Free drink package for under 21

[Fishboy1947]

I’ve looked through the posts but cannot find what drinks are included under the Free Drinks package if you are under 21. Are mocktails included? All regular $15 and under drinks but no alcohol?

 

Two of our three in the room are under 21

[GORDONCHICK]

It looks like the only option for them is the soda package.

Cruise Beverage Packages | Bon Voyage Gifts | Norwegian Cruise Line (ncl.com)

[dbrown84]

and only one will get the soda package, whichever is listed as passenger #2.  the other will not get anything under free at sea.  If the adult is the parent of the other two, they can sign a waiver to allow them to buy/drink beer and wine.  they would have to pay for those drinks a la carte though.

[RB9643]

5 minutes ago, dbrown84 said:

If the adult is the parent of the other two, they can sign a waiver to allow them to buy/drink beer and wine. 

 

If they are 18-20 and accompanied by an adult.

 

 

[dbrown84]

Just now, RB9643 said:

 

If they are 18-20 and accompanied by an adult.

 

 

not just accompanied by an adult.  the adult has to be their parent.

[RB9643]

9 minutes ago, dbrown84 said:

not just accompanied by an adult.  the adult has to be their parent.

 

Man, I JUST asked my PCC about this. She said once approved, he can be with anyone 21-years or older.  Go figure.

 

 

[cmph]

No waiver is involved for 18-20 on European sailings, btw. Unless the Dawn bartenders are lax on that requirement. (There is zero chance they didn't know my daughter was 18, b/c we opened with "she's 18, do we need to do anything or can she just order a cocktail?)

[dbrown84]

11 minutes ago, RB9643 said:

 

Man, I JUST asked my PCC about this. She said once approved, he can be with anyone 21-years or older.  Go figure.

 

 

hmmm, what did she mean by "once approved"?  that usually means your parent has to go to guest services to sign the form.  At that point, they can be on their own to actually buy drinks

[Fishboy1947]

Sounds like we should turn down the unlimited free drinks and save the $600+. The adult is not a big drinker and Grandparents on cruise not parents

 

Just finished a Celebrity cruise with drinks included and the minors could drink any cocktails without alcohol, plus specialty coffees and water.  

[dbrown84]

1 minute ago, cmph said:

No waiver is involved for 18-20 on European sailings, btw. Unless the Dawn bartenders are lax on that requirement. (There is zero chance they didn't know my daughter was 18, b/c we opened with "she's 18, do we need to do anything or can she just order a cocktail?)

did she still have to pay per drink, or were you allowed to purchase a drink package for her?  No need to answer if she just "found" some of your drinks.  I don't want the thread to go left.... :) 

[Two Wheels Only]

1 hour ago, dbrown84 said:

not just accompanied by an adult.  the adult has to be their parent.

 

1 hour ago, RB9643 said:

 

Man, I JUST asked my PCC about this. She said once approved, he can be with anyone 21-years or older.  Go figure.

 

In order to get the waiver approved...

 

"The parent or legal guardian must be onboard the sailing with the young adult and present themselves at the Front Desk so they can sign the form allowing the consumption of beer and wine only. A notarized Parent Consent Form or any other document allowing for temporary guardianship for the purposes of the sailing only will not be accepted."

 

...then, the waiver has to be approved by corporate back in Miami. Once approved, he/she doesn't need the parent/guardian to be there and can drink with anyone 21 or older (or another guest with an approved waiver).

 

I think that the "Corks and Caps" package is no more so the only option is to pay a la carte for drinks if under 21. 

[RB9643]

1 hour ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

 

In order to get the waiver approved...

 

"The parent or legal guardian must be onboard the sailing with the young adult and present themselves at the Front Desk so they can sign the form allowing the consumption of beer and wine only. A notarized Parent Consent Form or any other document allowing for temporary guardianship for the purposes of the sailing only will not be accepted."

