alcohol under 21

[pugaddict]

My son and his girlfriend are going with us on the Dawn to Bermuda. I know we can sign a consent for him to have beer or wine, but what is the procedure if she wants to have a glass of wine? Does she have to get consent from her parents? Anyone know??

[ZoneHPH]

My son and his girlfriend are going with us on the Dawn to Bermuda. I know we can sign a consent for him to have beer or wine, but what is the procedure if she wants to have a glass of wine? Does she have to get consent from her parents? Anyone know??

 

i think the answer is in your statement? unless you mean like...while she's at the pool or something?

[ande54]

Ncl policy states 18thru20 year old can purchase wine or beer for their own consumption with the written permission of parent or guardian. That is in international waters only except in Hawaii and Alaska. Also, if accompanying adult is not the minor's parent or legal guardian a written notorized consent letter that authorizes travel and medical treatment in case of emergency is to be presented to NCL rep. at the pier. If it were me I would include the permission to purchase wine or beer in that notorized letter that you must get to travel with her anyway. Make sense?

[Urban trekker]

From the NCL web site:

 

With the exception of Alaska and Hawaii itineraries, (Where you must be 21 years of age to consume or purchase alcohol of any kind) NCL permits guests between the ages of eighteen (18) and twenty (20) to purchase and personally consume wine and beer while on NCL ships with the consent of an accompanying parent or legal guardian on the same sailing once the vessel is outside the US state territorial waters (3 miles out). Complete details and special consent form are only available onboard at the Reception Desk. *If you want to gamble in our casinos, you must have a valid ID showing you are 18 years or older. If a guest under the age of 18 wins in the casino and can not provide proof of age, he or she will not be paid the winnings. There are no casinos on our ships in Hawaii.

 

Hope this helps

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Ms belp]

In my opinion (which nobody asked for), they should not be drinking at all. I know it sounds stupid to some, but it's been proven in medical studies that the earlier one begins to consume alcohol, the more likely to stunt emotional growth (which is what teens are doing) and the more likely to become alcohol addicted. Most everybody has sneaked a beer before 21, but parental consent is something else entirely.

[bqkali]

In my opinion (which nobody asked for), they should not be drinking at all. I know it sounds stupid to some, but it's been proven in medical studies that the earlier one begins to consume alcohol, the more likely to stunt emotional growth (which is what teens are doing) and the more likely to become alcohol addicted. Most everybody has sneaked a beer before 21, but parental consent is something else entirely.

 

Keep in mind that in most of the world, the drinking age is 18, including most of the places they may stop in port at. Then the 18-20 year old cruisers can legally buy a drink for themselves with or without parental consent.

 

The question at hand is IF there is a way to provide consent for this, not whether or not it is "right".

[SakeDad]

In my opinion (which nobody asked for), they should not be drinking at all. I know it sounds stupid to some, but it's been proven in medical studies that the earlier one begins to consume alcohol, the more likely to stunt emotional growth (which is what teens are doing) and the more likely to become alcohol addicted. Most everybody has sneaked a beer before 21, but parental consent is something else entirely.

I always hate to see this argument. If 18-20 year olds are so emotionally immature why do we send them off to war to be killed and watch their friends be killed.:mad: It's a stupid argument, as far as I'm concerned. As stated, MOST of the world allows you to drink at 18 and in many cultures children are allowed a bit of wine with family dinners from very early ages and they turn out just fine.

Just my .02:cool:

[ChBoxers800]

I may be reading NCL's policy wrong the way I see it, she will not be able to consume alcohol UNLESS she is accompanied by her parent or legal guardian. I don't think that a notarized letter from her parent giving her permission to drink will work.

 

As far as the comment regarding not allowing them to drink, I'm with the majority of posters. If they are old enough to die for their country, they are old enough to have a glass of wine.

[ChBoxers800]

In my opinion (which nobody asked for), they should not be drinking at all. I know it sounds stupid to some, but it's been proven in medical studies that the earlier one begins to consume alcohol, the more likely to stunt emotional growth (which is what teens are doing) and the more likely to become alcohol addicted. Most everybody has sneaked a beer before 21, but parental consent is something else entirely.

 

Sorry to keep this going but this is a real sore spot with me. If more parents would allow their children to sample alcohol, and not make it such a big taboo thing, less teens would go out and sneak it. Of course no one is saying that a 12 year old should be allowed to chug beer whenever he/she wants, but it's attitudes like this posters that make kids go nuts when they get some freedom from parents. Since parents are so strict and won't allow it, it must be very cool to do right?

 

My two daughters were always allowed a drink or two at family functions (under our direct supervision) when they became teens and neither became alcoholics. Regarding emotional growth, both were very mature at an early age, very educational minded and successful. One became a lead news anchor at a major TV station by the age of 24 and the other will be receiving her masters in education by the age of 22. And, neither one drinks very much now that they are adults and have never considered alcohol any big deal. They felt that high school and college friends who went out and got smashed in order to impress their friends, or fit in, were ridiculous and immature. They were taught respect for alcohol and were able to familiarlize themselves with it amongst adult family members who didn't abuse it, unlike most of their friends.

[salty dingo]

With all due respect to Ms belp, I wish to state that the drinking age was (appropriately, IMHO) 18 years of age when I was that old. Got to throw away the old fake ID when I turned 18 - hooray. I was in college at 17 and it was a virtual sea of alcohol, so I had a lot of tolerance.

 

I think our society has gone a little wacky since I was a teen and is so much harsher on the kids. I don't know why, but I think the pendulum swings both ways and it has been really far to the right for a loooong time.

[magical914]

Hi....We returned a week ago from the Sun. Both of my children brought friends(19 and 20) and my husband and I were able to sign the form on board the ship to allow them to drink. I did download the parental consent form from the NCL website and both friends parents signed them, but we were never asked to show them. I guess if they the kids are listed in your cabin and are over 18 thats all they need. Hope this helps.

[Urban trekker]

18 years old can also VOTE - surely you would consider them mature enough to decide the future of your country or would you!!

[pugaddict]

thanks for your thoughts..... I think sneaking alcohol is much more dangerous. Believe me underage drinking is going on and I think it's insane that we are the only country to have a 21 year old drinking age.

[LOWTYD]

thanks for your thoughts..... I think sneaking alcohol is much more dangerous. Believe me underage drinking is going on and I think it's insane that we are the only country to have a 21 year old drinking age.

 

 

I'll drink to that!:D

[Urban trekker]

Drinking age by country:

 

http://www.icap.org/PolicyIssues/YoungPeoplesDrinking/AgeLawsTable/tabid/219/Default.aspx

 

Enjoy

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Migglewump Fizzlebottom]

Drunk teen girls are more gooder than drunk 30 somethings....the more the merrier I say.

[sharonax3]

I won't put my 2 cents in as to whether 18 yr olds should or should not be drinking., but once you are on the ship, 18 yr olds will not need anyones permission or signature to drink.

As we all know, alcohol is readily available, and pushed heavily. Not just beer or wine, but any type of booze.

I am sure it is not just NCL but all lines that do this. I suggest if you don't want your kids drinking, that you keep a close eye on them, because they definitely will be able to buy it on their own.

[ChBoxers800]

I won't put my 2 cents in as to whether 18 yr olds should or should not be drinking., but once you are on the ship, 18 yr olds will not need anyones permission or signature to drink.

As we all know, alcohol is readily available, and pushed heavily. Not just beer or wine, but any type of booze.

I am sure it is not just NCL but all lines that do this. I suggest if you don't want your kids drinking, that you keep a close eye on them, because they definitely will be able to buy it on their own.

 

Our experience was different then that. One of the 19 year old's traveling with us had her mom sign the permission slip so she could buy beer and wine. She's not really a beer or wine drinker (was hoping there would be wine coolers) so one night, when we were in the theatre, she asked me if she could get a "real drink". Her mom was not there (this girl is my neice) and I knew mom would have no problem so I said sure. She ordered some fruity thing and gave her room card to the waiter. He came back a few minutes later and said she could only purchase beer and wine. So her room card was coded as such.

[sharonax3]

Maybe if you sign up front for them, they code the card. I had my 18 yr old with me and didn't bother signing anything, figuring I only wanted him to be able to have a beer when I was around, but the waiters(mostly at the pool) came up to him all the time and he was able to purchase anything with his own card. Or maybe some of the employees actually look at the cards..

[adlaistevenson]

If you're under 21 and don't have permission to drink on file, the payment system won't let your card pay for a drink. Unless they're getting someone over 21 to buy them (something which never happens on land), of course. I'd be surprised if someone was able to buy a drink with their own card.

