Info on 18-20 yrs. and Cocktails...

[Salsa Dancer]

I learned this today after speaking to a Royal rep on the phone....

 

If you are travelling with an adult "child"--18-20 years old, and they would like to consume alcohol on a cruise, they may, IF you are their parent, are travelling with them, and sign a waiver. The waivers are available on the RC website, I was told....I just didn't look for one yet. I changed the date of our cruise, after learning that, and the date change, among other things, saved us a lot of sweet-moolah. :D If you don't sign the waiver, then they remain the same age during the entire cruise, birthday or not....which means to me that I should get on board a cruise ship and stay put! I think we've found the fountain of youth!:p

 

Salsa Dancer

 

P.S. Am I the only person who listens to tropical/Latin music on iTunes while reading Cruise Critic postings?

[PhoenixCruiser]

That is not the entire policy:

 

Q: Why do I need a beverage waiver?

 

A: Effective as of all sailings commencing on or after July 28, 2006, the minimum drinking age for all alcoholic beverages on all Royal Caribbean International ships is 21.

 

On cruises departing from European and South American countries, where the legal drinking age is typically lower than 21, a parent who is sailing with his or her son(s) and/or daughter(s) who is between the ages of 18 to 20, may sign a waiver (download the PDF form) allowing the 18 to 20 year old to consume alcoholic beverages.

 

The 18- to 20 year-old must agree to comply with Royal Caribbean's policies, including among other things, agreeing to not provide alcoholic beverages to any other person, regardless of age. Restrictions apply, and this policy is subject to change without notice.

 

 

 

If you are not sailing from European and South American countries they have to be 21 to drink. :)

 

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[Salsa Dancer]

That is not the entire policy:

 

Q: Why do I need a beverage waiver?

 

A: Effective as of all sailings commencing on or after July 28, 2006, the minimum drinking age for all alcoholic beverages on all Royal Caribbean International ships is 21.

 

On cruises departing from European and South American countries, where the legal drinking age is typically lower than 21, a parent who is sailing with his or her son(s) and/or daughter(s) who is between the ages of 18 to 20, may sign a waiver (download the PDF form) allowing the 18 to 20 year old to consume alcoholic beverages.

 

The 18- to 20 year-old must agree to comply with Royal Caribbean's policies, including among other things, agreeing to not provide alcoholic beverages to any other person, regardless of age. Restrictions apply, and this policy is subject to change without notice.

 

 

 

If you are not sailing from European and South American countries they have to be 21 to drink. :)

 

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Thanks for the info, though it has me worked up. Was the phone rep wrong? I didn't download the document and read it myself...I went by what she said. We are departing from San Juan; so I wonder if that makes a difference???? Now I am wondering. I'll check this out and post again.

[reallyitsmema]

Thanks for the info, though it has me worked up. Was the phone rep wrong? I didn't download the document and read it myself...I went by what she said. We are departing from San Juan; so I wonder if that makes a difference???? Now I am wondering. I'll check this out and post again.

Unless RCL changed their policy, the rep told you the wrong information.

 

How would leaving from San Juan make a difference if it isn't in South America or Europe?????

[AussieSunGirl]

It actually applies to any cruise departing and returning to country where 18 is the legal drinking age which also includes Australia/New Zealand I believe Canada etc.

[Sue L]

No, if your kid is 18-20 they can NOT drink if you are leaving from San Juan, which is the US, not South America or Europe. They were VERY strict.

[PhoenixCruiser]

If I read your other posts correctly she is turning 21 during the cruise, right? You can go down to the customer service desk that day and have her age officially changed, that is a new policy as well.

 

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[Salsa Dancer]

Update....The policy states that you can sign a waiver IF you are departing from a European or South American country where the legal drinking age is lower than 21. That applies in our case, because we are leaving from San Juan where the legal age is 18...FYI...it is 18 from each port that I googled...St. Thomas, St. Lucia, St. Martin, Barbados, Antigua.

 

Other than that, I learned that if you turn 21 during your cruise, you can, well, here's the pasted-in info from Royal's site (which leaves me wondering why no one explained this when I've asked)...

