really?

[fshagan]

They are at sea and in international waters. NCL can set their rules.

 

In fear of even getting an argument going... it is hard for me to even fathom an 18 year old can go to war, have a child, vote, etc etc etc... but can not have a beer.

 

I don't recall ever boarding a ship, or disembarking for an excursion from international waters. I seem to recall always being in a port. About 40% of our time is spent under the jurisdiction of local laws. It's why they close the casino while in port, right?

 

There is a reason they put that sentence in their official policy, and I suspect it is because they either know of a location where they cannot discriminate against adults under 21, or there is a possibility there is one, or they wanted to create extra threads on Cruise Critic.

[justhere]

That's an awesome story. And I'm glad I read it. I'm taking my daughter on a cruise in February and we never even thought about the drinking age. She'll be 20.5 years old at the time.

 

She goes to school in Ottawa, been legally allowed to buy/drink alcohol in Quebec for 2.5 years, 1.5 years in Ontario, then she gets on the ship and she's still not old enough? That's a :rolleyes: if I ever heard one.

Curious why the :rolleyes:? It's no different than if she drove an hour south. Different countries, different laws.

[luddite]

They are at sea and in international waters. NCL can set their rules.

 

In fear of even getting an argument going... it is hard for me to even fathom an 18 year old can go to war, have a child, vote, etc etc etc... but can not have a beer.

 

No argument is available., you are correct.

There was a time in this country when you could be drafted and sent to war at 18 but could not vote until 21. Grasping THAT concept is tough.

[fuzzel]

We arrived at my room where I proceeded to take out a folder with 1) ... I figured if that didn't do the job

 

Wow that is being prepared very well and also shows a heavy case of parenting done right: clearly a proper upbringing and a good level of trust that they don't abuse it!

 

Though I guess most kids are smart enough to realize that they cannot hide anywhere on the boat when they get drunk and then get caught by their folks :cool:

 

It is a funny thing with drinks and drugs (to throw some fire into the discussion ;) ): the ones who are able to get it will end up being a lot more responsible with it than the ones who are denied it and want to have it at every cost....

 

At least that is what the statistics show, Lies, damned lies and statistics ;)

[Kelownacruiser]

Drinking age in Canada is either 18 or 19, depending where you live.

 

You know how crazy we are, you must read all the time about the alcohol problems our kids have.

 

As a good Canadian, I apologize in advance if this post offends anyone, eh.

[mitsugirly]

Wow that is being prepared very well and also shows a heavy case of parenting done right: clearly a proper upbringing and a good level of trust that they don't abuse it!

 

 

We just got off the Sky a few weeks ago and my son went with us again. This time he didn't even bother to ask me to sign him up. LOL :p

[mugtech]

That's an awesome story. And I'm glad I read it. I'm taking my daughter on a cruise in February and we never even thought about the drinking age. She'll be 20.5 years old at the time.

 

She goes to school in Ottawa, been legally allowed to buy/drink alcohol in Quebec for 2.5 years, 1.5 years in Ontario, then she gets on the ship and she's still not old enough? That's a :rolleyes: if I ever heard one.

 

Perhaps you should switch to a Canadian cruise line:D

[fuzzel]

Perhaps you should switch to a Canadian cruise line:D

 

Being Dutch does not grant me to smoke weed all around the world either ;)

 

(not that I have any need to, or actually, have ever bothered with... watching folks though can be hilarious ;) )

[barnacle_boy]

They are at sea and in international waters. NCL can set their rules.

 

This is entirely inaccurate. While in international waters, ships are subject to the laws of their flag state. All of NCL's ships (except Pride of America) are registered in Nassau, so they are subject to Bahamian law. The minimum drinking age there is 18 years old, which NCL must abide by. Of course, once a ship sails into state and federal zones, they are subject to their jurisdiction as well.

[Out to sea!]

Beer and wine, yes. It's the only thing keeping us from going back to RCCL at the moment :rolleyes:

 

You're not 21 yet??? :D

[Cardex]

Perhaps you should switch to a Canadian cruise line:D

 

Just an FYI - there is one http://www.yourcubacruise.com/ and the minimum drinking age onboard is 18 years old :)

[garycarla]

That's an awesome story. And I'm glad I read it. I'm taking my daughter on a cruise in February and we never even thought about the drinking age. She'll be 20.5 years old at the time.

 

She goes to school in Ottawa, been legally allowed to buy/drink alcohol in Quebec for 2.5 years, 1.5 years in Ontario, then she gets on the ship and she's still not old enough? That's a :rolleyes: if I ever heard one.

 

My response matches the (worthless) title of this thread.

 

You are no longer in Quebec or Ontario. The rules do not follow you from home. Again, really?

[mugtech]

Just an FYI - there is one http://www.yourcubacruise.com/ and the minimum drinking age onboard is 18 years old :)

 

Thank you, another problem solved:rolleyes:

[rajones007]

...You are no longer in Quebec or Ontario. The rules do not follow you from home. Again, really?

