Adult is 18, right?

[robsmom]

You have 3 issues -

 

1) Can you take her on the ship - check w the cruise line on that one

 

2) Will you have problems with immigration - maybe and the cruise line will have no useful information on this point

 

3) Will you have problems with you approving medical care if she needs it - definitely if you have to take her to the doctor and the cruise line also will be clueless

 

One final point, I did not see anything in the OP's question asking about allowing her to drink on board. How come most of the responses missed the really important issues and jumped on to responding to the unasked question about alcohol.

 

DON[/quote

I understand why people jumped to alcohol. Your questions are irrelevant, as this is an adult not a child. Change the post to a 80yr grandmother is traveling with her 30yr old granddaughter. Are you going to ask Grandmom to get a notorizedletter from Mom? There is no difference. The area of alcohol is actually a question/debate.

Edited July 10, 2016 by robsmom

[hcat]

Hi - We are not asking or concerned with our 18 year old granddaughter drinking onboard. The policy is described on Celebrity's website. We're only concerned with checking in at the pier. I think I will just have my dUghter write a permission note, as you need for a "minor", have it notarized and bring it. Maybe we will not need it, but better safe than sorry. :o

 

Definitely the best approach...have a great cruise.

[villauk]

I have found this thread very interesting as I have been battling Celebrity re inconsistencies on their websites for weeks and am not getting anywhere.

 

We are interested in booking Constellation for Christmas 2017 but want a letter or email clarifying the legal drinking age on this cruise, departing from Abu Dhabi. The US website implies the legal drinking age is 18 and I have emails from US cruise agents telling me the age is 18. The U.K. website says Asia aged 18 but then adds Arabian Gulf 21 years.

 

My travel agent has an email from Celebrity UK which quotes the UK terms and says 21. I have an email from Celebrity UK which quotes the US terms and conditions, which applies age 18. I have emails from US travel agents which state the legal drinking age is 18, as confirmed by local reps. there. US Cruise Critic members on the roll call believe the age to be 18 and there was a response on here by Celebrity Official quoting the US terms, age 18. Who do I believe?

 

I contacted Celebriy on Facebook and they said they would pass my question to the US for a response but that was 5 days ago and nothing yet.

 

Anyone have an email address in the US which gets a personal response and not just the terms quoted back to me? I need something to get to someone at a higher level. I want Celebrity to realise they are currently marketing this cruise differently in the US compared to the UK with regard to the legal drinking age. Thanks :)

 

The UK gov website actually says it's 18 in Abu Dhabi (copied below), however 21 if served in hotels and that could be where the confusion lies:

 

'Alcoholic drinks are served in licensed hotels and clubs, but it is a punishable offence to drink, or to be under the influence of alcohol, in public. The legal age for drinking alcohol is 18 in Abu Dhabi (although a Ministry of Tourism by-law allows hotels to serve alcohol only to those over 21), and 21 in Dubai and the Northern Emirates (except Sharjah, where drinking alcohol is illegal).'

 

We too are interested in this cruise and may book onboard next month. We don't want too many pax booking this early though, or those prices will hit the roof :eek: :D. Just realised our son will be 18 by then, so we may be in the same 'boat' (no pun intended) ;). Do post if you receive a definitive answer.

[dkjretired]

You have 3 issues -

 

1) Can you take her on the ship - check w the cruise line on that one

 

2) Will you have problems with immigration - maybe and the cruise line will have no useful information on this point

 

3) Will you have problems with you approving medical care if she needs it - definitely if you have to take her to the doctor and the cruise line also will be clueless

 

One final point, I did not see anything in the OP's question asking about allowing her to drink on board. How come most of the responses missed the really important issues and jumped on to responding to the unasked question about alcohol.

 

DON[/quote

I understand why people jumped to alcohol. Your questions are irrelevant, as this is an adult not a child. Change the post to a 80yr grandmother is traveling with her 30yr old granddaughter. Are you going to ask Grandmom to get a notorizedletter from Mom? There is no difference. The area of alcohol is actually a question/debate.

 

I brought up the alcohol issue because reading the second post which I quoted, the poster stating drinking at 18 was not a problem. I quoted Celebrity's web site which appears to show it is a problem, it is definitely not irrelevant. I mistakenly thought in a later post that that post came from the OP which it did not.

 

I have always and have posted in the past about the contradiction in Celebrity's policies. Why is it necessary to ask an 18 year olds parents if they can drink if the legal age is 18 in a particular area. Always had a problem with that, it makes no sense. My point was only in pointing out to poster #2 that it was not as cut and dry as they think it is according to Celebrity's written policies.

Edited July 10, 2016 by dkjretired

[cruisestitch]

Kruzgal, I have added the "Abu Dhabi" problem to the list of things I have passed on to Celebrity. I have to say, I am not very confident that there will be any changes, but I did feel that since the door was opened by hearing "what is wrong with our website? " the least I could do was give them some specific examples of inaccuracies, inconsistencies and contradictions.

[dkjretired]

Website or not, I can only report my experience with actual orders and reality.

 

Not disputing what you said or experienced, Celebrity needs to get their act together.

[gek]

This is what it explicitly says on Celebrity's website:

 

"Celebrity’s minimum age to sail unaccompanied on sailings originating in North America is twenty-one (21). The minimum age to sail unaccompanied on sailings from South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand is eighteen (18). "

 

and

 

"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"

[kruzgal]

Thank you cruisestitch for adding this to your list of inconsistencies. I will come back if I ever get a definitive answer. I am not hopeful.

 

On the UK website and brochures the terms are similar to those quoted above but it then adds afterwards.....

