Sail & Sign Cards ... Poll

[ChiBearsSuperFan]

Do you feel Carnival should assign specifically colored Sail & Sign cards to passengers who are not of the legal onboard drinking age?

[showe0208]

yes I do

[CaptainEdwardJohnSmith]

Do you feel Carnival should assign specifically colored Sail & Sign cards to passengers who are not of the legal onboard drinking age?

 

the Captain says: :D :D LET THEM DRINK AND BE MERRY lol :D :D ;)

 

Yo, Ho, Ho and a Bottle of Rum lol

[ParrotRob]

Won't the onboard point-of-sale systems at the bar disallow an alcohol charge on an underage S&S card anyhow?

[CruiseCentric]

Do you feel Carnival should assign specifically colored Sail & Sign cards to passengers who are not of the legal onboard drinking age?

 

Its a moot point all passengers under the legal age cards are flagged, so they cant buy liquor.

They can always have a friend or relative buy it for them.

[ChiBearsSuperFan]

You would think so but it makes me wonder.

[Doug910]

Won't the onboard point-of-sale systems at the bar disallow an alcohol charge on an underage S&S card anyhow?

 

True. It really doesn't matter what color the S&S card is... Bartenders won't be able to run their card through or use the folio number of a minor to pay for cocktails.

[ChiBearsSuperFan]

Sorry about the poll then, guess I didnt really understand how the system worked. Seems there are a lot of instances of underage drinkers. Perhaps a pro-active security approach would work then. Check the cards of the drinkers who appear to be underage. Then the colored cards might be effective.

[bluefintuna]

They will refuse to sell to someone underage, but on a recent sailing with our gd we bought her a drink; she was two months shy of 21 and no, we didn't feel guilty.

[CruiseReg]

I voted yes only because it *might* help a bit in other situations (Disco, etc). The biggest issue I think is the fact that since you don't need a picture id, you could probably just use someone else's card, like an older sibling. Maybe that is a source of the problem, especially when you aren't at the POS (where a photo could be displayed to verify the carholder).

[BlueJacketsFan1]

This is exactly how things work these days. If someone comes up with an idea that might work or is simply an extra way to possible help. People have to say it won't work or it's not needed, Etc. I think it would be a good idea to help what might only be a small problem, but still a problem. If someone looks to be drinking and appears to be under age. Why not have security check the person age, and wouldn't it be easy if they did have a different sail n sign card. If the parents is purchasing drinks for their child. You would think that they would be with the child and could explain this to security. If security check the child and the parents are not with them at the time. Than the drink should be taken. If a parent wishes to purchase a drink for their kid, that isn't a problem. I don't believe that would be illegal. At the same time the parents should not let that child walk around with a drink by themselves. Because that child could let someone else child try the drink. Make the parents then responsible for someone else kid drinking. Which would be illegal. But hey it's just an idea.

[caribbean dreams]

Then how about putting your picture on the back of each S&S card kinda like Costco.

[barbevrn]

BOTH of my children were approached in their teens to buy drinks. When my DD pointed out that she wasn't old enough, they said it didn't matter. :mad: My DS spent way too much time in the casino too........and they took his money. Once out in international waters, it seems anything goes.

[nycruises]

I think the idea of a diffrent color card for those under 18 and under 21 is a great idea maybe with a club O2 logo on it or something help those of us old enough to get into bars and clubs on the ship from having to carry around Id at night(not that i had this problem, but a few friends did). If carnival does this I want a free cruise's for the rest of my life time. Oh and you all can come also!! Who cares if they give us interiors below deck 0 any day on a cruise is better than a day at home

[caribbean dreams]

BOTH of my children were approached in their teens to buy drinks. When my DD pointed out that she wasn't old enough, they said it didn't matter. :mad: My DS spent way too much time in the casino too........and they took his money. Once out in international waters, it seems anything goes.

 

May i ask why you allowed your teen son in the Casino to gamble his money away in the first place?

[osiebosie]

Not my kids, but on cruise ships you can be 18 to gamble.

 

There are pictures on the cards. They take them when they issue your card. They use them when you get off and reboard the ship. I wonder why they don't use them at bars.

