasant backstory that would make this all clear.

That isn't true in every situation. My dd is married to a man with an ex and a child and they have a child on the way. Him and her mother only talk about their child and they have his dd more than mom does. My dd and my family adore his daughter and think of her as our granddaughter. My dd talk to the mom more than he does.

[Deleted User 1018]

I would book the cruise without him and the kids, and invite a friend or relative to tag along, with plans to 100% enjoy myself. No way in hell would I let some snot nosed brat ruin a vacation like that.

[SisterSomeone]

I'd still be going. Given a choice, it would be ideal for everyone to go, but if my husband's kids don't want to go, that's their prerogative. I will not have my vacation plans decided by tweens.

[famousglm714]

I’d still go even if it was by myself, lol. Children don’t dictate my vacations. This woman is going to have a bad time with this kid in general.

[Traci_Momof2]

Hmmm, well:

#1 - I personally would never take a 3yo on an expensive vacation like that to begin with. Even for Disneyland my rule was they all had to be at least 5yo. As it was, the first time we took the kids to Disney they were 7 and 9.

#2 - If the step-daughter didn't want to go then she could stay home with mom and I know my husband would have no qualms about going with me and the other two kids. And it's not about favoritism or anything, if SD doesn't want to go she doesn't have to go, but she also doesn't get the power to affect whether others go or not, including her dad.

#3 - Where the person said "What kid would turn down a week out of school and a trip to the Bahamas?" obviously didn't read our thread about the girl who didn't want to go on the zip-lining field trip. LOL

But yeah, extremely unrelatable situation for me.

[Anonymous 8]

I think it would depend on why she didn't want to go. If she never wanted to go on trips, I could see just going without her. But if she has some legitimate reason for not wanting to go on this specific trip, I'd plan a different vacation that we could all enjoy together.

[MistressMonster]

I'm not sure why SD's mother outranks her father. Depending on the legal situation it could be that he can't really override her decision, but otherwise I don't get it.

When cruising you need a letter from the parent not going that says they give permission for the kid to go.

If mom refuses to sign off on it then they are a bit stuck.

I will have to ask my middle sister about this rule. She works for one of the cruise line companies.