Underage Drinking

[RubyDog08]

Not to stir the pot, but here's a very different take on the situation. I am completely against the consumption of alcohol by minors. However.....

 

How old someone "looks" is irrelevant. Unless the IDs of the youths were examined, there is no way to know for sure. How do I know? Simple. On one of our cruises, my daughter came into the cabin - disrupting my well-deserved nap - and she was in tears of humiliation.

 

She was 23 years of age, and the bartender asked to see her room card - an appropriate request. The key card was properly marked for a 23 year old adult. He then informed her, quite loudly, that she was lying, had stolen someone else's card, would be reported for trying to purchase alcohol as a minor AND might be put off the ship at the next port!!!! All of this in front of a large crowd at the pool bar. :eek:

 

She is now 26, looks 16 and hasn't cruised since. :(

[thebooler]

Not to stir the pot, but here's a very different take on the situation. I am completely against the consumption of alcohol by minors. However.....

 

How old someone "looks" is irrelevant. Unless the IDs of the youths were examined, there is no way to know for sure. How do I know? Simple. On one of our cruises, my daughter came into the cabin - disrupting my well-deserved nap - and she was in tears of humiliation.

 

She was 23 years of age, and the bartender asked to see her room card - an appropriate request. The key card was properly marked for a 23 year old adult. He then informed her, quite loudly, that she was lying, had stolen someone else's card, would be reported for trying to purchase alcohol as a minor AND might be put off the ship at the next port!!!! All of this in front of a large crowd at the pool bar. :eek:

 

She is now 26, looks 16 and hasn't cruised since. :(

 

That's shocking. I hope you did something about it.

 

I can't stress much more than I already have on this thread how these kids were well below 18 years old. I sat at the bar, alongside others, and listened to them asking friends to get them drinks as they couldn't get them by themselves. It was all done in full view of other guests on more than one occasion, and on 2 nights that I know of.

 

I hope your daughter eventually takes another cruise, but I can understand why she'll be reluctant to do so.

[Tatka]

She was 23 years of age, and the bartender asked to see her room card - an appropriate request. The key card was properly marked for a 23 year old adult. He then informed her, quite loudly, that she was lying, had stolen someone else's card, would be reported for trying to purchase alcohol as a minor AND might be put off the ship at the next port!!!! All of this in front of a large crowd at the pool bar. :eek:

 

She is now 26, looks 16 and hasn't cruised since. :(

 

Oh, I am glad I wasn't growing in US, I did look 14-15 till I hit 25 :)

 

I don't understand, who was buying a drink for your daughter?

 

 

P.S. We do have some weird laws in US. A year ago I went to a liquor store to buy a case of beer. I was with my almost 20 years old son. He helped me to carry this 30 cans box to the check out area. After I paid for it seller told me that my son cannot carry this case. I have to do it at least till we reach the door. :) Well he is in the army and enjoying his drinking freedoms overseas... Some previous poster said "unless you are in service". This is not true. Servicemen in the States cannot drink till 21 too.

Edited July 14, 2012 by Tatka

[sparks1093]

Oh, I am glad I wasn't growing in US, I did look 14-15 till I hit 25 :)

 

I don't understand, who was buying a drink for your daughter?

 

 

P.S. We do have some weird laws in US. A year ago I went to a liquor store to buy a case of beer. I was with my almost 20 years old son. He helped me to carry this 30 cans box to the check out area. After I paid for it seller told me that my son cannot carry this case. I have to do it at least till we reach the door. :) Well he is in the army and enjoying his drinking freedoms overseas... Some previous poster said "unless you are in service". This is not true. Servicemen in the States cannot drink till 21 too.

 

You are lucky, in Vermont they probably wouldn't have sold it to you if you were with a minor (but we are lucky because we can buy beer at the grocery store. On Sunday;)).

[che5904]

Reading through all the posts on this thread is actually rather comical.

 

Whether the OP is correct or not on the ages really IMO is not a big deal. Most already know NCL is not overly assertive when it comes to enforcing policies. Since the OP seems to not have direct information on who these girls were or who the NCL employees involved were, then no one would or wouldn't get their hands slapped for not doing anything about it.

 

Therefore, the most that can come from the OP taking it to corporate is a reminder for NCL employees to be more active in enforcing a more important policy and therefore I can see no harm in this.

 

Anyone that thinks it's OK for their underage child to have a drink at home, give your child one. Those that do not think this is appropriate don't. Sounds pretty simple to me.

[thebooler]

Reading through all the posts on this thread is actually rather comical.

 

Whether the OP is correct or not on the ages really IMO is not a big deal. Most already know NCL is not overly assertive when it comes to enforcing policies. Since the OP seems to not have direct information on who these girls were or who the NCL employees involved were, then no one would or wouldn't get their hands slapped for not doing anything about it.