 

I just answered my own question. If a bar waiter/waitress approaches you and you just hand him/her your own card, they don't have a machine on them.

 

It would be very easy for an underage to get alcohol. Bottom line, I think, is that the parents are still responsible.

 

Shay

[Lisab733]

Onboard you only have to be 18 to get into the Casino and the bars, but you have to be 21 to drink. My DD had to carry her DL with her everywhere to show that she was 18 and allowed to be in the clubs and casino (she was with me). It was a real pain, so at all times she had her S&S card, her room key and her photo ID unless she wanted to run back to the room each time she planned on going into one of these facilities. One of the security guards told her not to try and buy alcohol because her S&S card would be flagged as under 21. So it would have been great to have something on the card that stated they were under 21 but over 18, would have made things alot easier.....

[klfrodo]

All GREAT idea's.

 

Thats whats called "Thinking outside the box".

Something like this could be implemented, however, it would be costly. That cost has to be justified PLUS it has to be passed on to the consumer.

 

S&S cards are printed way in advance of guests arriving at the pier.

How would the printer know which card to print for each customer.

 

We already have 3 seperate cards.

 

Platinum Guests

Past Guests

First Time Guests

 

Now we want to add

 

Platinum Guest over 21

Platinum Guest over 18 under 21

Platinum Guest over 15 under18/21 (disco purposes)

 

Past Guest over 21

Past Guest over 18 under 21

Past Guest over 15 under 18/21

 

Add same for First Time Guest

[ChiBearsSuperFan]

Card cost should not be an issue. Where I work, we use these same type of cards for access and identification. The cost is less than $1.00 per card, probably closer to .50 cents. Designing a new card shouldnt take too much effort either. Since Carnival uses thousands of these cards a week, they probably get a great deal on them.

[Sirwinston]

On other lines (Cunard) picture was printed on S+S card. They did it right on the pier. Also my minor son has had his card punched with a hole on another cruise line (Imperial Majesty) so that even the dumbest of crew members would know he is not 21. It seems like all other info, past guest etc. could be printed on the card.

[Guest YesitDonna]

There shouldn't be a need for a picture to be on the card in the first place. The bartenders ask people who look under age or close to age for their own persoanl ID's anyway. I have seen this many times. We met a girl who had turned 21 the day of the cruise and was asked at every bar she went to for her ID. Of course she then just started to come to the same bar and bartender so he didn't ask her every time she bought a drink because he had already seen it.

[caribbean dreams]

On other lines (Cunard) picture was printed on S+S card. They did it right on the pier.

 

Thats a great idea, they should do that on all cruiselines.

[mrdood]

You will never stop the kids who really want it, that is a parental responsibility, not an institutional one. Their cards are encoded, they are not getting it using their cards - Carnival has taken care of that...

[cruisin07family]

I did a search for underage sign and sail and this thread was about the closest. Our oldest will be only 17 when we cruise and if I'm reading this correctly, he will not be able to purchase alcoholic beverages on his S&S card - right? I don't know that he'd try it anyway but friends of ours cruised last year with their son who was just 15 but didn't seem to have any trouble getting alcohol. That was on Princess, btw.

 

Also, I've read about soda cards but is there anything like a "smoothie" card. On NCL we purchased a smoothie card which was something like 20 smoothies (nonalcoholic) for a set fee. Our kids would really enjoy smoothies.

[big_duck]

I did a search for underage sign and sail and this thread was about the closest. Our oldest will be only 17 when we cruise and if I'm reading this correctly, he will not be able to purchase alcoholic beverages on his S&S card - right? I don't know that he'd try it anyway but friends of ours cruised last year with their son who was just 15 but didn't seem to have any trouble getting alcohol. That was on Princess, btw.

 

Also, I've read about soda cards but is there anything like a "smoothie" card. On NCL we purchased a smoothie card which was something like 20 smoothies (nonalcoholic) for a set fee. Our kids would really enjoy smoothies.

 

That is correct the card is encoded so that he may not purchase alcohol. You could take it a step further by buying him a soda card and not allowing spending priviledges on his card.

 

No, there is no smoothie card on Carnival.