Solarium Admittance Change

[lovelife]

On Explorer now and just noticed in the Compass the minimum age is 18 instead of the usual 16.

 

Sorry if this has been posted -- a search revealed nothing.

[Clarea]

Now the question is whether that's a misprint, a fleetwide change in policy, or the HD's decision for that particular ship or sailing.

[jbethel11]

For some reason I had a premonition this would happen. Disappointing.

[EDiamond22]

to my better knowledge unless its changed recently, your sea pass card doesn't have your DOB on it.. that being said 16 or 18 years old they really they wouldn't be able to tell by just looking at them so the likelihood of them even attempting to ID seems unlikely to me. i feel if everyone is acting appropriate i don't think any crew or guest would say anything 

[Clarea]

9 minutes ago, EDiamond22 said:

to my better knowledge unless its changed recently, your sea pass card doesn't have your DOB on it.. that being said 16 or 18 years old they really they wouldn't be able to tell by just looking at them so the likelihood of them even attempting to ID seems unlikely to me. i feel if everyone is acting appropriate i don't think any crew or guest would say anything 

 

Acting appropriately is not sufficient.  The Solariums are generally packed, and guests who are outside of the age group that should have access will only make the crowding worse.

 

Regarding the DOB, I have seen crewmembers ask an underage person for the SeaPass card, scan it, and then ask the, underage person to leave.

[EDiamond22]

1 minute ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Acting appropriately is not sufficient.  The Solariums are generally packed, and guests who are outside of the age group that should have access will only make the crowding worse.

 

Regarding the DOB, I have seen crewmembers ask an underage person for the SeaPass card, scan it, and then ask the, underage person to leave.

interesting, i've never seen that! but i agree that's actually our main hang out so i guess i would probably be upset aswell if it was full with people who weren't supposed to be there.

[JessyCruises]

There is something on the sea pass card that indicates a minor but I forget what it is.  I will look at a few of my sons to see if I can figure it out.

 

[JessyCruises]

Found it.  It says M1.  I only know because my son looks old for his age and last year he was 17 and had been watching me play slots in the casino all week and one of the last nights someone asked him for his card and he got the boot.  The employee showed me where it was

Edited November 22, 2019 by Canadian Disney Mom

[jmh2006]

Yes the sea pass cards for minors usually has a different symbol on it.  My son turned 18 mid cruise and went to get a new card just for that reason, 😂.

[EDiamond22]

gotcha i thought it only indicated over or under 21, my mistake  

[JessyCruises]

9 minutes ago, jmh2006 said:

Yes the sea pass cards for minors usually has a different symbol on it.  My son turned 18 mid cruise and went to get a new card just for that reason, 😂.

 

My son turns 18 the day we board the Anthem next year (March 1).  It will be interesting to see if the M1 is on there.

[Clarea]

6 minutes ago, Canadian Disney Mom said:

 

My son turns 18 the day we board the Anthem next year (March 1).  It will be interesting to see if the M1 is on there.

 

RC says that the age of a guest on a cruise is based on the age on day 1.

[Ourusualbeach]

7 minutes ago, Canadian Disney Mom said:

 

My son turns 18 the day we board the Anthem next year (March 1).  It will be interesting to see if the M1 is on there.

Age as of boarding day is the age they use. 

[bgoff60]

1 hour ago, jbethel11 said:

For some reason I had a premonition this would happen. Disappointing.

I think it is great that the "adults" can have their own space and  not have to worry about being over-run with persons less than 16 or 18.  I think it is a rather brilliant move on RCI's part.  There are age appropriate places for those under 18...The solarium is just not one of those places.  I for one have asked cruise attendants to ask several groups of obviously under-aged groups of youth to leave.  Do it on the first day and you get less blow back...

[Goofyfanatic]

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Age as of boarding day is the age they use. 

I was on a cruise where a kid turned 18 mid cruise and was allowed to play in the casino after his birthday (I would assume on it also, lol) 

 

 The kid looked like he was at most 16 and on the last night of the cruise I asked the pit boss how a minor could play. He told me when the card is scanned it notifies the dealer that it’s a minor and they were surprised they didn’t get the notification on him. When they asked him and his parents the told them he had turned 18 on the cruise and actually showed ID. 

[Ourusualbeach]

1 minute ago, Goofyfanatic said:

I was on a cruise where a kid turned 18 mid cruise and was allowed to play in the casino after his birthday (I would assume on it also, lol) 

 

 The kid looked like he was at most 16 and on the last night of the cruise I asked the pit boss how a minor could play. He told me when the card is scanned it notifies the dealer that it’s a minor and they were surprised they didn’t get the notification on him. When they asked him and his parents the told them he had turned 18 on the cruise and actually showed ID. 

Yes, that is allowed and requires a trip to guest services to get a new card and to update the records. 

[lovelife]

2 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

Now the question is whether that's a misprint, a fleetwide change in policy, or the HD's decision for that particular ship or sailing.

