Age Restrictions for Shore Excursions

[marshaatn]

We would like to book the Original Canopy Tour while we are in Jamaica on the Mariner in November. Our son is 17, 6'5" tall, very athletic and can easily pass for over 18. It appears that we will be prohibited from purchasing this tour for him because he is not yet 18. My question is: do the tours verify the ages? If I were to buy a ticket for me, would my son be able to use it? I am not typically one to try to get around rules and regs, but we have done these canopy tours in Puerto Vallarta and in Costa Rica and kids as young as 10 were participating. I hate for our son to miss his chance as he really wants to do it.

 

I asked RCCL about it and they gave the usual song and dance about how it is not their rule but the tour company and that there is nothing that can be done.

 

Thanks in advance for the help.

[wrp96]

Even if your son can pass for 18, RCI will still have his age in the system and won't let you book it if he doesn't meet the minimum age. Have you tried to look for a similar excursion independently that doesn't have the age restriction.

[TCnJOY]

I ran into the same problem in booking excursions. I had to book through an independant because RCCL would not allow us to purchase his ticket due to his age.

[smrtypnts]

Go with an independent. It'll be cheaper and probably less crowded and nicer anyway. Good Luck.

[Love2cruisegirl]

Unfortunately, for The Original Canopy Tour you can only book thru the cruise line. If you check out The Original Canopy Tour website it indicates this. The actual outfit that operates the Canopy Tour is called Chukka Cove Adventures & they were a super establishment. :) We only had about 20 people on our excursion (RCCL/NOS-week of 9/17/05) which I felt was an OK number. Really not a 'crowding' issue as you are flying thru the jungle...not too many people hanging out getting in your way up in the trees.:D

[lilli]

maybe you could contact the company directly and see if they will make an exception for you? lilli

[goodml]

Have you actually tried booking it on line at RCCL.com? I would try. If it allows you to book it (because I'm not totally convinced that the booking engine accesses the database with the ages of passengers-it might but it's worth trying) the worst that can happen is when you get on board they notify you that you don't meet the age requirements and they refund your money. You can't take the tour by buying it independantly anyways so what have you got to lose. (I'll probably take some heat for suggesting it though:D .)

 

Last year on the Jewel it showed a minimum age of 12 for the particular dolphin swim that we wanted to do in Cozumel. My daughter was 1 month short of 12 and a competitive swimmer so I wasn't worried about ability. Luckily for us we were able to book directly with Dolphin Discovery where the age limit was lower. I'm thinking RCCL probably sets those limits for liability insurance purposes.

[marshaatn]

Hi all -- I did try to book this online with RCCL and they would not allow me to do so because they do have access to the ages of all passengers. My question is this: if I do book for myself and my husband and elect to give my ticket to my son, would this work? I checked the Chukka Cove website and they provide that people as young as 10 can do the tour! However, they will not allow you to book with them direct, only through the cruise line.

 

I saw on the Jamaica tour board that others have taken their teenagers and no one ever asked for proof of age or ID.

[Love2cruisegirl]

I saw on the Jamaica tour board that others have taken their teenagers and no one ever asked for proof of age or ID.

 

This is correct. When we did it in September, we were not asked for proof of age or ID. However, everyone in our group was 'adult' age. We did complete a form-you know the kind where you sign your life away. I believe it asked name, birthdate, and a few other items. So, I guess it would be a possibility to trade tix and let your son go.

[beachchick]

It might work, but if you have to sign a release there are more things to consider. If it's a legal release form, it must be signed by the person taking the excursion. Otherwise, it is, in a purely technical sense, fraud.

 

Why is this a big deal? Well, it probably isn't and it's unlikely that anything bad will happen on the excursion. However, if something did happen, the tour company would in fact have legal recourse against you and/or your husband. It's a teeny, tiny little risk, but it does exist.

 

And even though your son is almost 18, and thus already knows right from wrong, what does it say to him when you are willing to lie to get what you want, especially if it involves signing a document fraudulently.

