Who has been on a cuise?! Is the drinking age enforced?

Question

Specifically on roayl caribbean and norwegian. My boyfriend will be 25 but I'm not quite 21 just yet. Would he be able to buy me drinks? Will they question my age if I buy a drink? We want to be able to relax and not have to worry about all this when we get on the ship. Thanks.

Answer 1

I have been on many RC and NCL ships and Yes they enforce it but since you are with your boyfriend just have him order and buy your drinks with his cruise card.  That card has the age information on it and the waiters are not going to have you pull out an ID card, especially if you are just a few months short of age 21.  If you are at the pool, order a bucket of beer and if you are at the dinner table order a bottle of wine and two glasses.

No if you are 15 and look like 15 disregard all of this and don't even try to drink.

Answer 2

The cruise line is not going to serve alcohol to you if you are under age. When you "check in" they will look over all your info and encode a card for you. This card, your sea pass, will be your room key, your pass to get on and off the ship at ports, your card to purchase things with on the ship, etc. Since you are under age they are going to put a hole in the card, with a paper punch, if you were under 18 they would do two. This way, anyone that is working just has to look at your card and they can see that you are not able to drink. So when you are in a show or something and order a drink, they won't be able to serve it to you. I've never seen them serve alcohol to anyone under age, I'm pretty sure this is not going to happen, and I certainly would not want to find out.

As far as your boyfriend buying you drinks, you could do that, I still don't recommend it, but you could. On a cruise I was on not too long ago some friends were buying another passenger drinks, that was underage. When the one of the crew members found out about it they gave them a warning (not really sure what it was) and then they stopped doing it. If you are closed to 21, more than likely no one is going to say anything, more than likely most people won't notice, so you should be okay.

If your boyfriend wants to buy some drinks for you, more than likely you will get by with it. But I definitely would not try to order my own, you more than likely won't get by with that.

Either way, just be careful and responsible. Cruises really aren't the place to drink too much, don't overdo and you should be fine.

Have a great time!

Answer 3

I had some wine when I was 15 on a cruise at the dinner table. Nobody cared.

But once my friend did it, and they gave him a warning. Then he did it again, and they threw him overboard.

...seriously, what's the worst thing that can happen?

Answer 4

I have been on a Norwegian cruise before, I can drink but my brother couldn't.  The only way they know your age is everyone got this Embarkation Card.  Which is like an ID and debit card.   they will only scan it when you buy something, and When they scan it, it will show your age and picture.  But I remember I was able to get my bro's drink no prob.  When we went to the "club", it was fine.  When you are sitting down and enjoying yourself, they are not going to come and see your id.  People don't carry a picture id with them, just the Embarkation card, so they don't know unless they scan.  

Also, you can always get a bucket of beer and move around the ship, or drink it in your room if you are worry about it.