"The minimum drinking age for all alcoholic beverages on Royal Caribbean International ships is 21. A

guest’s age is established upon embarkation (beginning of the cruise). If a guest celebrates their 21st

birthday during the cruise, the guest may thereafter ask the Guest Relations Manger to modify ship’s

records to permit their consumption of alcohol during the remainder of the cruise. The guest will be

required to appear at the Guest Relations Desk with his or her parent or guardian and to present a

government issued form of identification to establish that the guest’s 21st birthday was celebrated during

the cruise. The ship’s staff may refuse to serve alcoholic beverages to any guest who does not consume

alcohol responsibly and may request verification of a guest’s age to determine whether they are of age to

consume alcohol pursuant to this policy.

No guest under age 21 may possess or consume alcohol during transfers to and from ships, inside

terminals, while onboard or at our private destinations. Should a parent or guardian choose to permit

their minor(s) to consume alcohol while ashore during a port of call or an excursion (where local laws

permit), they remain accountable for ensuring the minor(s) consume responsibly and retain their ability to

recognize and avoid potentially dangerous situations when they return to the ship.

On cruises embarking in a country where the legal drinking age is lower than 21, a parent who is sailing with his or her 18 to 20 year old minor son or daughter, may be permitted to sign a waiver allowing the

minor to consume alcoholic beverages. The authorizing parent and the minor must agree to be

responsible for ensuring the minor will consume alcohol responsibly and otherwise comply with the Guest

Conduct Policy, including among other things, not providing alcoholic beverages to any other person,

regardless of age."

 

So this wouldn't apply to Alaskan cruises from the US or Caribbean cruises leaving from Florida or other US ports, but does apply to San Juan and others. Wow...I feel like I just finished reading an "End User Licensing Agreement". :P

 

I'm really glad that you brought up the point, because it made me look farther and now I feel better. I don't like monkey wrenches. :)

[amybear912]

Okay... now I'm really confused...

 

I thought San Juan was in Puerto Rico which is a US territory NOT a European or South American country???? :confused:

 

following this because my cousin who is 18 will be sailing with us in August...

[ehfl]

I learned this today after speaking to a Royal rep on the phone....

 

If you are travelling with an adult "child"--18-20 years old, and they would like to consume alcohol on a cruise, they may, IF you are their parent, are travelling with them, and sign a waiver. The waivers are available on the RC website, I was told....I just didn't look for one yet. I changed the date of our cruise, after learning that, and the date change, among other things, saved us a lot of sweet-moolah. :D If you don't sign the waiver, then they remain the same age during the entire cruise, birthday or not....which means to me that I should get on board a cruise ship and stay put! I think we've found the fountain of youth!:p

 

Salsa Dancer

 

P.S. Am I the only person who listens to tropical/Latin music on iTunes while reading Cruise Critic postings?

 

 

This is not the policy for cruises leaving from the US. It applies mainly to european cruises. The exact policy is on their web site. Why waste time on the phone with a representative who got 20 minutes of training, when you can find the complete policy online?

[whyrlygig]

Correct me if I am wrong but, isn't San Juan still a US territory? Not Mexico or Europe?

[Salsa Dancer]

My daughter is 20 and will turn 21 during our cruise. I am fine with her having a drink. We are very responsible drinkers and have raised her accordingly. She's a great girl and I'm very proud of how she carries herself in every situation, so we feel fine with celebrating her birthday and sharing her first glass of champagne or whatever. It was a sort of sentimental thing that we thought would be nice for her first cruise, too. It just got so crazy when the cruise price was so much higher to wait after her birthday, etc. So now I understand that we can go to guest relations and have her recognized as a "legal adult", as well as sign a waiver in advance.

 

:)

[Salsa Dancer]

You're right about that...I was just reading a history book that mentioned that it was a "commonwealth" so it has its own government to some degree with some US representation. Not sure how that all applies so I'll call Royal again to be doubly-sure. If anyone beats me to this one, please share the info first. Is the legal age 21 in the entire US? I never wondered that before, but it is 18 in Puerto Rico, according to everything that I googled, so maybe they DO have their own set of laws. Hmmmmm.