[cruisefamily 77]

I signed for my 18 year old daughter on a recent cruise on the GEM. There is a rather large PC (parental consent) imprinted in capital letters on the right side of her card. She does not like beer or wine so she ordered sugary drinks now and then but we always used my card so I do not know if they would have denied her.

[sharonax3]

Just wondering. What is the diference between beer or hard alcohol. Why do they differentiate between the two. Can you not get wasted on either choice?

[Fishbait17]

We have a LOT of recent experience with this issue. On our Christmas cruise on the SUN, we had our DDs (age 18 and 20) booked in their own cabin, and DD's boyfriend (age 19) booked in with us. On VIP checkin, they clipped the boyfriend's card to show he was under 21. Our daughters cards were never clipped (we picked them up at the regular desk while being escorted onboard). We never went to reception to sign papers for any of them, and none had trouble ordering beer (even helmets) or wine all week, nor did they have problems ordering hard alcohol for the most part. Only once, when my 20 year old ordered a vodka drink did they come back and say she was unable to order hard alcohol, and we just handed them my card instead, no problem.

 

On the Pearl last week (Spring Break), we had two 20 year old girls and two 18 year old girls (our daughters and a friend each). All their cards were clipped. We had all sorts of embarkation problems, so went to reception and decided to take care of the "permission slips" while we were there. We had no problem signing for our daughters, but the letters that the friends' parents had written were not accepted as they were not notarized. This truly angered me as I had asked that question specifically before sailing and was assured that they would not need to be notarized. I am a notary and would have taken care of it for at least one of them. And one of the girls has been independent since the age of 18 and had to call her parents a thousand miles away and get them to mail her the letter. A lot of hassle for absolutely nothing! My own daughters were unable to order more than one beer or glass of wine at a time. We purchased a few helmets for them and a few bottles of wine to enjoy when we weren't around, and it was not a problem, but jeesh! Maybe it was just the "Spring Break" thing?

 

For the record, my daughters (and their friends) look WAAAAYYYY under 21, they were even questioned on the plane to see if they were 15 to sit in the exit row. We are pretty liberal about their drinking; I am a strong believer in alcohol "training" before they go off to college, so they don't drink themselves into a stupor. They are intelligent, street-smart, mature women, and we have had no problems with their alcohol consumption. The only problem I have with the whole thing is their fondness for White Zinfandel :p:eek:;).

 

Robin

[lovesublime]

I don't want to argue whether it's okay for 18 year olds to drink or not, but I do have something to say to those who think what they're doing is "alcohol training". For those of you who think that if you expose your kids to it in your presence now then it won't be such a big deal later...you're probably misguided. We had the great idea to start "training" our son while he was a senior in H.S. We had hoped to expose him to drinking before he went off to college 'out of state' :eek: and went hog wild. It didn't really work out like that. Once he got to college and away from Mom and Dad, he became like any other typical college kid and alcohol and partying became a BIG DEAL. We endured the middle of the night phone calls to inform us that friends were passed out on the porch, in the car, in the woods etc. We got the phone calls from our son to inform us that we were the best parents in the world and "it wasn't just the alcohol talking". We've heard the stories of how they all pitched in to rent a cabin in a state park for the weekend where the objective was to see how many kegs they could 'float'. This wasn't a one time thing-they did it a couple of times a month. I could go on and on. The only thing we COULD control was to continually emphasize to him to never get behind the wheel of a car while drinking or to ride in a car with a driver who had been drinking. Thankfully he paid attention. Yes, he was in a fraternity, but apparently a lot of the students who partied with them weren't. So that doesn't even matter.

 

So, for those of you who think you're doing "training" you're really deluding yourselves. Really, all you're doing is given parental consent to underage drinking. Kids know it, they're not dumb. How many kids out there have any pretentions that what their parents are doing is for the purpose of 'alcohol training'?

[gatorbaby1]

"lovesublime" you speak of parents being misguided by trying to train their children to have an appreciation for wine,beer,ect. yet you say you waited until your son was a senior in high school, in my opinion that too late, by that time the media, and school have influened behavior. The key is to start earlier. It's like if you had a dog would you wait until the the year before going to westminter before you start to train. In most of the world training starts at a very young age, five or six with a teaspoon of wine in a glass of water.