 

"Sailings from North America and the Arabian Gulf is twenty-one (21)"

It is this inconsistency which is causing the issue.

 

My UK travel agent was sailing on Infinity 2 weeks ago and the staff onboard she spoke to were adamant the legal drinking age was 21. Our son will be 20 years and 6 months at the time of the trip so we need to know before booking. We don't want to commit to that level of expense without getting some confirmation, as in the UK we can't get a refund of the deposit if we cancel.

[kerryincork]

[/Quote]

 

My UK travel agent was sailing on Infinity 2 weeks ago and the staff onboard she spoke to were adamant the legal drinking age was 21. Our son will be 20 years and 6 months at the time of the trip so we need to know before booking. We don't want to commit to that level of expense without getting some confirmation, as in the UK we can't get a refund of the deposit if we cancel.

 

I don't think it matters too much what the crew think as there are no ages stated on cards and I have never seen anyone being ID'ed. The cards are given access and the note/symbol/sticker is on the card . Also if you are boarding in Europe where it is 18 to drink it would probably be better to get drinking sorted at check-in than on the ship.

The crew travel all over the world where there are different age limits, and they probably get confused with changing areas. Also they probably serve a lot of Americans who do have a 21 age limit (or assume it's 21) so this probably confuses the crew as well.

 

The main point I was trying to make was if your 20 y.o. has a card that allows him to purchase alcohol, the crew won't know what age he is, so won't mistakenly try and stop him.

[Higgy64]

Not disputing what you said or experienced, Celebrity needs to get their act together.

 

Absolutely agree... :)

[kruzgal]

I don't think it matters too much what the crew think as there are no ages stated on cards and I have never seen anyone being ID'ed. The cards are given access and the note/symbol/sticker is on the card . Also if you are boarding in Europe where it is 18 to drink it would probably be better to get drinking sorted at check-in than on the ship.

The crew travel all over the world where there are different age limits, and they probably get confused with changing areas. Also they probably serve a lot of Americans who do have a 21 age limit (or assume it's 21) so this probably confuses the crew as well.

 

The main point I was trying to make was if your 20 y.o. has a card that allows him to purchase alcohol, the crew won't know what age he is, so won't mistakenly try and stop him.

 

Sorry, but I don't really understand your point. The sailing we are interested in departs from Abu Dhabi so is in Asia (Arabian Gulf), not Europe. It is currently being offered for sale with a classic drinks package but presumably our son would only be given this if he is legally able to drink? If the the legal drinking age is 18 then he will get the package but if it is 21 I presume he won't. I suppose we could buy drinks and give them to him and probably not be questioned but we would prefer not to do that. We would happily sign a waiver to guarantee his good behaviour if needed.

[ianmcleod99]

18yo is an adult in Europe, and as others have said you are allowed to drink alcohol on these cruises. However depending on the ports and the ship, you may need to sign a waiver for your Grand Daughter as she is under 21, as we have had to do on several occasions, but she will be allowed to drink once this is signed.

[SandyR5]

Thanks again for your answers. Seems I brought up a contraversal subject. :eek: As I said before, it wasn't the drink policy we were questioning, it was if she could travel with us, her grandparents, as an adult and not have a problem checking in at the pier. Even though she is an adult at 18, a notarized permission note will be in our carryon in case it's needed. Problem solved. :D

[ianmcleod99]

Sandy, It must have been the Scottish in me that concentrated on the drinking alcohol. That being said, I have taken 18 and 19 year olds as friends of my family before and never had an issue.

 

Have a good holiday

[kerryincork]

I

 

Sorry, but I don't really understand your point. The sailing we are interested in departs from Abu Dhabi so is in Asia (Arabian Gulf), not Europe. It is currently being offered for sale with a classic drinks package but presumably our son would only be given this if he is legally able to drink? If the the legal drinking age is 18 then he will get the package but if it is 21 I presume he won't. I suppose we could buy drinks and give them to him and probably not be questioned but we would prefer not to do that. We would happily sign a waiver to guarantee his good behaviour if needed.

 

Sorry, there seems to be two conversations going on at once. OP was specifically asking about Europe cruise and I thought you were too.

 

Anyway I always thought that the website would not let you buy a drinks package if you were not old enough to drink it and directed you to non-alcohol package?

It might be a hassle to buy him the package and make sure you have the paperwork to prove you have in case of problems on board.

 

Or it might be cheaper to let him buy his own drinks individually, you have to drink a fair amount of alcohol to break even. Or you buy them on your card, you can buy (not a free drink on your package) anyone you want a drink, as I said earlier I've never seen anyone be asked for ID.

[kruzgal]

Sorry, it was my fault I took it off topic. I was just relieved to see a post about Celebrity being inconsistent with their website and information over the phone as I was starting to think it was just me! I will come back if I ever get a response...still looking for a corporate email address that will get a proper response if anyone has one?

[Celebrity Cruises]

Just checking...taking 18 year of granddaughter on Med cruise next week. 18 is an adult, right? No need for notarized letter allowing us to take her??? (Normal last minute jitters. ;))

 

For cruises that depart a port in Europe, Asia, South America, New Zealand or Australia, the minimum age requirement to sail is eighteen (18).

[ghstudio]

You would be foolish not to have a letter with you for medical emergencies or any other situation where you might need to be involved.

[donaldsc]

You would be foolish not to have a letter with you for medical emergencies or any other situation where you might need to be involved.

 

My point exactly. You may not need it in the case of an emergency but having it might be useful if you have to deal with an overly officious person. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

 

DON