I'll let you know the scoop on Oasis Sunday.

[jbethel11]

5 hours ago, bgoff60 said:

I think it is great that the "adults" can have their own space and  not have to worry about being over-run with persons less than 16 or 18.  I think it is a rather brilliant move on RCI's part.  There are age appropriate places for those under 18...The solarium is just not one of those places.  I for one have asked cruise attendants to ask several groups of obviously under-aged groups of youth to leave.  Do it on the first day and you get less blow back...

I disagree. If it ain't broke, why fix it? Do 16-year-olds really cause that much of a problem? There are some 16-year-olds that are way more mature than many 18-year-olds, but because they are "legally" an adult, they are (positively) stereotyped as mature?

[Balsam12]

3 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

I disagree. If it ain't broke, why fix it? Do 16-year-olds really cause that much of a problem? There are some 16-year-olds that are way more mature than many 18-year-olds, but because they are "legally" an adult, they are (positively) stereotyped as mature?

How do you define "Legally an adult"?

 

Is it if they are allowed to vote?

Is it if they are allowed to join the armed forces?

Is it if they are allowed to drive?

Is it if they are allowed to drink alcohol?

Is it if they are allowed to enter the Solarium?

 

All these things have different ages in different countries. In Australia, an 18 year old can do all of the above. In the US, they can't drink. The legal drinking age varies around the world from 15 years old to 25 years old (or to "it doesn't matter how old you are because our religion prohibits drinking"). The legal driving and voting ages also vary radically, and there is often no correlation between any of these ages. There are countries where you can drive at 16, but not drink until you are 21. Similarly, there are countries where the opposite is true.

Basically, legal age has nothing to do with RCI's rules on Solarium entry. I'm guessing they look at the average ages on board their ships, then compare that to how many people can be comfortably accommodated in the Solarium.

 

[marci22]

5 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

I disagree. If it ain't broke, why fix it? Do 16-year-olds really cause that much of a problem? There are some 16-year-olds that are way more mature than many 18-year-olds, but because they are "legally" an adult, they are (positively) stereotyped as mature?

Because people push the issue. If 16 is ok why not my 15 yo? Changing to 18 would make it easier to enforce because they can distinguish between adult/not adult. 

[Joseph2017China]

5 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

I disagree. If it ain't broke, why fix it? Do 16-year-olds really cause that much of a problem? There are some 16-year-olds that are way more mature than many 18-year-olds, but because they are "legally" an adult, they are (positively) stereotyped as mature?

"legally adult"?  Generally speaking an adult is at the age they can enter into legal agreements.  It is not tied to maturity etc.  Age restrictions don't dictate adulthood.  What it does is manage certain things.  Such as access someplace.  Under 18 have their own hang out place.  18+ has the solarium to get away from kids.  Is it broke?  Depends.  If the place is an overflow of the kid's club and then it might be broken.  This is not about maturity but rather having a restricted area reserved for a certain group.  Those age restrictions are set based on many factors on the ship, such as "spring break" or "Holiday sailings" or they can be set based on the closed loop country such as drinking age in Europe vs USA. 

[spookwife]

11 hours ago, EDiamond22 said:

to my better knowledge unless its changed recently, your sea pass card doesn't have your DOB on it.. that being said 16 or 18 years old they really they wouldn't be able to tell by just looking at them so the likelihood of them even attempting to ID seems unlikely to me. i feel if everyone is acting appropriate i don't think any crew or guest would say anything 

actually I would expect them to be IDing ANYONE who looks young enough to make the cutoff.  

 

and actions or not, if I see someone under 18/16 in the Solarium, I will say something.   I expect a kid free environment and I don't care how well behaved the little snowflakes are.  

[Bobal]

5 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

I disagree. If it ain't broke, why fix it? Do 16-year-olds really cause that much of a problem? There are some 16-year-olds that are way more mature than many 18-year-olds, but because they are "legally" an adult, they are (positively) stereotyped as mature?

 

I never use the Solarium so no axe to grind in this, but I would say the difference is probably due to the fact that at 18 they are no longer able to attend a teen club and are considered an adult. Having travelled with teens on cruises in the past my experience is that they get together early in the cruise and then wander round as packs (rather than staying in the club). A few groups of 16/17 year olds could impact on the Solarium experience for those who see it as a quiet retreat

[BND]

48 minutes ago, spookwife said:

actually I would expect them to be IDing ANYONE who looks young enough to make the cutoff.  

 

and actions or not, if I see someone under 18/16 in the Solarium, I will say something.   I expect a kid free environment and I don't care how well behaved the little snowflakes are.  

Agreed.  I don't see why adults can't have one space that is theirs alone.  It's not like we can go into the kids space and start playing video games 🙂

 

[Tulsacoker]

I personally wish that would make this fleet wide on ship with Solarium  Dare I wish for 21+

Edited November 22, 2019 by Tulsacoker