 

...then, the waiver has to be approved by corporate back in Miami. Once approved, he/she doesn't need the parent/guardian to be there and can drink with anyone 21 or older (or another guest with an approved waiver).

 

 

This is what I understood from my PCC. The keycard will notify the bartenders, allow beer and wine only, and that they must have a 21-year-old with them.

 

How it actually works on the ship is anyone's guess, unless you've actually done it.

 

 

[cmph]

2 hours ago, dbrown84 said:

did she still have to pay per drink, or were you allowed to purchase a drink package for her?  No need to answer if she just "found" some of your drinks.  I don't want the thread to go left.... 🙂

Haha, valid concern about thread derailment! So again, to anyone reading this, this was a Baltic cruise with European embarkation, ports, and debarkation.

 

We did not buy a package for her in advance. She was still 17 when we booked, so only the soda package was available at booking, and honestly, I didn't even think to ask my PCC about it once she turned 18 (which was after PIF). I actually did not bother to ask once we were onboard either, b/c it turns out she is not much of a fan LOL. She got a mai tai once, and that was it. FWIW, I handed over my card when she and I ordered our drinks, and like I said before - we were upfront about her being 18. But no charge showed up on my card, and I didn't even notice or think about it until days later. I'm guessing it wasn't worth the bartender's effort to charge it when they were busy? But it's only one data point, b/c she never ordered a drink again. I gave her sips of things I ordered to see if she liked anything else, but she preferred NA drinks.

[Liljo22]

3 hours ago, Fishboy1947 said:

Sounds like we should turn down the unlimited free drinks and save the $600+. The adult is not a big drinker and Grandparents on cruise not parents

 

Just finished a Celebrity cruise with drinks included and the minors could drink any cocktails without alcohol, plus specialty coffees and water.  

How many days is the cruise that one drink package and one soda package gratuities comes to $600+?  Drink package is $21.80 per day and the soda package is $1.99 per day.  At $23.79 per day, that would be a 26 day cruise.

 

FYI..if that is what the booking is quoting you, once you get to the section to add guests, the system will see you have two guests under 21 and adjust the gratuities.  

[Fishboy1947]

On 7/18/2023 at 10:39 PM, Liljo22 said:

How many days is the cruise that one drink package and one soda package gratuities comes to $600+?  Drink package is $21.80 per day and the soda package is $1.99 per day.  At $23.79 per day, that would be a 26 day cruise.

 

FYI..if that is what the booking is quoting you, once you get to the section to add guests, the system will see you have two guests under 21 and adjust the gratuities.  

Thank you, when I booked and listed ages the changes are just what you indicated. 10 day cruise @ $21 per day for 3= $600

 

Our grandchildren always enjoyed mocktails on cruises, cocktails with no alcohol. Is there a drink package for children under 21 that includes mocktails?

New to NCL and learning 

[GORDONCHICK]

44 minutes ago, Fishboy1947 said:

Thank you, when I booked and listed ages the changes are just what you indicated. 10 day cruise @ $21 per day for 3= $600

 

Our grandchildren always enjoyed mocktails on cruises, cocktails with no alcohol. Is there a drink package for children under 21 that includes mocktails?

New to NCL and learning 

No, there is only a soda package for under 21.

 

[Grimix]

2 hours ago, Fishboy1947 said:

Our grandchildren always enjoyed mocktails on cruises, cocktails with no alcohol. Is there a drink package for children under 21 that includes mocktails?

If you order one with your drink the odds are they'll just make it without charging. Is it against the rules? Yes. Will they do it even if they know what you're doing? Probably. Will you get in trouble? Unlikely. You can always be upfront and order your drink and say the kid with you would like a virgin mudslide. I would expect a 90%+ success rate. I doubt they even ask for the child's card.

 

[KeithJenner]

On 7/18/2023 at 6:47 PM, cmph said:

No waiver is involved for 18-20 on European sailings, btw. Unless the Dawn bartenders are lax on that requirement. (There is zero chance they didn't know my daughter was 18, b/c we opened with "she's 18, do we need to do anything or can she just order a cocktail?)