 

Therefore, the most that can come from the OP taking it to corporate is a reminder for NCL employees to be more active in enforcing a more important policy and therefore I can see no harm in this.

 

Anyone that thinks it's OK for their underage child to have a drink at home, give your child one. Those that do not think this is appropriate don't. Sounds pretty simple to me.

Thanks for your reply che5904. You did get one bit wrong though - I do have the name of one of the Officers I spoke with, and they will be able to provide the name of the other I spoke with. I don't however have any photos of the kids (as someone stupidly suggested earlier in the thread) as I would never photograph a child without their parents' consent.

Edited July 15, 2012 by thebooler

[youngcruiser93]

As a 19 years old, I am sometimes falling in the underage group and sometimes in the non-underage one. I am therefore well aware of the behaviour of crew members in regards of underage drinking and alcohol waivers.

 

On my last summer Baltic Sea cruise on NCL Sun, I was 18 years and then allowed to drink alcohol without parental consent (it did not mattered much as they would have signed a waiver anyway and without hesitation). I come from Canada and I was therefore legal both in my country of origin and in countries visited. I drink since many years (like almost everybody of my age in Quebec) and I use alcohol responsibly at all times (i.e a pre-dinner cocktail, wine with dinner) and never with the intention of actually getting drunk.

 

I have to add that even if I am 19, my 14 years old brother looks older than me.

 

As far as I remember, no one actually asked me for ID when I was having alcohol in presence of my parents, like in the main dining rooms. The waiter simply poured wine in my glass without a question.

 

It was another thing when alone. I used to go at a bar for pre-dinner cocktail and waited for my parents to come and join me. I usually ordered a something before they arrived and crew members were always suspicious. They asked to see my card before they brought me drinks and even then I often had to argue that I was legal.

 

This being said, if the OP is right, the control of drinking among young people seems much more controlled on NCL Sun than on NCL Epic. I agree that cruise lines should adapt their policies to cultural differences among passengers. However, a drunk (not only drinking) 14 years old girl (as well as a 40 years old man) is something that is not acceptable for anybody.

 

 

On Caribbean cruises, the alcohol policy of NCL requires a waiver to be signed to allow 18-20 yo passengers to drink while outside US territorial waters. I cruised last January on NCL Dawn with my grandmother and she wasn't allowed to sign it for me. I was therefore falling in the underage category. It was impossible for me to order a drink by myself. However I was sometimes able to have wine with dinner most of the time. My grandmother ordered a bottle and poured it for me. No one questioned me about my age in the MDR and in La Cucina, but a waitress did in Le Bistro. There was a lack of enforcement in the policy, but I did not notice any drunk ''young adult'' on the ship at all.

 

I noticed overall that female crew members are more likely to ask about age than male ones.

[che5904]

Thanks for your reply che5904. You did get one bit wrong though - I do have the name of one of the Officers I spoke with, and they will be able to provide the name of the other I spoke with. I don't however have any photos of the kids (as someone stupidly suggested earlier in the thread) as I would never photograph a child without their parents' consent.

 

Glad you would not photograph what you perceived as a minor, not to mention could get you in a lot of doodoo.

 

But since you do not have names or ages of those that were partaking in adult beverages, with or without the name of the officer I think I would not name names when speaking or writing to Corporate. But refer to them as "the officer I spoke to". Or if you are going to name names be certain that the letter isn't accusational. Because without all of the necessary information or the behind the scenes (when you were not there), you really can't truthfully say what all was done after the fact.

 

But as I said if you did see something that you think, saw or perceived was wrong, I think by all means a bug in Corporate's ear is appropriate.

[thebooler]

Glad you would not photograph what you perceived as a minor, not to mention could get you in a lot of doodoo.

 

But since you do not have names or ages of those that were partaking in adult beverages, with or without the name of the officer I think I would not name names when speaking or writing to Corporate. But refer to them as "the officer I spoke to". Or if you are going to name names be certain that the letter isn't accusational. Because without all of the necessary information or the behind the scenes (when you were not there), you really can't truthfully say what all was done after the fact.

 

But as I said if you did see something that you think, saw or perceived was wrong, I think by all means a bug in Corporate's ear is appropriate.

I won't be revealing the Officer's name to anyone as my intention is not to see anyone get in trouble, whether that be the ship's staff or the kids concerned. That's not my way. My intention is to get NCL to be a bit more rigid in the application of the rules. Their rules I may add. The last thing any of us want or need to be hearing about is how some poor kid came a cropper at sea due to over indulgence in alcohol.

[justlaff69]

On Caribbean cruises, the alcohol policy of NCL requires a waiver to be signed to allow 18-20 yo passengers to drink while outside US territorial waters.

 

While cruising past the Guest Relations desk I saw a sign about under age drinking waivers, I didn't stop to study it b/c I have no UA but it's for 18-20 and not 16 and up?

[newmexicoNita]

Just returned from a week on the Epic which was excellent, to say the least. One of the best holidays I've ever had, and I really couldn't find any faults at all with the ship, the staff, or NCL in general.

 

Except.......................their reluctance to put a stop to underage drinking aboard their ship!

 

I spoke with 2 Officers in full view of girls as young as 14 years old drinking cocktails and bottled beers about how this can be, and none of them seemed too bothered about it. One of them even said the staff don't like to upset the guests in case they attract guest complaints, which they can't afford to do!

 

Now don't get me wrong here. I did this sort thing myself in my younger days, and I'm NOT having a go at the kids. But NCL need to address this problem before it escalates, word spreads, and adults start to avoid the Epic due to this problem.

 

As I said, the only thing I found wrong throughout the whole week onboard the Epic. But something I feel is seriously wrong.

 

wow, that totally shocks me: I have never seen this on any cruise. I guess it can happen, but usually NCL is very careful. I guess if they don't buy the booze the staff sorta turns their heads. I hate to see this happen. Believe me, if it is happening on NCL it is happening on all the cruise lines. I will however, ask you how do you know the girls were only 14? They could be 18 and have their parents permission to drink.

[newmexicoNita]

I could be wrong, but I thought NCL somehow marked your cruise card if you were underage? Maybe someone of age bought the teenagers drinks? I guess as long as they aren't sloppy messes or throwing up, it wouldn't bother me that much.

 

they do and they are very strict about selling to anyone under age. If these girls were only 14 I am sure someone else bought the drinks for them.

[newmexicoNita]

No, I think if an adult is found giving their child alcohol...someone will be going to jail.:eek: In United States....it is 21 unless you are in the service.

Bite my words. Looked it up and found this:

"http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Minimum_Drinking_Age_Act

 

John is completely correct about this: no one can sell to minors in the USA but there are states where kids can drink with parents consent..Texas is one of them...We are not talking a note from mommy and daddy, we are talking, if the parents are present at the time. Also, it has to be remembered, the ship was in Europe, with a totally different approach to young people drinking.

[Iamrc]

 

* #13 * *

May 25th, 2012, 02:24 AM

Anjjmum0294

Cool Cruiser

*

Join Date: Aug 2010

Location: massachusetts

Posts: 191

 

I agree! I had a major issue with the fact the bar gave my seventeen year old alcohol on the Dawn. She drank it and due to her heart condition got sick. I emailed Mr. Sheehan and right away I got a response as well with a deep and honest appology directly from Mr. Sheehan. I love NCL now for life!

__________________

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1640019

 

 

The above post states it all as to why it is important that underage drinking be addressed.

[thebooler]

wow, that totally shocks me: I have never seen this on any cruise. I guess it can happen, but usually NCL is very careful. I guess if they don't buy the booze the staff sorta turns their heads. I hate to see this happen. Believe me, if it is happening on NCL it is happening on all the cruise lines. I will however, ask you how do you know the girls were only 14? They could be 18 and have their parents permission to drink.

I agree. You can't really blame the staff if it's being given to them. Regarding the being around 14, if they were 18, they would get the drinks themselves rather than ask the lads who were 18 to get them the drinks. It's not too difficult to suss out what's happening if you are aware of these things.

[Hopes4]

While cruising past the Guest Relations desk I saw a sign about under age drinking waivers, I didn't stop to study it b/c I have no UA but it's for 18-20 and not 16 and up?

 

It is for an 18-20 yr old. Only a parent can give this permission and the parent must be sailing as well. It is valid for beer and wine only.

[thebooler]

Received a nice letter today from NCL Corporate informing me the matter has been dealt with.

Good news for future cruisers (I hope) and good to see NCL being pro active with such an issue.

[johnql]

Received a nice letter today from NCL Corporate informing me the matter has been dealt with.

Good news for future cruisers (I hope) and good to see NCL being pro active with such an issue.

Dealt with how? Can you share the details?

[manateemike67]

I agree. You can't really blame the staff if it's being given to them. Regarding the being around 14, if they were 18, they would get the drinks themselves rather than ask the lads who were 18 to get them the drinks. It's not too difficult to suss out what's happening if you are aware of these things.

 

I'll be fair and say there is a very good chance your deduction is correct, however there other reasons why it might not be.

 

They may be over 18, travelling with parents but have no billing rights allocated to their card.

 

They may have used their spending money already.

 

They might have been told by their parents, possibly on religious grounds, not to drink and were thus hiding the evidence from the final bill.

 

But lets be honest, its going to take a whole lot more than what you have witnessed to achieve the apocalyptic ending you mention for NCL and the Epic.

[glorialagos]

 

 

I agree! I had a major issue with the fact the bar gave my seventeen year old alcohol on the Dawn. She drank it and due to her heart condition got sick. I emailed Mr. Sheehan and right away I got a response as well with a deep and honest appology directly from Mr. Sheehan. I love NCL now for life!

__________________

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1640019

 

 

The above post states it all as to why it is important that underage drinking be addressed.

 

 

I remember when this happened and it was something different completely. You ordered a virgin drink, no reason to ask for an ID and you, as the adult, ordered it. They mistakenly gave you a drink with alcohol as clearly stated on the receipt. They did not think they were giving alcohol to a 17 year old. I am glad that you got an apology though. They did make a mistake.

 

I have traveled on NCL and Carnival with two teens many times in the last 3 years. There are MANY underage drinkers - they have all kinds of ways of getting it. Cruise or not, parents still should monitor their children. Most staff on both cruise lines DID ask for ID and most followed the rules.

 

Just like on land, if an under 21 or under 18 year old wants to consume alcohol, they will find a way to do it.

[manateemike67]

Theyre on vacation from parenting.

We try to plan cruises while kids are still in school to avoid just this sort of stuff. Parents who take their kids out of school seem to have more more at stake and want the best vacation vs parents who just go on a summer holiday and are looking for a reason to not care. The latter group dont realize (or care) that they make it rough for everyone who encounters their out of control kids.

 

Having said that, there are lots of kids with caring parents (probably most of them) on any given cruise. But as the saying goes... one bad apple spoils the basket

 

 

Eek. Bugger what should i do? Like a good parent i keep my child at school until the holidays so they can receive a good education. So come summer time when the whole family can have time together on holiday apparently we cannot go away because we might encounter some other adults without children.

 

Therefor take my kid out of school, so i have 'more at stake' but they then grow up dumb and stupid or never go on holiday with my well behaved child just in case i bump into people with your attitude. Tell me did your parents take you out of school or wait until summer time for your holidays ?

 

You cannot make such a wide ranging statement in your first paragraph and then distance yourself in the next.

[bluesea777]

Oh dear!

 

Drinking age on European cruises is 18, as opposed to 21 on cruises from US (18-20 on beer & wine with parent's contest).

 

As for the 14 yos, it's definite that other adults bought them drinks.

 

Happened to our 16 yo son on our first Epic b2b cruise. Pretty funny when we think about it now but we had to keep a straight face at the time ...

 

On the last night of the first leg of our b2b our DS went out with his teen club mates and they ended up in Bliss where the father of one of the teens bought drinks for the lot :eek::eek:

 

We were already asleep when he returned to cabin sometime during the night. When the vibration of the ship (we were in the stern cabin) when docking woke me up I went to spend a penny. I stopped my tracks - peered closer (no contact lenses or glasses on) - aaah! Looked at our DS and lifted his bedclothes .... had hard time trying NOT to laugh (you know, I'm the been-there-done-that person), woke DH up so he could take a look.

 

Yeah, you guessed this - puke from a novice.

 

The real reason we weren't too amused was it was a turn-around of our b2b - we were in Miami - and we were going to go thru Immigration and Customs before getting back on ship. I was deadly worried that, due to the stories of pax being denied boarding due to noro AND the fact that DS drank while underage ....

 

When time came for us to disembark, we forced DS into shower to refresh himself, gave him 20 bucks to face, apologise and give to our room steward (who found it VERY amusing), told him to stand and walk straight for the next hour!!

 

Back on aboard again he went straight back to cabin to sleep it off and he swore off booze for a year. :)

 

We still laugh when we think about it. He learnt his lesson.

Edited July 27, 2012 by bluesea777

[GrandmaHofmann]

Has anyone thought that a 14 year old girl, perhaps unused to drinking, is vulnerable to suggestions that could end her up in a great deal of trouble?

[GrandmaHofmann]

I am appalled at how many people on this board supported underage kids drinking or any "adult" giving underage kids drinks. It sickens me.

[Tatka]

I don't believe anybody supported undrage drinking... but we all more or less went thru this (14 is a bit early though), and some still remember this.

 

In all seriousness if somebody is worried about a child, he/she needs to watch them, set up some kind of schedule for a kid to contact parents : in person, by using a phone or post-its etc. We cruised with our pretty independent child from his11 till 18 so I am familiar with situation.