minimum age alcohol policy

[fireflytx]

We are traveling on the Pride after my girl's graduation.. they are 18... if we "order" the alcohol, ie: pina coladas, margaritas on board and give them to the girls, will we be given a hard time. I know the legal age in Mexico ( our ports of call ) is 18, so I don't anticipate any problems on shore, but I don't want to aggrevate the crew.... opinions????

[buddyjo143]

The drinking age on board is 21. Yes, the drinking age in Mexico is 18. So what is wrong with waiting till you are at a place where it is legal for them to drink?

 

I just don't get why they can't have a virgin drink and have fun? Why encourage drinking alcohol as a way to have fun?

 

Will the staff give you a hard time? Maybe, maybe not.

[baseballdad]

We are traveling on the Pride after my girl's graduation.. they are 18... if we "order" the alcohol, ie: pina coladas, margaritas on board and give them to the girls, will we be given a hard time. I know the legal age in Mexico ( our ports of call ) is 18, so I don't anticipate any problems on shore, but I don't want to aggrevate the crew.... opinions????

 

Oh boy, are YOU asking for it! This should be fun... the sparks are already flying! lol...

[CorbinCatFan]

When we were on the Miracle with out two daughters (18 and 22), when my 22 year old ordered, she was carded. But if I ordered a foo foo drink for my 18 and give it to her, they didn't seem to care.

[mikesteg]

They probably won't. CCL doesn't want to lose revenue and the waitstaff doesn't want to lose tips. However, if you happen to be on the week after a someone under the age of 30 dies of alcohol poisoning, "falls" off the ship, or gets raped while drunk, they might be cracking down. The worst they really can do is throw you off the ship at the next port.

[caribbean dreams]

The worst they really can do is throw you off the ship at the next port.

 

And i have seen it happen!

 

They can hold off until they get to Mexico.

[fireflytx]

Oh boy, are YOU asking for it! This should be fun... the sparks are already flying! lol...

 

 

Nah, no sparks, I know what I'm getting into... they are beautiful honor students and I don't mind a little "indulgence"... I do agree with the other poster about waiting until we reach port... I don't think they will mind. Thank for the input.

[David-n-Rita]

Hi,

We cruised with our daughter. No one said anything. The key we saw was that she was dressed in something a person would wear to a church dinner. Not at all teen or barware. No piercings visible which most of the time warns them to ask for proof. Usually when they approached me and asked if I wanted something to drink, I would say sure and then ask my daughter if she wanted "another" rum and coke or pina colada. She doesn't look particularily old at 18 but if she dressed like her 50 year old mother, no one even asked. That seemed to be the key that made them proof others. I would also go to the bar and get 2 drinks and bring one back for her, no one even blinked twice. We just acted like it wasn't an issue and she was never even asked. Of course she never tried it on her own so I don't know if she would have been carded then or if they have it keyed into their sign and sail card, everything went on mine. It seemed if we acted natural there was no interest in how old she was.

Good Luck plus we just brought liquor in our checked lugguge, not alot just some small pints and we had that too.

[fireflytx]

Thanks David-n-Rita...

 

My girls dress very classy and appropriate.. no piercings, tattoos,or extra short skirts, etc.. so I don't think I'll have a problem if I choose to let them indulge onboard... thanks for all the input and for all of you ... have a wonderful cruise in the future!!!!;)

[IamAlyce]

We just cruised on NCL's Dream out of Houston and I was surprised that their alcohal policy was if you are 18-21 and your parents sign for you, you can drink on the ship. Does anyone know if this is NCL's policy all the time or just out of Houston?

[KruznKel]

WOW being a COPS's daughter I guess I lost out on all the underage drinks I could have drank:rolleyes:

 

Being a responsible parent is the most important ..vacation or not.. you respect the laws where ever you are whether it Mexico or Greece or your home town.. They are not legally able to drink on board a Carnival ship so they should not:(

[KruznKel]

We just cruised on NCL's Dream out of Houston and I was surprised that their alcohal policy was if you are 18-21 and your parents sign for you, you can drink on the ship. Does anyone know if this is NCL's policy all the time or just out of Houston?

