Active duty military soon to be first time cruiser! Some stupid questions.

[DesmantheGr8]

Hi, so a buddy and myself (both under 21 but active duty military) are looking to take a cruise over the holiday season, it cheaper than going home for either of us.

I did see that carnival will let us book without us being 21, but we are not sure what cruise would be the best for us. We are thinking that a cruise that does not go to carnivals private islands would be best because we are trying to drink when ever we can. any advice would be great thanks!

[bakersdozen12]

Carnival adheres to the US minimum drinking age. So you have to be 21 to drink on the ship. Drinking establishments on land adhere to laws of the country they are located in.

 

 

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[Saint Greg]

Personally I wouldn’t want to take a cruise if I were your age and wanted to drink. You’re going to spend more time on the ship than in places you can drink. I’d just go to Mexico or something. I mean if you go on a 5-day cruise you’re probably going to be able to drink just two of the five days...and you’d probably have to be done and back on the ship by 4pm those days.

[sparks1093]

Carnival adheres to the US minimum drinking age. So you have to be 21 to drink on the ship. Drinking establishments on land adhere to laws of the country they are located in.

 

 

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I think the OP is aware of that since they want to steer clear of the private island where the drinking age is also 21.

 

OP, I would agree with St Greg, your time for drinking will be very limited so cruising just for this activity may not be the best investment.

[PhillyFan33579]

If you want to “drink whenever you can”, I would not recommend going on a cruise as others have already stated.

[Tapi]

They could select a port intensive itinerary like the southern Caribbean itinerary out of San Juan where they’d be in port almost every single day.

 

I know that the oficial drinking age onboard the ship is 21 and I’ll probably get some heat for suggesting this, but since the drinking age in San Juan is 18, they’d be able to purchase a bottle of wine each in San Juan for consumption in the cabin. There’s no age verification at the security checkpoint so they’d have no problems bringing that onboard. But I do agree that if the OP’s goal is to drink whenever they can, a cruise may not be the best option.

 

As a side note, things have changed considerably over the years. I took my high school senior trip on a cruise out of San Juan back in the 90’s. 750 high school students with almost no adult supervision and no age limit to purchase alcohol. I believe that we all drank more responsibly back then than young adults these days because there were no rules or stigma to challenge or break.

 

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Edited September 30, 2018 by Tapi

[Tapi]

Another suggestion is for the OP to sail on a non-US cruise line out of a non-US port, where the drinking age is 18. For example MSC’s drinking age is 18 for all cruises except their Caribbean cruises out of US ports.

 

 

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[Lottacruises]

being active duty it may not matter where they sail from.

Thank you guys for serving, have a good time, and please stay out of trouble!

[Homosassa]

Why do I think that may be a new name for the poster who wanted to bring a suitcase of "toys" with them on a cruise?

 

Someone seems to be researching reactions to issues such as alternate life styles vs underage drinking.

[Micahs Grandad]

being active duty it may not matter where they sail from.

Thank you guys for serving, have a good time, and please stay out of trouble!

 

Agree 100% thanks for your service.

 

Have you considered an AI where the drinking age is less than 21? And please stay out of trouble on your vacation.

[Essiesmom]

OP. the first thing you two need to do is to get passports. Not the passport card, but the full book. That will open up more options for you, such as sailing from non-US ports, or visiting islands in the Caribbean for an all inclusive. EM

[mredandchis]

Hey, retired here. You wont be able to drink on the boat. Sea days would suck but not as bad as a C130 ride in the netting. There is always the view. I think a lot of the islands are 18 but yall be careful. Dont get tangled up with local LEO. And a peice of advice, if a fella comes up to you and offers you something to make the sky bluer mon. Tell him no thanks lol. Follow the rules of each nation. Check out each cruise and number of ports and what the law is. Research everything. I think yall could have a grand time.

[Tapi]

Will Carnival let two 20 year olds book a cruise? I'm not clear on that.

 

 

Yes. Carnival will allow passengers under the age of 21 (but who are 18 and over) to book a cruise without an older companion if the passengers are a) active military or b) married to each other. So two 20 year old military guys can book a cruise.

 

 

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[jakesnana]

A few things:

1. There are certain islands/countries where active duty U.S. military are not allowed to travel.

2. It may have changed, but when I was active duty my military I.D. worked in lieu of a passport, so a passport may not be required.

 

As others have stated, if you do a cruise you will be limited to time in port to drink. Also, if you drink to much in port and lose track of time you may miss your transportation. If I am correct about your I.D. working as a passport, I would check out All Inclusives in the Dominican Republic. I do not think the military has a travel ban there and that destination is relatively inexpensive for 4-5 nights. You wouldn't have to worry about the ship leaving without you, just stumble back to your room.

 

PLEASE be careful while on vacation. I know how tempting it is to "let it all go", but depending on how long you guys have been active duty, you know there are consequences to pay if something goes "south", otherwise have a great time :)

[sparks1093]

A few things:

1. There are certain islands/countries where active duty U.S. military are not allowed to travel.

2. It may have changed, but when I was active duty my military I.D. worked in lieu of a passport, so a passport may not be required.

 

As others have stated, if you do a cruise you will be limited to time in port to drink. Also, if you drink to much in port and lose track of time you may miss your transportation. If I am correct about your I.D. working as a passport, I would check out All Inclusives in the Dominican Republic. I do not think the military has a travel ban there and that destination is relatively inexpensive for 4-5 nights. You wouldn't have to worry about the ship leaving without you, just stumble back to your room.

 

PLEASE be careful while on vacation. I know how tempting it is to "let it all go", but depending on how long you guys have been active duty, you know there are consequences to pay if something goes "south", otherwise have a great time :)

 

A military ID may be used in lieu of a passport but only when coupled with military orders and I doubt that leave papers qualify as military orders (unless they are stationed overseas and are flying to the states for leave). If there are islands where they aren't allowed to travel then it's because the military prohibits and that is something they definitely want to nail down before they book their trip.

[Giantfan13]

First of all , THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE.

 

I am an Air Force Veteran, Viet Nam era, so I know where you are coming from.

 

Do you really want to cruise or do you really want to drink? being under 21 seems both these things can't be accomplished mostly at the same time. Several have suggested that you look for a cruise that will take you to places where you can drink. That may be fine for a while, but anytime you are on the ship, you cannot drink and if that is your goal, the cruise will be a bummer.

Instead of going home, fly to one of these islands in the ?Caribbean and just chill out for 5 days on the beach and drink as much as you want.

In your situation, I really think cruising isn't the best thing if you are just looking to drink.

 

Cheers

Len

[MJSailors]

Just a thought....

Has the OP-DesmantheGr8 returned to answer any responding posts ?

Also noted, this was post #2 for the OP, indicating a new member on CC.

Wondering if this is a sincere question from a reliable poster.

Just MHO.

[keijenxs]

Thanks for your service. I’m an army vet and now a civilian government HRA. I would advise you to check with your chain of command before booking to ensure you will be able to take leave. I don’t know what branch of service you’re in, but the Army has additional requirements for out of county travel.

[pacruise804]

Just a thought....

Has the OP-DesmantheGr8 returned to answer any responding posts ?

Also noted, this was post #2 for the OP, indicating a new member on CC.

Wondering if this is a sincere question from a reliable poster.

Just MHO.

 

Not sure if a sincere question or not, but the other post was basically the same question on the First Time Cruisers board, so at least it's a consistent question.