Questions on bringing friend of your child.

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

Two questions.

For those of you who have brought a friend of your child along. Did you pick up any, part or all of the cost for the friend? We can not afford to pay the entire trip, we are thinking of paying the airfare, food and some misc. things once on the trip.

Do you think it is ok to ask the parents to pick up the cost of the land/sea portion of the trip? I was quoted $960.00+ for this part of the trip alone. Airfare from MN will be somewhere between $300 to $400 dollars each. We would like any advice before we go ahead and ask someone.

The second question is, what documentation do you need from the parents to take their child on a trip where you leave the country?

Thank you for any/all advice

 

[mmouse37]

We have brought our son's friend along twice.....he/his family paid the cruise portion and I offered to pay the air. I do not think it unreasonable at all to ask the family to pay part of the trip.

DCL does require a notarized form that is the cruise documents stating that the parents give you permission to take the child on the cruise. I also had a notarized letter from the parents to be on the safe side and keep with at all times.

On our upcoming cruise my DD19 asked her two college friends to come along and they are paying their own way entirely.

MJ

 

[TeamMom011]

We stayed in a suite but didn't feel it was fair to expect his parents to pay that cost so we figured out how much the cost of a veranda stateroom would be and they paid the equivalent of that for DS's friend. We went Disney all inclusive so the airfare was included. They sent along spending money which, other than his soda card and 2 arcade cards, he didn't spend a dime of until we were in WDW (so keep in mind additional spending $ on the cruise is at a minimum)
Since there was no add'l charge for him to stay at our WDW resort, that wasn't an issue and we just figured we'd pay for his meals. In retrospect, my only mistake was not considering how much a growing 12yr old eats!

 

[AnnMorin]

I don't know I guess it would depend on how close you are to this family. It could be a huge burden on them to pay out close to a thousand dollars for their child to take a vacation. (some families don't spend a thousand dollars on an entire FAMILY vacation) It may put the parents in a very awkward position. We have friends that can not imagine that we spend over $10,000 a year on vacations, it simply would not be possible for them and the can't fathom how or why we do. I would never dream of inviting their son on a trip (who is quite close with ours) unless I was willing to pay for him myself. Then if I was pleasently surprised and they offered to pay great if not I have not embarressed them. It is not like asking a parent to pay for a $30.00 six flags ticket. So I guess it really depends on how close you two are.

 

[cathyrob]

On the lines of the notorized letter giving permission to go on the trip, make sure you have a seperate letter from the child's parents giving you permission to give doctors permission to take action if need be. If the child is under 18, which I am assuming, if doctors do not have a letter from the child's parents, they will not perform nonemergency acts(broken bones included-I know from experience). The letter should include all medical info. and insurance. Make sure you have the child's insurance card as well.

 

[aprilgail2]

I personally would never ask my childs friends parents to pay for their portion...my feeling is that if I invite them then they are considered my guests and I pay the tab. I have taken my 3 year olds friends on overnight trips and have picked up the other childs expenses since I invited them.

 

[mmouse37]

good point...I forgot to mention that...we did bring that along as well.

MJ

 

[TeamMom011]

as MJ said, good point. We had both the form in the DCL documents and a form I typed up notarized. With security at Orange when we traveled I had visions of not being able to take Evan on a plane without notarized permission from his parents. I had everything on our itinerary from flight numbers to hotels to ports of call itemized as well as medical authorization.

 

[Verandah Man]

We have taken many family members and friends on vacation with us over the years. We cover all cost, except for airfare and spending money, and we've never had a problem doing it this way.

 

[Mickey4Me]

Since my daughter is an only child, we have always let her bring along a friend on vacation. For most of her HS years, it was the same friend and we always picked up the tab for the trip. For their HS graduation last year, we sailed on the Eastern Magic and got the girls their own cabin across the hall from ours. DD's friend brought along her own spending $$, but we covered transportation costs, lodging, food and excursions. I guess each situation is different and as long as you discuss it with the child's parents prior to asking the child, they won't be disappointed if mom and/or dad can't afford it. Good luck in your decision.

 

[lynr]

I took my sons friend and my niece and I always paid for everything. I didn't feel right inviting them and then asking the parents to pay. And believe me they didn't offer to. But we could afford it at the time. I expected them however to bring spending money.

