Teenagers in Bars

[JavaHutBum]

Got your attention with that title, didn't I?

 

No, I'm not promoting underage drinking, but I am wondering about any restrictions on teens using or visiting public rooms labeled " bars." I understand they can use the disco up until 11, but what if they want to hear the music in the piano bar or check out a game in the sports bar? My guess is there are no restrictions ( after all, isn't the whole ship one big bar?) but wanted to be sure. Are there restrictions? Is their presence " frowned upon" by crew or bar patrons?

 

We'll be on Victory June 20.

 

Mark

[Mxlady]

Our son sometimes showed up in the piano bar with us but I guess it depends on their age. He was 15 when he started cruising and was mature enough to hangin out. He DID NOT drink alcohol just cokes. Now he is 22 and saves us a table. LOL!!!

[BeachChik]

Unless a specific age restriction is listed I wouldn't worry about it. Some will say kids don't belong in these types of places but as long as the cruise line doesn't have an age rule at the place they want to go them I say go for it. I don't feel that cruise ship bars are the same as land bars. But they shouldn't sit at the actual bar since the obviously cant drink. I have seen well behaved kids sitting in these areas listening to the music or sitting with their parents.

[canadiangal40]

From Carnival FAQ's Age restrictions:

 

Are there any age restrictions onboard?

Drinking alcoholic beverages: Guest must be 21 years of age or older to be served alcohol on board. Proper I.D. with birth date is required.

Casino: Guest must be 18 years of age or older to play the tables and the slot machines. Guests under 18 years of age are not permitted in the casino.

Spa Carnival and fitness center: Guests under 12 years of age are not permitted in these facilities. Guests between the ages of 12 and 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Lounges, shows, and the dance club: Guests under the age of 18 should be accompanied by an adult in all public areas of the ship. Guests under the age of 18 must vacate the dance club by 10:00pm. Guests under the age of 18 may not attend the Midnight Shows comedy shows as they are for adults only. (18 and older)

[Sh1035]

I'm not sure I thought the general rule is the child had to be under 5 and so gosh dang adorable to the parents or grand parents they could run around and. Dance, cry,scream, sleep on the dance floor.....all while the adults drinks and smoke and ignore them????

 

Who would want a teen just molding into the crowd and not be obnoxious??? Can he at least do a soda burp to remind us of being 15 again :) I can still remember at 15 hanging with my parents in outdoor bars the summer we spent in Hawaii.....priceless. I will say I might have snuck a few drink at the luaus? But I was way taller then the staff.

 

Go for it!!! You don't need permission if you are following the rules.

[mikel24m]

Got your attention with that title, didn't I?

 

No, I'm not promoting underage drinking, but I am wondering about any restrictions on teens using or visiting public rooms labeled " bars." I understand they can use the disco up until 11, but what if they want to hear the music in the piano bar or check out a game in the sports bar? My guess is there are no restrictions ( after all, isn't the whole ship one big bar?) but wanted to be sure. Are there restrictions? Is their presence " frowned upon" by crew or bar patrons?

 

We'll be on Victory June 20.

 

Mark

 

Will you or mom be with them or are you trying to let them run around the ship as they wish as you do what you wish ? ;)

[skittl1321]

The bars on the ship aren't really 'bars'- it's more like a hotel lobby. Drinks are served, and lots of people will be drinking, but teenagers (and even kids) will be fine.

 

It was very common to see kids in the Punchliner Lounge (which is a bar, really) for the family comedy show -WITHOUT- parents. In fact, one front row was filled with kids, who all reported their parents were taking naps. The comedian looked out at the audience and said "well that's just not fair. What a set up, and I can't tell the joke because this is a family show."

[OCruisers]

The bars on the ship aren't really 'bars'- it's more like a hotel lobby. Drinks are served, and lots of people will be drinking, but teenagers (and even kids) will be fine.

 

Certainly, teens and children often go to the bars/lounges.

 

LuLu

~~~~

[Elaine5715]

The bars on the ship aren't really 'bars'- it's more like a hotel lobby. Drinks are served, and lots of people will be drinking, but teenagers (and even kids) will be fine.

 

It was very common to see kids in the Punchliner Lounge (which is a bar, really) for the family comedy show -WITHOUT- parents. In fact, one front row was filled with kids, who all reported their parents were taking naps. The comedian looked out at the audience and said "well that's just not fair. What a set up, and I can't tell the joke because this is a family show."

 

"taking naps?"...more like....yeah, Mom and Dad are really tired..

[JavaHutBum]

Will you or mom be with them or are you trying to let them run around the ship as they wish as you do what you wish ? ;)

 

Mike,

 

If my kids are bothering you on the ship, please PM me directly and I will come get them. I will constantly monitor my account awaiting your message. Beyond that, I think any lecture on responsible parenting is beyond the scope of the thread. Thanks.

 

Mark

[elleusion]

Ditto....enuf said :)

L

[JavaHutBum]

Lounges, shows, and the dance club: Guests under the age of 18 should be accompanied by an adult in all public areas of the ship. Guests under the age of 18 must vacate the dance club by 10:00pm. Guests under the age of 18 may not attend the Midnight Shows comedy shows as they are for adults only. (18 and older)

 

Thanks for pulling this from the Web. Interesting usage of "should" and "must." When I first read it, it looked like the teens wandering the ship on their own were breaking some rule. Closer inspection reveals it's just a suggestion (wishful thinking?).

[canadiangal40]

Lounges, shows, and the dance club: Guests under the age of 18 should be accompanied by an adult in all public areas of the ship. Guests under the age of 18 must vacate the dance club by 10:00pm. Guests under the age of 18 may not attend the Midnight Shows comedy shows as they are for adults only. (18 and older)

 

Thanks for pulling this from the Web. Interesting usage of "should" and "must." When I first read it, it looked like the teens wandering the ship on their own were breaking some rule. Closer inspection reveals it's just a suggestion (wishful thinking?).

 

Exactly! They use the words like should for the bars. So as long as they are not causing a raucus or bothering anybody, let them be. Teenagers cruise too, are they supposed to stay in O2 all the time and then their cabin? They deserve to socialize like the rest of us.

[JavaHutBum]

Teenagers cruise too, are they supposed to stay in O2 all the time and then their cabin? They deserve to socialize like the rest of us.

 

Amen to that. If I worked in the Carnival front office, my prime directive would be to make sure that teens have fun. Although old folks like me may think that we're the center of the cruising world, if the teens don't have the times of their young lives aboard, where will the future Carnival customers come from? From Carnival's perspective, they have to be the most important passengers.

[Hanzo]

Are there any special rules to being in international waters and drinking under the age of 21? My friends and I came across a group of girls being served alcohol that were easily a few years shy of 21 and were wondering what the heck was going on.

 

No ID was asked for either, was very strange.

[fragilek]

Sailed over new year with my dd who is 20 yrs and has been legal able to go to bars and drink for nearly 3 years. But she didn't on the ship as that was the rules of the ship (we did treat her to a cocktail in each port)- However, we did notice that the US teens and 20yr olds seemed way way younger than her, infact after speaking with then over a few nights we decided that they were more like unrully 16 yrs olds in the UK - UK folks will now what I mean - the sort that are out drinking on the streets when they shouldn't be- These 'kid's ages ranged between 17-20 yrs and I can assure you the managed quite easily to get alcohol. In fact that seemed to be the soul purpose of their evenings entertainment. My DD gave up on them by day 2 and just hung out with us. The offer drinks that are brought round on trays seemed to be an easy target, no age check. We watched one 18yr old boy have at least 4 shots in under 1hr on new years eve. Worring to us was that these kids seemed to have free range to go and do what ever- a group of them ended up in the cabin next to us all night - The cabin contained 2 girls aged 17 and 18yrs - Now they are not used to drinking at that age and here on the ship not only were they drinking but they had brought boys back to cabin that they had only just met. My two girls (one of which was only 15yr) were astounded at the stupidity of both the girls and of their parents.

 

