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What is allowed when you're 18?


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My son will be 18 on the... 4th of July (Glorious birthdate, isn't it? He's proud!). We're sailing in August.

However, being French, we do not understand what benefits he can get on the ship having reached this milestone. In France, at 18, he's comi

 

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(oops it posted too fast)… he's coming of age as a full adult. He can drive (not before), drink (although not drink and drive)…, has criminal liability. Everything comes at the same time.

I know that in the United States he cannot drink alcohol until he's 21. I've seen that he can gamble on the ship. What more (or less) belongs to his age category? 

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14 minutes ago, Matt said:

At 18 he can gamble, buy cigarettes or join the United States military!

Matt you forgot my fav.. He can also buy a Lotto Ticket lol oh I guess that falls under gamble.. But Still to me for some reason its different. When I was 18 I walked into Publix and bought my first Lotto Ticket lol

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And in some ports, 18 is legal for alcohol, such as on an excursion or in a local bar.  It depends which ports you visit.  The departure port drives the drinking age on the ship, which is 21 for US ports, as previously stated.  However, my son could drink in our NZ/Australia cruise although he was under 21.

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OK, so it is mostly a matter of drinking alcohol and "crude" entertainment. AND gambling. 

I think he might take benefit of the latter, not the former. He only drinks sodas. He does not understand enough english to benefit from adult jokes, for which I expect he does not have the necessary experience either...

What about leaving or returning to the ship on his own?

 

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5 hours ago, FroggyFlo said:

OK, so it is mostly a matter of drinking alcohol and "crude" entertainment. AND gambling. 

I think he might take benefit of the latter, not the former. He only drinks sodas. He does not understand enough english to benefit from adult jokes, for which I expect he does not have the necessary experience either...

What about leaving or returning to the ship on his own?

 

He will be able to leave and return the ship on his own

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GUNS??? What for????

In France nobody, whatever their age, can buy a gun without a license. And I'm happy with this. However, I know that having guns in America is a constitutional right and I respect this per se, it is a cultural difference. I do not think my son is interested in guns, although he has practised archery.

I know this is not the place for this debate anyway. But thanks for the information, travelling is all about cultural enrichment.

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On 6/19/2019 at 3:05 PM, FroggyFlo said:

He only drinks sodas.

If he only drinks sodas.... then he can do basically whatever he wants! ?

I was on a cruise recently (not a RC) and there was a "kid" on there who turned 18 ON THE SHIP..... he was at the front desk asking for a new cruise card at 12:01am!!!  (it was an Australian based cruise, so he could drink once the card came through). he was damned excited! ha!

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Actually, we share our wine with our (under 18) son from time to time at home. And he sometimes drinks a beer with his friends.

He's studying to be a waiter, and next year to be a bartender. But he is not a regular drinker, he is perfectly comfortable with sodas. I do not think that his first move as a "grown-up" will be to sip an alcoholic beverage on July 5th, 00.1 mn.

Just in case parents might ask me the recepie:  It might have something to do with my own addiction to alcohool, which I more or less try to manage every day. I know that my own cruise will be alcohool free.

 

 

 

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This got me thinking, at what point did this change? I know it has been changed for awhile now but I have always been curious as to how long ago this changed. In 2004 on my first cruise (Navigator), I was 21 but my girlfriend with me was only 20. She had to get something signed from her parents (I think? this part is vague) allowing her to drink beer and wine only. She had a little sticker on her Seapass card indicating this. I mean, of course we strictly obeyed those rules and I at NO point in the cruise bought any shots for anyone other than myself ? I am sailing next month with my nephew who is 18 and I am bummed I can't secretly... make my sister REALLY mad hehehe

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13 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

There used to be an alcohol waiver that could be signed for those 18-20 by their parents that allowed beer and wine only.  Royal no longer allows this.

DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible if you get thrown off a ship for doing this!

We had our 20yo son with us in December and we gave him a cocktail here and there. The fruity ones can be ordered "virgin" so crew walking by have no idea whether its virgin or spiked. Beer or wine is a different story but poured into a RC Coke cup, who would know. Obviously you need to be discreet and sensible and as a non-drinker the last thing I'd put up with on a cruise I paid for is a drunk/sick kid :27_sunglasses:

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Hi FroggyFro, just got back from HOTS. We sailed with  an 18 year old and a 17 year old. The 18 year old was able to sit at gambling tables, and play slots. We signed a waiver for him & he got a wrist band for the Flowrider, ice skating, rock climbing. Any of the theatre shows, 18 or over Comedy shows, dinner reservations he was able to attend without guardians/ parents.  There were water slides and dry slide for all ages. The Teen fuel area had Ping Pong, basketball, putt putt,. There were two crummy arcade areas .. recommend NOT to buy the arcade card it did not work and once the $ is used, it automatically starts charging to your room once $ is exhausted. There is not a kiosk to see how much $ is left. I had to go to guests services twice to get the arcade cards active & then cancelled due to issues. Mostly the 18& 17 were in one of the many hot tubs. Oh, point out where the free meals and coffee is ( for some reason they cant ask someone where they can eat) , they go to what they know Starbucks $$ and Johnny Rockets$$. It took me 3 days to find these, but they found them the first 2 hours on the ship. 