Last year we didn't take the cruise because my husband was out of work sick most of the year. So when we discussed the cruise this year we had to scale down a bit. I told my son that if his friend wanted to go they were welcome but the parents would have to pay for the cruise. Since I did not invite the person and they asked to go I didn't feel bad. And guess what they are not going.

On the other hand if someone invited my son on a cruise I would insist on paying for it atleast half if not all. Just my opinion.

On the subject of the notarized letters I had them for both of the extra kids and Disney did not ask to see them. But I would not chance anything happening and not having them.

Lyn

 

[mmouse37]

With our own three teens we were not in a position to pay for all expenses for my son's friend. He paid his own cruise fare and we picked up airfare and all excursion and expenses onboard. He is in high school and has his own job, so he paid his own way. Luckily when our kids were younger we always traveled with other familes with kids our kids ages so bringing an extra friend was never an issue. Just recently when we sailed in August and again this past January the other family was not going and my son wanted his best friend to come. We did not invite him as our guest, he wanted to come with us We told the family how much it would be and the friend decided he wanted to come and paid his own cruise fare.

He said the two cruises he took with us were the best vacations of his life....each situation is going to different for each person. I wish we could afford to pick up the tab for our kids friends...but that is just not possible.

MJ

 

[Buckaroo's Dad]

For a prepaid cruise inclusive of airfare, my son and I are available for a 7-day adoption by any Disers...

PS - any verandah category preferred!

 

[MrsPete]

In my mind, this is the basic question: WHY are you bringing the other child along? I'm assuming it's not because you're being nice or because you're concerned that this other child won't have a vacation -- you're bringing the other child along to be a companion to your child, you're bringing the other child along to make your child happy.

Given that fact (I assume it's a fact), I can't imagine asking the other family to pay. My feelings on the subject: You invite, you pay.

 

[aprilgail2]

Originally posted by MrsPete
In my mind, this is the basic question: WHY are you bringing the other child along? .

When I was a kid I was always allowed to take a friend on vacations with the family and to all our family reunions so I wouldn't be bored to tears and I know that my dad always paid for those friends to come along. We never did a cruise or anything but we did go on week long vacations where I was allowed to take a friend along. My brother on the other hand never wanted anyone to come so he didn't ever bring a friend.

 

[mmouse37]

Our son's friend was so excited after hearing all our stories about the Disney cruise that he wanted to come with us....my son loved the idea of having a friend and asked us if his friend could come. Since we did not officially invite him, he paid his cruise fare. I still laid out a bunch of money for airfare and excursions and other expenses...but I was glad my son had someone to hang out with.

This guy is 17 and working, so he had the money and wanted to come so he paid!!

MJ

 

[markºoº]

My feeling is that if you invite a guest, you should be prepared to pay for that person. My son has been invited for weekend trips with friends and we have also taken a friend along with our weekend trips. Although not nearly as expensive, we always pay for his guest and the other families have paid for him.

Given the $$ with a cruise is a lot more, if someone invited DS on this type of trip, we would offer to cover some of the cost. Not all families, however are in a position (or willing) to pay that much for their child to take a vacation.

 

[twinmomplus2]

We just had this situation come up! My 16 year old daughter was told she could bring a friend. I asked the parents and was told to go ahead and book the trip. this was in October. As such we purchased the childs airfare. I was paying the airfare, and the parents of the child are responsible for her spending and her pass. First of all the money in both households is comparable, Perhaps thier income is a bit higher. As both parents are employed. The long and the short of it is... I recieved a call 60 days out that The child was not going to go. The answer to why was... Mom and dad were going to Vegas themselves and did not want to shell out Money for Disney. I guess every family has different areas of priority. It left a bad taste in my mouth, and I couldn't resist, I said to the father I agree its alot of money Can you imagine if you had her airfare too? If I ever invite again. It will be the other parents responsibility for the childs expenses. If I am paying to accomodate the child and superviseing them for 8 days, I will no longer feel guilty about the money. Your fiscal responsibility is to your own children. Not to anothers child so they can go to Vegas. I will do for myself over them when they are grown. wait, scratch that I will still have DVC. I will probably be bringing my grandchildren then. To each his own I guess.