 

No, I'm not the morality police. You should do what you feel comfortable doing, but should be aware of the ramifications of it.

 

(ps. I wonder if you could book through the tour company directly simply by saying that you are doing a land trip. If they will book a younger person directly, then why not do it? Yes, I am advocating lying about this because you are under no legal obligation to tell them how you will be getting to their locale. Frankly, it's none of their business. I've heard of this "monopoly" before and consider it restraint of trade. If the cruise line books the ENTIRE excursion, then no problem because they would "own" the bookings. If the excursion company will book to other individuals, but not to cruisers, then it's a problem, IMO. I do actually see the world in shades of gray sometimes, rather than purely black and white.)

 

beachchick

[marshaatn]

Thanks for your response. Since my husband has been attorney for almost 30 years now, I will be sure to pass along your concerns and I will let him make the decision as to whether or not we should "assume the risk".

 

As to whether or not we are willing to lie to get what we want, it seems that no one cares whether or not Royal Caribbean lies to us. I know that kids as young as 10 do the canopy tour, but yet they tell me it is the "tour operator's policy, not theirs". Simply not true. If this were truly an excursion that should be for adults only, such as one that would have alcohol involved or something that would be absolutely reckless for a person less than 18 to do, I would say absolutely not. But, in light of the fact that the tour company's policy is really that you have to be 10 and for some reason RCCL simply doesn't want anyone under 18 to participate, I'm not going to lose any sleep over this one.

 

Thanks to all for their help.

[VikkiGarcia]

I know people who have done the canopy tour (in jamaica) without going through RCI. They were told to tell the staff that they were from a hotel, not the ship. The tour has an exclusive deal with the ships and tries not to have passenger come independently. But if they ask and if you say elsewhere they have covered themselves. We had to do this ourselves for a canopy tour in Costa Rica. Ship said 16, my kids were 9 and 13. The facility allowed as young as 7.

[VikkiGarcia]

I know people who have done the canopy tour (in jamaica) without going through RCI. They were told to tell the staff that they were from a hotel, not the ship. The tour has an exclusive deal with the ships and tries not to have passenger come independently. But if they ask and if you say elsewhere they have covered themselves. We had to do this ourselves for a canopy tour in Costa Rica. Ship said 16, my kids were 9 and 13. The facility allowed as young as 7.

[Sheffie]

Marsha, check out this thread. There is a link there for a canopy tour and it looks like they take kids.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=249362

 

Good luck finding what you want!

[OPSoccermom]

If you purchase the ticket online from RCCL it will have yours - not your sons - name on it. We booked a different tour independently through Chukka last year and they were very reputable - not sure if the name discrepancy on the ticket will mean anything to them or not.

 

Based on my own quick Google search, Chukka does this tour for the hotels in Ocho Rios, so there has to be a way to book them without going through RCCL. They have an email address on their website. Contact them directly. Just say you'll be in Ocho Rios for the day. As long as you're willing to meet the tour at a place other than the dock, you should be able to book independently.

 

Good luck and have fun. One thing I personnaly wouldn't do is lie about his age, esp. with him involved. Sends the message to kids that they can bypass the rules.

[beachchick]

marshaatn: It does stink (and is flat wrong) for RCI to tell you it's the tour operator's policy when it isn't. Mostly I just wanted to throw out the possible (and I stress only possible because I don't know) legal ramifications for signing releases. Still, I have to say that IMO even though RCI is lying to you, it's not alright to lie yourself, especially if it does involve anything legal at all.

 

It does sound like others have done their "lying" by simply saying they are on a land tour and booking directly. As I mentioned, I not only have no problem with that, I encourage it if it works. If the tour company allows younger people to book, then that's where my only concern regarding age would be. Then you take your son, sign his release, and everyone has a great time. I hope you will consider trying this and I hope it works for you.

 

I truly think it's wrong for RCI to lie about the age restrictions--sounds like they are trying to CYA in case any pax get hurt and try to sue RCI. That's usually what it comes down to--liability and money.