[islanderbob654]

The drinking age in San Juan is 18. As far as I know the 21 drinking age is not a federal law, it just so happens that all of the states have the same law (I think if the federal government tried to regulate that it would be unconstitutional). I'm not positive about this, though.

[Sue L]

My daughter is 20 and will turn 21 during our cruise. I am fine with her having a drink. We are very responsible drinkers and have raised her accordingly. She's a great girl and I'm very proud of how she carries herself in every situation, so we feel fine with celebrating her birthday and sharing her first glass of champagne or whatever. It was a sort of sentimental thing that we thought would be nice for her first cruise, too. It just got so crazy when the cruise price was so much higher to wait after her birthday, etc. So now I understand that we can go to guest relations and have her recognized as a "legal adult", as well as sign a waiver in advance.

 

:)

 

The waiver does NOT apply, San Juan is part of the US not south America. When she turns 21 (legally) you can go down but before they will NOT serve her and you COULD (most likely not) but they could throw you off for buying her one regardless if you are her parent or not. And it doesn't matter one bit whether you think she is responsible enough. And it has nothing to do with SJU having 18 or 21 as the drinking age, it is what RCCL has as their drinking age which is 21. The only place it matters is South America or Europe of which San Juan is NEITHER.

[PhoenixCruiser]

My daughter is 20 and will turn 21 during our cruise. I am fine with her having a drink. We are very responsible drinkers and have raised her accordingly. She's a great girl and I'm very proud of how she carries herself in every situation, so we feel fine with celebrating her birthday and sharing her first glass of champagne or whatever. It was a sort of sentimental thing that we thought would be nice for her first cruise, too. It just got so crazy when the cruise price was so much higher to wait after her birthday, etc. So now I understand that we can go to guest relations and have her recognized as a "legal adult", as well as sign a waiver in advance.

 

:)

 

Thanks for the update. From reading the policy the waiver doesn't apply to ships sailing from San Juan, she won't be able to legally drink until her birthday.

 

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[Retired LEO]

The waiver does NOT apply, San Juan is part of the US not south America. When she turns 21 (legally) you can go down but before they will NOT serve her and you COULD (most likely not) but they could throw you off for buying her one regardless if you are her parent or not. And it doesn't matter one bit whether you think she is responsible enough. And it has nothing to do with SJU having 18 or 21 as the drinking age, it is what RCCL has as their drinking age which is 21. The only place it matters is South America or Europe of which San Juan is NEITHER.

 

Exactly. I may not be very good at Geography but San Juan is Not in Europe or South America. The drinking age out of San Juan is 21.

[zephyr17]

The drinking age in San Juan is 18. As far as I know the 21 drinking age is not a federal law, it just so happens that all of the states have the same law (I think if the federal government tried to regulate that it would be unconstitutional). I'm not positive about this, though.

You are right, the federal government can't directly legislate drinking age, it would be unconstitutional. as most police power is reserved to the states, except in specified circumstances. However, they can make it a condition for receiving federal funds, like highway funds, which they did. It is the same way they did the 55 mph national speed limit some years ago. Do it our way or lose the money. Guess what most state legistures' decision was?

 

Where is comes to the drinking policy is it doesn't matter what the drinking age is at the the departure port. They are not bound by those local laws once at sea. They could make it 16 or 60, if they wanted to. RC has decided that any cruise departing North American ports is 21 (including Canada and Puerto Rico). Cruises departing S. America and European ports it is 18 with the waiver. It appears to be more for cultural reasons than anything else, coupled with some unfortunate incidents involving overconsumption by "underage" (as defined by Americans as under 21) drinkers. An 18 year old having a beer or some wine is generally acceptable to most Europeans and Latin Americans, but not to most Americans (despite the fact that they do it).

 

So don't worry about researching local drinking laws. Just look at the policy. It is really quite clear.