It wasn’t the bartenders being lax, it is NCL policy. There are often signs at the bars on European sailings stating that the age for alcohol to be served is 18. The policy is stated on the NCL website.

[KeithJenner]

13 hours ago, Grimix said:

If you order one with your drink the odds are they'll just make it without charging. Is it against the rules? Yes. Will they do it even if they know what you're doing? Probably. Will you get in trouble? Unlikely. You can always be upfront and order your drink and say the kid with you would like a virgin mudslide. I would expect a 90%+ success rate. I doubt they even ask for the child's card.

 

For most of our cruises we have been with our son and for most of them he hasn’t has a drink package. In all that time (about 20 cruises) we have only ever paid for his drinks a couple of times. That isn’t because we sneak around, I always make sure that I present his card when ordering from a new server and point out that he hasn’t got the package. Almost every time they don’t charge for it, and many times I have been told to just use our cards in future.

 

Basically, we haven’t been able to pay for his drinks despite trying.

 

Obviously this is just soda. I suspect they may be more keen to charge if it was an 18-21 year old getting alcohol.

[KeithJenner]

I’ve not seen it mentioned for a while, but there have certainly been reports of people with 18-21 year olds that had free at sea soda packages being able to get them upgraded onboard for just the gratuity cost.

 

From memory I think it was usually an upgrade to corks & caps.

 

It’s probably worth enquiring onboard, but this may be something that was at their discretion or that they have stopped doing.

[Fishboy1947]

36 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

It wasn’t the bartenders being lax, it is NCL policy. There are often signs at the bars on European sailings stating that the age for alcohol to be served is 18. The policy is stated on the NCL website.

When we booked, the drink package was removed for anyone under 21, soda given as replacement for one.

this is NCLs policy: On cruises embarking in a country where the legal drinking age is lower than 21 and where a young adult (age 18, 19 or 20) is not traveling with a parent or legal guardian, they will generally not be permitted to consume alcohol. There may be exceptions made to this restriction in areas of the world where local laws require and Norwegian Cruise Line concurs. Details on such exceptions can be obtained from the Guest Services Desk. No guest under age 18 may possess or consume alcohol at any time, while onboard or at our private destinations. No guest under age 21 may possess or consume alcohol at our private destinations. Any guest who goes ashore and consumes alcohol (whether under the supervision of a parent/guardian or not, is responsible for ensuring they consume responsibly and retain their ability to recognize and avoid potentially dangerous situations when they return to the ship. Parents/guardians are reminded they are responsible for the actions of their child/young adult at all times while on a Norwegian Cruise Line cruise. 
The young adult exception is parents can give permission for wine & beer

[Grimix]

2 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

For most of our cruises we have been with our son and for most of them he hasn’t has a drink package. In all that time (about 20 cruises) we have only ever paid for his drinks a couple of times. That isn’t because we sneak around, I always make sure that I present his card when ordering from a new server and point out that he hasn’t got the package. Almost every time they don’t charge for it, and many times I have been told to just use our cards in future.

This was our experience as well. Of course we've only had one cruise on NCL and it was Haven so was couching what I observed. The pool server always made a point of asking what our kids wanted to drink when we ordered and never once asked for their cards (11 year old son loved the virgin mudslides.) I've read a bunch on these boards and that seemed to be most people's opinions which is why I figured maybe my Haven experience wasn't too far off. I suspect if they went up to a random bar by themselves where they weren't known and asked for a virgin drink the results may be different.

[cmph]

7 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

It wasn’t the bartenders being lax, it is NCL policy. There are often signs at the bars on European sailings stating that the age for alcohol to be served is 18. The policy is stated on the NCL website.

The signs on the Dawn in June still said 21. We pointed that out to the bar staff specifically, as my daughter did not want to break any rules.

Edited July 21, 2023 by cmph