 

beachchick

[yarlenna]

marshaatn: It does stink (and is flat wrong) for RCI to tell you it's the tour operator's policy when it isn't. Mostly I just wanted to throw out the possible (and I stress only possible because I don't know) legal ramifications for signing releases. Still, I have to say that IMO even though RCI is lying to you, it's not alright to lie yourself, especially if it does involve anything legal at all.

 

It does sound like others have done their "lying" by simply saying they are on a land tour and booking directly. As I mentioned, I not only have no problem with that, I encourage it if it works. If the tour company allows younger people to book, then that's where my only concern regarding age would be. Then you take your son, sign his release, and everyone has a great time. I hope you will consider trying this and I hope it works for you.

 

I truly think it's wrong for RCI to lie about the age restrictions--sounds like they are trying to CYA in case any pax get hurt and try to sue RCI. That's usually what it comes down to--liability and money.

 

beachchick

Lets see - lying to your kids is OK, but lying to RCCI is not.

Why would RCCI lie??? They want you to spend as much as you want or more! I think is not that simple. Some ERs closed - some doctors don't work anymore. They couldn't get coverage - or the $$$ was too high. Did they lie too?

Do you really want to risk you child's health?

[beachchick]

Lets see - lying to your kids is OK, but lying to RCCI is not.

Why would RCCI lie??? They want you to spend as much as you want or more! I think is not that simple. Some ERs closed - some doctors don't work anymore. They couldn't get coverage - or the $$$ was too high. Did they lie too?

Do you really want to risk you child's health?

 

??? I really am not following your train of thought. Please clarify how your first statements (which I never said) lead to ER doctors and what it is they might have lied about? Do you mean they lied about why they didn't want to work in the ER anymore? Sorry, I just can't get how that relates to this.

 

Where do I say lying to your kids is okay? Nowhere. Lying to the kids never even came up here. Where do I say lying to RCI is okay? Didn't bring that up at all. Not mentioning to RCI how or where you choose to spend your shore time is hardly lying. They aren't our parents and have no business asking anyway.

 

I did say that lying to the tour operator about how you are getting to their locale is acceptable. It's really not their business and they have no legal right to insist on knowing where you are staying or how you get there. I wrote that if the tour operator allows younger people to book, but RCI has tried to impose a monopoly of this excursion on their pax (by having the tour operator tell RCI pax that they MUST book through the cruise line), then it is acceptable, IMO, to simply tell the tour operator you are on a land trip. RCI has no business telling its pax how they can book activities on shore. Nowhere in the contracts does it say that if we want to take listed excursions that we MUST book with RCI. In fact, that would be an impossible contract to enforce. RCI has no authority over its pax when the pax are on shore.

 

I didn't say RCI was lying, marshaatn did. And why would we doubt her? Lets see: RCI lists the excursion as for 18 and older, saying that it's because the tour operator won't allow anyone younger; then we find out that the tour operator WILL allow booking for those under 18, verified by other posters who've actually done this excursion. How is RCI not lying to it's pax? Apparently they don't want as much of our money as possible, or more likely the excursion is full even without kids on it.

 

beachchick

[Love2cruisegirl]

Here is an older thread that discusses the age limits imposed by RCCL. There is some information from The Original Canopy Tour themselves in the post.

It seems someone on this thread did book using an outside source.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=148434&highlight=canopy+tour+age

[sandrab]

I really hope you can resolve this -- it is SO worth doing!

 

We were in Costa Rica 2 weeks ago, and I tried to book the ship's tour online for our family of 6 (4 kids - 8, 9, 13, 15) but was told the ship's age limit was 12. The tour operator was contracted by RCI so we couldn't book directly with them, even though their limit was 8.

 

However, thanks to research done here by my CC colleagues, I was directed to Waterfalls Canopy Tour which took my family - and 20+ other Cruise Critics - on a wonderful ziplining adventure!

 

Best of luck - hope you have a fantastic time!

 

Sandra