D'ya think?

 

Thanks for letting me know Captain Obvious. You do good work here.

[sparks1093]

minimum drinking age there is 18 years old

 

They may raise the drinking age if they choose to and they obviously do and raising the drinking age onboard is still in compliance with Bahamian law.

[barnacle_boy]

They may raise the drinking age if they choose to and they obviously do and raising the drinking age onboard is still in compliance with Bahamian law.

 

 

Yes...I thought that was implied within the context of my full response, but thanks for going through the trouble of clarifying it anyway.

 

One of the main reasons why the company minimum is 21 for US departures is that the ship is still subject to state jurisdiction up to 3 miles off the coast of the US. Under-21s cannot legally be served until outside of this zone. Similar restrictions apply to gambling in most cases as well. The officer of the watch on the bridge will usually call the respective department once various jurisdictional boundaries are crossed to give them the go ahead to initiate certain services.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[sparks1093]

Yes...I thought that was implied within the context of my full response, but thanks for going through the trouble of clarifying it anyway.

 

One of the main reasons why the company minimum is 21 for US departures is that the ship is still subject to state jurisdiction up to 3 miles off the coast of the US. Under-21s cannot legally be served until outside of this zone. Similar restrictions apply to gambling in most cases as well. The officer of the watch on the bridge will usually call the respective department once various jurisdictional boundaries are crossed to give them the go ahead to initiate certain services.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

I've signed for two of my kids to purchase alcohol and do not recall anyone mentioning such a restriction or enforcing it. In any event, if they only have to comply with under-21 until they are 3 miles out why don't they allow them to purchase once outside of that limit? As you mention they would be in compliance with Bahamian law if they were to do so.

[barnacle_boy]

I've signed for two of my kids to purchase alcohol and do not recall anyone mentioning such a restriction or enforcing it. In any event, if they only have to comply with under-21 until they are 3 miles out why don't they allow them to purchase once outside of that limit? As you mention they would be in compliance with Bahamian law if they were to do so.

 

You should read the parental consent waiver form next time. The 3 mile boundary is specifically mentioned, and it is also clearly written in NCL's Guest Conduct Policy. "Guests who are 18 - 20 years of age can purchase and consume beer or wine when the ship is in international waters (3 miles out of US territorial waters)."

 

There are a variety of reasons for why the minimum is set at 21, of which the 3 mile boundary is just one. Some cruise lines experimented with lower age minimums years ago and found that many American teens (who may not be as experienced with alcohol as their European counterparts) engaged in binge drinking and dangerous/unruly behavior.

Edited December 15, 2014 by barnacle_boy

[sparks1093]

You should read the parental consent waiver form next time. The 3 mile boundary is specifically mentioned, and it is also clearly written in NCL's Guest Conduct Policy. "Guests who are 18 - 20 years of age can purchase and consume beer or wine when the ship is in international waters (3 miles out of US territorial waters)."

 

There are a variety of reasons for why the minimum is set at 21, of which the 3 mile boundary is just one. Some cruise lines experimented with lower age minimums years ago and found that many American teens (who may not be as experienced with alcohol as their European counterparts) engaged in binge drinking and dangerous/unruly behavior.

 

Thank you for the clarification.

 

But at the end of the day garycarla was correct when he said

"They are at sea and in international waters. NCL can set their rules." (although he could have been a little clearer by saying as long as they don't allow drinking under the legal drinking age of the country under whose flag they sail).

[barnacle_boy]

Thank you for the clarification.

 

But at the end of the day garycarla was correct when he said

"They are at sea and in international waters. NCL can set their rules." (although he could have been a little clearer by saying as long as they don't allow drinking under the legal drinking age of the country under whose flag they sail).

 

No. Re-read the thread. garycarla's post in the context of the thread implies that NCL does not have to respect the laws of nations so long as they are in international waters. They did not mention the issue of flag state jurisdiction, a matter that, until I mentioned it, was entirely lacking within this thread.

[mugtech]

No. Re-read the thread. garycarla's post in the context of the thread implies that NCL does not have to respect the laws of nations so long as they are in international waters. They did not mention the issue of flag state jurisdiction, a matter that, until I mentioned it, was entirely lacking within this thread.

Thank you soooooooooo much

[barnacle_boy]

Thank you soooooooooo much

 

 

If you mean "thank you sooo much for taking the time to explain the relevant issue of international maritime law (that few here seem to grasp) and some of the contextual factors of NCL's policy," you're very welcome :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Out to sea!]

Does any of this really matter? NCL says the drinking age is 21, therefore it's 21 (with some exceptions that have already been mentioned). It doesn't matter why or how they came to the 21 age, they did and that's it. If that age bothers someone they can always try and sail a line that has a different age. :rolleyes: