18 year old - drinking waiver

When you read Celebrity's policy it does mention having a waiver. However the 2 times I've sailed w/ my niece who is under 21 they have denied it. The first time I asked about it and was told no. The second time (this March) I didn't ask but upon check-in once they verified her age they agent asked if I wanted to allow it and I said yes. But then just to be sure she went and check and was told no. So not sure why they even have it in the written policy if they deny it every time.

 

However (I'm sure I'll get flamed for this) if the parent/guardian chooses to get them a drink it can happen. As long as they aren't out of control a lot of bar servers/sommeliers turn a blind eye. My niece was drinking some of my wine at dinner and the last night as we were leaving the MDR he filled up both my glass and the empty one for her. I've seen other parents just give their kids their card to get drinks at night. Some bartenders will allow it and others will deny them.

Where is this policy? My daughter will be a month shy of 21 on our next cruise. If they ask me if they can serve her I will say yes. If they won't serve her, that will be fine too, we will have wine in the cabin she grab a glass of.

The policy, and possible consequences for you and her, are spelled out clearly on the website

Minors get special SeaPass cards so servers and bartenders and sommaliers know that they are underage.

I know the age and know the policy but always found it ironic that the cruise line when applicable asks the parents for permission for a child who is legally an adult.

Where is this policy? My daughter will be a month shy of 21 on our next cruise. If they ask me if they can serve her I will say yes. If they won't serve her, that will be fine too, we will have wine in the cabin she grab a glass of.

Q.What is Celebrity's Alcohol Policy?

A.The minimum drinking age for all alcoholic beverages on Celebrity Cruises ships sailing from North America is 21. The minimum drinking age for all alcoholic beverages on Celebrity Cruises ships sailing from South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand is 18. In certain circumstances where local laws permit or require, Celebrity Cruises may modify this policy which may also require parent/guardian request/authorization. Guests may contact Guest Relations or refer to Celebrity Today for specific minimum drinking age information on their cruise vacation.

I thought the first time since we were sailing out of San Juan and the legal age was 18 they may allow it. However both times when asked or the agent checked to be certain it was correct or available they said no. My niece would have wine in the room or just drink my drink/wine at dinner or around the pool. Not sure why it's in there since the only places they allow it is in the areas they have listed.

Where is this policy? My daughter will be a month shy of 21 on our next cruise. If they ask me if they can serve her I will say yes. If they won't serve her, that will be fine too, we will have wine in the cabin she grab a glass of.

Just be careful! This exact thing happened to us once. We were sailing with our family and my niece was a few weeks shy of 21. They know on board because the sea pass card shows it so they wouldn’t serve her. My brother gave her some of his drink and he was chewed out! We were lucky that’s all they did because according to their policy....and what they told us.....they can put you off at the next port! He didn’t think a lot of it at first because In our state one can legally drink with the parents if they are at least 18.....he learned the hard way and she didn’t have another sip of alcohol on the ship the rest of the cruise.

The funny part was a couple of years ago, my kids (over 18 but under 21) were given regular sea pass cards, not the minor ones. They did, however, have NA packages. One evening, my son places an order for a virgin strawberry daq at dinner, and the waitress asks, "Virgin? Would you prefer alcohol in it?" He looks at her and says, "Sure!" Then she stops, looks at him, and says, "You are over 21, yes?" He said, "no, not for another 11 months. But they sold them to me in Italy. Sadly, we are now in the Caribbean." She laughed, he laughed, and she brought him the non-AL one.

She agreed with us, later in the cruise, that it was a stupid rule. It is, however, one she is required to enforce.

I thought the first time since we were sailing out of San Juan and the legal age was 18 they may allow it. However both times when asked or the agent checked to be certain it was correct or available they said no. My niece would have wine in the room or just drink my drink/wine at dinner or around the pool. Not sure why it's in there since the only places they allow it is in the areas they have listed.

 

It's very simple. San Juan is a North American closed loop departure port, hence the 21 on board drinking age applies. If the legal age for drinking in San Juan is 18, then while you are in San Juan your 18 year old can drink while off the ship there. Same with any port of call in the itinerary where the drinking age is 18. But not on board.

Under 21 is allowed on board with itineraries of certain other countries / regions of departure as mentioned.

RCI used to have an 18 and old waiver by an accompanying parent for beer and wine only, but that went away about 10 years ago. Not sure how / where any current Celebrity waiver would apply given the country of departure rules.

It's very simple. San Juan is a North American closed loop departure port, hence the 21 on board drinking age applies. If the legal age for drinking in San Juan is 18, then while you are in San Juan your 18 year old can drink while off the ship there. Same with any port of call in the itinerary where the drinking age is 18. But not on board.

 

Under 21 is allowed on board with itineraries of certain other countries / regions of departure as mentioned.

 

RCI used to have an 18 and old waiver by an accompanying parent for beer and wine only, but that went away about 10 years ago. Not sure how / where any current Celebrity waiver would apply given the country of departure rules.

True however I was going w/ the possibility of the waiver from Celebrity’s website as it states where local law may permit they may allow a waiver to be signed. Since local law in Puerto Rico is 18 could be a possibility.

Although the cruise lines may be worried about suits for underage drinking the previous poster is not wrong about the drinking age being changed during the Reagan administration. It was done how and why exactly as BigBEn boys said it was. I was a Police Officer at the time and remember the change very well and exactly why it was done. Basically the Transportation Dept told the states you want your highway funds you change your state laws. Every state complied, some quicker than others. This is not an uncommon practice, they did the same thing to have the states comply with minimum Blood Alcohol Levels for drunk driving. It's a very powerful weapon controlling the purse strings.

