Drinking Age on Crown Princess ( How do they enforce it) ?

[KShea]

I actually know the drinking age is 21. What I would like to know is how they enforce it? I have a 22 and 20 year old (at the time of sailing). The younger guy is wondering how do they know your age? For example, on RCCL they put holes in your card.

 

My son is responsible and I have no problem with him having a few beers on board, just wondering how strict they are. Thanks a lot in advance...Kevin

[Colo Cruiser]

It is strictly enforced. :)

[woodofpine]

Frankly, I'm not sure. But, given your sons' age situation, I'm sure they'll be able to circumvent the regs with a little ingenuity. ;)

 

But... get some popcorn, and set back a spell... :D

[bjboothman]

Last time I cruised on Princess there was an "M" for minor on the card. While a minor is not likely to be served by a bartender, I doubt that anyone is going to notice if the older brother buys two drinks at the bar and brings one back to his brother.

[OCNJ Cruiser]

The purchasing of alcohol is strictly enforced on the ship. If your sons look young, they will be carded when ordering so make sure the older one carries his ID with him. I had just turned 21 on my last cruise and was carded the first 4 of my 7 days. However, on my cruises before I was 21 someone would buy me a beer and I would drink it in public with no problem, granted I was always with a group of people. Also be aware that although the age to enter the nightclubs is 18, if you look young, you will be carded. Always remember, common sense is best! If your son keeps a good head on his shoulders and doesn't get out of control, he should be fine.

[causeyoutdoor]

As I recall, the cruise cards are also coded for whether you are 21 or not. Last trip, my husband and son had grabbed each others cards by mistake adn when my husband tried to buy a beer with my son's card (he is 16), it was denied by the computer program.

[tbenson81]

They will ID you if you look questionable. My wife looks like she is 16 and got ID'd all over the place on the ship. Bars, clubs, casino etc.

 

Tony

[woodofpine]

That's what I figured... since the bar code brings up all your personal info, it would be easy to just DQ alcoholic drink purchases. Hole punches and stickers and what not just help the bartender avoid pouring the drink first.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I remember seeing a waiter grabbing glasses of champagne away from some teens during the champagne waterfall on our last cruise. There was an adult with them (probably their father) but apparently that didn't matter.

[KShea]

I don't want to choose a cruise on being able to drink at 21. Just feel kind of bad. There will be a few caught in that age group...almost 21. I know its not the end of the world....

[OCNJ Cruiser]

KShea,

You need to sit back, relax, and enjoy your cruise. Yes, the minors will not be able to join in the champagne waterfall(I ran into the same problem of having a drink taken out of my hand when I was underage), but other than that-don't worry. And if they really have a hard time finding someone to buy them a beer, I can garuntee(spelling?!) you they will have no problem drinking on the islands!:D Like I said before, make sure they don't go crazy and toss their cookies in an elevator(don't ask!) and everything will be fine! Remember, its a vacation-have fun!

[pianoman24601]

We'll be sailing on Crown Princess on 8/7, and this will be our first cruise on Princess (we've done 3 on Royal Cribbean). Our daughters are 19 and 17, and I was wondering how many options they'll have for evening activities on the ship. Obviously, they're too old for the teen activities, and they would love to be able to get into the nightclubs (not to drink, but to dance and enjoy the entertainment).

 

Another poster said that the age to get into the clubs is 18, although the drinking age is 21. I'd appreciate if people would confirm this (at least that helps 1 kid!):)

 

Can they get into the clubs with my wife and I? What if we left? Could they stay? Is there a particular time during the evening (a cut off) when they could or couldn't get in?

 

Appreciate any info on this, since we've not expereinced Princess's rules/policies.

[chris2597]

My understanding is that 18 is the magic number for Skywalkers.....It was strictly enforced on our cruise..Anyone that looked under age was carded at the door....I dont know if it matters if an under 18 is with their parent. I saw several teens in the other lounges that had bands playing until around midnight, dancing.....so that may be the only option for your 17 yr old.

[Tennessee88]

Personal experince for the nightclubs...... your seventeen yer old will not be able to go in even with parents. If you are not 18 then you can not go in and they ID at the door anyone who is questionable and even if you do sneak in they have no problem carding you and kicking you out once you are inside. This is personal experince as I am 17.... although the nightclub and teen activites are not really options there are always others in the same boat (haha) who are too old or too young that you can find to hang out with at night..... Usually those aged kids go to the first or second thing the teen club does and meet one another and then hang out the rest of the week...... or sometimes when we cruise with me 17 and my sister 21 and my mom and dad we end up just all hanging out at the shows lounges etc..... just depends on what she wants to do but the club probably wont happen unless she gets lucky or looks old....

 

-Jess

[pianoman24601]

Thanks for your replies! When they card at the door, are they looking at the ship's ID card, or a driver's license? Do the ship's ID cards have digital photos on them? Just wondering how they enforce this policy.

[OCNJ Cruiser]

There's no digital photo on the ship's ID card. A driver's license works, as well as any other photo ID including passport, of course! As for the enforcement of age in Skywalkers...you might get by the doormen in the wee hours in the morning. It shuts down around two but I don't think the doormen stay that long. Does anyone have any info on Club Fusion on the Crown? All I have read is that it is a "multi-functioning" lounge. I wonder if the same rules apply?

[superdxa]

Are you able to hang around in Skywalkers besides when the nightclub hours come?

[chris2597]

Yes, you can go in Skywalkers up until 10 or 11pm.

[chris2597]

Yes, you can go in Skywalkers up until 10 or 11pm.

[iluvfun]

Not to be nasty, but does the OP want his underage kid to be drinking??? Or is he concerned that there won't be any place fun for the younger one to go?

[pianoman24601]

As I said in my original posts, the intent is NOT AT ALL to encourage or even allow underage drinking. The point is that based on the Princess Patters I've seen, it appears that a number of the activities that would be enjoyable for my girls (Princess pop idol among them) are held in lounges on the ship. So my question really boils down to which lounges the girls would be able to get in to to see the entertainment or dance (not to drink), probably accompanied by us.

It seems that Skywalkers is out, whether or not they're accompanied by parents. How about Club Fusion? Does it depend on the time of day/evening for either of the clubs?

On our last cruise on RCCL, the "teen" activities (and attendees) were mostly on the lower side of the 13-17 range, which didn't hold much interest for my college student and near-college-student. Now it's a year and a half later, so it won't be any better.

[longislandfamily]

Not to be nasty, but does the OP want his underage kid to be drinking??? Or is he concerned that there won't be any place fun for the younger one to go?

 

Some of us, who came of age when the drinking age was 18 in the US, don't have a problem with our 18-20 year olds drinking. The drinkin age was lowered during the Vietnam war era, when an 18 year old could be sent to war to die for our country, but could not drink or vote. At least they can still vote.

 

My daughter grew up in a household where she was taught to drink responsibly and very moderately. I was always more concerned with her personal safety than whether she had a drink or not, and I am not naive enough to think that there was never alcohol at parties she went to in HS and now that she's in college. She had roommate problems with one who was a weekend binge drinker. Some of my foreign born staff members feel that the reason so many American kids only drink to get drunk, and aren't satisfied until falling down, is our restrictive view of alcohol.

 

I should also say that in our household, there is no nightly cocktail hour, we actually all drink very rarely - like a pina colada by the pool on a cruise. I do think that if a family wants to have a champagne toast together, its nobody's business but their own. I suspect that this post is going to take the thread further off topic.

 

All this having been said, our experience is that the older teens find each other, hang out together, and end up having a good time even without alcohol.

[crusdiva]

Last time I cruised on Princess there was an "M" for minor on the card. While a minor is not likely to be served by a bartender, I doubt that anyone is going to notice if the older brother buys two drinks at the bar and brings one back to his brother.

I think that Princess has now changed this - they found that minors were scratching off the "M". Now cruise cards carry an "A" for adults, so if a crew member doesn't see the "A" on a card they're not supposed to serve alcohol to the card holder.

[Mississippian]

Many of us feel the drinking age should be 18. I would have no problem with my child having a beer at the age of 20, particularly on a cruise ship. He wouldn't be breaking the law.

[kingtns]

I was just on the Crown, there is an "A" on my card. I used my daughters card by accident at the casino bar & it immediately showed up as a minor, was glad to see there is no way any of the kids on the ship could get alcohol on the ship. I was at the desk around 2am talking to 1 of the crew when she got a call from teens complaining the bars wouldn't serve them. How funny is that??