 

This is not Carnivals policy I would ask on the NCL board;)

[StuartLittle]

WOW being a COPS's daughter I guess I lost out on all the underage drinks I could have drank:rolleyes:

 

Being a responsible parent is the most important ..vacation or not.. you respect the laws where ever you are whether it Mexico or Greece or your home town.. They are not legally able to drink on board a Carnival ship so they should not:(

 

 

Actually, I think it's a RULE and not a LAW. They would not face any criminal penalties for underage drinking in international waters aboard a Carnival ship

[hdawson]

Is it passe` to teach our children to follow rules and laws?

[StuartLittle]

Is it passe` to teach our children to follow rules and laws?

 

No. But I would think it important they understand the difference between the two. Apparently many members here have a lot of difficulty discerning one from the other. :rolleyes:

[VentureMan_2000]

Actually, I think it's a RULE and not a LAW. They would not face any criminal penalties for underage drinking in international waters aboard a Carnival ship

 

 

I'm pretty sure the Captain's RULE's are the LAW in international waters aboard a Carnival ship.

[hstrybuf]

Just to be safe, wait until you hit a port where the legal age is 18 (or younger). Carnival may or may not enforce it, but they do state that anyone providing alcohol to those under 21 will be removed from the ship at the next port of call. There are a lot of "ifs" in there as to whether they will overlook it or not.

[StuartLittle]

I'm pretty sure the Captain's RULE's are the LAW in international waters aboard a Carnival ship.

 

Still no criminal or civil penalties. Not a law per se'. You are simply removed at next port. Try doing it in the US and see what you'd face. :eek:

[caribbean dreams]

Why argue, just abide by the rules and then you won't have to worry about getting kicked off the ship or teaching your kids that the rules apply to everyone except them.

[Glama]

Honestly, I don't think there would be a problem, especially if you were with her. If she were belly up to the bar all day, that would be one thing, but if you were to buy her one or two drinks and not make a big hoorah out of it, I don't think they'd mind at all. We've travelled with folks who have purchased their 20 year olds occasional drinks, and it was NEVER a problem.

 

I really don't think they'd throw you off the ship, unless you kept doing it if they asked you to stop. I believe the people that I've seen removed from the ship were DRUNKEN teens who couldn't behave themselves while under the influence.

[Kurbanfan]

Thanks David-n-Rita...

 

My girls dress very classy and appropriate.. no piercings, tattoos,or extra short skirts, etc.. so I don't think I'll have a problem if I choose to let them indulge onboard... thanks for all the input and for all of you ... have a wonderful cruise in the future!!!!;)

 

Only you know your girls. I think you would be the one to judge if they are mature enough for a couple of foo foo drinks...

I'm sure you will make the right decision....Good Luck! And have a margarita for me :p

[Math4Aggies]

This thread got me to finally see what the REAL law is. Here you go, right from the TABC web page

 

http://www.tabc.state.tx.us/publications/Parents.pdf

 

So, it sounds like no Texas law is violated in the situation the OP described. I also feel better about letting my kids [14 and 16] have a taste of what I am having.

 

BTW, they keep hoping it will taste better than it does. I tell them that beer and red wine will taste much better when they are older and more taste buds have died :D.

[Cleavis]

The staff onboard won't care:)

 

Bottoms Up!

[LPLRN]

My son was 20 yrs old last May when we were on the Valor. He was unable to use his SSC because of his age. Our friend's son that we were with was 23 at the tiime and he was able to get my son his drinks. As far as know they never had a problem.

[smgardner]

I just got off of the Pride and was amazed at how many drunken youngsters there were. All behaved as if they had never had a drink before...it was lovely. These were kids that were probably 17-20 years old. Aside from the obnoxiousness of these kids, the trip was great. I was able to just ignore them, but they did nothing whatsoever to hide there drunkeness. I drank when I was a youngen, but I respected people..I did not see that with these kids. I guess they were not good at drinking.

I am certain every one of there parents brags about there behavior, there upbringing, there honor awards and on and on.

If your kids must drink, let them get some practice at it at home. Maybe that will teach them how to handle there alcohol and respect others. In other words, I could care less if your kid drinks. I am more concerned with how they treat others after doing so.