 

Don't know if anyone on the board remembers this but going back about 10 years ago Celebrity's drinking age was 18 and then changed to 21. It was ironic because at the time Celebrity's was considered the more sophisticated line over Royal but Royals drinking age had been 21 long before Celebrity's.

I do specifically remember when the drinking age on Celebrity was 18. My son had sailed with us on X many times. The year he turned 18 we went on a cruise and he was hoping to have his first legal drink onboard. Turns out that year we decided to go to Alaska, where the age was always 21, even on Celebrity. He was sooooo disappointed (but had a great time otherwise on the cruise!).

True however I was going w/ the possibility of the waiver from Celebrity’s website as it states where local law may permit they may allow a waiver to be signed. Since local law in Puerto Rico is 18 could be a possibility.

You could try but I would doubt it will work as the North American closed loop departure ports 21 rule would trump that. That's why I'm surprised there is even that waiver statement. Keep in mind it is a Celebrity regional departure policy, not a local policy when one of their ships is in a given port.

You could try but I would doubt it will work as the North American closed loop departure ports 21 rule would trump that. That's why I'm surprised there is even that waiver statement. Keep in mind it is a Celebrity regional departure policy, not a local policy when one of their ships is in a given port. Again, she can drink in Puerto Rico - but not on the ship.

As stated in previous responses they did deny it which is why I also stated I didn’t know why they even had it listed. Yes she could drink in all the ports but she shared our drinks on the ship as well w/o an issue on both occasions. In my experience servers/sommelier turned a blind eye. But that’s just my experience everyone needs to decide what to do at their own risk. I think since she looks over 21 is what helped (even @ 18).

What does that have to do with the drinking age in the U.S. being 21? That is what the post you're responding to was about, and the law was indeed signed during the Reagan administration.

US Law is only inacted on US passengers because of the liability involved, the OP is about obtaining a drinking waiver from cruise line policy which is in place because of US law....perhaps True that the US law has something to do with Reagan but it also truthfully has nothing to do with true maritime law.

While it may be the legal purchase age it isn't necessarily the consumption age as it differs from state to state.

This has not been true since the 1980s.

While it may be the legal purchase age it isn't necessarily the consumption age as it differs from state to state.

 

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Forums mobile app

I do believe that all 50 States and DC now have a strict 21 year old drinking age! This is directly the result of a 1984 Federal Act that tied Federal Highway funds to the States complying with both the purchase and possession of alcohol minimum age of 21.

Hank

So the waiver (https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/pdf/Alcohol_Waiver_Celebrity.pdf) isn't valid on sailings departing the US?

What happens if staff doesn't card and the child is a "minor" on the ship but legal in the port of call?

I do believe that all 50 States and DC now have a strict 21 year old drinking age! This is directly the result of a 1984 Federal Act that tied Federal Highway funds to the States complying with both the purchase and possession of alcohol minimum age of 21.

 

Hank

Hank, Wisconsin doesn't have a drinking age, per-se. If you are with a parent, legal guardian, or spouse who is of legal drinking age, those under the legal drinking age may be served, possess, or consume alcohol, if the legal drinking age adult allow the consumption and the bar / establishment is willing to serve.

your https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_laws_of_Wisconsin

Yup! There are a handful of states where the 18-20 year old can drink legally with their parents. If one goes to a restaurant/bar in Wisconsin it is up to the establishment whether or not they will allow it. We have only ever had one time that it wasn’t allowed.

So the waiver (https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/pdf/Alcohol_Waiver_Celebrity.pdf) isn't valid on sailings departing the US?

What happens if staff doesn't card and the child is a "minor" on the ship but legal in the port of call?

You could no doubt sue Celebrity for serving your minor child.

Staff do look at sea pass cards and the card will show that the passenger is a minor. It isn’t worth the employee’s job to serve someone under age and risk being sent home with no reference and having to pay their own way.

Hank, Wisconsin doesn't have a drinking age, per-se. If you are with a parent, legal guardian, or spouse who is of legal drinking age, those under the legal drinking age may be served, possess, or consume alcohol, if the legal drinking age adult allow the consumption and the bar / establishment is willing to serve.

 

your https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_laws_of_Wisconsin

So now all we need to do is find a Celebrity ship leaving from Wisconsin!

Mike

So now all we need to do is find a Celebrity ship leaving from Wisconsin!

 

Mike

Now that's funny. :D

After reading all of the post here I am left wondering why there are so many parents trying to find ways to get their kids be allowed to drink alcohol. Is it really so important for your kids to be able to drink alcohol while on a cruise or at home. This is a major problem in our country and we really should try to encourage kids to avoid things like alcohol and drugs rather than encourage them.

Hard to lecture people who were able to drink at a younger age when they were growing up. Or those who live where it's not so restrictive or who were raised in households where alcohol was not taboo.

So the waiver (https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/pdf/Alcohol_Waiver_Celebrity.pdf) isn't valid on sailings departing the US?

What happens if staff doesn't card and the child is a "minor" on the ship but legal in the port of call?

They would not serve a minor directly but in my experience they turned a blind eye to what I did. I could have a drink in my hand an order a another drink (that my niece clearly told me to order in front of the server) and they would bring it to her. Once they walked away I would had it to her. Or she would order a drink and I'd go to a bar and order a shot and bring it back to her and she'd put it in her drink. At dinner the sommelier would clearly see her drinking from my glass but kept it full. On the last night even filled up the empty one as well as mine for her.

As for others wondering why I let her drink, she is responsible and not going out of control. Also she was also with me at all times and not running wild w/ friends around the ship getting in trouble stumbling drunk. We all (well most of us) did it as teens so I believe it should be up to the parent/guardian to make the decision on if they can have a drink or not.