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Drinking age on European cruise

DEABILLINGDEPT

By DEABILLINGDEPT,
in Princess Cruises

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DEABILLINGDEPT

DEABILLINGDEPT

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Hi there.  I will be sailing Enchanted Princess in July 2020, Athens to Barcelona. (1st time cruiser)  I will be taking my 18 yr old niece on this cruise as a graduation present.  I wanted to know if anyone has actual experience or knowledge of Princess' drinking age restrictions on destinations that embark and disembark in European countries? On thier FAQ page, I noticed an exception to the rule for certain destinations, Europe being one of them.  I called and spoke to a Princess rep for clarification, who informed me that the drinking age is 21yrs old.  When I mentioned the exception on the FAQ, she wasn't aware that it was even there. So this is the reason for my confusion.  It's not a huge deal, as we are only talking about an occasional Pina Colada pool side with her old Auntie but It would be nice to know.  I should add that this question 1st came up because we added a "sip and sail,free alcohol package" to our cruise upon booking and the fine print stated that 21 and older would get the alchol pkg, under 21 would get the premium bev pkg.  Since we were traveling in Europe, I wanted to see if she would qualify for the alcohol pkg with Sip and Sail.  

 

This is from their website...

 

The age for gambling on Princess ships is 18 years old. The age for drinking on Princess ships is 21 years old*. Guests under the age of 18 will not be permitted in the Casino or Night Club after 11:00 p.m.

*For cruises between Australia/New Zealand, China, Europe and Singapore ports, the drinking age will be 18 years old. For cruises between Japan ports, the drinking age will be 20 years old.

 

Thanks so much.

Edited by DEABILLINGDEPT
clarification
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DEABILLINGDEPT

DEABILLINGDEPT

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Thanks so much for the response.  I'm assuming at this point it will just be a wait and see situation but this gives me some hope.  Would you happen to know if this is something I would address at time of check in or would I have to visit another customer service area on the ship?

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grapau27

grapau27

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5 hours ago, DEABILLINGDEPT said:

Thanks so much for the response.  I'm assuming at this point it will just be a wait and see situation but this gives me some hope.  Would you happen to know if this is something I would address at time of check in or would I have to visit another customer service area on the ship?

Definitely 18 years of age in UK and Europe.

 

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NavyVeteran

NavyVeteran

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I was on the Caribbean Princess from Barcelona to Athens and the age was 18.

 

However, even though the 18 year old will be able to purchase drinks, that does not necessarily mean that she will have the Premium Beverage Package under the Sip & Sail promotion. The fine print on my booking confirmation under Sip & Sail says "If an eligible guest is a minor, the Premier Beverage Package will be replaced with the Premier Coffee and Soda Package." I do not know whether or not that would mean 18 instead of 21 on a European cruise.

 

You should be able to find out by looking at your Cruise Personalizer. Click on "Beverage Packages" under "Onboard Reservations". On the bottom of the page under "Reservations & Purchases", it should list your packages. See whether or not your niece is listed with "Premier Beverage Package Promotion" or with "Premier Coffee and Soda Package". Even though it is usually listed here, I have found that it sometimes isn't listed.

 

A more reliable place to find the packages listed is to click on "Print Travel Summary" under "Boarding Pass & Travel Summary". It will list "Special Services for this booking" after the excursions and before the "Important Notices" at the end. There it should list the specific package as well as the retail price. I recommend that you always print a copy of this document, verify everything is correct, and take it with you to the ship.

 

If she is listed with the Premier Beverage Package Promotion, then she should have no problem on the ship - especially since you will have the printout.

 

If she is not listed with the Premier Beverage Package Promotion, I recommend you call Princess and ask to talk with someone in Customer Service to correct it. Since the fine print on the promotion said "if an eligible guest is a minor" but did not provide an age, I believe you have a good argument that your niece is not a minor for the purpose of purchasing alcoholic beverages on the European cruise. However you do need to get this changed before you sail. I don't believe they would be able to change the package onboard.

 

Please post after looking at your Travel Summary and/or contacting Princess if necessary. I would be interested to know the answer to your question.

 

 

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DEABILLINGDEPT

DEABILLINGDEPT

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Thank you NavyVeteran!  I ended up booking this through a local travel agent, who unfortunately is doing the bare minimum to assist in arrangements.  That being said, I do have access to the cruise personlizer and It does show my neice listed with the sip and sail alcohol package. (Ironically, i spotted that this morning just before reading your post:)  Considering the travel agent told me the same thing about the drinking age being 21 for this cruise, I wasn't sure if  this was entered in error or if it is listed like that because it's the name of the promotion and would then be addressed and adjusted to premium beverage at the time of boarding.   I travel quite a bit but I am one that generally uses a good, full service travel agent for larger trips. (ie South Africa, South East Asia etc.)  Cruising is a whole new ball game for me:)  I thought having a travel agent to organize the pre/post stays and cruise would be similar to previous experiences but I am now finding that this is a very basic service.    I was hoping to get some help with selecting excursions etc but I think I will be doing a lot of research on my own.  This seems to be a very responsive and informative site and I feel confident that I will be able to get some great information here.  Thanks again!!

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john watson

john watson

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I think you might find that the age limit on drinking alcohol on Princess Cruise ships varies according to where the cruise started.  It may also change when in territorial waters according to local laws. So it might vary at some ports particularly US Caribbean Islands.

 

Guests must be  21 years of age to purchase or drink alcohol on all ships except guests on cruises originating from Europe,  Australia or Asian ports where you must be over 18 years or over and from Japanese ports 20 years or over.

 

I think someone once mentioned the Eastbound and Westbound drinking age anomaly on what would technically be an almost identical cruise type.

 

Regards John

Edited by john watson
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john watson

john watson

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I think cruise cards give a lot of easy to understand information on them, however in the bottom right hand corner is a code number and most often the letter "A".  The number indicates number of completed cruises and the "A" lets bar staff etc, know this cardholder is an adult. Children always have blue cruise cards.

 

Regards John

Edited by john watson
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