[Oville]

The drinking age in San Juan is 18. As far as I know the 21 drinking age is not a federal law, it just so happens that all of the states have the same law (I think if the federal government tried to regulate that it would be unconstitutional). I'm not positive about this, though.

 

The truth is if the drinking age is less than 21, the state will/may not get federal funding for roads so all states have the age of 18.

 

The commonwealth comment isn't true. MA, VA and others are also commonwealths.

[Alexis]

Update....The policy states that you can sign a waiver IF you are departing from a European or South American country where the legal drinking age is lower than 21. That applies in our case, because we are leaving from San Juan where the legal age is 18...FYI...it is 18 from each port that I googled...St. Thomas, St. Lucia, St. Martin, Barbados, Antigua.

 

So this wouldn't apply to Alaskan cruises from the US or Caribbean cruises leaving from Florida or other US ports, but does apply to San Juan and others. Wow...I feel like I just finished reading an "End User Licensing Agreement". :P

I'm really glad that you brought up the point, because it made me look farther and now I feel better. I don't like monkey wrenches. :)

 

You can not include those ports as foreign ports that you are leaving from. You are visiting them yes. You are not sailing from them. Last I knew, San Juan, Puerto Rico is American, and so is St. Thomas, The US Virgin Islands. ;)

Subtract them all from your list. ;) You are not sailing from a foreign country like a European or a South American country. 21 years of age.

[negc]

You're right about that...I was just reading a history book that mentioned that it was a "commonwealth" so it has its own government to some degree with some US representation. Not sure how that all applies so I'll call Royal again to be doubly-sure. If anyone beats me to this one, please share the info first. Is the legal age 21 in the entire US? I never wondered that before, but it is 18 in Puerto Rico, according to everything that I googled, so maybe they DO have their own set of laws. Hmmmmm.

 

Drinking age is set by the individual states and commonwealth status has nothing to do with it (for the record MA, Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania are also commonwealths and the drinking age in those states is 21 (the distinction between commonwealths and states is an interesting one but is really irrelevant to this and most discussions relating to local laws- It is basically a distinction without a difference). There has been some discussion in the State of Vermont about lowering the drinking age but it faces serious opposition by many groups including MADD and others who point out the dramatic reduction in teenage vehicle deaths since the drinking age was raised to 21. There are also some financial repercussions involving the potential loss of federal highway funds that would occur if a state were to lower its legal drinking age below 21.

The operative fact is that RCI has adopted an alcohol policy that restricts sale of alcoholic beverages on any of its sailings to persons 21 and over except for "cruises departing from European and South American countries where the drinking age is typically lower than 21". That policy, which you can read in their summary of their guest conduct policy, is the only thing which matters when you sail with them.:)

[il26382]

I thought I had read somewhere that they go by how old the person is on the day that the cruise leaves, which in this case would be 20, so it wouldn't matter if she did turn 21 while on the cruise. Am I right about that? I remember reading it when we getting ready to book our cruise as our son turns 21 on July 7, but we are not cruising until July 28th.

[crusinmama06]

I thought I had read somewhere that they go by how old the person is on the day that the cruise leaves, which in this case would be 20, so it wouldn't matter if she did turn 21 while on the cruise. Am I right about that? I remember reading it when we getting ready to book our cruise as our son turns 21 on July 7, but we are not cruising until July 28th.

 

That used to be the case for those turning 21, but it has changed...

 

If a guest celebrates their 21st birthday during the cruise, the guest may thereafter ask the Guest Relations Manger to modify ship’s

records to permit their consumption of alcohol during the remainder of the cruise. The guest will be required to appear at the Guest Relations Desk with his or her parent or guardian and to present a government issued form of identification to establish that the guest’s 21st birthday was celebrated during the cruise.

[kicker]

Salsa Dancer: It seems you were given the wrong info, but since you told you could apply for a waiver, go ahead and try it. If they refuse, then you'll know for sure that they're wrong.

[smoothy]

just have the purser amend her record when she turns 21 on board. If she misses a couple days of having a glass of wine or a frufru drink no big deal. She can always order a virgin drink with a little umbrella and pretend it's the real thing ;)