If your taking you kids bars with you then that has to be a better option than the above situation.

[skittl1321]

Are there any special rules to being in international waters and drinking under the age of 21? My friends and I came across a group of girls being served alcohol that were easily a few years shy of 21 and were wondering what the heck was going on.

 

No ID was asked for either, was very strange.

 

The drinking age on Carnival is 21. ID is not asked for because the sign and sail card is coded to the age of the person.

 

However, kids have figured out how to drink underage in almost ever venue in the United States, it is not at all surprising they have figured the same on the ship. Whether it be a server who just wants the nice tip, or by some trick. Underage drinking exists pretty much everywhere.

 

 

That said- unless you know someone's age, you really don't know. I'm 31 and get carded for R-rated movies.

[cruizinisthebest]

Really I've got no problem with young people on any part of the ship. I do however think the bars and casinos shouldn't be a place they hang out. Not because they are "bothering" me. I'm not uptight like that. But because they are adult areas. I suppose if they are with an adult it's fine, but I would think they would rather not sit around watching folks drink and gamble when they're are other things to do.

[okgirl]

I don't mind when kids come up to a bar and order a soda but I don't think they should ever sit at the bar. Here in Oklahoma it's against the law for anyone under 21 to sit at a bar and most of the restaurants that have bars (Applebee's, Chili's, Charleston's) have the bar area sectioned off and have a sign stating no one under 21 allowed.

 

The Casino is another pet peeve of mine....the rule is under 18 not allowed in the casino, but I see more and more people with their younger children in tow....only occasionally will a host ask them to leave.

[mikel24m]

Mike,

 

If my kids are bothering you on the ship, please PM me directly and I will come get them. I will constantly monitor my account awaiting your message. Beyond that, I think any lecture on responsible parenting is beyond the scope of the thread. Thanks.

 

Mark

 

Can kids be in bars in Virginia ? Here in NJ its the law under 21 cannot sit at the bar ,why should it be different for cruise ships. Its inappropriate no matter how one tries to justify it

[JavaHutBum]

I don't know how it is in NJ, but here in VA kids can be in bars up until 10 pm. For example, in the bar area of TGI Fridays, they can be at a table in the bar, but I agree with you that it's inappropriate for them to be sitting at the bar.

 

As others have pointed out, all the "venues" on the ship -- including the show lounge and the comedy lounge -- and the pool, for that matter -- serve alcohol. So I think we can agree that anywhere except physically sitting at the bar is acceptable.

 

I appreciate your sharing your viewpoint.

[Warm Breezes]

I don't know how it is in NJ, but here in VA kids can be in bars up until 10 pm. For example, in the bar area of TGI Fridays, they can be at a table in the bar, but I agree with you that it's inappropriate for them to be sitting at the bar.

 

As others have pointed out, all the "venues" on the ship -- including the show lounge and the comedy lounge -- and the pool, for that matter -- serve alcohol. So I think we can agree that anywhere except physically sitting at the bar is acceptable.

 

I appreciate your sharing your viewpoint.

But the bars on the ship are the places where they get their soda's with their soda card or purchase their virgin drinks, so why shouldn't they be able to sit there as a paying customer? I agree they shouldn't be there when the bar has an age limit (such as after 10 pm) to be there but otherwise I don't think it should be problem. I see the bars on the ship more as beverage bars during the day and not just an alcohol bar like in your local restaurant or pub.

[Hanzo]

I don't mind if there are teens in bars, but do not expect me to dull my language or change my conversations to be more kid friendly in a bar.

[fragilek]

I don't mind if there are teens in bars, but do not expect me to dull my language or change my conversations to be more kid friendly in a bar.

 

I'm an adult and I don't want to here vulgar/cousre language when I am sitting in the bar would you dull it for me;)

[Hanzo]

I'm an adult and I don't want to here vulgar/cousre language when I am sitting in the bar would you dull it for me;)

 

I'm not saying I go out of my way to curse, but an F-bomb here or there is bound to come out with my buddies and I talking.