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58 minutes ago, FroggyFlo said:

Are ice skating and flowrider and rockclimbing not accessible to minors, if accompanied by a parent? My 9 year old is looking forward to those, she would be disappointed.

They definitely are available to minors. My now 8 year old has been ice skating since she was like 6.

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Hi FroggyFlow, definately accessible, but guardian must sign waivers to have wrist band provided. ** keep you wrist band on your wrist the whole trip**. Our HOTS cruise( back today) , had crummy weather, horrible waves( ship constantly swayed during dinner, at night sleeping, on top deck, on bottom everywhere.. i have Vertigo so i am sensitive to it)... therefore Flowrider / rock wall / zipline was closed allot for our first and last cruise. Was fun to watch the pool water rocking back and forth out of the pool. Roatan was cancelled 30 min befire embarkation due to waves. Oh yes, dont rely on internet cruise planner to determine what was open to eat or your resevations, since VOOM down 2 of 8 days and then up& down rest of time. I printed out each says daily planners for each days’ excursions and meal times as proof what i paid for ( YES i had to prove to RC) and to help with young adults stay on a schedule on events paid for. 

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10 hours ago, RTripp said:

Hi FroggyFlow, definately accessible, but guardian must sign waivers to have wrist band provided. ** keep you wrist band on your wrist the whole trip**. Our HOTS cruise( back today) , had crummy weather, horrible waves( ship constantly swayed during dinner, at night sleeping, on top deck, on bottom everywhere.. i have Vertigo so i am sensitive to it)... therefore Flowrider / rock wall / zipline was closed allot for our first and last cruise. Was fun to watch the pool water rocking back and forth out of the pool. Roatan was cancelled 30 min befire embarkation due to waves. Oh yes, dont rely on internet cruise planner to determine what was open to eat or your resevations, since VOOM down 2 of 8 days and then up& down rest of time. I printed out each says daily planners for each days’ excursions and meal times as proof what i paid for ( YES i had to prove to RC) and to help with young adults stay on a schedule on events paid for. 

Hi RTripp,

Such a pity your cruise when so rough!!! Especially if it is the 1st one! Do not let this deter you: I've sailed many times (on DCL), maybe 15, mostly to the Bahamas or the Carribean, and I've never experienced more than hangers clickeling in the cupboard… I must admit I'm not sea-sensitive. But a ship as big and new as HOTS is certainly VERY stable. However, no ship, however modern, can avoid bad sea conditions, unless she changes itinerary. Maybe you should try a calmer season (ie from november to may), in order to avoid tropical storms? Cruises are worth giving another try.

Thanks for the "wristband trick". DD9 hates wristband, she sails "princess style"! Maybe she can cut it down each night and get another one the next day?

Anyway, good landing back on Mother Earth!

 

 

 

 

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8 hours ago, MrMarc said:

AS a parents when our kids turn 18 they are allowed too much, yet not enough depending on the point of view.  I'm weird.

You're not weird at all!!!

My kids are DD21, DS 18 and DD9. I feel that maturity depends on the person  more than the civil age. But of course, in the eye of the law, no difference can be made. Boys tend to be less mature than girls. I guess intelligence plays a role also.

My DD 21 was mature very young. She was born on Dec, 31 and as such has always been the youngest in her classroom (in France the criteria for school is civil year). Most of her friends are older than her. I'm happy she came of age at 18, because this was the time when she has to leave home for a far-away university. She got her first job at 20, got fired for economic reasons, and has now a part-time job with good long-term perspectives.

My DS will be 18 on the 4th of July. He suffers from a light disability.  Although it doesn't show, he is not very clever. He has followed short studies, so that he could work soon, but he is not mature enough to get a job right now. He will thus move on to a speciality in "bartender" next school year. He could not live on his own, because he has silly ideas, such as melt chocolat in the micro-wave oven for 10 mn (even the plastic glass melted!) or getting to sleep very, very late with his laptop still on his lap...

None of the 2 drink or smoke or even like night clubs. None of them is interested into a driving license. And they both live at home.

I suppose that if I had the power to allow majority, I would have granted my DD majority at 17 (since she was to leave for university at 17 and 9 months), and my DS would still be a minor for a few years!

 

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